Three-four years back, a wealthy executive from the upscale community of Greenwich, Conn., was zitzing along on a United flight. Obviously, he had his snoot in the booze and the flight attendant refused to serve him any more sauce. He then arose from his seat, dropped his trousers and brookies and defecated on the serving cart in front of horrified passengers. Nacherly, on landing he was met at planeside by the fuzz and escorted to the slammer. His penalty for this egregious behavior? Fifty big ones plus paying all the passengers' fares. Fir him, chump change.
The National Safety Council has given an Occupational Health/Safety Award to Johnson Controls World Services for operating without occupational injury or illness at Teterboro Airport from 1995 to 1999.
Showalter Flying Services is nearing completion of its new 11,000-square-foot FBO at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) in Florida. Scheduled to open November 4 during the National Air Transportation Association Airports and FBO Industry Symposium, the $1.8 million facility offers Internet access, a pilot's lounge with showers and ``snooze'' rooms, and a meeting area with room for 50. Additional improvements include the refurbishment of the FBO's two fuel tanks, and renovations to the company's existing hangars are planned.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey assured EAA members, several of whom are senior or retired airline pilots, that the FAA has progressed to the second phase of studying its mandatory age 60 retirement rule for airline pilots during her ``Meet the Boss'' forum at AirVenture 2000 in Oshkosh, Wis.
Experimental Aircraft Association Aviation Center (Oshkosh, Wis.) has appointed Stephan Brown to the position of executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Raytheon Aircraft also enjoyed a strong first half of this year, delivering 282 aircraft, including 34 Hawker 800XPs, 26 Beechjet 400As and 89 King Airs. Military aircraft, Bonanzas and Barons accounted for the remaining deliveries. The manufacturer delivered 50 percent more aircraft than in the same period in 1999.
Edited By Paul RichfieldBy Paul Richfield, in Farnborough, England
Engine giant Pratt&Whitney (P&W) has launched a ``technology demonstration program'' designed to bring geared turbofan engines to the next generation of business and regional airline aircraft. Speaking at the Farnborough 2000 air show near London, P&W President Louis Chenevert said the Advanced Technology Fan Demonstrator (ATFI) represents the culmination of 10 years' work and more than $700 million spent on research and development.
Northeast regional carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines has placed firm orders for three additional Bombardier CRJ200s and options for 27 additional CRJs. The carrier currently operates 30 of the aircraft and had 36 others already on order.
Horizon Air hired 17 graduates of the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. The graduates will start as first officers on Horizon's Dash 8Q-200s and Fokker 28-4000s.
Potential injury or death can result from carbon monoxide emitted by a cockpit heater. Sporty's offers a Carbon Monoxide Alarm that is ideally suited for aircraft use. The alarm audibly warns when unsafe levels reach 70 parts per million. Measuring 1.0 x 2.5 x 4.0 inches, the alarm features a continual self-testing microprocessor, low battery alarm, and operates up to one year on a standard nine-volt battery (included). Price: $60 Sporty's Pilot Shop Clermont County Airport Batavia, Ohio 45103-9747
Mesa Air Group is negotiating to return 20 surplus Beech 1900D aircraft to lessor Raytheon, and refinance 36 others. Mesa Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said the deal, if accepted, would remove $55 million in debt from Mesa's balance sheet, while saving $4 million annually in interest expense. Once the largest Beech 1900 operator with more than a hundred units in service, Mesa now is building its fleet of regional jets while shifting its focus from rural service to hub-and-spoke operations.
BFGoodrich will supply landing gear and flight control systems for Bombardier's CRJ900. BFGoodrich already supplies components for the CRJ100, 200 and 700 as well as the Dash 8-400.
Photograph: Cape Air operates 48 Cessna 402Cs in the Northeast, Florida and the Caribbean. All are approved for single-pilot IFR flight. The company's highest-time aircraft has 18,000 hours. Despite all the talk about regional jet proliferation and the death of the 19-seat turboprop market, one operator continues to buck convention and even thrive with a fleet of 10-seat piston twins. The subject is Hyannis, Mass.-based Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines, America's largest unaffiliated regional carrier.
Airlines and corporate operators that use a ``secret knock'' to tell pilots to open the cockpit door may want to consider another procedure, as irate passengers have broken the code.
MyAircraft, a Honeywell and United Technologies ``spinoff'' corporation, has developed maintenance management software designed to enhance maintenance planning and scheduling. The software is customized with each operator's criteria and can be used as a complete maintenance platform or integrated into an existing system such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). MyAircraft said they plan to offer the ability to manage and create customized revisions to OEM-supplied information, as well as provide controlled usage by maintenance mechanics in the future updates.
The FAA recently completed installation of the 20th and final Display System Replacement (DSR) air traffic control computers at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center in Leesburg, Va. Called the ``cornerstone in building the airspace system of the 21st century'' by Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, the computers replaced 20- to 30-year-old monochrome radar screens with color displays. Lockheed Martin manufactured the DSR, which was designed to accommodate software upgrades such as graphical weather display and other enhancements.
A majority of mechanics responding to an Australian Transport Safety Bureaus (ATSB) survey said that management is unaware of or accepting maintenance shortcuts. The ATSB survey of 4,600 Australian Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (LAMEs) also found that 69 percent of those responding admitted it was ``sometimes necessary'' to bend the rules while only 38 percent said management actively discouraged shortcuts. Pressure is the primary reason for cutting corners, the mechanics said, with the majority of pressure claims coming from non-airline respondents.
Avidyne's FlightMax family has introduced enhanced versions of the FlightMax 440 and 740 radar indicators. Now known as the FlightMax 450 and 750, both units offer terrain base maps, pilot selectable map overlay capability, the ability to display data from multiple sensors simultaneously and an optional interface to Honeywell's EGPWS. Avidyne says the new capabilities allow pilots to enjoy many of the same benefits of an integrated glass cockpit.
