14 SEPTEMBER 2019ÇPlane&Pilot
TESLA VET TAKES HELM AT CIRRUS
Zean Nielsen, a for-
mer high-level execu-
tive at James Hardie
and Tesla Motors,
has replaced Cirrus
Aircraft’s co-founder,
Dale Klapmeier, as
CEO of the Duluth-
and Knoxville-based manufacturer. Klapmeier, who
founded Cirrus with his brother Alan in the 1980s, will
move into an advisory role at the company.
DAHER PURCHASES QUEST AIRCRAFT
Daher is broadening
its footprint in the GA
world with the acqui-
sition of Idaho-based
Quest Aircraft, maker
of the Kodiak 100 tur-
boprop. The French
company, known for
its single-engine TBM turboprop line, says the move
will give it a stronghold on the turboprop market and
enhance its operations in North America.
UBER SUMMIT HINTS AT AIR TAXI FUTURE
Industry leaders and
high-powered pub-
lic offi cials gathered
in Washington, D.C.,
in June for the Uber
Elevate Summit, where
investment and excite-
ment about the pros-
pects of urban aerial mobility fl owed readily. In one of
many announcements made at the event, Uber revealed
it will begin fl ight trials of fl ying taxis in Texas next year.SATCOM COMPLETES SECOND
EXPANSION PHASE
Aviation connectivity provider Satcom Direct recently
completed the sec-
ond of four planned
expansion phases at
its headquarters in
Melbourne, Florida.
With the growth of its
SD Data Center, the
company has now
doubled its footprint at the site to 10,000 square feet,
making room for an additional 120-plus server cabinets.GARMIN
CO-FOUNDER
DIES AT 81
Gary Burrell, co-
founder and chairman
emeritus of Garmin
International, passed
away in June at the age
of 81. Burrell launched the revolutionary company, which
changed the face of avionics and is today valued at $
billion, with co-founder Min Kao three decades ago.WINGLET MAKER FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
Tamarack, the company behind the ATLAS winglets
that have been linked to recent loss-of-control events in
CitationJets, fi led for bankruptcy in June. Th e move comes
as the company continues to work with regulatory bodies
to solidify a fi x for the system malfunction, which prompted
a grounding of all aff ected aircraft by the FAA in May.EVIATION LAUNCHES
ELECTRIC AIRPLANE
An Israel-based start-up called Eviation recently
unveiled a non-fl ying prototype of its nine-seat
electric commuter, whose unique design includes
a rear pusher-motor as well as dual motors on the
wingtips. Th e company says the airplane, dubbed
Alice, is slated to fl y for 650 miles and at 240 knots.News Of Note
BY BETHANY WHITFIELD AND PLANE & PILOT STAFF