Embraer's Phenom 100 has clinched European validation, four months after the very light jet received Brazilian and US certification.

The Brazilian airframer introduced the six-seat aircraft in 2005 and has delivered 12 to date. The first Phenom 100 is earmarked for delivery to the first European customer shortly. 

With first flight scheduled within two months, Boeing says it has submitted 2,280 compliance reports to the FAA so far to support type certification for the 787 programme.

Those submittals represent nearly 60% of the data required by the FAA to grant certification, said Mike Delaney, Boeing's 787 VP and chief flight test engineer, today during a programme update.

The FAA requires about 3,900 "deliverables" by Boeing to obtain for 787 certification. 

Cessna today suspended development of its flagship super midsize business jet, the Citation Columbus, a platform that was to launch the airframer into a new and more lucrative sector of the market.

“This was a very difficult decision, but critical to sizing our business to the realities of today’s market,” said Cessna president Jack Pelton. “We still feel this is a program with great potential and one we will pursue when the market recovers.” The company will return $50 million in customer deposits. 

FLEET BOOST

Business aviation services provider Jet Aviation has strengthened its managed business aircraft fleet by more than 20 aircraft this year across its African, Asian, European, Middle Eastern and US bases. Aircraft types added include the Dassault Falcon 50 and 900, Gulfstream GIII, GIV, GV, G550, and Bombardier Global Express, Challenger and Learjet. Seven of the aircraft also are available for charter services.

LINEAR APPROVAL 

The Boeing Company and civil defense and aerospace company Danish Aerotech today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines opportunities for Danish Aerotech to provide select F/A-18E/F Super Hornet logistics support capabilities. If the Royal Danish Air Force names the Super Hornet as its New Combat Aircraft, Boeing and Danish Aerotech could partner in a Performance Based Logistics (PBL) program for long-term support of the strike fighter aircraft and other platforms. 

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd has been awarded a contract by the Air Force Command Finland for the delivery of 6 PC-12 NG aircraft to the Finnish Air Force to replace their existing Liaison Aircraft.

The procurement contract, worth € 22.5 million, was agreed and signed at a ceremony in Tikkakoski on Friday attended by the Commander of the Finnish Air Force, Major General Jarmo Lindberg and Jim Roche, Vice President in charge of Government Aviation at Pilatus. Delivery of the 6 PC-12 NG Liaison Aircraft will be made during the final quarter of 2010. 

Gulfstream and Cessna will need at least two years to revive sales of corporate jets after the public shaming of executives like Elan Corp.’s Kelly Martin.

The Dublin-based drug company chief helped run up a bill of as much as $6 million last year flying to a San Francisco research center in a Gulfstream V. Now he will be lining up at the airport with everyone else after investors campaigned for him to switch to standard airline flights costing $1,000. 

Embraer’s Phenom 100 entry level executive jet was certified, today, by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), for day and night operations – Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), Reduced
Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM), and flight into known icing conditions. The aircraft was also certified by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil – ANAC) and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), last December. 

China has certified the Cessna Citation XLS for operations at elevations of up to 15,000ft (4,572m) after tests at Tibet’s Qamdo Bangda Airport in February.

The China Flight Inspection Center (CFIC), which is part of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), conducted the tests at Qamdo Bangda, which at an elevation of 14,219ft is the world’s highest airport. These helped the Chinese authorities to validate navigation aids and gather information on high altitude operations. 

Dassault Aviation has announced a negative number of net orders–minus 27–for Falcon business jets during the first quarter due to cancellations. In the same period the French aircraft manufacturer delivered 11 Falcons compared with 15 in the first three months of last year, while revenues fell by 28 percent.

Dassault is therefore slowing the monthly production rate for Falcons. It was standing close to eight per month last year, and plans for ramping up to 10 per month were dropped in January.