Eclipse Aerospace Inc. (EAI) has developed a new windshield application and is completing engineering requirements for an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that would enable the Eclipse 500 very light jet aircraft to return to operations at 41,000 ft. The windshield application and AD requirements were among the last of the original upgrades the company originally promised when it acquired the assets of the now defunct Eclipse Aviation. Those upgrades had been left undone by the former company.
TURBOMECA Arriel 1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2010-0710; Directorate Identifier 2010-NE-26-AD; Amendment 39-16434; AD 2010-19-06] – Remove from service certain gas generator second-stage turbine discs from engines installed on Eurocopter AS350, AS365 and SA365; and Sikorsky S-76A and S-76C helicopters. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by the discovery of metallurgical non-conformities in gas generator second-stage turbine discs.
Sept. 28-30—Fatigue Concepts Course: “Fatigue, Fracture Mechanics and Damage Tolerance of Aging and Modern Aircraft Structures,” Holiday Inn Express & Suites. El Dorado Hills, Calif., (916) 933-5000, http://fatcon.com/ffmdt.html Oct. 19–21—National Business Aviation Association 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention, Atlanta, (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
Aerospace Industries Association has reached a record regular membership of 133 with the addition of 31 new members this year, the association says. The association’s total membership tops 300 companies when counting the 175 associate members. “The impressive gains we are seeing in membership are underscored by the fact that we have retained every company this year despite the economic strain facing the nation,” says AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey.
A Honeywell service agreement with Vector Aerospace will enable the U.K. company to service ALF 502 and LF 507 engines. The accord includes a Honeywell parts supply arrangement and a license to provide engine overhaul and repair services. Honeywell’s ALF 502 and LF 507 engines are installed on BAE Systems 146, RJ100 and RJ85 aircraft. More than 200 aircraft are currently in service worldwide with more than 60 operators.
CitationAir by Cessna is redesigning and expanding its Referral Reward program, which offers Jet Card and Jet Share customers incentives and rewards for referring new clients. With the changes to the program, customers are able to select from a list of rewards, including free flight hours and getaways, among others. “A large number of new customers are referred to us from existing customers,” says CitationAir CEO Steve O’Neill, adding the company wanted to provide a reward program that could be personalized.
ERICKSON AIR-CRANE/SIKORSKY S-64F helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2010-0909; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-026-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct periodic inspections of the rotating swashplate assembly for cracks. If any cracks were found, operators would need to replace the swashplate with an airworthy swashplate before further flight. This proposal is prompted by a report of a swashplate cracking during fatigue testing.
With Cessna’s contract negotiations with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) concluded, attention is now turning to Hawker Beechcraft, which has promised a final contract offer to the IAM for a membership vote by Oct. 9. Unlike at Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft workers will face a yes-or-no vote without the option to strike. If the contract is voted down, the existing one remains in place.
JetAviva has sold and delivered the first Embraer Phenom 100 to a customer in Australia. The Phenom flew 13,142 nm., stopping in Canada, Alaska, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia before arriving in Australia. JetAviva also sold the first Phenom 100 certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency to a client in Ireland. The company has planned additional deliveries to Australia and Asia later this year.
Embraer’s emergence in the business jet market is putting pressure on pricing for all of the manufacturers, notes Edwin Wiest, vice president-senior analyst for Moody’s Investors service. Wiest, who authored a report “Not Just in Kansas Anymore: Hawker Beechcraft Seeks New Union Deal and Considers a Move Out of Wichita,” notes this is particularly true for Hawker Beechcraft.
Sandel Avionics has delivered its first HeliTAWS helicopter terrain safety system to Shreveport, La.-based Metro Aviation, which will install the system on a Eurocopter AS350 helicopter. HeliTAWS incorporates Sandel’s TrueAlert nuisance-alert elimination technology, off-airport landing capability and high-resolution three-dimensional terrain display capabilities to its Class A helicopter terrain awareness and warning system.
A vibration monitoring system for the Bell 212 has received a supplemental type certificate from the FAA. Aeronautical Accessories Inc., an affiliate company of Bell, developed the Bell Helicopter Vibration Monitoring System (BHVM), which provides drive train health and engine monitoring to improve aircraft serviceability and maintainability between regularly scheduled inspections and overhauls.
Women in Aviation, International (WAI) is hosting a regional conference Nov. 5-6 at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, just outside London. The regional conference is being held in partnership with WAI’s two British chapters. WAI calls the conference location “the home of British aviation,” since several aircraft companies were based there, including Bleriot, Hawker, Sopwith, Martinsyde and Vickers. Hilda Beatrice Hewlett, the first woman to earn a pilot’s license in Britain, obtained her license in Brooklands.
The U.S. House and Senate Thursday passed another short-term extension of FAA’s operating authority, pushing consideration of a longer-term reauthorization bill into a lame-duck session of Congress, at the earliest.
CHUCK GLASS , who has served as director of global flight training and fleet programs for Piper Aircraft, was assigned to the state of Brunei Darussalam to strengthen the company’s presence in the region. Glass will concentrate on Piper fleet sales in the Asia/Pacific region. A former senior U.S. Army officer and aviator, Glass joined Piper in April. He also has served as Diamond Aircraft’s chief representative for China and president and CEO for the Beijing Pan Am International Aviation Academy.
Piper continues to expand its supplier list for its PiperJet single-engine personal jet with the selection of Millennium Concepts to provide the seats.
The National Air Transportation Association is holding its FBO Success Seminar Oct. 5-7 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The three-day event will focus on fueling and include a roundtable discussion with major oil company representatives and third-party fuel brokers. Issues to be covered include optimizing operations, lowering credit card interest rates, minimizing insurance premiums, developing long-term customer relationships, marketing for any FBO size, developing a favorable lease and positioning for sale and merger or acquisition. The seminar will also cover legal issues.
Concerns over the carriage of lithium batteries on aircraft have been renewed as suspicions grow that such batteries may have been involved in the fire on board a UPS Boeing 747-400 freighter that crashed in Dubai on Sept. 3.
As Congress prepared its 16th extension of FAA’s authorization last week, the Kansas delegation was appealing to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to take action on a long-term bill to provide stability for the aviation industry.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE SA-365N1, AS-365N2, AS 365 N3, EC 155B and EC155B1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2010-0426; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-34-AD; Amendment 39-16433; AD 2010-19-05] – Inspect each blade of the fenestron tail rotor to determine whether there has been any outward slippage (toward the shroud) of the stainless-steel ring that is around the sleeve of each blade where the blade enters the fenestron hub. If the stainless-steel ring has slipped outward, replace the blade with an airworthy blade before further flight.
As ATR considers a new turboprop airliner to succeed its existing family, it sees a need for a larger aircraft, but not a faster one. “We have to be prepared to respond [to the market],” says ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato. “Today we have a study, but the time plan is not fixed.”
The Corporate Angel Network (CAN) reached another milestone, transporting its 35,000th patient. The milestone was reached this month, not quite 30 years after the first CAN flight in 1981. CAN arranges free flights to treatment for cancer patients in the empty seats of corporate aircraft. The 35,000th patient was 16-month-old William Relyea, who flew with his mother and grandmother from Westchester County Airport to his home in Syracuse, N.Y., following treatment for neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Embraer has appointed Vnukovo-3 Group as its authorized sales representative in Russia. The Vnukovo-3 Group operates a dedicated business aviation terminal in Moscow, providing service for more than 90% of business aircraft flights in the city, Embraer says. The group will sell the entire Embraer Executive Jets product line. More than 30 Legacy 600 executive jets currently operate in the Russian market.
While Hawker Beechcraft has adequate liquidity in the near-term, the Wichita airframer must improve its profitability to avoid long-term troubles when significant debt payments come due in 2014, says a Moody’s Investors Service analyst.
