Flightsafety International was awarded training contracts by NASA, FAA and the U.S. Navy. NASA signed a contract for pilot and maintenance training on Gulfstream II and III, Beechcraft King Air 200, and de Havilland Twin Otter Aircraft. FAA retained FSI for initial and recurrent pilot training on the Bombardier Global 5000. That five-year contract calls for the Global 5000 training to take place at FSI's learning center in the Philadelphia/Wilmington area. FSI received two five-year training contracts from the Navy.
SHORT BROTHERS Model SD3-60 SHERPA, SD3-SHERPA, and SD3-60 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22875; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-179-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness AD that requires an inspection of the fork end of the rear pintle pin on each main landing gear (MLG) to verify that sealant is properly applied and is undamaged, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would add an inspection for correctly applied sealant on the MLG rear pintle pin assemblies, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary.
Executive Jet Management, Inc., the Cincinnati, Ohio-based aircraft management company, appears to have complied with nearly all federal requirements necessary to launch commuter air carrier service between major U.S. cities with a fleet of up to 70 business jets.
LANDMARK PREPARING TO TAKE OVER SKYPORT FBO AT HPN - Landmark Aviation executives were briefing employees at the Skyport Flight Services fixed-base operation at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. last week and anticipate closing on Landmark's acquisition of the FBO Dec. 1. Landmark announced earlier that it had reached agreement with Jet Equity, LLC to buy Skyport, part of Landmark's aggressive acquisition strategy to pick up some FBOs at major business aviation airports (BA, Nov. 7/207).
Dassault scheduled its 26th Worldwide M&O (maintenance and operations) session May 30-June 1, 2006 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton, Fla. The seminar will include model-specific technical and operational sessions and knowledge sharing meetings. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen will be a keynote speaker at the opening and general session and the event will conclude with a dinner and gala reception.
JIM THOMPSON was appointed director of engineering, Nacelle/ Thrust Reverser Systems Division, for The Nordam Group. Thompson will oversee the engineering team that designs and develops nacelle and thrust reverser systems for business and regional aircraft. He formerly served with Garrett Aviation Services, where he was vice president, programs and technology. He also filled the roles of vice president and general manager of Garrett-Van Nuys and director of program development.
Gulfstream Aerospace said a Gulfstream G450 established a new speed record, flying 3,290 nautical miles from Washington, D.C. Dulles International to Luton, England in six hours and 12 minutes. Gulfstream said the flight benefited from a 30-knot tailwind for most of the trip. The aircraft flew an average speed of Mach 0.85. The record is pending National Aeronautic Association review.
BizJet International, the Tulsa, Okla., subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik, struck cooperative agreements with Palwaukee Service Center in Wheeling, Ill. and Thornton Aircraft Company in Van Nuys, Calif. The agreements expand BizJet's portfolio of capabilities and will enable the repair station to enhance its services to customers on the West Coast and in the Chicago area, BizJet said.
ROSS AVIATION ACQUIRES SANTA FE JET CENTER - Ross Aviation has acquired the Santa Fe Jet Center at San Fe, N.M. Municipal Airport, the third major acquisition for the company in the past 12 months. The Santa Fe facility, which will now be known as Santa Fe AirCenter, joins Scottsdale AirCenter and Denver AirCenter in the Ross Aviation stable.
EMBRAER Model EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC, and -120RT airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22871; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-191-AD] - proposes to require installing a rivet and washer in the hole of the upper frame of the auxiliary power unit (APU) firewall. This proposed AD results from a report indicating that, during production, a pinhole was left open at the upper frame of the APU firewall. FAA is proposing this AD to ensure that the APU compartment is isolated from the rest of the airplane in the event of an APU fire.
FAA SLATED FOR INCREASED FUNDING, MORE GENERAL FUNDS IN FY06 - Congress late last week was putting the finishing touches on a $13.8 billion funding package for FAA in fiscal 2006 that includes substantially more funding than FAA requested, and far more funding from general federal receipts than the agency sought.
RAY MURPHY, director of operations for American Jet International (AJI), was appointed to head the National Business Aviation Association's Part 135 Committee. Murphy will lead 15 committee members who review operational issues, regulatory initiatives, FAA guidance and other issues facing Part 135 operators. He has 23 years of aviation experience and joined AJI six years ago.
EBBS AND ERAU BOARD AGREE TO PART WAYS - George Ebbs, president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for the past seven years, will step down at the end of the month after he and the board of trustees agreed to go in different directions.
The Nordam Group was selected to provide components for Gulfstream G550 business jets that will be used as Compact Airborne Early Warning platforms by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. NORDAM will provide graphite-reinforced composite fairings, bonded panels and interior liners. NORDAM previously had supplied components for the Gulfstream 550 High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform delivered to the U.S. National Science Foundation earlier this year and for the Special Electronic Missions Aircraft G500 developed for the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Federal Aviation Administration awarded a one-year contract valued at $1.35 million to Amherst, N.H.-based AeroSat Airborne Internet to evaluate an Airborne Internet system. FAA is exploring communications requirements for the Next Generation Air Transportation System and said Airborne Internet could enhance safety and efficiency of future air travel by providing automatic updates of critical data, such as the weather, turbulence and landing conditions at different airports.
PAT QUINN was named manager of certification/DAS administration for Midcoast Aviation. Quinn will be tasked with ensuring that all modifications and completions performed by Midcoast comply with FAA requirements.
It would be difficult to find a more upbeat gathering than last week's NBAA convention in Orlando, with aircraft manufacturers announcing new airplane models and logging record numbers of orders. Despite the outlook for continued strong demand for business aircraft, industry officials are warning of a major fight in Washington, D.C. next year surrounding proposed huge increases in taxes on business aircraft operators. See article below.
JAY EMERY was appointed vice president of Raytheon Aircraft Services. Emery joins Raytheon from Lexus, where he was a senior member of the Lexus customer service team. Before joining Lexus in 1992, he was manager of transportation services for the state of California.
Piaggio America signed an agreement to outsource technical publications to Aircraft Technical Publishers. The agreement covers all technical libraries, distribution and customer service worldwide for the Avanti.
Iridium Satellite, the mobile satellite communications carrier, last week reported that its aviation business has more than doubled this year. Iridium said the number of subscribers in the aviation market recently passed the 5,000 mark, and the number of aircraft fitted with Iridium-based data systems has increased 200 percent in the last 12 months. "The aviation sector is a core and growing market for Iridium," said Don Thoma, executive vice president of Iridium Satellite LLC.
DASSAULT CONSIDERING WAYS TO BOOST RANGE OF 7X - Dassault Falcon Jet officials threw out a teaser at last week's NBAA convention in Orlando, saying they are looking at several options designed to increase the range of the company's new 7X business jet.
