National Air Services (NAS) of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia committed to buying five Airbus A318 Elite aircraft and has taken options on five more, according to Airbus. NAS plans to use the aircraft to support VIP customers in the Middle East. Deliveries of the A318s are scheduled to begin in the last quarter of 2006. "When you are in the market for private jet transport of around 15 passengers, you cannot beat the space, comfort and economics of the Airbus 318 Elite," said Mohammed Al Zeer, president and CEO of NAS.
SimCom is expanding its presence in the Orlando, Fla. area, having assumed the lease of Lockheed Martin's former training facility there. SimCom is moving its production division into the three-bay, 40,000-square-foot facility, which will house three Level C flight simulators - a CitationJet, a Citation Encore and a Beechjet 400A - by the end of 2007. The training facility that SimCom has operated for many years in Orlando houses Learjet 35, Citation II and Hawker 800A simulators.
DENNIS COCKRELL was named customer service manager in the Little Rock service center for Dassault Aircraft Services. Cockrell previously was maintenance manager for the facility. In his new role, he will be the primary direct contact for customers. He also will help coordinate projects that involve Dassault's Little Rock and Wilmington facilities.
ATCA NAMES GARLAND CASTLEBERRY INTERIM PRESIDENT - The board of the Air Traffic Control Association named Garland (Cas) Castleberry, a veteran FAA executive and former chairman of ATCA, to serve as interim president of the organization.
Bombardier Aerospace, ExecuJet Aviation Group and Dubai-based Alpha 55 inaugurated Bombardier's first Middle East service center and parts depot last week at Dubai International Airport. The 24,000-square-foot service center is staffed by more than 50 engineers, technicians, crew and support staff. The adjacent 2,800-square-foot parts depot will house more than 860 high-demand parts for Learjet, Challenger and Global business jets. The parts inventory is scheduled to begin arriving in December, with the depot expected to be fully operational early next year.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 airplanes, and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22147; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-114-AD; Amendment 39-14371; AD 2005-23-13] - requires modification of the logic of the steering system of the nose landing gear (NLG) wheel. This AD results from reports of the loss of directional control of the airplane on the ground after an internal failure of the NLG wheel steering system.
December 1-2 - National Air Transportation Association Line Service Supervisor Training, Albuquerque, N.M., (703) 845-9000 January 8-12, 2006 - American Association of Airport Executives Aviation Issues Conference, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Kona, Hawaii, (703) 824-0504, www.airportnet.org January 25-27, 2006 - National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (202) 783-9000
KINGFISHER TO EXPAND ROUTES WITH FLEET OF ATR 72s - ATR won a contract from Kingfisher Airlines in India that included firm orders for 20 ATR 72-500 aircraft and options for 15 more, the companies announced during the Dubai Air Show last week.
NIKE GV LANDS SAFELY AFTER CREW MANAGES TO FIX BALKY LANDING GEAR - The crew of a Gulfstream V business jet carrying the chief executive of the Nike Corp. spent several hours in the air attempting to fix a main landing gear that would not lock into place before correcting the problem and landing safely at Hillsboro Airport (HIO) in Portland, Ore. Airport Nov. 21.
Mooney Airplane Company will mark the company's 60th anniversary by delivering the 11,000th Mooney production aircraft during the first quarter of 2006. The milestone airplane, an Ovation2 GX equipped with a Garmin G1000 avionics suite, will be delivered to a New Jersey customer. Mooney delivered its first airplane, an M-18 "Mooney Mite," from its initial location in Wichita, Kan. in 1948. A total of 66 airplanes were delivered during 1949, the first full year of production.
National Business Aviation Association named Connie Penne as vice president of membership marketing, effective this week. Penne, who will report to NBAA President Ed Bolen, most recently had been director of member data and strategic services for the American Association of Retired Persons. NBAA said she has more than two decades of experience in direct-response marketing, strategic planning and member relationship management.
HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND Auxiliary Power Units Models T-62T-46C2, T-62T-46C2A, T-62T-46C3, T-62T-46C7, and T-62T-46C7A [Docket No. FAA-2005-21719; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-19-AD; Amendment 39-14369; AD 2005-23-11] - requires removal from service of those compressor impeller assemblies at reduced service life limits. This AD results from two reports of uncontained failures of compressor impeller assemblies. FAA is issuing this AD to prevent an uncontained APU failure and damage to the airplane.
Raisbeck Engineering is offering a new Enhanced Performance Package (EPIC) for the King Air C90 that will boost maximum gross takeoff weight to 10,350 pounds, 250 more than current C90Bs and 700 more than earlier C90s. The package includes 93-inch, four-bladed Hartzell/Raisbeck propellers, dual aft body strakes and a new FAA-approved airplane flight manual supplement and pilot's operating handbook. Raisbeck is offering the EPIC kit at $61,950 and said the modification takes 85 hours. The upgrade costs $4,000 for Raisbeck-equipped C90s.
The House and Senate, responding to concerns of aviation fueling companies, directed the Transportation Department to work with EPA on developing "reasonable methods" to comply with EPA's Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) requirements. SPCC rules call for a secondary containment area for mobile refuelers, a requirement the National Air Transportation Association and airport groups have said is costly and unnecessary (BA, Aug. 1/43).
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. received a contract to provide its Integrated Angle-of-Attack/Stall Warning System for the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite that will be installed on the AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Company ARJ-21 regional jet. The 79- to 99-seat regional jet, unveiled during the 2001 Beijing Air Show, is slated to fly in mid-2006.
KEITH PHILLIPS was named director of program management, Nacelle/Thrust Reverser Systems Division, for The Nordam Group. Phillips joined Nordam from Garrett Aviation Services, where he had been vice president of sales and marketing. He also has served as vice president of aftermarket services with Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems and held sales positions with General Electric's maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses and UNC Incorporated's aerospace manufacturing business.
Aircraft Electronics Association has developed a new interactive CD, Repair Station Program Development, which will provide guidance on meeting requirements in FAA Advisory Circular AC 145-10 and inspectors Handbook Bulletin HBAW 0503. The CD defines what is required in the regulations and contains information on course definitions, training sources and methods, and documentation. Available in January, the CD is the latest in a series of computer-based training programs that AEA is offering.
RICHARD HEITZMAN was named manager of service center relations for Mooney Airplane Company. Heitzman will be based in Kerrville, Texas, and oversee performance of Mooney Service Center facilities. He also will be responsible for expanding the domestic and international networks.
BILL WENZEL was named director of technical service and parts for Mooney Airplane Company. Wenzel will oversee all technical publications and support as well as the service parts center.
Despite the relative scarcity of business jets in China, India and Russia, Rolls-Royce believes the aviation market will grow significantly in those countries as their economies continue to expand and infrastructure development follows. Rolls-Royce predicted that some 500 to 700 business jets could be shipped to operators in those countries over the next 10 years. Some of those orders began to trickle in at NBAA, with Gulfstream and Airbus among the plane-makers announcing their first orders from Chinese customers (BA, Nov. 14/227).
December 1-2 - National Air Transportation Association Line Service Supervisor Training, Albuquerque, N.M., (703) 845-9000 January 8-12, 2006 - American Association of Airport Executives Aviation Issues Conference, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Kona, Hawaii, (703) 824-0504, www.airportnet.org January 25-27, 2006 - National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (202) 783-9000
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701, & 702), CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705), and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22872; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-198-AD] - proposes to require replacing the Camloc fasteners on the sidewall of the center pedestal. This proposed AD results from reports of the Camloc fasteners on the sidewall of the center pedestal disengaging and interfering with an inboard rudder pedal.
ARINC Incorporated struck an agreement with Iridium Satellite to offer Iridium-based aeronautical voice and data communication services. The new services will be available in early 2006. ARINC is working with several Iridium hardware providers to offer a portfolio of services.
