There are a variety of programs to help flight departments spread out or control maintenance costs, but do these programs make sense in the long run? That depends on a lot of variables. The purpose of this article is to explain how the programs work and how managers can make good decisions about which options are best for their respective operations.
AOPA, Frederick, Md., named Elizabeth Tennyson vice president of ePublishing. Tennyson will oversee all aspects of the AOPA's electronic communications.
Corporate Angel Network, White Plains, N.Y., has elected two new board members: James E. Schuster, chairman and CEO of Raytheon Aircraft Co., and Dick Koenig, vice president and publisher of Flying magazine.
The Carlyle Group will acquire Garrett Aviation Services from GE and intends to combine it with its Piedmont Hawthorne FBO chain, the company announced on July 19. Frank Klaus, the president of Garrett Aviation Services, will head the joint company as CEO. Garrett Aviation Services is headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., and provides services that include engine and airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul services, avionics installations and interior refurbishment. Garrett employs more than 1,000 people in nine facilities located throughout the United States.
Duncan Aviation, Battle Creek, Mich., has named Suzanne Hawes as a completions sales representative. Hawes will be based at Duncan's Battle Creek facility, marketing the company's interior and exterior refurbishment services.
The Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM) awarded honors at its annual meeting recently. The Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Stephen Harms, the Student of the Year Award was given to Christi Garner, and Janice Whittaker received the Beyond All Odds Award.
Both entry-level/personal jets and long-range business jets are expected to be dynamic market segments, according to Forecast International. The entry-level segment not only includes such aircraft as the Cessna CJ1/2/3 and the Raytheon Beechcraft Premier I, but also includes new, so-called very light, or ``personal'' jets such as the Cessna Mustang and the Eclipse 500. These latter two aircraft are expected to provide much of the growth in the entry-level category during the next 10 years.
Mercury Air Centers, Inc., Atlanta, has appointed John Enticknap president and CEO of the company. Enticknap, who has been with Mercury for nearly 10 years and was most recently vice president and chief operating officer, has more than 35 years of experience in the aviation fueling and service industry.
Air Methods won FAA STC approval for an upgraded BK117 emergency medical interior. The company said there are about 220 Eurocopter BK117 twin-engine helicopters operating worldwide, 120 of which are based in the United States.
Sage Parts, Farmingdale, N.Y., a supplier of replacement parts for aircraft ground support equipment (GSE), has appointed Elgan Brooks manager of its newly formed GSE Services business unit.
Adam Aircraft formed an advisory council to provide strategic guidance in engineering, interior definition, product support and other entry-into-service activities for the A700 AdamJet. Joe Walker, president of Adam Aircraft, will preside as chairman, with Pete Reynolds, Curtis Van Nice, and Stephan Hanvey serving as council members. Reynolds is Learjet's former vice president of flight test. Curtis Van Nice co-founded K-C Aviation.
Air Evac Lifeteam has been acquired by Brockway Moran & Partners and Meridian Venture Partners. A major provider of air medical transportation and urgent care services to rural Midwestern communities, Air Evac Lifeteam, which is headquartered in West Plains, Mo., operates the world's third largest fleet of Bell 206L LongRanger helicopters and has flown more than 73,000 people in critical need of care since its founding in 1985.
Meanwhile, both FAA's Schuessler and TSA's Fleming said new procedures have been put in place to prevent another June 9 scramble from recurring. Schuessler said the FAA has developed a ``six-point action plan'' that includes ``training and retraining of FAA personnel and pilots flying into the Washington ADIZ,'' and cited the June 18 NOTAM. Agencies also have taken steps to improve the flow of information at the NCRCC.
Among the five national winners of the U.S. Small Business Administration and HP's Celebrating Women in Business Awards, named in May, was Millie Hernandez-Becker of air charter company Jet Equity in White Plains, N.Y.
The NBAA's Pete West said his association welcomes statements from the TSA that that agency has sent a plan to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to lift the ban on general aviation operations at DCA for some aircraft. The association hopes this means that the plan will mirror its recommendations to allow ``security-qualified'' flights back into the airport. NBAA wants the DHS to implement a rule for access to DCA by Nov. 30, and this deadline has been included in the House version of the fiscal year 2005 DHS appropriations bill.
Gulfstream Aerospace has received an FAA STC for Safe Flight Instrument's AutoPower automatic throttle system for the Gulfstream G200. AutoPower is a factory option and is available as a retrofit for the existing 92 aircraft in the G200 fleet. AutoPower integrates with the G200 systems to compute and maintain target engine settings for airspeed control during critical phases of flight, particularly approach and landing.
THERE IS QUITE A BIT of confusion about the commercial Federal Excise Tax (FET) as it relates to medical flights. In the eyes of the IRS there are two types of medical flights: regular medical flights and emergency medical flights. The ultimate categorization of the flight could determine whether the FET applies to any or all of the flight, a determination that could increase expenses by 7.5 percent, plus a $3.10 per-person per-segment fee.
AirCell, Louisville, Colo., has appointed Tom Myers to the position of director, marketing. AirCell designs, manufactures, markets and supports a full product line of airborne telecommunications systems.
Former NTSB member John Goglia has hit the ground running, simultaneously appointed senior vice president of government and technical programs for the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association and joining the faculty of St. Louis University's Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. At PAMA, Goglia will spearhead the association's efforts to gain U.S.
B/CA's Fred George and David Esler were among this year's recipients of Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards presented in London during July's Farnborough Air Show. Senior Editor George took home two silver trophies; his ``Your First Atlantic Crossing'' (B/CA, February 2004) won the Gulfstream Award for Best Business Aircraft Submission, which was presented to him by Gulfstream's Robert Baugniet, and his ``Dassault Falcon Jet's EASy Cockpit'' (B/CA, October 2003) earned the World Leadership Forum Award for the Best Avionics Submission.
Falcon Jet Centre, Farnborough, England, has appointed James Gillborn as business manager. He is responsible for expanding Falcon Jet's charter and aircraft management business.
U.K. pilot training company Atlantic Flight Training and Boeing's Jeppesen business unit have formalized a partnership to develop training material for the JAA's ATP theory course. The partnership plans to add training for commercial , instrument and private pilots license. In addition to developing traditional textbooks for each certificate and rating, Jeppesen and AFT will introduce a full line of supporting products, which may include test preparation, study guides, maneuvering manuals, JAA syllabi, lesson plans and instructors' manuals.
Butler National's Avcon Industries received an order to install its cargo door modification in two Dassault Falcon 20 airplanes. The installations, which typically are priced at $525,000 each, will be performed at the company's Newton, Kan., facility.
