JASON ZELENAK was promoted to sales manager for Aviation Search Group, an executive, direct-placement search firm dedicated to the aviation and aerospace industries. Zelenak will continue to be responsible for customer support, as well as identifying new business opportunities. He joined the company in January 2012 and most recently was a senior search coordinator, recruiting professionals for senior positions with a cargo charter operator, helicopter operator, engine and parts manufacturer and repair station, among others.
Avionics and head-up guidance system provider Rockwell Collins is developing a passive, uncooled multi-spectral vision aid that will see “first light” by early November, marking a key benchmark in the company’s bid to become an end-to-end enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) provider .
GA 8 AIRVAN (Pty) Models GA8 and GA8-TC320 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0823; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-027-AD; Amendment 39-17594; AD 2013-19-12] – requires modifying the fuel system for ventilation and drainage. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the Civil Aviation Authority for Australia, which found that the fuel system integral sump tank does not meet U.S. FAA regulations.
Mooney Aircraft is slated to become the next general aviation manufacturer to be acquired by Chinese interests, according to Chinese news sources. According to Xinhua, real-estate developer Meijing Group has received U.S. clearance to acquire the Kerrville, Texas manufacturer. The deal is slated to close in November. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Wheels Up, the recently launched membership-based charter and broker company, and SilverStone Group, an insurance and risk management company, have joined the Air Charter Safety Foundation. The foundation membership has grown to nearly 110 members.
Flying Colours has broken ground on an expansion of its facilities in Peterborough, Ontario. The project will enable Flying Colours to increase its large-cabin completion and maintenance capabilities.
GREG KINSELLA , president and CEO of Key Air, has joined the Board of Governors for the Air Charter Safety Foundation. The board establishes the foundation’s strategic goals, policies and programs designed to improve air charter safety. Kinsella brings a background in flight operations and safety management systems to the board, along with expertise in manufacturing, maintenance and aviation law.
While most of the focus on the Oct. 4 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) emissions agreement has centered on market-based measures (MBM), business aviation advocates are pointing to other aspects of the resolution – such as technological improvements – as playing an equally important role in reducing global emissions.
Rockwell Collins opened a new customer support center that will be staffed seven days a week throughout the year to provide a single point of contact for its commercial aviation customers
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, AS 365 N3, and SA-366G1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0399; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-064-AD; Amendment 39-17574; AD 2013-18-01] – requires inspecting the collective pitch lever for correct locking and unlocking conditions. This AD was prompted by two separate reports of inadvertent collective pitch lever locking and unlocking. The actions of this AD are intended to detect an incorrectly adjusted collective pitch lever, which could result in loss of control of the helicopter.
REID DENNIS has taken the role of chairman of CTP Aviation, the charter and management firm he founded in 2000. Dennis, who has been a pilot for 50 years and amassed 9,000 hr., is transitioning from the president and CEO role, saying the move positions the company for its next phase of growth.
Redbird Skyport’s fuel-price sensitivity experiment has drawn such an overwhelming response that the San Marcos, Texas-based fixed-base operator is ending its $1-per-gal. offer on Oct. 15 instead of the end of the month as originally planned, saying it simply can’t keep up with demand.
Sentient Jet, the Boston-based jet card and charter sales provider, is expanding its product portfolio, a move the company says is a response to sales that have reached levels not seen since before the financial crisis in 2008. “We started to see a sharp increase in jet card sales at the beginning of the year – a trend that continued throughout the summer,” says Sentient Jet President Andrew Collins.
PIAGGIO Model P-180 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0527; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-014-AD; Amendment 39-17577; AD 2013-18-04] – requires inspections of the main landing gear (MLG) lever hinge fitting (LHF) and, depending on findings, replacement of the MLG. This AD stems from reports that during scheduled maintenance, cracks have been detected at the joint between the hinge pin subassembly and the lock pin of the MLG LHF. Subsequent investigation revealed that the cracks were initiated by an unforeseen friction in the MLG wheel lever subassembly.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-65N2, AS 365 N3, and SA-366G1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0399; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-064-AD; Amendment 39-17574; AD 2013-18-01] – requires inspecting the collective pitch lever for correct locking and unlocking conditions. This AD was prompted by two separate reports of inadvertent collective pitch lever locking and unlocking. The actions of this AD are intended to detect an incorrectly adjusted collective pitch lever, which could result in loss of control of the helicopter.
Cessna’s new midsized Latitude is continuing to take shape as the company mated the wings late last month, keeping the business jet on pace for first flight in early 2014. The wing-mating took place two years after Cessna unveiled plans to develop the midsize Latitude, a nine-passenger aircraft that is positioned between the company’s Citation XLS+ and Sovereign aircraft.
Aircell this month is rolling out a new Gogo Biz inflight Internet equipment package targeting smaller operators, including light jets and turboprops. The ATG 2000 system was developed to bring Internet services to aircraft that have lighter passenger loads, the company says.
Magellan Jets recently introduced a new 25-hr. Wi-Fi Jet card, underscoring the importance of Wi-Fi capabilities on charter aircraft. The card guarantees flights aboard a later model midsize or super midsize jet that is equipped with Wi-Fi. “Wi-Fi is arguably the biggest market driver in charter today, and the 25 Hour Wi-Fi Jet Card addresses that demand perfectly,” says Magellan CEO Joshua Hebert.
Business aviation officials are welcoming the deal on a global system to limit aviation emissions, agreed to on Oct. 4 at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal, saying it provides a pathway toward a single global standard. Approved on the closing day of the Assembly, held once every three years, the resolution commits ICAO to determining the details of a global system of market-based measures (MBM) by 2016, for implementation from 2020.
MARK HOOD was promoted to global market director for general aviation transparencies for PPG Aerospace, based in Huntsville, Ala. Hood has served with PPG since 1984, beginning in product support engineering. Most recently he was original equipment manufacturer market segment manager for commercial transparencies covering Canadian, South American and European airframe customers.
The business and general aviation community has already begun to feel the ripple effects from the U.S. government shutdown, with a range of critical services coming to a standstill – from FAA’s registration branch to an accident investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Not only have more than a dozen new aircraft transactions been delayed, but an investigation of one major business aviation accident has been halted.
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for the FAA to release its enforcement investigative reports (EIRs) to parties appealing emergency enforcement actions. The notice of proposed rulemaking, released recently, expands on requirements of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (PRIA) that was passed last year and designed to provide pilots greater protections during enforcement actions.
BELL Model 206A, 206B and 206L helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0349; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-058-AD; Amendment 39-17576; AD 2013-18-03] – requires replacing certain part-numbered engine auto-relight kit control boxes. This AD was prompted by a design review that revealed the control box chipset did not meet the required temperature range requirements, which could cause the control box to malfunction, disabling the engine auto-relight system.
