AIR TAXI BASE
Newly formed jet-charter company Ambeo has selected Cambridge airport as its operational base, where it is now officially headquartered at the Marshall Business Aviation Centre. Ambeo plans to use it as its base for a planned fleet of five Cessna Citation Mustang entry-level jets, providing ad hoc charter services under its own air operator's certificate within the first 12 months, with a view to expanding the fleet across Europe and operating up to 30 aircraft within five years.
TBM 850 TRAINING
Simulator training provider SimCom has installed a Daher Socata TBM 850 flight training device at its Orlando, Florida training centre. The system features the single-engined turboprop's Garmin G1000 integrated cockpit and new high-resolution visual system, which offers day/dawn/dusk/night or continuous time of day operation. It features more than 15,000 light points per channel with 2.5-arc-minute resolution and uni- and bi-directional light point lobe patterns.
PAINT HANGAR
A new 2,790m2 (30,000ft2) paint and aircraft refurbishment centre is fully commissioned at Doncaster Robin Hood airport in the UK. Funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, owner Directions CIC has transformed the airport's hangar 2 into an integrated maintenance and refurbishment centre dedicated to corporate aircraft. Marshall Business Aviation will be a tenant in the new facility and will contribute contracts to support the service for corporate jets and helicopters up to super-midsize. The centre has installed two advanced modular paint pods while the hangar can accommodate up to 10 aircraft.
STANDARD APPROVAL
StandardAero has received supplemental type certification to upgrade Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-41 or -42-powered Beechcraft King Air 200/200C/B200/B200C with the PT6A-52 engines and four-bladed Hartzell propeller - which are fitted to the B200GT. "The PT6A-41 and -42 engines have been in service for more than 35 years. Many are approaching their third and fourth overhaul," says StandardAero. Four aircraft modifications are scheduled in the coming weeks, with several more expected over the remainder of 2009, the company adds.
Source: Flight International
