Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is providing another sign that the political sport of bashing private jets by members of Congress and her boss, President Barack Obama, has run its course. “This is a tough job… but there are some things that come with it, and one of them is a plane,” Napolitano told a National Press Club audience in Washington last week. “I haven’t been at an airport as [an airline] passenger for about 15 months.”
DANIEL GURLEY was named director of membership and business development for the National Air Transportation Association. Gurley previously was director of membership and meetings for the National Association of RV Parks & Campground, where he was responsible for membership recruitment/retention, affinity programs and meeting production. He also has served as manager of legislative and regulatory affairs for the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association and senior research manager at United BioSource.
TONY KOPRIVNIK was named director of the recently added Challenger and Global Express programs at West Star Aviation’s facility in East Alton, Ill. Koprivnik will integrate the Challenger and Global Express aircraft into West Star’s maintenance, avionics, interior and paint operations. He has a background in the Bombardier Learjet, Challenger and global lines, and previously has held positions with Midcoast Aviation, Bizjet Aviation and Eastern Airlines.
Honeywell is revising the software of its MK XXII Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) to correct issues that surfaced with the operation of the look-ahead feature, the company said last week. The National Transportation Safety Board on April 14 recommended that the FAA require Honeywell to revise the software logic in the EGPWS and require all helicopter operators using the system to install the revised software.
DORRETTE KERR was appointed manager of flight administration for John Deere’s aviation department. Kerr joined John Deere Insurance Company in 1990 and moved to the aviation department in 1997 as a flight scheduler. Kerr has served as chair of the National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee.
Embraer delivered one more plane in the first quarter of 2010 than 2009, but with a significantly different mix as its Phenom 100 very light jet (VLJ) accounted for a substantial number of this year’s first quarter deliveries. Embraer delivered a total of 20 executive jets, including 16 Phenom 100s.
TAC Air recently upgraded the interior of its executive terminal at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). The RDU facility became TAC Air’s 12th fixed-base operation with the purchase of Southern Jet in October 2007. The facility was built in 2004 as part of a three-phase general aviation redevelopment at RDU. The interior redesign includes a more open floor plan, customer workstations, new furnishing and expanded pilot lounge, among other improvements.
FAA and the National Park Service (NPS) are seeking public input on the development of a new air tour management plan (ATMP) for Mount Rainier National Park. The ATMP would include “acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any, of commercial air tour operations upon the natural resources, cultural resources, and visitor experiences,” FAA says, noting the plan will have no authorization over military or general aviation operations.
Rockwell Collins’ Venue High Definition Cabin Management System for business aircraft has won the 2009 good design award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Venue also won the 2010 International Forum Product Design Award.
PETE BURESH was named international sales director for Gulfstream Aerospace. Buresh has served with Gulfstream for 17 years, most recently as manager, international sales development. He also has been a senior sales engineer with Gulfstream, an analyst for the company’s Computerized Maintenance Program and a reliability engineer for technical services. He began his aviation career as a systems and reliability engineer for Hughes Helicopters in Mesa, Ariz.
April 12-14 – Air Cargo Management Group’s 8th Annual Air Cargo, Express & Freighter Aircraft Workshop, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Seattle, (206) 587-6537, e-mail: [email protected], www.cargofacts.com April 21 – National Air Transportation Association Day On The Hill Event, Alexandria, Va., 800-808-6282, www.nata.aero April 21 – The joint Wings Club/Aero Club of Washington Luncheon featuring Randy Babbitt, FAA administrator, The Yale Club, New York, (212) 867-1770, e-mail: [email protected]
Cessna has established another Citation Mobile Service Unit (MSU). The sixth MSU, which will be based at McKinley Air at Ohio’s Akron-Canton Airport (CAK), uses a full-size service truck equipped with tooling to perform a variety of Citation diagnostic and maintenance functions, including aircraft-on-ground support. The MSU also can conduct medium-sized planned maintenance events, as well as engine removal.
ROLLS-ROYCE Tay 620-15, 650-15 and 651-54 engines [Docket No. FAA-2010-0301; Directorate Identifier 2009-NE-22-AD] – This proposal would require operators to reduce the approved life limits of High-Pressure Compressor (HPC) Stage 1, 3, 6, 7 and 12 discs. This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by a review of operational data that indicated that the actual stress levels in the discs were higher than originally assumed.
A VIP-configured Airbus A319 has been delivered by Lufthansa Technik to the German armed forces. The aircraft is the first of two specially outfitted A319s ordered for the Special Air Mission Wing of the German Ministry of Defense. The second aircraft is to be delivered in June. The A319s feature a 12-seat VIP area and a separate delegation area that can accommodate between 22 and 32 people. The aircraft is equipped with four auxiliary fuel tanks that enable it to fly nonstop from Berlin to Beijing or Washington, D.C.
Cessna is celebrating the Caravan’s 25th anniversary and plans to deliver the 2,000th model of the utility turboprop later this year. “The Caravan has been a tremendous success for Cessna. Its order book has remained resilient for 25 years, including during this most recent economic downturn,” said John Doman, Cessna’s vice president of Worldwide Propeller Aircraft Sales. Because of its ability to operate from unimproved or makeshift runways, the aircraft has often been involved in humanitarian relief efforts, including the recent airlift to Haiti.
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions has signed a deal with Denton, Texas-based US Aviation, a flight training, aircraft maintenance, avionics installation and aircraft sales operator, to provide 135Pro certification support. 135Pro helps simplify the process and lower costs associated with obtaining a Part 135 certificate. It includes manuals tailored to help charter applicants satisfy FAA requirements, as well as coaching, mentoring and training to facilitate the certificate process.
Cessna Aircraft Company plans to accelerate customer deliveries of the new 162 Skycatcher light sport aircraft, the company says. The airframe manufacturer delivered its first new Skycatcher at the end of 2009 and is notifying customers that, while aircraft modifications have delayed initial deliveries, Cessna and production partner Shenyang Aircraft Corp. in China are working together to ramp up deliveries during the rest of this year. Another group of Skycatchers is being readied in Wichita now for delivery to customers in the coming weeks.
Boston’s Hanscom Field is working to reverse the trend of falling traffic at its facility as it prepares for business aviation’s recovery. In a new report, “The State of Hanscom Field,” Airport Director Barbara Patzner blames the economic decline for a 10% drop in operations in 2009, the lowest in more than 25 years.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) has brought in a number of veteran industry executives – including former NetJets President Jim Christiansen – to shore up its sales organization. The announcement this month comes as HBC’s global sales efforts continue to evolve. This included a major reorganization of the company’s senior leadership earlier this year (BA, Feb. 15/76).
Airshow moving map improvements are now available from Rockwell Collins. The avionics maker says Version 2 software upgrades for its Airshow 4000, which is used on more than 4,000 business jets, include “dramatic 3D enhancements” and an exciting new graphical design that utilizes NASA’s “Blue Marble” map data, which is based on actual satellite imagery.
General aviation and unmanned aircraft engine-maker Centurion is reporting progress in boosting the reliability of its powerplants and says further upgrades are just around the corner. Centurion, the company that sprang from Thielert, which filed for insolvency in 2008, also reports that last year it delivered 360 powerplants and can now offer the 155-hp Centurion 2.0S for retrofit on Cessna 172s. That engine weighs the same as the regular Centurion 2.0 model but delivers an additional 20 hp.
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA Nomad N22B, N22S and N24A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0235; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-010-AD] – This proposed rule would require operators to install an inspection hole in the left-hand and right-hand stub wing bottom skin before further flight and conduct repetitive inspections of the stub wing front spar cap for cracks, per the instructions of Nomad Service Bulletin NMD-53-22 (dated April 17, 2007).
A Chinese manufacturer and a group of unhappy kit-plane builders reached an agreement last week under which the latter will become owners of Epic Aircraft Co., and the former will become a licensee free to manufacture and market Epic Aircraft outside North America.
MARIA ISABEL PERDOMO was appointed independent representative for Texas Aviation Services. Perdomo, who will be based in Colombia, will be responsible for expanding rotor-wing completions and maintenance support business in Latin America for Texas Aviation Services and its affiliate companies RSG AeroDesign and Integrated Flight Systems. She formerly served with Northrop Grumman - Nightline, Inc.
Hawker Beechcraft added a second AT-6 production representative test vehicle (PRTV) to the flight test program. A derivative of the T-6A/B U.S. Air Force/Navy trainer, the AT-6 is under development for the U.S. Air Force’s Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) acquisition program that is expected to launch this year. Hawker Beechcraft has teamed with Lockheed Martin for the LAAR program. Lockheed Martin is supplying mission avionics. The AT-6 is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68D engine, which provides 1,600 shaft horsepower.
