StandardAero has received a supplemental type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency to upgrade the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135-powered Hawker Beechcraft King Air F90 to the -135A engine.
The Transportation Security Administration is believed to have completed its work on the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking, and the proposal is said to be at the administrator’s office awaiting approval. The proposal must still undergo Office of Management and Budget review, but officials are hopeful that the LASP proposal will be issued in the spring.
Jan. 24-28—Aviation Week Advantage: Forecast 2011 Webinar Series: Business Aviation, Commercial and Defense, Time: 12 Noon-1 p.m. EST. For more information call Keith Gregory at 1-212-904-4166 or go to www.aviationweek.com/forecast2011 Feb. 7-8—National Air Transportation Association FBO Leadership Conference, Savannah, Ga., (703) 845-9000, www.nata.aero Feb. 9-11—National Business Aviation Association’s 22nd Annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, Savannah, Ga., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
Duncan Aviation continues to expand its line of supplemental type certificates involving the installation of Aircell’s cabin telecommunication router, which provides Wi-Fi access for the Gogo Biz inflight Internet service. The newest STCs cover the Hawker 800XP/850XP, 900XP, Falcon 2000 and Falcon 2000EX EASy aircraft. Aircell’s Gogo Biz service provides high-speed inflight connectivity in the cabin, enabling passengers to use their laptops, BlackBerrys, iPhones and other Wi-Fi devices at connection speeds of 1-3 Mbps.
Hartzell Propeller has developed a new two-bladed Top Prop propeller conversion kit for the Piper PA-23-250 Aztec. The 77-in.-dia. propeller uses blade-mounted counterweights to provide redundant assistance to the propeller pitch control and feathering system, versus the original configuration, which relied heavily on an air pressure charge for these functions.
Bell Helicopter recently sold two Bell 407 helicopters to PHI, a helicopter services company, for use in the transportation of oil and gas workers in the Gulf of Mexico. PHI currently operates a fleet approaching 250 aircraft, and offers services to the onshore mining, international, air medical, and technical services industries.
Reps. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), who on Jan. 20 were officially tapped as the chairman and ranking Democrat of the House aviation subcommittee, respectively, formally sent their letter opposing aviation user fees to President Obama on Jan. 21. The letter, which garnered the signatures of 116 House members in all, expresses support for the existing excise taxes and says the lawmakers believe user fees “would have a detrimental impact on general aviation and the flying public.”
BENJAMIN DOW has joined FirstFlight, the Elmira/Corning, N.Y. aviation services company, to support development of global aircraft sales and acquisitions. The son of FirstFlight founder and CEO John Dow, the younger Dow brings a background in corporate account sales and business development, most recently as vice president of Sand Springs Development in southern Florida. He also has served with Time Warner.
Management at Czech Sport Aircraft (CSA) agrees with Piper Aircraft that “differences in business philosophies” led to the demise of its partnership to market the PiperSport light-sport aircraft (BA, Jan. 17/3). But the Czech Republic-based company maintains that the program is continuing to move ahead without the partnership.
Piper Aircraft has added another former Hawker Beechcraft employee to its staff. Michael Hinderberger was appointed vice president of engineering for Piper Aircraft. Hinderberger will be responsible for all Piper engineering and new product development activities. He joins Piper with a background in program management and engineering, most recently with Belcan Corp. as an airframe integration and certification consultant for Rolls-Royce Deutschland. Before that he was vice president for Hawker Beechcraft and chief engineer for Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Czech business jet operator Grossmann Jet has added a Cessna Citation CJ2+ to its fleet. The company currently operates three private jets out of Prague Ruzyne Airport: a Legacy 600, a Hawker 900XP and now the CJ2+.
AERO Specialties, a Boise, Idaho manufacturer and distributer of aircraft ground support equipment (GSE), has purchased Australia-based JetGo International. AERO Specialties previously had been the exclusive distributor for JetGo, which produces a line of diesel-electric hybrid ground power units.
Nav Canada continues to see strong year-over-year traffic growth, with December movements up 4.6%. For the fiscal year-to-date, traffic is up 5.2% from the same period last year. Nav Canada’s fiscal year runs through Aug. 31. For the three months ending Nov. 30, traffic rose 5.4%. This helped Nav Canada achieve revenues of C$297 million ($299.5 million) for the quarter (before rate stabilization), up from C$281 million in the same quarter in the previous year. Operating expenses were C$235 million, up by C$7 million.
DON FAZIO has joined Baseops International’s sales team. Fazio will be based in Teterboro, N.J., and work with clients in the eastern U.S. He has more than 25 years of aviation experience, including as a dispatcher at American International Group’s flight department.
Market intelligence provider Jetnet LLC has launched Jetnet iQ, a new forecasting and premium advisory service for the business aviation market. The members-only service has three parts: Jetnet iQ Reports, Jetnet iQ Summits, and Jetnet iQ Consulting. Reports offers quarterly state-of-the-industry analyses, voice-of-the-customer insights, and detailed one- to five-year demand forecasts. Summits offers networking opportunities for members to learn about emerging developments and interact with other thought leaders in the industry.
Susan O’Malley—the first female president of a professional sports franchise (Washington Sports and Entertainment)—and National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen will deliver the keynote speeches at NBAA’s annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference Feb. 9-11 in Savannah, Ga. O’Malley will focus on themes of leadership and thriving in a tough business world and will share anecdotes and lessons learned as a pioneering woman in business.
Embraer delivered 100 of its Phenom 100 very light jets in 2010, seven more than in 2009 and more than any other business jet. The company, meanwhile, closed out 2010 with 246 jets delivered, 144 of them executive jets or corporate shuttles. The firm order backlog at year’s end was $15.6 billion, 2% higher than the backlog on Sept. 30. The other 44 executive jet deliveries in 2010 comprised 26 Phenom 300 light jets, 10 Legacy 600/650 aircraft and eight Lineage 1000/shuttles.
Premier Aviation was selected to be the supplier of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services at Windsor International Airport in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Construction of a new 143,000-sq.-ft. facility is to begin this year, and the complex is to open in early 2012. The facility will provide services for Bombardier CRJs, Q400s and Airbus aircraft. Premier expects the new operation will create about 200 jobs in the first two years and as many as 300 over the next seven years.
Gulfstream Aerospace has purchased a 253,000-sq.-ft. facility next to its Research and Development Center as part of a $500 million, seven-year expansion plan announced in November that is expected to create up to 1,000 new positions. The plan includes new facilities at the northwest quadrant of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, renovation of existing facilities on the main campus, and expanding office and lab facilities at the Research and Development Center.
FAIRCHILD/M7 AEROSPACE SA26-AT and -T; SA226-AT, -T, -T(B) and -TC; SA227-AC, -AT, -BC, -CC, -DC and -TT airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0014; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-066-AD; Amendment 39-16577; AD 2011-02-04] – Repetitively inspect the cockpit heated windshields for damage and replace any damaged windshields, per the instructions of M7 Aerospace Service Bulletins 26-56-001, 226-56-011, 227-56-012 and CC7-56-009 (all dated Dec. 1, 2010).
The city of Santa Monica, Calif., Jan. 21 lost its long battle with FAA over the city’s effort to prevent large business jets from landing at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the city’s petition. The court ruled that FAA was not being “arbitrary and capricious” when it said SMO’s ban would make the airport unavailable on “fair and reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination, to all types, kinds and classes of aeronautical use.”
Despite signs of order recovery in the turboprop market, ATR expects another year of treading water this year before deliveries and revenue experience a step change in 2012. Revenue is expected to jump to $1.8 billion from the current level of around $1.35 billion, in part based on the strength of $2.4 billion in new orders (80 firm and 33 options) that the turboprop maker booked in 2010, says CEO Filippo Bagnato.
Bell Helicopter has launched the Magellan program to develop an unspecified new product as part of an effort to revitalize its commercial rotorcraft business. The news is contained in a memo released by Bell Helicopter Textron Canada, which develops and assembles the company’s commercial helicopters in Mirabel, Quebec. Bell previously has talked of following the all-new Model 429 light-turbine twin by launching a new medium twin to supersede the Model 412 and potentially compete with the AgustaWestland AW139 and Eurocopter EC175.
PILATUS PC-6 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0622; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-034-AD; Amendment 39-16570; AD 2009-18-03 R1] – Inspect the upper wing-strut fittings and the spherical bearings, per the instructions of Pilatus PC-6 Service Bulletin No. 57-005, Rev. No. 2 (dated May 19, 2008. If any cracks are found in the upper wing-strut fitting, or if the spherical bearing is not in conformity, replace the cracked strut fitting or the nonconforming bearing before further flight.
