May 5, 2005 From the editors of Aviation International News   Subscribe | www.ainalerts.com | Feedback | Bizav Web Directory | Calendar | Advertise | www.ainonline.com

Dassault Falcon 7X Takes Flight
This morning, at Dassault Aviation’s facility in Bordeaux Mérignac, France, Falcon 7X S/N 1 took to the skies for the first time. Pilots Yves Kerherve and Philippe Deleume were at the fly-by-wire controls when the trijet lifted off at 8:45 a.m. EST on a 1 hour 36 minute flight. At 10,000 feet and 25,000 feet several systems were tested, including landing gear cycling. Future flights will continue from the Dassault Test Center in Istres, France. The second test 7X is scheduled to arrive in Istres in the next 30 to 45 days and the third test aircraft is expected to arrive this summer. Falcon 7X S/N 3 will be outfitted with a full interior and will be used for long-range and endurance tests, as well as interior sound level validation. Approximately 1,000 flight test hours will be logged before FAA and EASA award the airplane certification, which is expected in late 2006. A static and fatigue test airframe has been undergoing tests at CEAT in Toulouse since March. Announced at the 2001 Paris Air Show, the 7X is the first Falcon to receive orders for more than 50 aircraft before first flight, according to Dassault. With a delivery lead time into early 2009, Dassault said it expects to increase production of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307A-powered Falcon 7X from 2.5 to 3 aircraft per month.

Embraer Announces P&WC-powered Light Jets
Precisely a month after AINalerts reported that Embraer was planning on announcing its entry into the light business twinjet market, the Brazilian manufacturer of regional jets and the derivative Legacy business jet on Tuesday evening revealled details of the new projects. The company will offer first a very light jet (VLJ) followed by a light jet, both clean-sheet designs sharing several main components. Embraer said its VLJ will be powered by two 1,615-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617Fs, carry up to eight people and have an NBAA IFR range of 1,160 nm (with four people), a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.70 and a ceiling of 41,000 feet. It is expected to enter service in mid-2008 and have a price of $2.75 million (2005 dollars)–the highest acquisition price of any VLJs in development. Embraer’s light jet is slated to be powered by two 3,200-pound-thrust P&WC PW535Es, accommodate up to nine people and have an NBAA IFR range of 1,800 nm (with six people), a maximum speed of Mach 0.78 and a ceiling of 45,000 feet. It is priced at $6.65 million (2005 dollars) and is expected to enter service in mid-2009. For Embraer’s VLJ, P&WC won over two other engine contenders–Williams International and GE/Honda.

Grass-roots Participation Urged in Fighting User Fees
In an open letter to members, NBAA chairman Ken Emerick yesterday called on the entire business aviation community to help the association succeed in fighting user fees and retaining the fuel tax as “the sole means for general aviation to pay for its use of the ATC system.” To facilitate communication between the business aviation community and Congress, Emerick announced the unveiling of a new “user-friendly online product that will make contacting your federal representatives easy.” The link, Contact Congress, can be found at the top right corner of NBAA’s home page (www.nbaa.org). It is available to nonmembers as well as members. After completing a brief form the software will automatically include your information in an introductory letter to your senators and congressmen. The letter can be modified in any way, including omitting or including company names. “Having NBAA’s professional staff working the halls of Congress is important, but will not be enough,” Emerick said. “We need strong grass-roots participation from everyone involved in business aviation.”

CompletionAir Closes Doors after Five-year Struggle
When it opened in 2000, CompletionAir president Mike Ward recalled, “Our competitors said we’d never find a place for the business, then they said we’d never find an airplane and then they said even if we did we’d never make any money.” The completion and refurbishment startup indeed found financial backers, acquired hangar space at St. Louis Regional Airport and won an interior refurbishment contract on a Falcon 900, “and we made money.” Now, five years later, CompletionAir is out of business. The company’s last customer airplane was a Boeing 767-200 completed in February 2004. Efforts to win several other widebody interior contracts failed and the company surrendered its FAA repair station certificate and closed its doors on April 30. But the facility is not empty. Premier Air Center, also a resident at St. Louis Regional and an interiors shop, has moved part of its work into the hangar, and many of the former CompletionAir employees have moved to Premier.

Eurocontrol To Test Foreign Aircraft Alarm System
Eurocontrol will this summer begin testing an alarm system to alert local officials to the imminent arrival of a foreign aircraft that has previously been found to be in violation of European safety standards. Under the JAA’s Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) program, ramp checks involving the inspection of nearly 60 items are carried out to monitor compliance with safety requirements for all aircraft flying to any airport in the 42 member states of the European Civil Aviation Conference. The new procedure will allow national aviation authorities to send SAFA alarm messages identifying noncompliant aircraft, or operators on which they have imposed a ban, to Eurocontrol’s central flow management unit (CFMU). The CFMU, which coordinates en route slots, will compare this data with the flight plans that have been submitted to it and advise where the banned aircraft will be landing. For more information, go to http://www.jaa.nl/safa/safa.html.

The FAA recently issued a reminder that pilots who have been cited for driving under the influence must report alcohol and related motor vehicle actions (MVA) to the FAA within 60 days after the action. Regulations also permit enforcement actions to be issued against airmen who receive multiple MVAs within a three-year period. The requirements can be found in FAR Part 61. For more information visit http://asi.faa.gov/duidwi/.

Los Angeles-based Jet Fleet International (JFI) has added fuel providers at 10 locations in Canada, Europe and Iceland to its list of preferred suppliers to business aircraft operators.

Over the next three years Bombardier plans to deliver 51 new aircraft to its fractional operation division, Flexjet. More than 60 percent of these expected deliveries will be Learjet 40XRs and Challenger 300s.

The directors of AirNet are seeking offers to acquire the company. The Columbus, Ohio-based firm operates 130 business aircraft in passenger charter and small-package delivery operations.

Of more than 3,000 people who responded to a USA Today poll, 51 percent answered “yes” to the question: “How likely are you to patronize an on-demand airline flying a very light jet” such as that planned by DayJet?

Sky Helicopters opened new hangar and terminal facilities at public-use Garland/DFW Heliport, in Garland, Texas. The terminal includes a conference center and crew lounge, and the adjacent hangar can store up to 40 helicopters.

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