Bombardier Aerospace won approval from FAA to begin delivering Honeywell TFE732-20BR-equipped Model 45 XR business jets. Bombardier also plans to issue a service bulletin this month to permit current Learjet 45 operators to upgrade their aircraft with the more powerful 20BR engines.
Cessna Aircraft plans to begin delivering Garmin 1000-equipped single-engine airplanes this week, following FAA certification of the new avionics package in the 182T Skylane. See article below.
FORMER BBJ PRESIDENT BORGE BOESKOV DIES - Borge Boeskov, the long-time Boeing sales executive who formerly served as president of Boeing Business Jets, died June 9 after a long battle with cancer. Boeskov died the day before his 69th birthday.
National Air Transportation Association last week was pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency extended the deadlines for compliance with new Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations governing fuel storage. EPA last week extended the deadline for requiring a compliance plan from Aug. 17, 2004 to Aug. 17, 2005 and implementation of that plan until Feb. 18, 2006 (BA, May 10/213). NATA and several other aviation groups pushed for the extension after the EPA was unable to clear up confusion surrounding the rules.
The Federal Aviation Administration, facing a "bow wave" of controller retirements over the next decade, needs to develop a detailed cost plan for hiring new controllers as well as a plan for making the process of hiring and training new controllers more efficient, government watchdogs told a congressional panel last week.
Gil Wolin, the former publisher of Business & Commercial Aviation magazine, will join TAG Aviation USA this week as vice president-corporate communications. Wolin, who will have overall responsibility for the company's internal and external communications, will be based at TAG Aviation's office in White Plains, N.Y. In addition to his communications duties, Wolin will serve as a client responsible officer in the Northeast U.S. working with customers to support TAG's continued growth. He will report directly to Jake Cartwright, president and CEO.
The Air Group, the Van Nuys, Calif.-based aircraft management company, added three new jets to its nationwide fleet - a Hawker 800 and a Challenger 604, both in Van Nuys, and a Falcon 2000EX based in Oxford, Conn. The Air Group has eight offices throughout the U.S. and operates a range of aircraft, including most Learjet, Citation, Westwind, Hawker, Gulfstream, Challenger and Global Express models.
A new reference book, NOTAM Illustrated, has been published to help pilots better understand the language used in Notices To Airmen. The 110-page, spiral-bound guide defines more than 400 NOTAM contractions and explains NOTAM formatting. The guide also explains Distant, Local and FDC NOTAMs. The publication, compiled by aviator Jerome Miller, costs $19.95 plus $2 shipping and is available at Find-it Fast Books, 406 Henry Drive, Montoursville, Pa. 17754; e-mail: [email protected].
Jet Aviation received a contract from fractional ownership aircraft pioneer NetJets to perform unscheduled maintenance at Jet Aviation's U.S. locations in Bedford, Mass., Dallas, Texas and Palm Beach, Fla. Jet Aviation already has an agreement with NetJets for Hawker and Citation services at its Zurich facility and for Falcon support in Basel, Switzerland.
BAE Jetstream Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 2003-NM-228-AD) - proposes a one-time inspection of the ailerons to determine if certain actions were accomplished previously, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent damage to the rear spar rib-to-rib attachment cleats and the aft rib elements of the fixed tabs of the ailerons. Such damage could reduce structural integrity and cause failure of the ailerons and reduced airplane controllability. FAA estimates that 57 airplanes on the U.S.
June 7-11 - 13th International Flight Inspection Symposium, hosted by Nav Canada at Fairmont, The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. E-mail: [email protected], phone: (613) 563-3938, or visit www.navcanada.ca/ifis2004 June 16-17 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers TURBO EXPO 2004, Vienna, Austria, 212-591-8157, e-mail [email protected], www.asme.org/pi/pr/2004/033104a.html June 18-19 - National Business Aviation Association 9th Annual Flight Attendants Conference, Anaheim, Calif., (202) 783-9000
Aeronautical Repair Station Association is trying to generate action by its members to oppose FAA's proposed expansion of drug and alcohol testing to cover thousands of additional workers employed by subcontractors.
Employees represented by United Auto Workers Local 128 at the Troy, Ohio Goodrich Corp. plant voted to accept a new three-year contract Tuesday. The union represents some 330 of about 700 workers at the Troy plant, which is about 20 miles north of Dayton. The facility makes wheels and brakes for a variety of business and commercial aircraft, plus the U.S. Space Shuttle. The new contract agreement was reached after 13 weeks of negotiations between union and company representatives.
Rolls-Royce booked 76 orders in the past year for its CorporateCare engine care program for corporate aircraft. The new business is valued at more than $152 million and increases Rolls-Royce's corporate maintenance portfolio to more than 315 aircraft with $630 million worth of agreements. CorporateCare includes engine health monitoring services, access to lease agreements and coverage of expenses with shop visits. Rolls-Royce CorporateCare covers business jets powered by AE 3007, Tay and BR710 engines.
SAFIRE SUSPENDS OPERATIONS WHILE SEARCHING FOR MORE MONEY - Safire Aircraft suspended most of its operations while searching for additional funding, the company announced Thursday. The announcement comes about six weeks after Safire terminated its senior marketing and communications executives and said it was restructuring "to focus on the completion and development of the Safire Jet prototype" (BA, May 3/197). Safire Thursday said it was "actively pursuing a very promising financing opportunity."
National Business Aviation Association scheduled three Business Aviation Regional Forums this summer in Chicago, Hong Kong and Seattle. The events provide a place for business aircraft owners, operators, manufacturers, customers and other industry personnel to discuss regional business aviation issues. The forums are scheduled for June 24 at DuPage Flight Center on DuPage Airport near Chicago, Ill., July 15-16 at Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre at Hong Kong International Airport in China and Aug. 26 at Boeing Field/King County International Airport in Seattle, Wash.
TORT REFORMERS HOPE STUDY WILL FUEL LEGAL CHANGE - U.S small businesses are being "victimized" by a legal system running out of control, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce affiliate charged last week. The Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) released the results of a new study, Tort Liability Costs for Small Businesses, which found that small businesses with $10 million or less in annual revenue pay 68 percent of the annual cost of the tort system - an estimated $88 billion. The study estimates the entire cost of the tort system to U.S. business is $129 billion.
EARNINGS, BACKLOG INCREASE AT IAI - Israel Aircraft Industries reported increased earnings and a sharply larger backlog at the end of the first quarter.
Small businesses bear the brunt of tort liability costs, a study released last week by U.S. Chamber of Commerce affiliate the Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) found. The ILR study, entitled Tort Liability Costs for Small Businesses, finds that small businesses, those with less than $10 million in annual revenue, shoulder some $88 billion in annual liability costs, while larger businesses pay about $41 billion.
