NTSB MAKES SERVICE BULLETINS MANDATORY?
A recently decided enforcement case involving an FAA-certified mechanic and service-bulletin compliance may drastically increase operator costs and call into question airworthiness of thousands of in-service aircraft. A decision in the case, Administrator v. Law, was adopted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on April 28, 2006. The NTSB is the federal agency responsible for adjudicating FAA enforcement actions. The case involves a mechanic who returned to service a Lycoming piston engine without ensuring compliance with all applicable service bulletins. No airworthiness directive (AD) mandated service-bulletin compliance and FAA regulations do not require service bulletins to be performed on certificated products like aircraft and engines unless the product is used in commercial operations, like under Part 135 or 121. Yet, the NTSB upheld the FAA's enforcement action. More...

CESSNA REPOSITIONS MUSTANG TO INDEPENDENCE
Cessna last week updated the industry on the company's progress toward certifying the Citation Mustang very light jet (VLJ). Cessna's entry into the coming VLJ sweepstakes -- projected to occur after the Eclipse 500 -- is on schedule, according to the company, and will mark the first jet aircraft produced at the company's Independence, Kan., facility, which was originally built to manufacture piston-powered aircraft when Cessna restarted their production 10 years ago. Cessna says it has accumulated more than 1,100 total flight hours and more than 600 flights spread among the three Citation Mustangs currently flying in its certification program. Although Eclipse has suffered setbacks in its original certification plans brought about by an unplanned engine change and supplier delays, Cessna's certification apparatus has a well-deserved reputation for meeting its target dates, even years later. So, it should come as no surprise to learn, according to the company, that the Mustang remains on schedule for its anticipated FAA certification in the fourth quarter of 2006. More...

RAYTHEON COMPLETES HAWKER 4000 FUNCTION AND RELIABILITY TESTING
Raytheon Aircraft Company last week said it has completed a close-to-final phase of testing required for FAA certification of its forthcoming Hawker 4000 "super mid-size" business jet. The Hawker 4000 is being billed as the "flagship" of Raytheon's Hawker line and features performance that may live up to its billing: The 4000 should be capable of a sea level-to-FL370 climb in just over 13 minutes. Once at altitude, the Hawker 4000's maximum cruise speed is Mach 0.84. It should have nonstop, coast-to-coast range in most wind conditions. Fractional operator NetJets has ordered 50 of the new aircraft. According to Raytheon, it and the FAA are working to finalize the paperwork necessary for type certification, although that once-delayed milestone was expected to arrive in February. More...

ECLIPSE 500 TEST FLEET TOPS 2,000 FLIGHT HOURS
Also, Eclipse Aviation last week provided updates on its efforts to certify a new airplane, its eclipse 500 VLJ. The company said certification is "on the horizon" and noted that its six flight-test prototypes have accumulated more than 2,000 hours of flight time while and completing the majority of required FAA certification testing. The company also announced that six customer Eclipse 500 VLJs are in various assembly positions on the production line. The Eclipse 500 is on track to achieve FAA certification by the end of this quarter and will be the first VLJ to market. "Our test fleet of five Eclipse 500s continues to burn test points and build hours at a rapid rate. We accumulated more than 300 flight hours in the last four weeks," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. More...

DASSAULT FALCON BOOSTS SPARES WARRANTY
Dassault Falcon last week announced it was increasing the duration of the warranty it offers on all Dassault Falcon replacement parts. Beginning June 1, all new parts are warranted for 24 months from time of installation, or 30 months from time of purchase. The announcement was made before a crowd of 1300 Falcon operators at the company's 26th Worldwide M&O conference in Boca Raton, Fla. The new warranty will apply to claims on parts purchased from Dassault Falcon since June 1, 2004. "Dassault Falcon recognizes the growing importance of parts warranties to our customers and decided it was a positive step we could take," said John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon. "Not only does it underscore the point we've been making that Genuine Dassault Falcon Replacement Parts are reliable. It also improves the customer's perception that we are fully committed to lowering their cost of operation." More...

ADAM ANNOUNCES MAINTENANCE COVERAGE
Adam Aircraft and Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI) last week introduced their "Tip-to-Tail" hourly maintenance cost guarantee program developed exclusively for the new Adam A500 twin-engine piston and A700 AdamJet aircraft. Under the program, Adam Aircraft A500 and A700 buyers can include the coverage at preferred rates for three- or five-year terms when they purchase their aircraft. "The fixed-cost maintenance program offered by JSSI will stabilize the direct operating cost for owners of new A500 and the A700 aircraft, and ensure a high rate of dispatch reliability," said Kay Ardalan, Adam Aircraft vice president, Customer Support. "This program also features a computerized maintenance tracking program that will augment the Maintainability and Reliability analysis of our fleet and enable better planning of support elements." More...

GULFSTREAM ENHANCES MAINTENANCE TRACKING PROGRAM
Gulfstream last week said it is introducing three new enhancements to its computerized maintenance tracking program, CMP.net. The new enhancements involve the work order module, inventory purchase order module and smart cards, which are designed to facilitate, capture and report day-to-day aircraft maintenance activities. "More than 40 years ago, Gulfstream was the first business-jet manufacturer to offer a maintenance tracking system," Larry Flynn, president of Gulfstream Product Support, said. "Since then, we've continuously improved and refined this service, keeping pace with advances in technology, to ensure our customers have the best tools available when it comes to tracking maintenance, whether for a single aircraft or a fleet of aircraft." Gulfstream's CMP.net is a Web-based maintenance tracking tool offered to operators of Gulfstream aircraft that tracks both Gulfstream and non-Gulfstream aircraft. More...

DASSAULT FALCON EXPANDS SUPPORT TEAM, NETS AWARD
At the same time it enhanced its warranty for spare parts, Dassault Falcon announced actions intended to improve its support of in-service aircraft. The company also was recently awarded the NetJets Fleet Base Maintenance Award for Base Maintenance performance during the First Quarter of 2006. By merging its help desk and field technical representatives within customer support, Dassault said it hopes to increase the level of day-to-day support operators receive. Under John Loh, who was named Director, Technical Support, the help-desk representatives and field technical representatives will now be combined into one department, and will conform to one training and communication standard. Additionally, the company has three new regional technical manager positions. "The goal is to move more authority and decision making closer to the customers and to deliver a consistent and positive customer experience," Loh said. "By doing this, we will also be providing better management support to our reps." More...

NETJETS NAMES MARK BIANCHI SENIOR VP OF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE
NetJets Aviation last month announced it has appointed Mark Bianchi to the position of Senior Vice President of Aircraft Maintenance. In his new position, Bianchi will be responsible for daily aircraft maintenance operation and administrative functions for the 378 aircraft in the NetJets fleet. Responsibilities include maintenance availability and reliability of all NetJets Aviation aircraft, including scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, maintenance control and planning, all regional line and base maintenance stations, quality control and quality assurance, and the inventory and logistics supporting the maintenance operation. More...

... the next issue of AVweb's Biz newsletter will be e-mailed to you on June 21.

AVwebBiz is a twice-monthly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

Today's issue was written by Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside (bio).

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Shiny side up, okay?