Archive for March, 2010

The first phase of a two-stage terminal expansion at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport opened to Porter Airlines passengers on March 7. Porter Aviation Holdings subsidiary City Centre Terminal operates the new $50 million passenger terminal and seeks retail, food services, duty-free and other tenants for the 150,000-sq-ft project. Phase one includes lounge facilities, a [...]

Five regional Bombardier maintenance and operations (M&O) conferences are slated for this year. The company is expanding its offering by adding four international venues to this year’s schedule. Two-day regional M&O conferences will be held in Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Atlanta, with one-day briefings to be held in Dubai and Mumbai. Bombardier [...]

The so-called “smart cabin automated dimming system” (Scads) marks the latest stage in evolution of the electrically dimmable E-Shade smart window from InspecTech of Fort Lauderdale. The smart window allows the passenger or crew to “dim” a window from clear to 99.6 percent opaque with a push of a button. To change the opacity of [...]

American Eagle Airlines plans to place nine first-class seats on each of its 25 Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets and ready them for use by July 2, the company announced last month. As part of the service, Eagle will offer complimentary first-class dining service.
In the new configuration the economy sections will hold either 63 or [...]

“Receiving our Part 145 repair station certification from the FAA was an extremely proud moment for me and the entire MSP Jet Center team,” president Tim Ashenfelter said. “From the day we opened our doors we have strived to exceed the FAA’s standards for processes, procedures, quality assurance and program oversight. Receiving our Part 145 [...]

Since opening two years ago, Airbus Corporate Jet Center (ACJC, a specialist in cabin completion work on the Airbus ACJ series) delivered its fourth aircraft in executive configuration in December. The airplane was also the third delivery in 2009. The aircraft takes custom design to new heights, with rare wood veneers, bird’s-eye maple, nubuck leather, [...]

Embraer delivered two E170 regional jets to Bahrain’s Gulf Air during a ceremony at the manufacturer’s headquarters in São Jose dos Campos, Brazil, last month. The OEM handed over the aircraft in a two-class, 67-seat cabin configuration, as prescribed in a three-year lease agreement it signed with Gulf Air just after January’s Bahrain International Airshow. [...]

Eurocopter’s research and development teams are working on several programs to enhance cabin comfort by creating a smoother–and quieter–ride. Among the solutions on the horizon is a five-blade main rotor for the EC155 and EC225, and a piezo-active rotor designated Blue Pulse. The European manufacturer has also developed an advanced anti-vibration system with [...]

The FAA has granted Dassault Falcon the authority to act as organization designation authorization (ODA) for its Little Rock Completion Center and Dassault Aircraft Services-Little Rock facility. The ODA gives Dassault the authority to approve supplemental type certificates (STCs) on behalf of the FAA and replaces the older designated alteration station method of approval.As part [...]

International Communications Group (ICG) has integrated its NxtLink datalink-capable Iridium communications systems (the ICS-200, 220A and 400) with Dassault Falcon’s EASy integrated avionics system on the French OEM’s Falcon 7X. Falcon 7X operators can choose one of three different NxtLink Iridium com systems for use with their EASy avionics suites. The ICS-200 incorporates dual Iridium [...]

Servizi Elicotteristici Italiani (SEI) has received EASA certification for its lightweight cabin-noise and vibration-reduction system  called Silens. The system was approved on an AgustaWestland AW139 and FAA certification is expected early this year.Originally developed in Italy in collaboration with AgustaWestland, the system has demonstrated a reduction in cabin noise from 76 dB (SIL4) to 71 [...]

Moline, Ill.-based Elliott Aviation has signed a service center agreement with Jet Support Services (JSSI) to provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance services, paint and interior refurbishment services, and to supply spare parts to JSSI clients enrolled in the company’s hourly cost maintenance program. Under the terms of the agreement JSSI clients will receive [...]

For the first time since 1988, a new-manufacture production Twin Otter took to the Canadian skies as Viking Air flight tested the first conforming series-400 aircraft at its final assembly facility in Calgary in February. The Victoria, B.C.-based manufacturer acquired the type certificates for the former de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk through DHC-7 Dash 7 [...]

Hawker Beechcraft (HBC) and FlightSafety International have received approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) to conduct theoretical and practical, hands-on technical training to support the Hawker 4000 and Beechcraft King Air C90. The authorization from the Chinese government paves the way for HBC and FlightSafety to provide their MxPro Regulatory [...]

Under the terms of an agreement signed by Starlink Aviation and Amax International Aircraft Leasing, Starlink will complete a major maintenance project on a Bombardier CRJ200. The project is anticipated to create eight to 10 new positions at the company’s Montreal location. “This project could not come at a better time as this development represents [...]

Spirits were high and attendance reached a healthy 15,243 at Heli-Expo’10, held February 21 to 23 in Houston. The number of exhibitors, 596, was higher than last year, and this year’s attendance was the third highest in Heli-Expo history, underscoring the helicopter industry’s assertion that the diversity of the markets it serves has moderated the [...]

Aircraft Technical Publishers (ATP) and Avantext announced the amicable settlement of all federal litigation between them. As part of the settlement, Avantext has agreed to have a judgment entered that ATP’s patents are valid and enforceable. In return, ATP has granted Avantext a non-exclusive license to ATP’s patent portfolio for an undisclosed sum of money. [...]

The National Center for Aerospace & Transportation Technologies (NCATT) is now an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the aerospace industry. The association reached the end of its 10-year partnership with the National Science Foundation last month. “Over the past 10 years, the aerospace industry has been steadily working together to ensure that the pieces [...]

Just as ADS-B was turning into the home stretch, with the FAA announcement of the final rule for mandatory equipage expected on April 10–a date agency officials informally but confidently predicted over the past 12 months–several unrelated events have occurred to upset that forecast. That said, it’s important to add that the separate effects of [...]

Innovative Solutions and Support (IS&S) has added electronic chart and XM satellite weather display to the avionics upgrade it provides for the Eclipse 500. The company signed a contract with Eclipse Aerospace late last month to add the upgrade following FAA STC and TSO approvals.The Exton, Pa.-based manufacturer of aircraft integrated electronic display systems made [...]