The National Aviation Hall of Fame honored one of general aviation’s most influential figures when it inducted Russell Meyer Jr., former chairman and CEO of Cessna, as part of this year’s class in recognition of his contribution and dedication to the general aviation industry. He joined fellow inductees Eileen Collins, Edward White and James Stewart. The last two were honored posthumously.
Aviation International News » August 2009
July 27, 2009 - 8:13am
Alan Klapmeier, chairman of Cirrus Aircraft, has formed a team to raise funds to try to buy the Vision SF50 single-engine personal-very-light-jet program from Arcapita Bank, the majority owner of Cirrus. “I feel comfortable that we can do this,” said Klapmeier.
July 27, 2009 - 8:12am
The NTSB’s final report on the Sept.
July 27, 2009 - 8:10am
Dassault Falcon on July 10 delivered the 2000th Falcon at its Bordeaux-Mérignac facility. The milestone aircraft–a Falcon 2000LX–was handed over to Istanbul-based Koç Holding. Since the first delivery of the Falcon Mystère 20 in 1965, the Falcon fleet has logged more than 14 million flight hours. Dassault has designed, produced and delivered 17 different Falcon versions to customers in 67 countries.
July 27, 2009 - 7:40am
The UK’s Coventry Airport has opened a new executive jet center and, in a bid to boost business aviation traffic, offered free ground handling to operators during the month of July. The privately owned airport has decided to focus on business aviation and air freight as its two core activities after being denied permission to develop a new terminal for airline passengers.
July 27, 2009 - 7:39am
Joseph Singh, former director of charters for the now-defunct charter operator Platinum Jet, pleaded guilty on July 7 to “a conspiracy to defraud charter customers and brokers and to impede and obstruct the Federal Aviation Administration.”
July 27, 2009 - 7:30am
The FAA moved the reporting of operational errors by air traffic controllers away from a punitive system to “one in which understanding why operational errors occur and how to prevent them takes precedent.” Most notably, operational-error reports will not include the name of the controller involved in the incident, a move meant to encourage the reporting of problems.
July 27, 2009 - 7:28am
Bend, Ore.-based Stratos Aircraft last month began taking refundable $50,000 deposits, which will be placed in escrow, for its four-seat, single-engine Stratos 714 personal very light jet. The first 25 aircraft will be sold for $2 million each, after which there will be a modest, but as-yet-undetermined, price increase.
July 27, 2009 - 7:27am
The NTSB issued six recommendations stemming from the Sept. 19, 2008 overrun crash of a Learjet 60. In its recommendations to the FAA, the Safety Board wrote that it wants Bombardier to change the design of the Learjet 60 thrust-lever system so that the reverse-lever positions in the cockpit match the positions of the thrust-reverser mechanisms at the engines when the thrust reversers stow.
July 27, 2009 - 7:25am
“Only in 2012 will [business jet] deliveries start growing again,” Embraer executive vice president Luis Carlos Affonso said in a pre-LABACE press briefing. He expects 2010 and 2011 will be “difficult years” for the business aviation industry, but noted that there are already signs that the industry is starting to recover. He said the company will meet Phenom delivery goals, if it can build the airplanes fast enough.
