Spring may be in the air, but Brad Nelson, Airport Operations Manager at Jefferson County Airport in Colorado is already planning for next winter. The airport has acquired four new, high-speed runway ``brooms'' and a military surplus snowblower, enabling crews to attack snowfalls directly. In the past, crews had to wait for accumulations of an inch or greater before efficient removal operations could begin. ``We noticed braking actions improving from poor to good while testing the brooms on the ramp area,'' Nelson says.
Comair's Cincinnati hub will become all-jet as of December 1. Comair President Randy Rademacher says ``customers have told us they prefer jet service over turboprops and we have listened.'' Comair retains a number of Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops, but is steadily expanding its fleet of Canadair Regional Jets.
Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) -- The manufacturer has appointed 20-year company veteran John-Paul Besong vice president for business electronics.
TAG Aviation (White Plains, N.Y.) -- Ron Silverman is the new director of client services. Leonard Dalton has been promoted to vice president of maintenance operations and standards.
The National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) has released its annual Directory of State Aviation Officials. The directory includes contact names and numbers for all U.S. state government aviation officials, as well as NASAO officials and committee members, FAA headquarters and regional officials, and aviation associations. Cost of the directory is $40 for a bound copy or $80 for a directory including updates throughout the year. Order forms are available at www.nasao.org/publications.
Bob Hoover has been grounded again -- this time by his insurance company. Hoover canceled his 2000 air show schedule after being unable to obtain sufficient insurance coverage and may donate his aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution. His promoters stress that Hoover is in excellent physical and mental health.
Executive Jet Chairman and CEO Richard Santulli is scheduled to speak at the opening day of the Aviation Services and Suppliers SuperShow (AS3) in Tampa on May 9. It is a rare public address for Santulli and his first appearance at an industry function since the Fractional Ownership Advisory Rulemaking Committee (FOARC) sent its recommendations to the FAA.
Midcoast Aviation (Cahokia, Ill.) -- Steve Burke has been promoted to director of materials, purchasing and Mark Berg to manager of turbine engine services.
FAA efforts to modernize the U.S. air traffic control system have achieved only ``limited success,'' the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) recently testified before the Senate Budget Committee. Cost overruns, delays and performance problems have caused modernization programs to fall short of expectations, a situation made worse by overly ambitious schedules, inadequate planning and lack of effective oversight, the GAO said.
Avfuel Corp., which claims to be the nation's leading independent supplier of aviation fuels and services, has added two FBOs to its nationwide dealer network: DB Aviation at Waukegan Regional Airport in Waukegan, Ill.; and TICO Executive Aviation at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titus- ville, Fla.
Airbus Industrie (Herndon, Va.) -- Retiring President and COO Nick Tomassetti will remain as president and CEO of AINA Holdings. Henri Courpron succeeds Tomassetti to head the manufacturer's North American operations, while Paul O. Mason becomes vice president of sales and marketing.
CHC Helicopter is selling some of its non-offshore operations to newly formed British International Ltd. Included in the deal are CHC's passenger service in Penzance, England; Cardiff, Wales-based Veritair; and Plymouth, England and Falklands operations for the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Twelve of CHC's 350 helicopters will be sold in the transaction, including eight Sikorsky S61s and two Eurocopter AS365N2s.
The FAA and France's DGAC have awarded Category III certification to Dassault Falcon 900EXs equipped with the Flight Dynamics HGS-2850 Head-up Guidance System. Dassault says three-quarters of 900EX operators have ordered the system, which originally was offered on the Falcon 2000. Dassault pilots and government officials flew more than 1,000 simulated and actual approaches to receive certification.
Air Midwest was awarded the FAA's Diamond Award in recognition of its maintenance training program. Wichita-based Air Midwest recently extended its mechanics' labor contract by an additional 15 months; the current agreement was not scheduled for re-negotiation until December. The airline is a Mesa Air Group subsidiary, and operates as a US Airways Express feeder.
Mercury Air Group says it will record a pretax charge of around $2.7 million in its fiscal third quarter, due to Tower Air's February 29 bankruptcy filing. Mercury plans to continue to supply the New York-based carrier, but only on a prepaid basis. Jet fuel prices have risen steadily over the past year, increasing airlines' operating expenses.
Lockheed Martin spin-off L-3 Communications has agreed to acquire Honeywell's TCAS business for $255 million. Once the acquisition is complete, L-3 will create a joint venture with Thomson-CSF subsidiary Sextant, which will acquire a 30-percent interest in the new company. The U.S. Department of Justice required Honeywell to sell the TCAS business as a condition of its merger with AlliedSignal in 1999. L-3 expects to consummate the acquisition later this year following approvals from U.S. and European regulators.
CNS/ATM, short for Communications/Navigation/Surveillance Air Traffic Management, is the linchpin of international airspace modernization. While stakeholders have reached a consensus on VDL Mode 2 as the communication data link, and VDL Mode 2 is becoming the standard for local area differential GPS broadcasts, the choice of data link for surveillance functions, such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance, is unclear.
The McGraw-Hill Cos. (New York) -- Jay S. Kilberg has been named vice president and general manager of the company's AviationNow.com Internet initiative. Kilberg reports to Kenneth E. Gazzola, executive vice president of Aviation Week.
Assessing how a flight department contributes to its company's bottom line can be a tough, often intangible concept for some managers . . . especially if they lack some of the skills necessary to understand the myriad issues involved in developing a comprehensive evaluation. At best, some managers may feel confused. At worst, measuring a department's value may engender feelings of apprehension or fear.
By the time you read this, the FAA should have concluded its review of the Fractional Ownership Rulemaking Advisory Committee's proposal to regulate fractional ownership under a new Subpart K of FAR Part 91. The report is long -- more than 30,000 words -- and complex. But it bears reading, because it likely will stand for decades as a watershed in business aviation.
British Airways' Concorde is returning to the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Oshkosh again this year. The aircraft will arrive on July 28 and will depart on July 31. The EAA is offering ``local'' subsonic flights aboard the aircraft on July 29 and 30 to members for $725. The price for non-members is $750.
The tables above show results of a fuel price survey of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in March 2000. This survey was conducted by Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARG/US) and reflects prices reported from FBOs nationwide. Prices are full retail and include all taxes and fees. For additional information, contact ARG/US at (513) 247-1010 or on the internet at www.aviationresearch.com.
Gulfstream says that a Gulfstream V operated by Swiss charter company GV Executive Charter has passed the 2,000 flight hour mark after less than two years of service.
