Hawker Pacific of Australia named a replacement for Chairman Christopher Tennant, who died recently. Henrik Von Platen, Tennant's long-time investment partner and a member of the Hawker Pacific board, was named chairman. Alan Smith, the company's chief operating officer, was named acting CEO. Hawker is a distributor of aircraft spares, performs engine and airframe overhauls and is an FAA-certificated repair station.
NBAA CONTINUES PUSH FOR EXEMPTION FROM DOT ECONOMIC REGULATION - The National Business Aviation Association this month continued to try to persuade the Department of Transportation to exempt certain operations under Part 91.501, such as interchange and joint-use, from the department's economic requirements that usually apply to foreign commercial operations.
Although Raytheon Aircraft lost the contract for 50 Hawker Horizons from NetJets earlier this year, Schuster remained firmly behind the program. "This airplane was never dependent on NetJets to be successful," he said, adding that the first couple of years of production are "in backlog." He expressed confidence that market interest will pick up once the aircraft nears certification. The Hawker Horizon is one-third of the way through flight test, he said, and the test program has given "every indication that this airplane is going to be a real, real strong performer.
EUGENE C. HAHN was elected vice president of flight operations at Horizon Air. Based at the airline's location at Portland, Ore. International Airport, Hahn will be responsible for flight systems and procedures, dispatch, crew scheduling, training and managing 750 employees. He was most recently Horizon's vice president of maintenance and engineering.
Peninsula Airport Commission is requesting proposals for the construction and operation of a fixed-base operation at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in Virginia. Proposals must be submitted before Sept. 10. For more information, contact Jim Evans, business development manager, at (757) 877-0221, fax (757) 877-6369 or email [email protected]. Information also can be accessed on the airport web site at www.nnwairport.com.
July 29-Aug. 4 - Experimental Aircraft Association 51st AirVenture Oshkosh '03, Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-6523 September 8-12 - Society of Automotive Engineers 2003 Aerospace Congress & Exhibition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (724) 772-4081 September 14-17 - Airports Council International - North America 12th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Tampa, Fla., (202) 293-8500 September 20-23 - 72nd National Association of State Aviation Officials Annual Convention and Trade Show, Charlotte, N.C., (301) 588-0587
GARMIN BUYS UPS AVIATION TECHNOLOGIES - In a move that will merge two cutting-edge general aviation avionics specialists, Garmin International will acquire UPS Aviation Technologies from UPS for $38 million in cash. UPS Aviation Technologies will change its name to Garmin AT, Inc. when the acquisition closes in the third quarter and continue its operations as a subsidiary of Garmin International.
Air Chef signed on Jetstar In-Flight Catering of Teterboro, N.J. and Catering by Starlite of West Palm Beach and Miami, Fla. to expand its nationwide catering market. "Air Chef...by Jetstar" will serve customers at airports in Teterboro (TEB), Morristown (MMU), Newark (EWR), Belmar (BLM), Caldwell (CDW), LaGuardia (LGA) and Newburgh (SWF). "Air Chef...
French Defense Ministry official Patrick Goudou was appointed to head the new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is scheduled to start work on Sept. 28. The 53-year-old aeronautical engineer spent most of his career at the armament division of the French Defense Ministry and was most recently the director of aeronautical maintenance. EASA will be temporarily based in Brussels, Belgium and will handle the certification of aeronautical products.
Federal Aviation Administration reopened the comment period for its regulatory review of Part 135 and 125, responding to a request from the Part 135/125 Aviation Rulemaking Committee. The committee had its first meeting June 10-12 and the members wanted to reopen the docket for additional public comments. The comment period will be extended to Nov. 18. Comments may be submitted on the web at http://dms.dot.gov, by fax at (202) 493-2251 or by mail at Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Nassif Bldg., Rm.
Cessna named two new Caravan Authorized Sales Representatives -- Hillsboro Aviation of Hillsboro, Ore. and G-Force Aerospace Ltd. of Ramat-Gan, Israel. Hillsboro Aviation, a full-service fixed-base operator located at Hillsboro Airport, will market the Caravan in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The company also is a Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative for Cessna's single-engine piston aircraft, a Cessna Authorized Service Center and a Cessna Pilot Center.
CJ DITCHES IN WASHINGTON BUT PILOT, PASSENGER SURVIVE - A Cessna Citation Jet 525 Tuesday morning ditched into the waters of Penn Cove in Coupeville, Wash. after the aircraft lost elevator trim control, causing an "uncommanded nose-low pitch altitude," the National Transportation Safety Board said last week. The aircraft, N996JR, remained submerged in 60 feet of water late last week, but both the pilot and passenger aboard were rescued by a boater, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.
The first annual Business & Commercial Aviation/Conklin & De Decker Charter Operator & Management Tax Course will be held in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 4-5. The course will cover a range of tax issues for business aircraft management companies and charter operators. Conklin & de Decker partners, B/CA staff and expert instructors will lead sessions, answering questions about federal excise taxes, state taxes, international fees, FARs and IRS regulations. For more information, contact Nel Sanders-Stubbs at (480) 922-8110 or visit http://www.conklindd.com.
Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was the recipient of the first "Lifetime Achievement and Champion of the Environment" award from the National Organization to Insure a Sound-controlled Environment (NOISE). The award was presented to Oberstar at the 33rd Annual NOISE Conference and Aviation Noise Symposium held July 16-18 in Washington, D.C.
House and Senate negotiators late last week appeared to strike a compromise on a comprehensive aviation package that would reauthorize FAA programs and provide relief for general aviation in a number of areas, including security. The House and Senate conferees met late Thursday to hash out their differences, and staff members were putting the finishing touches on the bill late Friday. The House recessed Friday for August and is expected to take action shortly after returning in September. The Senate, however, is not expected to recess until Aug.
Dassault Falcon Jet broke ground on a new 40,000-square-foot paint hangar at its Wilmington, Del. facility. The new paint hangar, designed to handle the Dassault Falcon 7X and other large business jets, is part of a $30 million investment that the company has been making since it took over the former Atlantic Aviation facility two years ago. Those improvements include a complete rehabilitation of the facility and increases in capacity and capabilities of various shops.
ARINC Incorporated and Airpath Wireless are forming a strategic alliance to provide managed public and private wireless access at airports. ARINC and Airpath will offer a single wireless infrastructure that incorporates both public and private access networks. Airlines, airport authorities and retailers can use the private wireless network while passengers and the public can access enhanced broadband Internet for their laptop computers and personal digital assistants. The system is based on the 802.11 Wi-Fi technology.
RAYTHEON TO OUTSOURCE RADOME PRODUCTION TO NORDAM - Raytheon Aircraft selected the NORDAM Group to produce plastic parts and radomes for the Beechcraft and Hawker product lines. The production currently is done at a Raytheon facility in Salina, Kan. but soon will move to NORDAM's Wichita, Kan. and Tulsa, Okla. locations. The majority of the work will be done in Tulsa and NORDAM will move some of its interior products projects to Wichita to accommodate the new Raytheon work.
After months of gloomy tidings from business jet manufacturers, General Dynamics reported last week that sales by its Gulfstream unit had picked up sharply in June and the first two weeks of July, following two very difficult months. See article below.
CHICAGO OKs $1.5 MILLION TO ERASE MEIGS FIELD FROM LAKEFRONT - The Chicago Parks District last week agreed to award a $1.5 million contract to a local construction company to destroy the remainder of Meigs Field. Work on the demolition of the small lakefront airport is expected to begin within 30 days. The decision on Wednesday to eradicate the airport came despite a last-ditch effort from the local advocacy group, Friends of Meigs Field, to persuade the Park Board to defer action and consider other proposals.
CRASH OF REPLICA AIRCRAFT CLAIMS TWO AIRLINE PILOTS - National Transportation Safety Board said both pilots aboard a replica aircraft were killed this month when it crashed after losing power in one engine. The aircraft, a CASA 2.111, a replica of a Heinkel HE 111, was operated by American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum. The accident happened about 1310 local time July 10 near Cheyenne, Wyo. The aircraft was operating under Part 91 of the FARs, but NTSB said the crew members were an airline transport certificated captain and first officer.
