 Daily Mail | Royal Navy Sea Harrier: Meet the man who loved jump jets so much he bought his ... Daily Mail The world of air shows and those of us who own private jets is pretty small, and once I got the SHAR the news spread like wildfire. 'It's the ultimate in bragging rights. Other pilots come up to me constantly wanting to know about her.' The jet's ... |
Monthly Archive for December, 2011
From Russia with love – Transaero Airlines debuts at KLIA The Borneo Post The inaugural flight UN551 touched down at KLIA yesterday and was given a warm Malaysian style reception by Malaysia Airports and Tourism Malaysia. It said Transaero has been operating charter flights to KLIA for the last few years and has created ... |
"Our pursuit of commercial, and military helicopter maintenance and
operational contracts in new areas has resulted in our ability to grow
and hire more people," said Michael Fahey, President of the Aurora,
Oregon-based company. "At the same time, we are continually developing
new contracts with our global petroleum and logging customers.
Columbia Helicopters owns, operates, and maintains the largest private fleet of heavy-lift helicopters in the world, consisting of seven Columbia Model 234 Chinooks, and 14 Columbia 107-II, twin engine, tandem rotor aircraft. Capable of carrying loads in excess of 26,000 pounds, the Columbia Model 234 Chinook has one of the largest lifting capacities of any commercial helicopter. The Columbia 107-II helicopter has a capacity of approximately 10,000 pounds. "Some of our Chinooks are operating in Peru and Papua New Guinea, where global petroleum customers use those aircraft to move heavy equipment, and support exploration operations in remote jungles," Fahey stated.
Benefiting both the company and the local economy, hiring at Columbia Helicopters is up 12 percent over this period a year ago, with nearly 200 jobs added since the end of 2009. That includes 40 highly skilled men and women hired by the company's Aurora-based maintenance operation since the beginning of 2011. Currently, Columbia Helicopters has nearly 700 employees in its global operations, with over 200 more employed by international subsidiaries or affiliated support organizations.
According to Fahey, recent growth was largely fueled by the entry into the military operations market for the first time, with the deployment of five heavy-lift helicopters and support personnel to Afghanistan on December 1, 2011. Under a multimillion dollar contract with the United States Transportation Command, Columbia Helicopters will operate from various locations throughout Afghanistan in a non-tactical, logistics support role: ferrying mail, personnel and supplies.
"The Afghanistan mission is a perfect fit for the skill levels and expertise we have built up over our 55-year history, and our understanding is that we are making a difference," said Fahey. "The military has repeatedly expressed great appreciation of our operational tempo, high level of availability, and the flexibility of our crews to perform our missions in a timely, and very professional manner."
In order to meet the demands of its growing global military helicopter maintenance business, the company is now routinely sending crews outside the US in order to assist customers with routine maintenance. Currently, Columbia's crews are working for military organizations in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and other locations. The company, in fact, has opened a maintenance operation facility in Australia. Additionally, maintenance crews have been dispatched to Afghanistan to work on deployed foreign military aircraft.
In addition to the military, Columbia has historically worked with a number of commercial customers, and has seen significant growth in maintenance for both groups, particularly with those using helicopters similar to the Columbia fleet.
To further enhance its maintenance and repair capabilities, the company broke ground last summer on a new, $4-million engine test facility at its Aurora base, slated to be fully operational in 2012. Capable of running the T55-714 engine, which powers military CH-47 super heavy-lift helicopters around the world, the test cell has been designed to accommodate future versions of that engine, as well as other engine product lines.
"We are obviously pleased with our growth," Fahey said. "While we have grown conservatively, and do not expect our business model to change, our Board of Directors and management team will explore all opportunities when they present themselves, and I am confident that we will continue to grow in the future."
Columbia Helicopters is a member of the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA), a Washington-based trade association representing commercial operators of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft engaged in aerial wildland firefighting and other aerial services.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Columbia Helicopters owns, operates, and maintains the largest private fleet of heavy-lift helicopters in the world, consisting of seven Columbia Model 234 Chinooks, and 14 Columbia 107-II, twin engine, tandem rotor aircraft. Capable of carrying loads in excess of 26,000 pounds, the Columbia Model 234 Chinook has one of the largest lifting capacities of any commercial helicopter. The Columbia 107-II helicopter has a capacity of approximately 10,000 pounds. "Some of our Chinooks are operating in Peru and Papua New Guinea, where global petroleum customers use those aircraft to move heavy equipment, and support exploration operations in remote jungles," Fahey stated.
Benefiting both the company and the local economy, hiring at Columbia Helicopters is up 12 percent over this period a year ago, with nearly 200 jobs added since the end of 2009. That includes 40 highly skilled men and women hired by the company's Aurora-based maintenance operation since the beginning of 2011. Currently, Columbia Helicopters has nearly 700 employees in its global operations, with over 200 more employed by international subsidiaries or affiliated support organizations.
According to Fahey, recent growth was largely fueled by the entry into the military operations market for the first time, with the deployment of five heavy-lift helicopters and support personnel to Afghanistan on December 1, 2011. Under a multimillion dollar contract with the United States Transportation Command, Columbia Helicopters will operate from various locations throughout Afghanistan in a non-tactical, logistics support role: ferrying mail, personnel and supplies.
"The Afghanistan mission is a perfect fit for the skill levels and expertise we have built up over our 55-year history, and our understanding is that we are making a difference," said Fahey. "The military has repeatedly expressed great appreciation of our operational tempo, high level of availability, and the flexibility of our crews to perform our missions in a timely, and very professional manner."
In order to meet the demands of its growing global military helicopter maintenance business, the company is now routinely sending crews outside the US in order to assist customers with routine maintenance. Currently, Columbia's crews are working for military organizations in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and other locations. The company, in fact, has opened a maintenance operation facility in Australia. Additionally, maintenance crews have been dispatched to Afghanistan to work on deployed foreign military aircraft.
In addition to the military, Columbia has historically worked with a number of commercial customers, and has seen significant growth in maintenance for both groups, particularly with those using helicopters similar to the Columbia fleet.
To further enhance its maintenance and repair capabilities, the company broke ground last summer on a new, $4-million engine test facility at its Aurora base, slated to be fully operational in 2012. Capable of running the T55-714 engine, which powers military CH-47 super heavy-lift helicopters around the world, the test cell has been designed to accommodate future versions of that engine, as well as other engine product lines.
"We are obviously pleased with our growth," Fahey said. "While we have grown conservatively, and do not expect our business model to change, our Board of Directors and management team will explore all opportunities when they present themselves, and I am confident that we will continue to grow in the future."
Columbia Helicopters is a member of the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA), a Washington-based trade association representing commercial operators of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft engaged in aerial wildland firefighting and other aerial services.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
CAE has announced that its training organisation worldwide has passed
the requirements of Dassault Aviation's Falcon Training Policy Manual
(FTPM) quality system audit. The audit is part of the Dassault
Authorised Training Provider authorisation programme.
"The FTPM process is part of Dassault's team approach to achieving the highest safety standards and operational excellence for Falcon pilots, maintenance technicians, and other personnel," said John Rosanvallon, president and chief executive officer, Dassault Falcon. "CAE's policies, procedures and practices thoroughly address the standards and spirit of providing quality training to our aircraft operators."
"CAE is proud to be Dassault's Falcon training partner across the range of their aircraft platforms," said Jeff Roberts, CAE's group president, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services. "The comprehensive FTPM process is assurance to operators that their pilots and maintenance technicians will receive an enhanced level of professional training excellence."
CAE currently provides training for all in-production Falcon aircraft, including the Falcon 7X, Falcon 900 and Falcon 2000, as well as some earlier models such as the Falcon 10/100 and Falcon 50/50EX. CAE Dassault Falcon training programs are available in the Middle East, Europe and North America and are qualified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulatory authorities.
The company is also the first to provide EASA- and FAA-approved simulator training of the new Dassault EASy II cockpit with the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
"The FTPM process is part of Dassault's team approach to achieving the highest safety standards and operational excellence for Falcon pilots, maintenance technicians, and other personnel," said John Rosanvallon, president and chief executive officer, Dassault Falcon. "CAE's policies, procedures and practices thoroughly address the standards and spirit of providing quality training to our aircraft operators."
"CAE is proud to be Dassault's Falcon training partner across the range of their aircraft platforms," said Jeff Roberts, CAE's group president, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services. "The comprehensive FTPM process is assurance to operators that their pilots and maintenance technicians will receive an enhanced level of professional training excellence."
CAE currently provides training for all in-production Falcon aircraft, including the Falcon 7X, Falcon 900 and Falcon 2000, as well as some earlier models such as the Falcon 10/100 and Falcon 50/50EX. CAE Dassault Falcon training programs are available in the Middle East, Europe and North America and are qualified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulatory authorities.
The company is also the first to provide EASA- and FAA-approved simulator training of the new Dassault EASy II cockpit with the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
 msnbc.com | Kim Kardashian & Family Hit Sin City for New Year's Eve The Gossip Girls Ready to bring in a hefty payday to help ring in 2012, Kim Kardashian was spotted boarding a private jet in Van Nuys, CA on Saturday afternoon (December 31). The E! reality star was joined by fellow family members Kris Jenner and Scott Disick as the ... 'I want to be more simple in 2012': Kim Kardashian reveals her New Year's ... |
Experts call for cheaper air service Himalayan Times “Visit Lumbini Year will see a large number of Buddhist tourists coming in Nepal so we have to prepare better aviation infrastructure to cater to the increased turnover,” he pointed out. Ram Prasad Neupane, director general of CAAN also expressed the ... |
 Houston Chronicle (blog) | The Rockets (and my) long, strange trip to play (and cover) three games in ... Houston Chronicle (blog) (Nick de la Torre/Chronicle) In the competition to determine the worst travel nightmare – and a back-to-back-to-back is a pretty obvious playing field – media almost always beat the teams and their fancy charter flights. The Rockets, however, gave me a ... |
American Aircraft Interiors Celebrates 30 Years as an FAA Certified Repair ... DigitalJournal.com (press release) American Aircraft Interiors (AAI) is a full-service, design-to-completion aircraft repair station for private jet and turboprop aircraft. AAI acquired International Leather Source (ILS) this year as a clearinghouse of top-quality leather products used ... |
Feds to Airlines: Stop Hiding Ticket Fees, Taxes Newser More» (NEWSER) - Americans can now legally hop a plane in Key West and skip over to Cuba: The US government has given the green light to Key West International Airport to run charter flights to the communist state 90 miles away, reports the Huffington ... |
And they're off! UW fans head west for Rose Bowl Capital Times (blog) On Friday, the Great Migration westward hit its zenith as the majority of charter flights took off from Madison bound for Los Angeles. In the spirit of the Badgers' second-straight Rose Bowl appearance, vendors set up booths where they hawked Bloody ... |