Business & Commercial Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno

By Jessica A. Salerno
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, appointed Jeffrey D. MacLauchian senior vice president, Corporate Development.

By Jessica A. Salerno
NetJets, Cincinnati, named Robert Molsbergen president of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Executive Jet Management He will also serve as chief operating officer of NetJets Inc.’s international aircraft management business.

By Jessica A. Salerno
FlightSafety International, New York, promoted Tracy Clough to director, International Teammate Resources. Neil Whiteman has joined the company as vice president and senior counsel for FlightSafety Services Corporation.

By Jessica A. Salerno
Jet Aviation, Zurich, appointed John Riggir to succeed Gary Dolsky as vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation Singapore.

By Jessica A. Salerno

By Jessica A. Salerno
Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Georgia, appointed John R. “Bob” Ranck as the designated successor to Buddy Sams, senior vice president, Government Programs and Sales. Sams will retire at year-end. Ranck will become a member of the Gulfstream Leadership Team and report to Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream, in January 2015.

By Jessica A. Salerno
Summit Aviation, Middletown, Delaware, hired Jeremy Bennett as manager of Business Development. Christin Sherwood is the new Over-the-Counter Parts sales representative.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Jet Aviation Saudi Arabia has recently been approved by the FAA to operate as a repair station for Gulfstream aircraft. With the approval Jet Aviation can support it customers in Jeddah and Riyadh with light scheduled maintenance (A checks) on Gulfstream GII, GIII, GIV and GV aircraft.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Bell Helicopter received orders from the first two customers to take delivery of Bell 429s in Poland. The orders were taken through JB Investments, Bell’s independent representative in Poland. Bell previously had sold three Bell 407GX to customers in Poland.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
The Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association is planning to focus on industry growth during its next MEBAA convention Dec. 8-10 in Dubai. The event is expected to draw more than 8,000 participants, building on 20% growth in 2012 when 7,549 attended from 84 countries.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Mountain Aviation, a Broomfield, Colo.-based charter and management firm, has come under new ownership by a private investment firm, a move the company says will help it expand its core markets in the Rocky Mountain region along with looking at new opportunities in the oil and gas and government markets. The company notes that it has extensive experience operating in rugged environments, giving it “a strong foundation for expanded capabilities” in the oil and gas and government markets.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Jet-A Region High Low Average Eastern $9.13 $4.99 $6.77 New England

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
The reorganization at Bombardier saw additional departures in September as Ralph Acs, head of the Learjet line, Stephane Leblanc, his counterpart for Challenger programs, and Marie-Helene Pelletier head of the business aircraft unit’s supply chain, cleared out their desks.

To the uninitiated determined to do it right, arranging a business aircraft charter can be a daunting undertaking.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
A Frasca Citation CJ1+ full flight simulator (FFS) recently delivered to Nanshan International Flight Academy in Longkou, China, has received CAAC Level D approval. With the notification, academy head Li Fang said, “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Frasca and to ensuring the highest quality flight t

By Fred George
Designers attempt to give exceptional capabilities in all areas, including price, but the laws of physics, thermodynamics and aerodynamics do not allow one aircraft to do all missions with equal efficiency. Trade offs are a reality of aircraft design.

Kenny Dichter is at it again, making business aviation more accessible to a wider group of users as he did when he cofounded the Marquis Jet Card program piggybacked on the NetJets fractional ownership operation. But the twist in his latest venture, Wheels Up, is that the turboprop and jet program isn’t based on 25-hr. jet cards but memberships.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Construction of 250,000 sq ft in new production and completion space is underway at Dassault Falcon Jet’s already sprawling facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, the largest in the French planemaker’s network.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Business aircraft flight operations are poised to increase in September, marking the 10th consecutive month-over-month increase and the 17th out of the last 18 months, according to business aviation research specialist Aviation Research/U.S. (ARGUS) and FAA data. ARGUS, which tracks business aircraft flight operations in the U.S. and Canada, recently reported a 0.9% gain in business flight operations in August, and said operations are on pace to climb another 2.7% in this month.

Gatwick-based Air Partner, which numbers among its clients the British royal family, is reaping an upsurge in chartered jet travel, having raked in 5 million pounds ($8.3 million) in JetCard sales in the first six months of 2014.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Sierra Industries, Ltd., is offering performance upgrades to the Cessna 525 Citation Jet series. Know as the Sapphire, the program is designed to be a comprehensive package of modifications that will enhance performance, reliability and comfort for legacy CJ aircraft.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
Family-owned business jet completions specialist Flying Colours will triple its outfitting capacity at its Peterborough, Canada, base by early 2016 with a major expansion that will increase its dedicated production bays from three to nine. “Our 120,000-sq.-ft.

By Fred George
Rated at 5,907 lb. thrust for takeoff up to ISA+16C, the PW306D is a 2% higher output and reduced emissions version of the 306C that powers the original Sovereign. The engine is a conventional twin-spool turbofan with a 4.4:1 bypass ratio.

By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno
In the wake of two recent crashes within a week of each other in which the pilots are suspected of being rendered unconscious by hypoxia, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation (ASF) issued a safety alert warning to pilots to remain on guard to the condition’s symptoms. The first crash, which occurred Aug. 30, involved a Cirrus SR-22T en route to Manassas, Virginia, from Wisconsin, but entered restricted airspace in the Washington, D.C., and continued out over the Atlantic.