Keith Plumb, president and COO of regional fractional ownership provider Executive AirShare, is adding the title of CEO effective Jan. 1. Plumb is succeeding Bob Taylor as part of a succession plan that began in early 2013. Taylor, who has been chairman and CEO, will become chairman emeritus, focused on various sales and business development projects in Kansas City and Wichita, and will remain active with the board.
HondaJet received type inspection authorization (TIA) for its HondaJet, clearing the way for FAA to begin certification flight tests. The TIA award follows the certification of the GE Honda HF120 turbofan powering the new light jet. Honda President and CEO Michimasa Fujino calls the TIA a “significant step toward type certification … We are now ready to begin the final stage of certification flight testing.” Honda expects certification for the HondaJet in 2014.
KEVIN BRINK was named sales director, North American sales, Northwest for Gulfstream Aerospace. Based in Oregon, Brink will be responsible for sales in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Hawaii, Nevada, eastern Oregon, Saskatchewan and Washington. He is based in Lake Oswego, Ore. He joins Gulfstream from Dassault Falcon, where he was responsible for sales in western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332L2 and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0487; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-056-AD; Amendment 39-17666; AD 2013-23-11] – requires inspecting the torque value of the bolts that secure the front and rear main gearbox (MGB) suspension bar attaching fittings, and re-torqueing the bolts to the proper value if the torque value is out of tolerance. This AD also requires, if the torque value is out of tolerance by more than 20%, inspecting the bolts, frames, and related equipment for a crack and repairing or replacing them if cracked.
Avflight has increased its chain of fixed-base operations with the acquisition of the fueling and services assets of America Jet at Salina Regional Airport. Avflight will provide the serves out of the existing FBO facilities at the airport. An Avfuel-branded dealer, Avflight operates at eight other locations, including Detroit (DET), Flint (FNT), Lansing (LAN), Saginaw (MBS), and Ypsilanti, Mich. (YIP), along with Durango, Colo. (DRO), Harrisburg, Pa. (MDT) and Roswell, N.M. (ROW).
GULFSTREAM GV and GV-SP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1313; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-080-AD; Amendment 39-17651; AD 2013-22-19] – requires inspecting to determine if fuel boost pumps having a certain part number are installed, replacing the fuel boost pumps having a certain part number, and revising the airplane maintenance program to include revised instructions for continued airworthiness.
Eurocopter is requesting operators of all EC135s twin-engine light helicopters to carry out checks on the type’s fuel supply tanks and fuel monitoring systems. The move follows the recent short-term grounding of the U.K.-based fleet of EC135s operated by Bond Air Services after a series of what have been described as “supply-tank fuel-gauging errors on some aircraft.”
In a move that would mark a major consolidation within the U.S. general aviation manufacturing industry, Cessna Aircraft parent Textron is reportedly buying Beechcraft for nearly $1.4 billion. The Financial Times on Dec. 20 reported the sale.
Cessna is within days of receiving certification and beginning delivery of its new Citation Sovereign midsize and M2 light business jets, but the new Citation X may still be a number of months away. Cessna is working at a “feverish pace” to wrap up the certification programs for the M2 and Sovereign by year’s end, a goal that Brad Thress, senior vice president-business jets for Cessna believes will be accomplished.
FAA is holding off on its plan to require pilots and controllers with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more to undergo obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening, a move widely welcomed by aviation industry groups last week.
James Coon, who has served as executive vice president for the National Air Transportation Association for the past year, is joining the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association as senior vice president of government affairs and advocacy. Coon brings a strong background on Capitol Hill, including serving as staff director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and majority staff director for the House aviation subcommittee. In his new role, Coon will manage the association’s advocacy team on a range of Washington issues.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350B, BA, B1, B2, B3, D, AS355E, F, F1, F2, and N helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0354; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-072-AD; Amendment 39-17665; AD 2013-23-10] – supersedes AD 2010- 21-01, which required an inspection to determine whether a cross-member is installed at station X 2165 and doublers at X 2325 and Y 269, and installing them if they are missing.
SCOTT CLAREY has joined Gulfstream Aerospace as sales director, North American Sales, Southwest. Clarey is responsible for Gulfstream sales in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Utah. He is based in Tempe, Ariz. He previously served as regional sales director for Piaggio America.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0984; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-022-AD] – proposes to require measuring the operating load of the cockpit fuel shutoff controls and replacing the tangential gearbox if the operating load threshold is exceeded. This proposed AD is prompted by the jamming of the left-hand (LH) side of the fuel shutoff and general cutoff controls. The proposed actions are intended to prevent the jamming of the controls so that a pilot can shut down an engine during an engine fire or during an emergency landing.
Avic has launched full-scale development of its MA700 78-seat turboprop airliner, aiming at a first flight in 2016 and first delivery in 2019. New details show the MA700’s cabin width has shrunk during pre-development. Adoption of a narrower fuselage and shorter wingspan than previously planned partly explain a reduction in what already looked like an aggressive weight target. Avic will choose an engine supplier within a few months, MA700 designer Dong Jianhong tells Aviation Week. Bids were due in June.
Signature Flight Support won San Jose City Council approval for its planned $82 million fixed-base operation complex at Norm Mineta San Jose International Airport. The approval included a 50-year lease and operating agreement to build and operate the FBO on 29 acres on the west side of the airport. The city council in April formally approved Signature’s bid to develop the project. Signature teamed with Blue City Holdings, a San Jose company representing the personal aircraft of the principals at Google, on the project.
Industry leaders remain hopeful that the long overdue repair station security rule will finally shake free from its White House review in the next few weeks, but they are still calling on newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to make sure that happens.
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Despite a sluggish third quarter and a government shutdown that delayed $1.9 billion in deliveries, the U.S. general aviation aircraft manufacturing sector remains on pace for nearly double-digit gains in unit shipments this year and is poised to grow by at least as much next year, according to the Aerospace Industries Association. The gains, if they remain on track, would return the industry to a steady upward trend that began after U.S. deliveries hit a nearly 15-year trough in 2010 with 1,334 shipments valued at $7.9 billion.
Atlantic Aviation has reached a deal to acquire five fixed-base operations from Galaxy Aviation for $195 million. Atlantic Aviation parent Macquarie Infrastructure Company plans to fund the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, through a combination of cash, proceeds of an equity offering and a credit facility.
StandardAero completed a licensing agreement to become an authorized maintenance, repair and overhaul center for the Rolls-Royce RR300 engine that powers the Robinson R66. The licensing agreement makes StandardAero the first independent entity with such a designation. StandardAero has already received its first three RR300 engines at its Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada repair facility. StandardAero is also a longtime service provider on Rolls-Royce M250 engines.
ROBERT WALTERS was appointed as a director of Biggin Hill Airport in London. Walters, who spent seven years as business development manager for the airport company, will continue to lead sales and marketing but will also manage customer service. Before joining the airport staff, he helped establish and manage the first civilian handling unit for business aircraft at RAF Northolt. He has also served in the Marine and Aviation Reinsurance section of Wellmarine, a Lloyds of London broker.
