Latest from AIN Staff
Aircraft
Eclipse accelerates VLJ production schedule
Eclipse Aviation has accelerated its production schedule for the Eclipse 500 very light jet by seven months and announced plans for its customer-support ne
Aircraft
Quest flies its Kodiak Turboprop single
Quest Aircraft’s new Kodiak high-wing, 10-passenger turboprop single made a brief first flight October 16, exactly two years after the startup dedicated it
Accidents
Airbus, airline react to NTSB findings
American Airlines and the copilot of Flight 587 are officially being blamed for the November 2001 crash of an Airbus A300 after the vertical tail separated
Charter & Fractional
FBO, charter companies team up
Mercury Air Centers and TAG Aviation disclosed a joint initiative to provide travel services through Mercury’s FBO network.
Finance, Taxes, Insurance
Tax law tightens deduction rules
When President Bush last month signed a tax law that extends the “placed-in-service” deadline to the end of next year for new aircraft buyers to qualify fo
Charter & Fractional
Avanti frax ops signs 100th customer
Avantair, which operates a fractional ownership fleet of Piaggio Avanti twin turboprops, signed its 100th customer last month.
Rotorcraft
Halvorson-led team acquires Soloy
Elling Halvorson, chairman of Papillon Airways, and a team of investors composed of helicopter industry executives have acquired Soloy Corp., an engine mod
New local bizav groups forming
Two new local business aviation associations are forming on the East Coast.
Accidents
One Day, Two Crashes, 15 Killed
The NTSB is in the preliminary stages of its investigation into two separate business aircraft accidents on October 24 that killed 15 people.
Finance, Taxes, Insurance
Depreciation benefit bill clears all hurdles
Both houses of Congress passed a bill that extends until December 31 next year the “placed-in-service” deadline for business aircraft purchased on or befor
Regulations and Government
Congress Pulls an End Run on Age-60 Rule
The Senate voted late last night to extend the retirement age for Part 121 airline pilots to 65, sending the measure to President Bush to sign into law.
Regulations and Government
NBAA Commends FAA Decision on SMO
A decision by the FAA that the landing-fee structure at California’s Santa Monica Airport (SMO) unjustly discriminates against certain types of aircraft ha
Safety
FAA Honors FSF’s Ditching Guide
The FAA has given its 2004 Excellence in Aviation Research Award to the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) for publishing a manual on ditching for corporate, f
Maintenance and Modifications
Completions shop opens in Tucson
After numerous delays, start-up company DunnAir Business Jet Completion Center is open for business on Tucson International Airport’s south side.
Avionics
Chelton EFIS Certified in Bell and Eurocopter Models
Chelton Flight Systems has received FAA STC approval to install its FlightLogic synthetic-vision EFIS in several models of the Eurocopter AS 350 AStar and
Avionics
Garmin Introduces Ready-to-Fly Handheld PDA
Garmin has added a long list of aviation-specific applications to its iQue 3600 Palm-powered personal digital assistant (PDA) to create a multitask handhel
Avionics
Jeppesen Demonstrates In-flight JeppView Updates
Showing off the company’s latest electronic database delivery capability, Jeppesen last month marked a noteworthy milestone by sending an entire worldwide
Safety
Advisory circular addresses laser threat
In response to numerous reports of lasers being pointed at aircraft, the FAA last month issued advisory circular (AC) 70-2 requesting all aircrews to repor
People in Aviation: March 2006
David Hupp was named president and CEO of AIG Aviation.
Cabin Interior and Electronics
Phazar Getting Bigger To Take on Bigger Projects
Phazar Flight Support at Meacham nternational Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, is expanding.
Cabin Interior and Electronics
Yingling Looks beyond Caravan Completion Work
Yingling Aviation recently opened a new 15,500-sq-ft facility that will include 12,000 sq ft of hangar space in addition to a customer spec room, shops and
Rotorcraft
MacCarthy Interiors Completes First S-92
MacCarthy Interiors in Surrey, England, has delivered its first Sikorsky S-92 with an executive interior.
Cabin Interior and Electronics
Jet Aviation on Schedule To Deliver Airbus A320
Jet Aviation in Basel, Switzerland, is well under way on an executive/VIP Airbus A320 interior it expects to deliver in July to a first-time customer.
Cabin Interior and Electronics
Competitors Combine Forces in Tucson
In a city that already had two interior completion and refurbishment centers, one more might have been one too many.
‘Ferms’ Tracks Bizav Aircraft Vitals
A new Web-based tool for NBAA members provides business aircraft manufacturers and operators real-time information about business aircraft maintenance and
Buy Your Ticket to Space in 2008
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told a group of space-travel enthusiasts last month that the DOT/ FAA will be ready to issue permits for commercial
Safety
Screening Out Runway Incursions
FAA airport safety researchers have created a prototype taxiway screen that could help prevent runway incursions at airports with taxiways that pass well b
Security
New software simplifies no-fly checklist
Aviation Technologies has created what it believes is a solution to the time-consuming process of checking air passenger and employee names against Transpo
Rotorcraft
Eurocopter expects revenue increase to continue this year
Eurocopter last year secured orders for 401 new civil/parapublic and military helicopters, up from 322 in 2004.
