M7 AEROSPACE Models SA26-T, SA26-AT, SA226-AT, SA226-T, SA226-T(B), SA226-TC, SA227-AC (C-26A), SA227-AT, SA227-TT, SA227-BC (C-26A), SA227-CC, and SA227-DC (C-26B) airplanes. [Docket No. FAA-2014-0023; Directorate Identifier FAA-2013-CE-048-AD] – proposes to require repetitively replacing and lubricating the aileron chain, sprocket, and bearings in the control columns. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of jamming of the aileron control cable chain in the pilot and copilot control columns due to inadequate lubrication and maintenance of the chain.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC120B and EC130B4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA–2013–1090; Directorate Identifier 2013–SW–017–AD] – proposes to require replacing parts of the sliding door star support attachment assembly, depending on the outcome of required inspections. This proposed AD is prompted by a report that passengers in a Eurocopter helicopter were forced to exit through the pilot door after landing because they could not open the sliding door from the inside.
OLIVIER ZUBER was named international sales manager for Africa for Dassault Aviation. Zuber formerly was Dassault Aviation’s Falcon marketing and business development manager for India. He joined the company in 2005 at the flight test center and then took a role in Customer Service before joining the New Delhi liaison office in 2011. In his new role, he will be based at the company’s Saint-Cloud, France headquarters.
Moody’s cites risk in a planned loan that Atlantic Aviation is seeking for its $195 million acquisition of Galaxy Aviation, but says an improving operating environment this year should help offset that risk. Atlantic Aviation announced late last year that it had reached a deal to acquired five fixed-base operations from Galaxy Aviation for $195 million. The acquisition will provide Atlantic Aviation with a foothold in Florida, with four of the five Galaxy FBOs in the state. The fifth is located near Steamboat Springs, Colo.
BELL Model 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, and 206L-4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0603; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-079-AD; Amendment 39-17706; AD 2013-25-10] – requires, for affected helicopters with a certain tailboom upper left attachment fitting, inspecting the fitting for a crack and other conditions. This AD was prompted by the manufacturer revising and extending the 100-hr. time-in-service (TIS) inspection requirements for the fitting.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model EC135 P1, EC135 P2, EC135 P2+, EC135 T1, EC135 T2, EC135 T2+, and MBB-BK 117 C-2 [Docket No. FAA-2013-0340; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-081-AD; Amendment 39-17630; AD 2013-21-06] – requires, for affected helicopters with a certain external mounted hoist system with boom support assembly installed, inspecting the boom for a crack and, if a crack exists, replacing the boom with an airworthy boom.
TAC Air, which had unsuccessfully battled to prevent the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA) from opening a second fixed-based operation at Chattanooga Airport (CHA) in Tennessee, has pulled out of the market and is setting its sights on expansion at other locations.
Luxaviation, the European business aviation charter and management group, is continuing on its path of rapid growth through the acquisition of French charter and management company Unijet. The acquisition, completed through Luxaviation’s Belgian subsidiary Abelag, helps secure Luxaviation group’s position as one of the largest in Europe with a combined staff of 350 employees and 60 business aircraft.
ROLLS-ROYCE AE3007A series turbofans [Docket No. FAA-2009-0811Directorate Identifier 2008-NE-41-AD; Amendment 39-17715; AD 2013-26-06] – supersedes AD 2010-19-01, which required removing certain high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 2 heels, or performing inspections on them, and reduced their approved life limits. This new AD clarifies the AE 3007A turbofan engine model applicability, further reduces the approved life limits of affected HPT stage 2 wheels, and eliminates the inspections required by the existing AD.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) added helicopter operations to this year’s “Most Wanted List” of transportation safety improvements, citing concerns that nearly 1,500 helicopters have crashed over the past decade. The 2014 list, released Jan. 16, continues to highlight general aviation safety, including a special focus on communication of weather hazards. The rest of the list mostly covers a range of safety concerns in other modes of transportation, and one general across-the-board safety concern involving occupant protection.
Despite a year of turnover within the Transportation Security Administration’s General Aviation branch, TSA has slowly built up the number of approved gateways that provide direct access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and has progressed on other initiatives to increase business aviation operations there.
Wheels Up, the relatively new membership-based private aviation company, is partnering with the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), a nonprofit network of young CEOs. Under the three-year agreement, Wheels Up will have access to the YPO member network through conference sponsorship, marketing and branding opportunities. Wheels Up will also be designated an official partner of YPO and sponsor select YPO events. YPO members will receive additional benefits for becoming a Wheels Up member.
A U.S. effort to provide public-private financing for NextGen equipage is making significant progress, with access to a fund specifically for general aviation users to be provided in the spring.
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced a measure last week calling on the FAA to conduct a formal rulemaking if it plans to press forward with a policy requiring pilots and controllers with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more to undergo obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) testing. The bill, similar to a measure introduced in the House, comes as the agency evaluates potential changes to the policy that it put on hold late last year.
SIKORSKY Model S–70, S–70A, S–70C, S–70C (M), and S–70C (M1) helicopters [Docket No. FAA–2012–0945; Directorate Identifier 2010–SW–110–AD; Amendment 39–17722; AD 2013–26–13] – requires, for affected helicopters with GE T700–GE–401C or T700–GE–701C engines installed, establishing new fatigue life limits for certain GE engine gas generator turbine (GGT) rotor parts.
JOHN SLIETER , vice president of sales for Duncan Aviation, was named chairman of Honeywell’s Channel Partner Advisory Board (CPAB). The CPAB provides recommendations to help make Honeywell’s service and support even better for their mutual end-customers.
Jet Aviation Basel was awarded a contract to complete the interior of an Airbus Corporate Jet ACJ-A320 for an undisclosed head of state. The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to Jet Aviation’s completions center in Basel, Switzerland in the third quarter 2014. The A320 will be fitted with a bedroom, bathroom, lounge and office areas, along with a large executive staff area. Jet Aviation, which has completed an aircraft for the client in the past, is currently consulting with the customer to complete the design detail.
Quest Aircraft Company recently handed over three of its Kodiak single turboprops to TAME AP Airlines. The aircraft will be used for passenger transport and eco-tourism in conjunction with the Ecuadorian Amazon Connectivity Project. The first aircraft is in Ecuador and the second two will arrive this month. The Kodiak has been certified in 14 countries, and Quest expects additional certifications this year.
FAA is asking a U.S. district court to dismiss a lawsuit by the city of Santa Monica, Calif., seeking control over Santa Monica Airport, saying the case is invalid because it exceeds a statute of limitations. The agency further argues that the city is bound by a post-World War II agreement (a 1948 Instrument of Transfer) that requires the continued operation of SMO as an airport, and that the city agreed with that assessment long ago in its own legal findings.
Bombardier and its landing gear provider used a cleaner type of hydraulic fluid than required during the certification testing of key components of the Challenger 300 nose wheel steering system, potentially masking failure modes. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) revealed the finding in its final report on the runway excursion upon landing of a privately owned Challenger 300 at the Iqaluit Airport in Northeastern Canada on March 12, 2011.
Bell Helicopter reached an agreement to sell 20 Bell 206L-4s to Air Medical Holdings Group (AMGH), which provides air ambulance services in the U.S. and internationally. The contract calls for deliveries to begin this year and continue through 2017, both replacing older aircraft already in service and expanding the existing fleet. Bell has been a longtime supplier for AMGH.
A strong fourth quarter, particularly in its Executive Jets segment, helped Embraer to meet its delivery guidance on the year and improve over 2012’s totals. Embraer delivered 209 aircraft for the year, more than 40% of which were handed over in the fourth quarter. That is up slightly from the 205 aircraft Embraer delivered overall in 2012, as well as from the 76 handed over in the fourth quarter of that year. Embraer’s business jet deliveries eclipsed commercial deliveries in 2013, jumping 20% for the year.
Aviation safety expert Argus International is rolling out a Certified Charter Broker Program to provide charter operators and their customers necessary details about their brokers. The program comes as the Department of Transportation weighs comments from a number of industry groups urging the creation of a broker registry. Industry advocates, such as the National Air Transportation Association, have long pushed for such a registry, worrying about an infiltration of disreputable brokers that harm the industry overall.
FABIO REBELLO was named regional senior vice president, international sales, Florida and Latin America, for Gulfstream Aerospace. Rebello will be responsible for new and existing customers in Florida and Latin America, including the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and South America. He joins Gulfstream from Bombardier, where he had served as regional vice president of sales for Latin America since 2002. He had also served as regional sales director for South America for Raytheon Aircraft, and began his career in aviation as an engineer at Embraer.
