JON POLLACK was named director, business development, rotorcraft for FlightSafety International. Pollack previously was director, courseware support for FlightSafety. He joined the company in 1982 at the FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Fla. He later served as product marketing manager and director of training at the West Palm Beach, Fla., center and manager of the Toronto centers.
PATRICK MCGUINESS was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer for Landmark Aviation. McGuiness will be responsible for strategy and corporate development, tax, accounting, treasury and fuel processing divisions. He has 27 years of finance and accounting experience, formerly serving as CFO for Tiffany & Co.
SIKORSKY S-92A helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2014-0216; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-045-AD; Amendment 39-17818; AD 2014-07-04] – requires, initially and each time the clamps are removed, inspecting for chafing between the electrical wires and the hydraulic lines and, if there is chafing between the wires or lines, before further flight, replacing the unairworthy wires or lines with airworthy wires or lines. Also, this AD requires inspecting each clamp for correct installation, and if a clamp is incorrectly installed or missing, before further flight, correctly installing the clamps.
BRITISH AEROSPACE REGIONAL AIRCRAFT Jetstream Series 3201 and 3201 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2014-0042; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-050-AD; Amendment 39-17823; AD 2014-07-09] – requires new inspections as part of Corrosion Prevention and Control Program (CPCP). The AD was prompted by reports of extension corrosion found on the rudder upper hinge bracket.
BEECHCRAFT Model Hawker 800XP, 850XP and 900XP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2014-0254; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-047-AD] – proposes to require an inspection for the presence of sealant on doubler plate edges, doubler plate rivets, and adjacent skin in the fuel vent surge tanks; and corrective actions if necessary.This proposed AD was prompted by a design review that revealed there were no instructions to apply sealant to structural components in the fuel tank during the winglet installation process.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-604 Variant) [Docket No. FAA-2014-0250; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-165-AD] – proposes to require revising the airplane flight manual (AFM) to incorporate an uncommanded yaw motion procedure. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of inflight uncommanded rudder movements. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent inflight uncommanded rudder movements, which could lead to structural failure and subsequent loss of the airplane. FAA estimates that the proposal affects 116 aircraft on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $9,860, or $85 per product.
Air ambulance operator Shenzhen CSOS Assistance Co. will be expanded under the new name Deer Jet Medical, following the establishment last month of a strategic partnership between China SOS Assistance, leading Chinese business jet operator Deer Jet and health care company Golden Meditech. Deer Jet Medical will keep aircraft continuously on station at bases at Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen with the aim of providing a bed-to-bed medical transfer service for Chinese patients.
Gulfstream’s G280 continues to rack up speed records, gaining two more while enroute to Shanghai for ABACE. The latest records, which bring the total number to 47, were established in two legs between Friedrichshafen Airport in German and Hong Kong. The G280 flew 2,751 nm from Germany to Dubai International Airport in 5 hr. and 49 min. The aircraft averaged a speed of Mach 0.84. The second leg involved a 7-hr., 7-min. flight covering 3,449 nm from Dubai to Hong Kong International Airport, averaging Mach 0.82.
The Greater Washington Business Aviation Association is holding its 2014 Safety Standdown May 1 at the National Transportation Safety Board Training Center in Ashburn, Va. The day-long event will cover hangar safety systems, sleep apnea, ISBAO audits and other safety topics. Former NTSB investigator Greg Feith is the keynote speaker. For more information, visit www.gwbaa.com.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified Airbus Helicopters’ new version of the EC145 light twin-engine helicopter. EASA certification for the EC145 T2 covers single-pilot, instrument flight rules (IFR) and night-vision goggle operation, the manufacturer says. The EC145 T2 features new, uprated engines, the Turbomeca Arriel 2E and an improved transmission to enhance both hot-and-high and single-engine performance. Airbus says the new engines, which are equipped with a full-authority digital engine control system (FADEC), deliver 25% more power.
Avflight, the Avfuel-backed chain of fixed-base operations, has taken over the former Eurojet FBO at George Best Belfast City Airport (EGAC/KBHD). The facility will be rebranded as Avflight Belfast City and incorporate Avfuel’s operational systems and program offerings. Avflight operates 10 FBOs, proving handling, baggage and concierge services, along with fuel and line services.
Oil and gas helicopter operator Bristow Group has taken delivery of its first AgustaWestland AW189 super-medium helicopter. The first aircraft, G-OENB, was delivered to the company’s base at Norwich, Norfolk on April 18, having been registered on the U.K. civil register the day before. The aircraft is due to begin operations in the next few weeks.
Beijing-based charter and management company Mandarin Air is adding two new aircraft as it works to build its all-Gulfstream fleet. The company on April 15 held a ceremonial acceptance of a G550 that joined its fleet in recent weeks. A G280 is expected to follow in the next few weeks. Once accepted, it will be the first G280 to be based in the region. Mandarin Air received its first Gulfstream in 2013, a G450. The aircraft are based at Tianjin Binhai International Airport. The 550, Mandarin Air says, is a managed aircraft, which formally launches its management business.
The business aviation community this month mourned the loss of longtime Learjet test pilot Pete Reynolds, who died April 10 following a battle with cancer. He was 69. Reynolds passed away just days before he was inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame on April 15 and one day after Bombardier completed the first flight of its newest Learjet, the 85. Reynolds was deeply involved with the development, test and certification of every Learjet model for more than three decades. He joined Learjet in 1973 and retired in 2003 as vice president of flight test for Bombardier Aerospace.
SHANGHAI – The business jet fleet in Greater China is expected to grow by 74 aircraft this year, bringing the total number of executive aircraft in the region to 445 aircraft. That represents an 20% increase over 2013. That is the conclusion of Hong Kong-based Asian Sky Group in its latest and most in-depth report yet on business jet activities and trends in the region. The group, which offers services from brokerage to management of aircraft completions, released its findings during ABACE2014 in its “Greater China Business Jet Fleet Report.”
Japan is beginning to make strides in improving access to business aviation, but Masaaki Kai, senior director general for the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), concedes the operations are still relatively few and more needs to be accomplished. The number of business aviation arrivals and departures in Japan topped 13,000 in 2013, up by nearly 1,300 from a year earlier. At Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, business aircraft traffic jumped by 30%. And Nagoya Airport, which had fewer than 80 business aircraft arrivals, is preparing for a steady rise in traffic.
Bell Helicopter has successfully negotiated Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approval for B1.3 and B2 Part 147 technical training on Bell 412EP and EPI aircraft at its new base in Singapore. Issued for the Bell Helicopter Singapore Service Center at Seletar Park, the latest approval expands the Bell Training Academy’s offering for maintenance courses in the Asia-Pacific region.
Minsheng Financial Leasing Company’s latest agreement to add up to another 60 Gulfstream aircraft to its order book is positioning the Savannah, Ga., business jet manufacturer to continue to build on its already strong presence in the Chinese market. Gulfstream, which handed over its first aircraft to a Chinese customer in 2003, currently leads business jet manufacturers with more than 130 aircraft in the Greater China region. Its fleet has grown by a factor of four in the last five years, Gulfstream reports.
