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| AVflash! Negotiating Hawker's Future | back to top |  |
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Court OKs $50 Million For Hawker
Hawker Beechcraft announced on Tuesday that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court has given them the go-ahead to enter into exclusive negotiations with Superior Aviation Beijing Co. for up to 45 days to hammer out a deal and keep the company afloat. The action means that Superior can start to make payments to Hawker to sustain the jet business, with $25 million expected by the end of this week, and another $25 million within 30 days. The money "provides us with funding to preserve jobs as we simultaneously negotiate a potential transaction with Superior," said Hawker CEO Steve Miller. "At this time," he said, "pursuing the potential transaction with Superior is in the best interests of the company and its various stakeholders, including our creditors, our employees, our suppliers and our customers."
If the negotiations with Superior fail to pan out, Hawker Beechcraft will likely phase out its jet line and offer a "more focused portfolio of aircraft," according to Tuesday's news release. This process "likely would have commenced already but for Superior's compelling proposal to the company," the news release says. The deal will not include the Hawker Beechcraft Defense Co., which produces the T-6 trainer and is developing the AT-6 light attack aircraft. Superior said last week it intends to make Hawker its "flagship investment." Even if Superior and Hawker come to an agreement, the deal is still subject to various approvals by the bankruptcy court and government agencies before it can be completed, and other potential buyers will have an opportunity to outbid Superior. |
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| ICON A5 Puts on Weight in Name of Spin Resistance | back to top | |
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ICON Looking For Weight Exemption For A5
ICON Aircraft has asked the FAA for an exemption from the upper weight limit for amphibious Light Sport Aircraft to incorporate what it says are important safety features in its A5 aircraft. The company says it needs an additional 250 pounds above the current weight limit of 1430 pounds to accommodate the extra wing and tail surface area, and attendant structural components, to make the aircraft spin resistant. That's roughly the equivalent of the weight of a Cessna 152. ICON announced earlier this year that it had created a truly spin resistant design in the A5 and is trying to convince the FAA that the safety improvement is worth the extra weight for inclusion in the LSA category. "The potential safety benefits of a Spin-Resistant Airframe (SRA) for the S-LSA category are extraordinary," ICON says in its submission to the FAA. "SRA can dramatically reduce loss-of-control fatalities related to inadvertent stall/spin entries. Stall/spin entries account for an alarming 41 percent of all pilot-related fatalities." At last January's Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, FL, EAA President Rod Hightower announced the FAA was considering allowing weight exemptions for LSAs for safety-related equipment.
In its submission to the FAA, ICON said making its aircraft safer by making it spin resistant essentially requires more carbon fiber than the current rules will permit and still allow it to carry more than the pilot and a bologna sandwich. To be spin resistant, the aircraft needs bigger wings and that has a cascading effect on other structures. "The increased wing area then in turn requires increased tail size for stability along with the corresponding increase in internal structure, as well as proportional accommodation factor weight – at a minimum," the submission says. "Further, the increased wing, tail, and specific spin-resistance elements also result in an increase in aerodynamic drag which requires increased engine size and additional fuel to compensate. The net result is that a Spin-Resistant Airframe requires increased vehicle weight over a similar S-LSA airplane that does not achieve spin resistance." ICON also says weight-adding features like a finished passenger area without exposed cables and structural elements will increase safety. The submission was first published by the FAA in the Federal Register in May (we missed it) and the comment period for that submission has closed. However Independent Aircraft Inc., which makes a composite LSA amphib called the SeaDragon that meets current weight requirements applied for and received an extension to the comment period (PDF) to address what it said were important issues related to ICON's request. Comments are being accepted until July 27. |
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| Dramatic Airport Tragedy | back to top | |
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Pilot Kills Self After Trashing Airliner
Authorities in Colorado and Utah have confirmed that a Skywest Airlines employee, who is listed on the FAA database as an ATP with a type rating on CRJ regional jets, shot himself aboard one of the airline's aircraft after taxiing it erratically around St. George Airport in Utah, heavily damaging it and at least one other aircraft. Bryan Joseph Hedglin was wanted in connection with the murder of his former girlfriend in Colorado. According to the FBI, he hopped a fence at the airport about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, got aboard the aircraft and was able to start at least one of the engines. It's still not clear whether he flew it but the CRJ200 did clip wings with another aircraft on the ground and ran through a fence before Hedglin took his own life.
Photos show the aircraft sitting on a flatbed trailer with its gear retracted and the winglet missing from the left wing. Hedglin was a suspect in the slaying of 39-year-old girlfriend Christina Lopez Cornejo. Her body was found in a Colorado Springs house on Friday. She and Hedglin were both in the Colorado National Guard. Skywest confirmed that Hedglin was an employee and on administrative leave. |
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| Who You Gonna Call? | back to top | |
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ExxonMobil Establishes Aviation Lubricant-Related Technical Emergency Hotline
ExxonMobil Aviation Lubricants has established a telephone hotline "to provide expert guidance to customers in the event of urgent aviation lubricant-related technical emergencies." The number is 1-609-737-4411. The line is open 24/7 and staffed with trained professionals, according to ExxonMobil.
"Offering our aviation customers an easy, uncomplicated way of doing business is a top priority," said Global Aviation Lubricants Sales Manager Mark Green. "Ensuring that they have immediate, expert support in the event of an aviation lubricant-related technical emergency is one of the ways we are doing this." Callers to the Technical Emergency Hotline will be asked to provide the name of the aviation lubricant, a description and location of the problem, and the engine and aircraft make and model. Callers must also provide their name, company and contact details. If the problem isn't an emergency, the technical help desk can help in local time zones from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those numbers are: +1 800 662 4525 for the Americas—GMT minus five hours; +66 2 204 5667 for the Asia Pacific—GMT plus eight hours; and +420 221 456 426 for Europe, Africa and the Middle East—GMT plus one hour). Customers may also send non-urgent lubricant-related questions to aviationlubetech@exxonmobil.com at any time. |
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and search on "Bendix King."
| Florida Air Museum Folded into Sun 'n Fun | back to top | |
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Leenhouts To Head Florida Air Museum
The Florida Air Museum in Lakeland, Fla., will now be operated under the auspices of Sun 'n Fun and its president, John "Lites" Leenhouts, the organization announced on Friday. John Burton, the current museum president, will step down. Burton had previously been president of the Sun 'n Fun operation for about 12 years, until Leenhouts was hired last summer. The changes are meant to "minimize duplication of services and improve the organization's overall efficiency," Sun 'n Fun said. Previously, the museum, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun 'n Fun, operated as a separate not-for-profit entity with its own board of directors. Now, day-to-day operations of the museum will be absorbed into the Sun 'n Fun organization.
"I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have worked at Sun 'n Fun and the Florida Air Museum for the past 13 years, as it was a time of tremendous growth for both organizations as well as for me," Burton said. "I am proud of everything we were able to accomplish as a team during that time, especially the mutually beneficial relationships that were established with so many key partners on the local, regional, state and national levels." Burton said he has started a job search that includes contacts within the national aviation industry, but he hopes to stay in the Lakeland area, where he and his family have strong ties to the community. |
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| Opinion & Commentary | back to top | |
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AVweb Insider Blog: Ash Scattering — A Delicate Task Done Right
Many of us in the aviation business have probably been approached about scattering the cremated remains of a friend or relative from an airplane. Glider pilot Marc Arnold has come up with an innovative way to do this from a Stemme motorglider, and on the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli discusses how it all works.
Read more and join the conversation.
Podcast: Marc Arnold of Ascension ScatteringFile Size 11.2 MB / Running Time 10.57
If you've ever been asked to and have tried to scatter cremated remains from an airplane, you probably realize it's not as easy as it sounds. Marc Arnold's Ascension Scattering, done from a glider, adds respectful method to the process.
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| Who's Where | back to top | |
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Sorenson Promoted at EMU
Chris Sorenson is the new chief flight instructor at Eastern Michigan University's Eagle Flight Center. He was previously the assistant chief flight instructor.
Buss Moves to CAF
Steve Buss, the former executive director of EAA's Young Eagles program, is now the vice president of development for the Commemorative Air Force.
Who's Where? You Tell UsGet a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. |
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| We Ask, You Answer | back to top | |
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Survey: Have You Had Your Aircraft Interior Refurbished?
Have you had your aircraft interior redone in the past five years? If so, our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, wants to hear about it. Please take a moment to answer this completely confidential survey and help your fellow aircraft owners find the best shop to replace their 1970s Royalite-and-velour with something less embarrassing.
Click here to take the survey.
The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here. |
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| AVweb Video: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn | back to top | |
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Video: Flying the Cessna TTXOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos What started life as a Columbia and then became a Corvalis is now the Cessna Corvalis TTX. While it hosts many small improvements, the big change is the touchscreen-controlled G2000 avionics suite. Aviation Consumer's Jeff Van West took the pixels and the plane up for a spin.
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part. |
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| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebBiz Team
AVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.
The AVwebBiz team is:
Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb home page readers every week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss, via e-mail or via telephone [(480) 525-7481].
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Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. |
