West Star Aviation completes a custom paint finish on a new, factory-delivered Embraer Praetor 600 — a first for the company. The new aircraft was brought per the customer's request to West Star's state-of-the-art paint facility, capable of handling large and small paint projects, as well as being a one-stop shop for customers and their requests

Michelin is selected by Pilatus as the exclusive supplier for the Pilatus PC-24, the world's first "Super Versatile Jet." Designed for business, freight, medical evacuation, shuttle or special government mission applications, this business jet can take off and land on paved and unpaved runways, such as grass or gravel, increasing accessibility at nearly 40,000 airports worldwide. Increasing this level of mobility is the Michelin® Air™ aviation tire, which has been selected as the original fitment for both the main and nose tires for the jet.

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) announces it has submitted proposed changes to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 409: Standard on Aircraft Hangars, addressing the issue of foam fire-suppression systems in aircraft hangars. NATA’s comments were developed through a collaboration with its members and the aviation industry. The Association’s comments were also based on the University of Maryland’s research report, "Review of Foam Fire Suppression System Discharges in Aircraft Hangars," written by Dr. James Milke and undergraduate students from the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, of which Dr. Milke serves as Chair.

Helicopter Association International (HAI) announces that Corey Brekke, maintenance manager in Afghanistan for Columbia Helicopters, is the 2020 recipient of the association’s Excellence in Helicopter Maintenance Award. The award, sponsored by Rolls-Royce, recognizes an individual for long-standing excellence in the performance of helicopter maintenance, maintenance instruction or supervision, or a single significant and distinct contribution to helicopter maintenance. The award will be presented Jan. 29 at HAI’s Salute to Excellence Awards luncheon at HAI HELI-EXPO 2020 in Anaheim, California.

Duncan Aviation would like to remind aircraft owner/operators that although there are seven weeks and two business days until January 1, 2020, the reality is, many aviation vendors and shops close for the last two weeks of the year.

JSfirm.com has announced its newest website feature: Skill Check. This will allow all job seekers to take a multiple choice, 10-question Skill Check to refresh their aviation knowledge in any of the 20 aviation-specific categories.

On November 20, Congressmen John Garamendi (D-CA), a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, applauded the committee’s passage of his bipartisan “Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019” (H.R.4374) as part of a comprehensive bill (H.R.5119) pertaining to safety standards at foreign repair stations.

John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), Sito Pantoja, general vice president of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), Mike Perrone, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), and Larry Willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issue this joint statement on the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act (H.R. 5119):

SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) is implementing Aerogility’s cloud-based predictive maintenance-planning and forecasting solution to plan the maintenance and engineering requirements for its fleet of 125 aircraft. Aerogility will prepare optimized workscopes, initially focusing on powerplant shop visits and operational costs.

West Star Aviation is recognized as a gold leader by the Colorado governor's Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) in Denver, CO, for a fifth consecutive year. The Environmental Leadership Program is a state-wide recognition and reward program offering benefits and incentives to members that go above and beyond compliance with state and federal regulations and are committed to continual environmental improvements.