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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0023.PDF
BUSINESS & GENERAL AVIATION LAUNCH JACKSON FLORES / RIO DE JANEIRO Aerolineas in $4m move to tap corporate market Recently-bankrupt airline to refit 737s as it sets sights on expansion outside Argentina Argentinian flag carrier Aerolineas Argentinas is to launch a corporate aviation subsidiary, Aerolineas Executive Jet, later this year, as it recovers from bankruptcy. The plan, disclosed late last year by Aerolineas Argentinas' chief execu tive Antonio Mata, is a bid to tap the expanding regional corporate aviation market in Argentina. With a budget of $4 million, the plans envisage the charter of three Boeing 737-200s from the Aero lineas fleet that will be refurbished into a corporate configuration. Company sources say Aerolineas Executive Jet has been proposed to lower the cost of corporate aviation in Argentina, by absorbing the maintenance and acquisition costs into a mainline operation. The Argentinian corporate avia tion market is third in Latin Amer ica in terms of aircraft movements, but has been badly hit by the coun try's economic crisis. The airline says that if the project is successful it could be extended under its current air operator's certificate to neigh bouring countries such as Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The airline has overhauled the first 737, which had been in storage, at its new maintenance facility at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport. The aircraft will be com pleted by Completion Air in Wheeling, Illinois, and could enter service by June. The other two air craft have not been removed from service and the company has yet to define a modification schedule. HELICOPTERS Eurocopter EC135T2 joins Paris ambulances The Greater Paris air ambulance service has taken delivery of the first Eurocopter EC135T2 light twin helicopter. The T2, which is pow ered by the 475kW (640hp) Turbomeca Arrius 2B2, will be operated by French emergency medical service operator Helicap and will join 12 other EC135s in ser vice with the lle-de-France SAMU, with another joining early next month. The first EC135 powered by the competing uprated engine, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2, was delivered to the Swedish police in August 2001. SECURITY US private charter rule weighs in Industry has welcomed changes to the US Transportation Safety Agency's (TSA) final rule on private charter security, which takes effect on 1 February. The rule has been revised to increase the threshold for compliance to a maximum take-off weight of 45,500kg (100,2001b) and seating for 61 or more passengers. The emergency rule published by the TSA in June last year affected aircraft with maximum weights of 43,300kg or more and did not set a passenger seating threshold. The weight and seating thresholds in the revised final rule effectively exclude purpose- designed business jets from compliance. "The new rule adopts an interna tional security standard to capture the appropriate group of aircraft," says the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, while combining weight and seating capacity as the threshold "elimi nated confusion in the market place". The rule requires private charter operators to ensure that passengers and carry-on bags are screened before boarding. Foreign business-aircraft opera tors flying into the USA will not be required to meet hardened cockpit door requirements, under the final flightdeck security rule issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration at the end of 2002. The revised rule exempts foreign transport-category aircraft originally certificated with 19 seats or fewer. IN BRIE DIRECTORY CALL Entries are closing for free inclu sion in the Flight International 2003 Helicopter Directory. If you have not received an entry form, or have not yet replied, please contact Brandon Nothnagel at Air Transport Intelligence as soon as possible. Tel: +44 20 8652 3847; fax +44 20 8652 3898 ore-mail: atidata@rati.com BELL 212s FOR UN CHC Helicopters International is providing four Bell 212s to trans port United Nations weapons inspectors inside Iraq. The one- year contract, with an optional second year, is worth C$14 mil lion ($9 million) annually. MVEN FLIGHT TESTS Russian ballistic parachute man ufacturer Mven Aircraft has completed flight tests of its Farmer light agricultural aircraft at its Kazan site. The 120kW (160hp) aircraft, which has a span of 10.4m (34ft 1 in) and a maximum take-off weight of 965kg (2,1251b), has a top speed of 110kt(200km/h). ENSTROM DEALERS Enstrom Helicopter is rebuilding and revamping its dealer net work in a bid to double annual deliveries to 20 in 2003. The net work will include 11 dealers in the USA and Canada and 14 internationally. Enstrom stopped using dealers in the USA and Canada in 1992, but maintained an international network. ARRIEL 2S2 Turbomeca's uprated Arriel 2S2 is to power future Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. Certification is scheduled for the first half of 2005. The Arriel 2S2 provides 6% more power than the 2S1 powering the current S-76C+ and features dual-channel elec tronic control. Initial flight tests will be conducted at Turbomeca's CGTM subsidiary at Pau in France. COM AIR VENTURE German Cessna distributor Com Air has joined the manufac turer's Service Station Network ahead of expected changes to Europe's single-engined turbo prop flying regulations. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14-20 JANUARY 2003 21
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