Signature Flight Support has begun construction of a new facility for its Toulon, France, FBO. The company, which operates the largest chain of FBOs in the United States, took over the existing FBO at the Toulon-Hyeres Airport (TLN/LFTH), a former French naval air station, in January and is operating from space in the main terminal while using the airport's VIP lounge for its customers. The facility is aimed at operators of larger corporate aircraft who face restrictions at the established bases of Cannes-Mandelieu and St.
Staff convulsions at the NBAA ended April 1 with the sudden departure of President and CEO Shelley A. Longmuir and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Robert P. Warren and the simultaneous announcement that two long-time staffers, Public Relations Director Cassandra Bosco and Senior Vice President of Operations Robert Blouin, who had earlier announced their resignations, would remain in their positions with the association. Meanwhile, NBAA Chairman Donald E. Baldwin assumed the duties of interim president.
Bipartisan legislation, the Commercial Aviation MANPADS Defense Act (H.R. 4056), introduced March 30, would require the FAA to ``expedite'' the certification process for airplane-mounted systems designed to defend against man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, who introduced the bill with Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, said that the bill would cut the time needed to certify anti-MANPADS systems. Rep.
Luminescent Systems, Inc., a unit of Astronics Corp., was selected as the sole supplier of the exterior lighting system for the Eclipse 500 business jet. The lighting package includes landing, taxi, anti-collision, ground recognition, wing inspection and position/navigation lights. The fixtures will use light emitting diode (LED) and high-intensity discharge (HID) technology, which Luminescent said will provide a significant increase in reliability compared with incandescent-based lighting technology.
Piedmont Hawthorne, Winston-Salem, N.C., has added John Williams as manager in charge of property and development. The position will include responsibility for all real estate issues such as airport negotiations, facility improvements and construction.
Jeppesen has introduced a plug-and-play hardware device that connects to PCs through a USB port to download Jeppesen Skybound updated GPS data and load it on the unit's data card. Skybound features a ``three-in-one'' modular design that supports data cards for Garmin, Garmin AT, Northstar, FreeFlight, Honeywell and ARNAV systems. Users can update from an Internet connection any time.
Keystone Helicopter Corp., West Chester, Pa., has appointed Chuck Hurdleston director of program development for government programs. Hurdleston started with the company in 1998 in its engine services division.
The Aircraft Electronics Association presented Garmin co-founder Gary Burrell its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004. Burrell teamed with Min Kao to launch the company in October 1989. Since then he has been recognized by Inc. magazine, the Kansas City Business Journal and Ernst & Young as the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year for Missouri and Kansas. He has more than 40 years of engineering experience, holding executive positions with Lowrance Electronics, King Radio Corp. and AlliedSignal.
FlightSafety International added Learjet 35/35A and King Air 350 simulators to its learning center in Atlanta. The Learjet simulator is Level C approved and incorporates a VITAL VIII daylight visual system. FlightSafety's Atlanta center also houses Learjet Model 31A, 45 and 60 simulators. Other FlightSafety centers that provide Learjet training are based in Tucson, Wichita and West Palm Beach, Fla. The King Air 350 simulator joins a King Air 200 trainer at FlightSafety's Atlanta base.
The rapid convergence of airborne communications and productivity tools with inflight entertainment technology is subtly altering B/CA's Airborne Office and Information Systems tables. This evolution is driven largely by airlines trying to keep up with their passengers' increasingly sophisticated demands for airborne productivity and entertainment.
A new company, Sterling Aviation, will provide aircraft management, charter, maintenance and acquisition services. Executives from Wisconsin-based Scott AirCharter and corporate flight specialist Volare Partners have teamed to form the new company at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Sterling will be owned primarily by Chris and Dan Doerr, who own Volare Partners. The Scott management team, led by President Tom Scott and Executive Vice President Norah Lenardic, will manage day-to-day operations.
And then Longmuir's predecessor weighed in defending his record against Warren's assertions. In an April 18 letter to NBAA representatives, Jack Olcott said Warren's statements reflected ``a deficiency of knowledge.'' In a long list of specific rebuttals he stated, ```Business as usual' at NBAA was characterized by a high level of staff productivity, excellent relations with other association leaders, high visibility (both in Washington, in the broader GA community, and in the media), and active involvement by the association president.
In two separate incidents in one week, two Cirrus aircraft were lowered to the ground by their CAPS parachute systems. On April 8, near Colona, British Columbia, at 11,500 feet msl at night, owner and pilot Albert Kolk opted to deploy the CAPS parachute system in his SR20 after encountering severe turbulence. All four people on board were unharmed. On April 10, Jeff Ippoliti departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FEX) into a 400-foot ceiling.
Guardian Air Services and Guardian Jet Center, Ontario, Calif., has hired Peter C. Loncteaux as vice president of operations. Loncteaux will be responsible for all aspects of the Guardian Air Services aircraft charter and operations center.
Albert C. Pod President and CEO, Executive Jet Management (EJM), Cincinnati The charter and aircraft management arm of NetJets, EJM now has a fleet in excess of 100 aircraft. Despite a sluggish economy, the company says it's been profitable for the past five years; its charter business grew 36 percent in 2003 and is projected to best that by another 24 percent this year. Overseeing this expansion is a veteran CEO who joined as a lowly captain 18 years ago after losing his job as chief pilot of a large cargo carrier.
Cessna delivered its 5,000th single-engine piston aircraft since the restart of production in Independence, Kan., in 1997. The 5,000th aircraft, a Skylane, was delivered to Karl Fillip of Alliance Equipment Leasing. Hill Aircraft and Leasing Corp., a Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative in Atlanta, facilitated the sale. A decade ago Cessna Chairman Russ Meyer promised that if Congress passed tort reform to alleviate the huge ``liability tail'' that forced him to terminate single-engine piston manufacturing, he would resume production.
Lee County Port Authority, Fort Myers, Fla., has promoted Tom Nichols to department director of operations. Nichols is responsible for all operations, including aircraft and passenger areas of Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field General Aviation Airport.
Boeing plans to slash its corporate flight department and consolidate its in-house flight operations in Gary, Ind., near its company headquarters in Chicago, Ill. A spokeswoman said the company plans to sell a Boeing Business Jet, two Challengers, two Learjets and two helicopters. It will retain one BBJ and five Challengers. Flight bases in Seattle, Wash., St. Louis, Mo., and Long Beach, Calif., will be closed.
The NBAA appointed Richard Doubrava to the newly created position of director, security. He will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the NBAA Security Council in developing policies and programs in the areas of business aviation security, particularly the NBAA's new Secure Access program. Doubrava will be responsible for promoting these views before government officials and public policy organizations, such as the Department of Homeland Security, TSA, FAA and others.
NetJets has begun a five-year program to retire and replace the aircraft in its fleet as they reach 10 years of age, a development ``that will be dynamic in the marketplace,'' NetJets President Bill Boisture told the general aviation panel at the FAA's Forecast Conference.
The TSA plans to issue a request for proposals for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in the next few weeks to boost security in the U.S. transportation system. Darrin Kayser, a TSA spokesman, said the TWIC program is designed to provide a high-tech credential that verifies workers' identities. The program is now in the seven-month-long prototype phase.
WHEN PURCHASING AN aircraft, so many issues -- federal regulations and excise taxes, insurance, finance terms, hangarage , to name a few -- confront the new owner that it could be easy to overlook state taxes and fees. Do not.
Three-year-old CorporateAir Services Inc., an aviation catering company, opened its second facility two blocks from Teterboro, N.J., Airport (TEB). Its original facility is located at New York's MacArthur Airport (ISP) in Islip, N.Y. Between the two locations, CorporateAir now services TEB, Morristown (MMU), Newark International (EWR) and Trenton (TTN) in New Jersey, and Kennedy International (JFK), La Guardia (LGA), Republic (FRG), Westchester County (HPN), Westhampton (FOK) and East Hampton (HTO) in New York. Both kitchens are open 24 hours a day.
Delta Air Lines is cutting its ties with Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA). ACA has been a Delta Express carrier since August 2000 and currently operates a fleet of 30 Fairchild Dornier 328JETs from Delta's hubs in Cincinnati and Boston. ACA is relaunching itself as a low-cost carrier, Independence Air. ACA/Independence Air Chairman and CEO Kerry Skeen said, ``We had anticipated Delta's decision for some time and understand their reasons for ending our code-share relationship.
