Williams International's FJ44-2C engine has received FAA certification. The 2,400-pound thrust engine will power the Citation CJ2 and features a fuel heater system that eliminates the need for anti-ice additives. Less powerful versions of the FJ44 power the Citation CJ1, Raytheon's Premier 1 and the proposed Sino Swearingen SJ30-2.
UND Aerospace (Grand Forks, N.D.) -- Kirk Peterson, avionics manager at UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, has been named avionics technician of the year by the FAA flight standards district office.
New entrant manufacturer Eclipse Aviation has selected Albuquerque as the location of its new corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility. The company plans to employ around 20 people at existing facilities at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) this year, until a new plant at Double Eagle II Airport (AEG), a general aviation field located seven miles from the city center, is completed.
Pratt&Whitney Canada is reorganizing its Service Centre Network, grouping businesses providing similar services together. The new units include Repair and Overhaul, Aerospace Component Services and Fleet Services. Aerospace Component Services includes accessories and components sales and service while the Fleet Services unit encompasses leased engines and those covered by P&WC's power-by-the-hour programs.
Cessna's Citation Encore has received FAA certification and is expected to begin customer deliveries in the third quarter of this year. The Encore, successor to the Citation Ultra, is equipped with more-fuel-efficient engines, a trailing-link landing gear, bleed-air anti-ice wing leading edge and 14-inch wingtip extensions.
Wisconsin Aviation, Inc. was selected as an installation center for LoPresti Speed Merchants of Vero Beach, Fla. LoPresti currently performs aircraft modifications on Piper aircraft and says it's working on modifications for Tigers, Mooney 201s and the Cessna line.
Signature Flight Support has opened a new facility at Denver's Centennial Airport (APA). The location includes a 15,000-square-foot terminal and 12 acres of ramp space. A 20,000-square-foot, heated hangar is under construction and should be completed by the fourth quarter of this year. The company recently completed extensive renovations at Chicago's Midway Airport and in Paris at Le Bourget Airport.
Raytheon Aircraft has sold a Beech 1900D to Ecuador's Saereo S.A. The aircraft will transport oil company personnel within the country's Amazon region.
Snecma, the French engine manufacturer, is entering the helicopter engine business with its purchase of the Labinal Group, parent company of Turbomeca. Through vits CFM partnership with General Electric, Snecma manufactures the CFM56 engine -- powerplant for all Boeing 737 new-generation aircraft, U.S. Air Force KC-135 aircraft and various members of the Airbus family, including the A319, 320, 321 and 340. Turbomeca supplies engines for the entire Eurocopter line as well as the Sikorsky S-76C+. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Construction work will force intermittent closures of Runway 1/19 at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport (TEB) from September through November. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the project will restore the runway to its original design limitations, while adding centerline and touchdown zone lighting. Ron Regan, acting traffic manager for the FAA's Eastern region, said the project will ``cause a significant increase in delays, and flight plans should take into consideration the closure times.''
In as little as two years, a blend of Honeywell Primus Epic large-format, flat-panel displays and a new generation of Bendix/King panel-mount radios could make their debut in light business and general aviation aircraft. Honeywell officials were vague regarding a launch customer, but senior executives hinted that ``Project Echo'' could debut on Cessna's proposed new-generation aircraft, intended to bridge the gap between its light single-engine and Citation product lines.
As refining technology has advanced, new ways have been found to elevate low-grade fuels to higher levels, thereby increasing the efficiency of the refining process and allowing more fuel to be extracted from a given quantity of crude. These fall into two categories:
Boeing is discussing the possibility of a supersonic business jet with several potential partners. According to Boeing Business Jet President Borge Boeskov, the aircraft must be capable of supersonic travel over land and across the Pacific. Executive Jet has consistently said it would have interest in an SSBJ. Boeskov said that it would likely take about 10 years or more for a supersonic business jet to be ready for customer deliveries.
The United States Air Tour Association (USATA) and eight ``family-owned'' air tour companies are suing the federal government over recently imposed restrictions on air tour operations over the Grand Canyon. Calling the regulations ``an unconscionable act of aggression by the Clinton administration,'' the suit challenges the government's legal authority to impose the flight restrictions.
Signature Flight Support (Orlando) -- Recent promotions include: John ``Cy'' Farmer to regional vice president for the Florida region, Al Pichon to regional vice president for the Mid-Atlantic region and Brent Russell to regional vice president of the Northeastern region. Warren Hartquist received the National Air Transportation Association's General Aviation Service Technician of the Year Award.
The pilot of the CitationJet never saw it coming. Flying single pilot, he departed Atlanta's Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) at about 10:30 a.m. on an IFR flight plan to Harrisburg, Pa. The weather in the area that April morning included scattered to broken clouds at 3,500 to 4,000 feet msl, broken to overcast at 4,000 to 4,500 feet msl, and visibilities in the seven-to 10-mile range. Atlanta TRACON initially assigned the CitationJet a 280-degree heading and 3,000 feet, then turned it to 360 degrees with a climb clearance to 14,000 feet.
Worldwide Flight Services doubles its technical service line with the acquisition of Oxford Airport Technical Services (ATS). Oxford ATS specializes in servicing passenger boarding bridges, conveyor systems, cargo/material handling systems, ground power units, pre-conditioned air systems and GSE vehicles. This is Worldwide Flight Services' third purchase in the past year. Its other acquisitions were Miami Aircraft Support and Aerolink.
British Aircraft Interior Systems has begun construction of an 85,000-square-foot aircraft seating production facility in South Wales. When completed, the new plant is expected to create 450 jobs.
CAMP Systems has created an online maintenance bidding/quoting service called AviationBid.com. The system enables operators to develop de-identified electronic RFPs for work, and to receive bids back from participating MRO providers. CAMP's fee is 2.5 percent of the job. The system allows operators and prospective bidders to communicate electronically to define work scope and, at the operator's option, to send maintenance records directly to bidders. Bids are returned in a standard format, allowing operators to easily compare bids.
