Eclipse Aviation has completed another round of financing, the first aircraft is beginning to come together in the company's Albuquerque, N.M. headquarters facility and officials still expect the first Eclipse 500 will fly before autumn.
GREGORY SMITH was appointed division manager at Barnes Aerospace's Windsor Division. He will be responsible for customer service and support in his division. Smith joined the company in 2001 as operations manager at the Windsor Division and has worked previously for General Dynamics and Pratt&Whitney.
The pilot of a commercial Bell 206L-1 LongRanger and his revenue passenger were killed Feb. 16 when the aircraft crashed in marginal visibility conditions near New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332C, L, L1, and Model SA330F, G, and J helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-47-AD) - proposes superseding an existing AD for ECF Model AS332C, L, and L1 and Model SA330F, G, and J helicopters. That AD currently requires an inspection to determine the angular play of the tail rotor gearbox at specified intervals. This action would change the measurement limits and the load to be applied to a tail rotor blade when determining the angular play.
EXECUTIVE AIR SUPPORT, parent company of Atlantic Aviation said three of its fixed-base operations, which have been operating as Million Air facilities, will change over to the Atlantic Aviation brand. EAS President Lou Pepper said the FBOs in Bridgeport and Hartford, Conn. and Long Island, N.Y. will make the brand switch, joining the Atlantic FBO family that has locations in Teterboro, N.J., Philadelphia, Pa. International and Northeast Philadelphia airports, Houston, Texas and at Midway Airport in Chicago.
DASSAULT Model Falcon 2000 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-417-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD, applicable to all Dassault Model Falcon 2000 series airplanes, and certain Dassault Model Falcon 900EX and Mystere Falcon 900 series airplanes.
COVENTRY-WEST MIDLANDS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT in the United Kingdom opened its new 8,000-square-foot business aviation center. The center will house offices for customs, immigration and a police special branch. Midwest Executive Aviation, an aircraft handling agent, also will rent office space in the new facility.
Honeywell signed a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a new aircraft radio that meets the agency's requirements for Very High Frequency Digital Link-Mode 3 (VDL-Mode 3) avionics. Honeywell said FAA is planning to require VDL-Mode 3 radios on more than 170,000 air transport and general aviation aircraft by the end of the decade. VDL-Mode 3, which supports FAA's Next-Generation Air/Ground Communications program, will increase the capacity of the aviation radio band, the company said.
An "outraged" business aviation community last week urged the U.S. Customs Service to hold off on its fines against charter operators that did not - and could not - comply with new reporting requirements for traveling into the U.S. from foreign destinations. Certain on-demand charter operators this month were hit with fines of up to $10,000 after they failed to transmit crew and passenger manifests electronically to the Customs Service before crossing the U.S. border.
THE GERMAN FEDERAL BORDER GUARD ordered 11 Eurocopter EC-135 and two EC-155 helicopters, making it the world's largest operator of those two models. The border guard, which began modernizing its helicopter fleet in 1997, already has 24 EC-135s and 155s.
PETER WRIGHT, SR., founder of Keystone Helicopter, was named chairman emeritus of Keystone Ranger Holdings, a venture capital holding company that recently acquired Keystone. Wright, a pilot for more than 60 years, founded Keystone in 1953 after serving in World War II with the "Flying Tigers." He also is chairman of the American Helicopter Museum in Philadelphia.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, noting the 10th anniversary of the passenger facility charge program, said more than $33 billion has been approved for collection in the program since its inception in 1992. Savannah, Ga., received the first PFC approval on Jan. 23, 1992, for a $39.5 million collection for a terminal building, terminal apron and associated taxiways, entrance road, service road, site work and utilities. FAA said that from 1992 through the end of calendar 2000, a total of $9.3 billion had been collected.
MARK BOOTH was appointed managing director and chief executive officer of NetJets Europe Ltd. fractional aircraft ownership program. Booth was previously co-chairman of NetJets Europe.
HONEYWELL EMPLOYEES got a new boss last week when the board of directors picked TRW head David M. Cote, 49, to serve as president, chief executive and elected him to a seat on the board. Honeywell Chairman Larry Bossidy, who returned to head Honeywell after its proposed merger with General Electric didn't fly, will continue as chairman until June 30 when Cote adds that title. Both men are veterans of General Electric. Cote spent 25 years with GE in aircraft engines, silicones and appliances before joining TRW in November 1999 as chairman, president and CEO.
Gulfstream Aerospace plans to move its customer sales and design functions from the company's production and completion centers to the former Galaxy Aerospace facility at Alliance Airport near Fort Worth, Texas.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION touched off a spirited debate on its aviation manager's e-mail site last week when it raised the question of whether corporate/business aviation pilots should be permitted to carry weapons to help prevent potential terrorists and hijackers from taking over their aircraft.While there did not appear to be a consensus by week's end, a lot of pilots had strong opinions - both pro and con.
EXTEX, a manufacturer of RR-250 turbine engine parts in Mesa, Ariz. has chosen Rheinland Air Service of Moenchengladback, Germany as its distributor in northern Europe. The partnership will allow operators of European-based RR-250 powered helicopters overnight access to more than 300 part numbers. RAS provides maintenance service for 90 aircraft types and models and operates a full-service FBO with an avionics installation and repair facility.
DASSAULT Model Falcon 900EX and Mystere Falcon 900 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-418-AD) - requires repetitive operational tests of the flap asymmetry detection system to verify proper functioning, and repair, if necessary; repetitive replacement of the inboard flap jackscrews with new or reconditioned jackscrews; and repetitive measurement of the screw/nut play of the jackscrews on the inboard and outboard flaps to detect discrepancies, and corrective action, if necessary. This action also would require revision of the Airplane Flight Manual.
ONTIC ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING extended the list of Honeywell products it supports and services. The products, produced by Honeywell's Torrance, Calif. facility, include radar liquid coolers, fans and blower assemblies on E2C Hawkeye, Hawkeye 2000, Sikorsky S-76, Bell 206, AV8B Harrier, AWACS, UH1 and CH-46 aircraft.
John Giraudy, who began his aviation career more than two decades ago as a salesman for de Havilland Aircraft, was named president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Regional Aircraft. Giraudy, who had been senior vice president of marketing and sales, replaces Steven Ridolfi, who was appointed executive vice president, programs and strategic planning for Bombardier Aerospace. A native of St. Lucia, Giraudy joined de Havilland in 1981. He was sales director for Europe and Africa and was named director of marketing for de Havilland in 1986.
JAY ARCEMONT was named flight department manager at Woodland Aviation in Sacramento, Calif. He will be responsible for developing new business and managing customer service. Arcemont has more than 17 years of aviation experience and is a pilot with an ATP rating.
General aviation groups are asking international leaders to make sure that they recognize the differences between large commercial and business/general aviation operations as they develop a series of new security standards this week during an International Civil Aviation Organization Council meeting. The ICAO Council Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 19 and 20) is holding a high-level, Ministerial Conference on Aviation Security during which member states will endorse a plan to strengthen aviation security worldwide.
HARRIS BELMAN was named vice president of homeland security at BAE SYSTEMS. In the newly created position, Belman will lead market research to apply BAE technology to homeland security efforts. He was most recently vice president of business development at BAE's information and electronic systems integration sector.
THE AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION is lobbying the government of Puerto Rico to keep open Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in San Juan. The airport, better known as Isla Grande Airport, accommodates 300 aircraft and more than 120,000 annual operations, according to AOPA.
TURBOMECA Models 2 S1, 2 B, and 2 C turboshaft engines (Docket No. 2001-NE-10-AD) - proposes to require initial and repetitive visual inspections for fuel leaks, and replacement of fuel pumps that are found leaking fuel. In addition, this proposal would require removal from service of fuel pumps that are found with pump wall thickness below minimum specifications.
