GULFSTREAM GV and GV-SP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0572; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-009-AD; Amendment 39-16866; AD 2011-24-02] – Determine whether a third Halon fire extinguisher bottle is installed in the auxiliary power unit (APU) fragment-impact zone. If so, revise the “Limitations” section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to add restrictions for Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) usage on certain airplanes having a third fire extinguisher bottle, and remove the third fire extinguisher bottle from certain other airplanes.
The Wichita Aero Club has selected Spirit AeroSystems and its CEO Jeff Turner as the recipients of the 2011 Wichita Aero Club Trophy, to be presented at the Wichita Aero Club’s second annual Trophy Gala Jan. 28 at the Wichita Airport Hilton. The award acknowledges the leadership and success of the company since its creation in 2005. The nomination also recognizes Spirit’s contributions to the local community, including through its Good Neighbor Fund. The Wichita Aero Club was established in 2008 to foster and promote interest in aviation in the local community.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 100 and 440 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0648; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-276-AD; Amendment 39-16859; AD 2011-23-08] – Remove the hydraulic system No. 3 accumulator, replace hydraulic system No. 1’s inboard brake and outboard brake accumulators, and replace the hydraulic system No. 1 reducer.
ROY NG was named regional manager, international sales for Gulfstream Aerospace. He will be responsible for sales of new Gulfstream aircraft in Hong Kong, mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. He previously spent four years as director, business development for Metrojet Limited, a Hong Kong-based business aviation charter, management and maintenance provider.
Industry advocates are pushing the Transportation Department and FAA to help fight a lawsuit filed by the environmentalist group Center for Environmental Health (CEH) over the sale of leaded aviation gasoline in California.
Cutter Aviation has been designated an authorized service center for GE’s M601 and H80 turboprop engines. Cutter will offer line maintenance, engine removals and reinstallations, and line-replaceable units and spares for the M601 and H80. GE is hoping to develop the latter powerplant into a competitor to Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PT6. Cutter Aviation will offer the GE engine services at its Albuquerque, N.M.; McKinney, Texas; Phoenix and San Antonio locations.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the Nov. 26 crash of a Cirrus SR20 near Crystal Lake, Ill. that killed four people. The aircraft, N223CD, struck a tree in instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot and three passengers died, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The aircraft, registered to Marion Pilots Club and operated under Part 91, had departed Marion Regional Airport (MZZ) in Indiana on a flight to DuPage Airport (DPA) in West Chicago, Ill.
The line between public use and civil aviation operations is currently so blurred, especially for contract operators, that the time has come to bring all the stakeholders together as a working group to provide clarity on the issue, according to Helicopter Association International President Matt Zuccaro. Zuccaro says HAI feels strongly about the need for a working group and would be willing to sponsor the group.
Dassault Falcon President and CEO John Rosanvallon reports China will be his company’s No. 1 market in 2011, accounting for nearly one third of all Falcon Jet sales during the year now ending.
Embraer completed the first flight of an EMB 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) platform developed for the Indian government. The government, which currently operates four Embraer Legacy 600 jets for VIP transport, ordered three of the AEW&C aircraft. The platform will be equipped with an in-flight refueling system, SATCOM capability and increased electrical and cooling capabilities, along with aerodynamic and structural changes.
Gulfstream Aerospace has opened a sales office in the China World Tower in Beijing’s Central Business District. The office is headed by Regional Sales Vice President Herman Chai, an aerospace engineer from Northrop University in Los Angeles who joined the company in 1988. In addition to English, he is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Hakka. Also based there is Senior Vice President Leda M.L. Chong, a Hong Kong native who served 20 years in the U.S. Navy before retiring with the rank of commander.
Embraer is beginning “full-fledged” operations in the U.S. with last week’s opening of its Global Customer Center in Melbourne, Fla., and the delivery of the first U.S.-assembled Phenom 100 to Kansas City-based Executive AirShare, the company says.
CHRISTIAN SCHLEIFER of Austria was appointed to a one-year term as president of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Air Navigation Commission (ANC), effective Jan. 1. Schleifer has served as ANC commissioner since 2009, and this year he was elected as first vice president. He has an engineering background and has spent 13 years with the Austrian Civil Aviation Authority in the department of certification and airworthiness.
Industry leaders are hoping the White House moves quickly to find a permanent successor to former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, saying the uncertainties the industry is facing in 2012 make strong leadership at the agency even more pressing. At the same time, however, they believe Babbitt has built a strong foundation and set a solid direction for the agency that should continue at least in the short term under acting Administrator Michael Huerta.
The Piper Cherokee carrying the Oklahoma State women’s head basketball coach and three others appeared to have been making turns before entering into a steep nose-low descent and slamming into the ground near Perryville, Ark., according to preliminary information released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Cirrus SR20 is the newest addition to the training fleet of the largest flight school in China. The Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC), which has more than 8,000 full-time students, has purchased 20 of the Cirrus airplanes for pilot and maintenance technician training at its Luoyang campus. Headquartered in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, CAFUC comprises four colleges that operate more than 200 aircraft.
House and Senate leaders are near a final deal on comprehensive reauthorization legislation, and some lawmakers are hopeful that an agreement could be reached shortly. Negotiations on the bill reached the highest levels of Congress—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on the FAA bill last week. And while committee-level leaders are focused on passing a reauthorization bill by the end of the year, Reid notes that Congress still has until the end of January before the current authorization expires.
Embraer has sold 15 Embraer 190s to BOC Aviation, a Singapore-based aircraft leasing company. Deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter of 2012 and extend through 2014. Embraer’s newest aircraft leasing customer has placed aircraft with more than 40 airlines worldwide and claims to have one of the youngest fleets in the leasing business, with an average aircraft age of less than four years.
Travel Management Co. is installing Gogo Biz high-speed Internet service on all its mid-size charter aircraft. Installations are underway and are to be completed in the spring of 2012. The deal involves 21 firm orders, plus options for as many as 30 systems for deployment on additional aircraft. Gogo Biz enables passengers and flight crews to use their Wi-Fi enabled laptops, tablets, electronic flight bags, smartphones and other mobile devices at altitudes above 10,000 ft. in the Continental U.S. and portions of Alaska.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) last week became the latest lawmaker to urge President Obama to drop his proposal for a $100 per-flight fee. In a Nov. 28 letter to the president, Murkowski says the fee would obstruct Alaskan transportation and harm the U.S. economy. “While I agree that our nation’s debt must be reduced, increasing taxes on general aviation aircraft through new user fees could stifle economic recovery,” Murkowski says.
Bell Helicopter has received European Aviation Safety Agency certification of its 407GX. FAA and Transport Canada approved the single-engine helicopter earlier this year. Bell is holding more than 60 orders for the Rolls Royce 250-C47B-powered rotorcraft, and initial deliveries are anticipated later this year. The 407GX is equipped with Garmin’s G1000H integrated glass flight deck, which features two 10.4-inch, high-resolution LCD displays, synthetic vision and a terrain avoidance warning system.
European business-aircraft advocates voiced strong opposition to the European Commission’s draft regulation for airport slot allocation, saying the proposal will lead to privileging one category of airspace users over others and have grave implications for local and regional community economies. The European Commission (EC) released its plan to tighten airport takeoff and landing slot use-it-or-lose-it rules as part of a much anticipated airport policy.
PETER LEWIS was appointed senior manager of Jet Aviation Abu Dhabi’s new operations at Al Bateen Executive Airport. Lewis will oversee operations at the facility. He is a 30-year business aviation veteran with experience in maintenance, project management and quality.
Avions De Transport Régional has sold a total of seven ATR 42-600s to Russia’s NordStar Airlines. The carrier, which had placed two orders and two options for the twin turboprops earlier this year, has purchased another three -600s. NordStar, which will be the first operator of the -600 series in the Russian Federation, already flies four ATR 42-500s in the Krasnoyarsk region and Russia’s Far North. A total of 38 ATR aircraft are in service in Russia and the affiliated CIS countries.
CAE will place a new full-flight simulator near Melbourne, Australia during the first half of 2012. The unit will provide pilot and maintenance technician training for operators of Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics. The CAE 5000 series simulator, which will be qualified to Level D by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, will be used by both business and military operators in the region. Melbourne will become one of 10 CAE locations worldwide for business aviation training.
