B-N GROUP Models BN-2, BN-2A, BN2A MK. III, BN2A MK. III-2, BN2A MK. III-3, BN-2A-2, BN-2A-20, BN-2A-21, BN-2A-26, BN-2A-27, BN-2A-3, BN-2A-6, BN-2A-8, BN-2A-9, BN-2B-20, BN-2B-21, BN-2B-26, BN-2B-27, BN-2T, and BN-2T-4R airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0314; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-004-AD] – proposes to require a one-time inspection of the fuel filler cap and fuel filler receptacle to determine whether they are at the same modification state and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective action(s).
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and AS 365 N3 [Docket No. FAA-2012-1014; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-058-AD; Amendment 39-17404; AD 2013-06-07] – requires revising the Limitations section of the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) to prohibit flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) or night visual flight rules (VFR) for each helicopter with a vertical gyro unit GV76-1 installed upon a non-reinforced shelf in the rear cargo compartment.
Chinese interest in smaller aircraft is growing, says Dassault Falcon, noting strengthening sales of its Falcon 2000 aircraft in the country. In some cases, operators of large business jets, such as the 32-metric-ton (70,000 lb.) Falcon 7X, are interested in the Falcon 2000 because they realize that, while they require a second aircraft, they need it only for domestic and Asian regional flying, says Jean Michel Jacob, senior vice president for international sales at Dassault Falcon.
Cessna Aircraft is cutting light jet production and reducing costs as the company is now facing the prospect of another down year. The moves follow a first quarter in which Cessna posted an $8 million loss and its business jet deliveries fell to 32. The loss eclipsed the $6 million segment loss in first quarter 2012. And, first quarter 2013 deliveries were down by six jets over the same period in 2012.
RON HIGBY was appointed vice president, sales and marketing for StandardAero’s Airlines and Fleets business. Higby will lead engine business sales efforts, including for the CFM56, CF34, PW100, PT6, PW600 and AE3007, along with a range of auxiliary power unit platforms. He previously was vice president, worldwide airlines sales for GE Aviation.
Former Cessna aircraft executives Tim and Dianne White have acquired the aircraft sales and consulting firm Kansas Aircraft Corporation. Based at the New Century Air Center (IXD) in the Kansas City area, Kansas Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1990 by Michele Stauffer, who will remain in an advisory and sales capacity. Under the new ownership, Kansas Aircraft will continue to focus on new Cessna single-engine, high-end piston, heavy twins, and turboprop aircraft. It will also provide consultancy services for business jet operators.
TYSON GOETZ has joined Landmark Aviation as vice president. Goetz has more than 10 years of industry experience, most recently as senior regional manager for Atlantic Aviation. In his new role, he will focus on service operations, finance and business development, among other areas.
Business jet operations marked an improved accident record in the first quarter, but the overall business aviation safety record was mixed, with the number of turboprop fatal accidents and fatalities increasing, according to safety expert Robert E. Breiling Associates.
The Embraer/Avic joint company in Harbin, China, has begun assembling its first Legacy 650 business jet, on schedule for delivery late this year. Workers who will assemble Legacy 650s at Harbin are the same as those who formerly assembled ERJ-145 regional jetliners at the plant, says Guan Dongyuan, president of Embraer’s Chinese operation. The Legacy 650 is based on the ERJ-135, a shortened ERJ-145. Guan says that the program is on track. Capacity will be 20 a year, with a plan to ramp up to six aircraft delivered in 2015.
Beechcraft received orders from Qingdao Jiutian International Flight Academy (JTFA) in China for a King Air C90GTx turboprop and from Nakanihon Air Service in Japan for a King Air B200. JTFA is one of two Civil Aviation Administration of China CCAR-141 certificated domestic flight schools in China. This King Air will be used to help expand the academy’s high-performance pilot training program in China.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has named Mary Lynn J. Rynkiewicz director of communications. Rynkiewicz joins GAMA from the NextGen Institute, where she was communications and contract manager, writing and managing quarterly newsletters, website articles, and the annual report. She also has served as editorial manager for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she edited scholarly publications and placed opinion pieces in The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and Foreign Policy.
Jet Aviation has added seven aircraft to its managed fleet in Asia in recent months, growing the total in the region to 25 aircraft. Four of those aircraft have joined the fleet this spring – including a Gulfstream G450, Bombardier Global 5000, Dassault Falcon 7X and Gulfstream G650. The company is expanding its operations team in the region to meet the increased demand. This includes the addition of a full-time safety manager, and the dispatcher staff at the company’s Hong Kong aircraft management and charter division has increased to 12.
At least two sites for a potential business aviation airport for Beijing are being explored by China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., according to its aviation consultant, London-based lawyer David Tang. The development, when and if it happens, should allow business aviation slots to be switched to airlines at the city’s main airport, Beijing Capital International.
Embraer’s 12 executive jets delivered in the first quarter were below analyst expectations and foreshadows what is expected to be another sluggish quarter for the light end of the business jet market. Embraer delivered 29 commercial and business aircraft in the first quarter, and increased its backlog by $800 million to $13.3 billion. Of the 12 business aircraft delivered, eight were Phenoms (five 100s and three 300s) and four were Legacy 650s.
April 22-23—National Air Transportation Association Aviation Business and Legislative Conference, Renaissance Capital View, Arlington, Va., 703-845-9000, www.nata.aero April 29-30—Aircraft Electronics Association Regional Meeting, Munich, Germany, www.aea.net/events.asp April 30–May 2—National Business Aviation Association 2013 Maintenance Management Conference, Ft. Worth, Texas, (703) 783-9000,www.nbaa.org May 3—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Taxes Seminar, Washington, D.C., (703) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
Key Air, an Oxford, Conn.-based charter and management business, promoted Greg Kinsella to president and CEO, succeeding Bob Marinace. Kinsella, who has original equipment manufacturer, airline and charter/management experience, had been vice president of business development for the company. He has also served with British Aerospace, Saab Aircraft and Rolls-Royce North American, in addition to holding leadership positions with American Eagle Airlines and Arcadia Aviation.
Embraer, accruing more than 150 hr. on its Legacy 500 midsize jet, hopes to have the smaller 450 join the flight test program by year’s end. The company cut metal on the 450 light-mid aircraft in August and expects to finish the wing next month with the fuselage sections joining in July. This would put the 450 on pace for first flight sometime in the second half of 2013, about a year after the 500 first flew.
Cessna’s newest Citation X came off the assembly line, bringing the Mach 0.935 airplane closer to reaching market this year. The new X, a speedier, improved version of the X currently on the market, is one of six new or follow-on products that Cessna hopes to bring to market this year and one of at least nine in various stages of production or research. But the X – which was originally announced as the “Ten” in late 2010 – was the first of Cessna’s new pipeline of products to be announced after the economic downturn began.
Beechcraft is finding growing interest in its turboprop aircraft from private customers in China, increasing its reach in the market that had once been primarily limited to aviation schools and government uses. Beechcraft took its first order from a Chinese private buyer in 2011, says Ted Farid, vice president for sales in the Asia-Pacific region. The total is now eight, among 22 Beechcraft aircraft operating in China and 10 on order, Farid said in an interview ahead of the opening of the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition.
The U.S. Federal Claims Court has ruled that the U.S. Air Force rightly allowed Sierra Nevada and Embraer to continue work on the first of 20 A-29 Super Tucanos for the Light Air Support (LAS) program, despite protests by losing bidder Beechcraft. The decision clears the way for the winning team to continue pushing to deliver aircraft for use in Afghanistan next year.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1003; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-064-AD] – revises an earlier proposed AD that would require replacing all three advance pneumatic detectors (APDs) with new detector assemblies. That proposal was prompted by reports of ADPs for engine fire/overheat detector assemblies failing to reset after activation due to permanent deformation of the detector switch diaphragm after being exposed to high temperatures. This action revises that NPRM by adding airplanes to the applicability.
CESSNA Models 190, 195 (L-126A,B,C), 195A, and 195B airplanes that are equipped with certain inboard aileron hinge brackets. [Docket No. FAA-2012-18033; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-16-AD; Amendment 39-17400; AD 2004-21-08 R1] – revises an existing AD that currently requires repetitively inspecting the affected inboard aileron hinge brackets for cracks or corrosion and replacing them if cracks or corrosion are found. Replacement with aluminum brackets would terminate the need for the repetitive inspections.
West Star Aviation sold its Dallas (DAL) facility to Waypoint Holding as the company consolidates and expands services at its East Alton, Ill. (ALN), Grand Junction, Colo. (GCT), and Columbia, S.C. (CAE) facilities. The sale will enable the company to focus on growing the CAE facility, along with bolstering its service at ALN and GCT, the company says. West Star is adding a 15,000-sq.-ft. interior and hydraulic department at ALN, while the company is adding onto its hangar at GCT to provide maintenance and storage space.
