Rolls-Royce marked Heli Expo 2016 here by reaching agreements with Enstrom and newcomer Innova, as well as securing additional applications with MD Helicopters.
Aviation Week & Space Technology held its 59th annual Laureate Awards March 3 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The award in the business aviation category went to Scott Ernest, president and CEO of Textron Aviation, and Scott Donnelly, chairman, president and CEO of Textron, for saving Hawker Beechcraft, rejuvenating Cessna with aircraft upgrades and new turbine models, expanding its support network and creating a new manufacturing and training division.
True Blue Power, based in Wichita, announced that its lithium-ion engine-start battery will power Bell Helicopter’s new 505 Jet Ranger X. The helicopter relies on a high-power, low-maintenance battery ideal for rugged environments, it said. The Tb17 battery uses proprietary Nanophosphate lithium-ion cell chemistry to provide power, energy, safety and life.
Bell Helicopter’s blade repair operation has received FAA approval to repair Van Horn composite tail rotor blades for Bell 206 Series models. Its facility is based in Broussard, Louisiana.
Bell Helicopter announced that it is a distributor of several new products, including its Aeronautical Accessories brand, LED Super Nightscanner, Bell 206 series Van Horn rotor blades and products from the Airglas product line. In other Bell news, the company announced that Able Aerospace Services, based in Mesa, Arizona, is Bell’s newest service center. Able was recently acquired by Textron Aviation and provides component repairs, component exchanges and replacement parts and other offerings.
Satcom Direct’s FlightDeck Freedom datalink and Universal Weather and Aviation’s online flight planning and weather services are now offered as a bundle. The partnership offers seamless datalink and flight planning, the companies said. Satcom Direct FlightDeck Freedom datalink and Universal flight planning are integrated through Universal’s do-it-yourself mission planning called uvGO.
Belcan, based in Cincinnati, has completed its acquisition of East Kilbride Engineering Services, an engineering consultancy company based in Europe. Terms were not disclosed. The deal was first announced in January. Belcan is owned by AE Industrial Partners.
West Star Aviation, based in East Alton, Illinois, has received a Supplemental Type Certificate for the upgrade of the Honeywell CAS-81A/TPA-81A or CAS-100A/TPA-100A with 7.0 software to the CAS-100B/TPA-100B with 7.1 software. The list applies to various Hawker, Citation, Challenger, Falcon and Gulfstream aircraft models. TCAS II 7.1 software improvements include the level off and reversal logic functions. Europe mandated the new software requirements effective December 2015. There is no proposed FAA mandate at this time for TCAS 7.1.
West Star Aviation has received an Organizational Design Authorization allowing them to issue Supplemental Type Certificates on behalf of the FAA. The company is now authorized to show compliance on behalf of the FAA for STCs. It recently issued an STC on the FAA’s behalf. The authorization is a “huge milestone” for the company, it said.
SKYTRAC has joined with Flight Data Services for enhanced Flight Data Management Services. Under the agreement, the flight data graphing, visualization and analysis features of Flight Data Services’ POLARIS FDM platform will be directly imbedded in SKYTRAC’s SkyWeb online data management portal. SKYTRAC will also be supported by Bly Data Services’ team of flight data analysts. SKYTRAC fixed and rotary wing customers will now have one-stop access to self-serve report and personalized analysis.
Banyan Air Service, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has signed an agreement with Aircraft Technical Publishers to transition Banyan’s technical information library from CD-based services to the ATP Aviation Hub, a cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) application. The change will allow Banyan staff to access technical and other information on any Internet-enabled device.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Campus and Universal Helicopters have extended a 2010 agreement to exclusively provide helicopter training to Embry-Riddle students. The program is designed to train students from zero time through a Certified Flight Instructor certificate. Since 2010, more than 150 students have received training through Universal Helicopter’s fleet of Robinson R22 and R44 aircraft.
FOKKER SERVICES B.V. Model F.27 Mark 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 aircraft. [Docket No. FAA-2015-3633; Directorate Identifier 2014-NM-097-AD; Amendment 39-18416; AD 2016-04-22] This AD was prompted by a design review conducted by Fokker Services B.V. that indicated no controlled bonding provisions were present on many critical locations outside the fuel tank or connected to the fuel tank wall.
DASSAULT AVIATION Model FALCON 900EX and FALCON 2000EX airplanes. [Docket No. FAA-2015-3144; Directorate Identifier 2014-NM-110-AD; Amendment 39-18403; AD 2016-04-09] This AD was prompted by a report of significant fuel leakage at the middle position of the left outboard slat. This AD would require modifying the assembly of the slat extension mechanical stop.
M7 AEROSPACE LLC Models SA26-AT, SA226-T(B), SA226-AT, SA226-T, SA226-TC, SA227-AC (C-26A), SA227-AT, SA227-BC (C-26A), SA227-CC, SA227-DC (C-26B), and SA227-TT aircraft. [Docket No. FAA-2015-3607; Directorate Identifier 2015-CE-010-AD; Amendment 39-18398; AD 2016-04-04] This AD was prompted by information that the airplane flight manual (AFM) does not provide adequate guidance in the handling of engine failures, which may lead to reliance on the negative torque system (NTS) for reducing drag.
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS (previously Eurocopter France) Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350C, AS350D, AS350D1, AS355E, AS355F, AS355F1, AS355F2, AS355N, and AS355NP helicopters. [Docket No. FAA-2015-2568; Directorate Identifier 2014-SW-026-AD; Amendment 39-18424; AD 2016-05-06] This AD supersedes AD 2014-07-52, which required repetitively inspecting certain reinforcement angles of the rear structure to tailboom junction frame (reinforcement angles) for a crack at 10 hr.
Thomas Hendricks, president and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association, based in Washington D.C., announced plans to resign, effective Aug. 31, 2016. A member of NATA’s board of directors will assume duties as interim president and CEO effective September 1 until a successor is named. NATA’s Senior Vice Presidents William Deere and Timothy Obitts will oversee the association’s daily activities.
Jan van der Heul has been appointed vice president of sales at Skytrac Systems. Van der Heul most recently was at CHC Helicopter, where he led a global team of account managers responsible for a helicopter oil and gas portfolio. Stephen Mitchell has been appointed sales director for Aura Aviation’s new rotary division, which operates as JetBrokers. Aura Aviation is based in the U.K.
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service has lowered is revenue and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) forecast for Bombardier for the next two years, primarily due to pressure in the company’s aerospace business, it said.
JetSmarter has formed a partnership with private jet charter operator Jet Edge International, in a deal valued at $350 million over the next seven years.
U.S. helicopter service provider Era Group has become the third operator to sign up to develop new missions for the AgustaWestland AW609 commercial tiltrotor.
Seeker Aircraft will begin manufacturing its light observation aircraft in the U.S., the company said. It was previously manufactured only in Australia.
