John Caldwell will step down as president and chief executive officer, effective August 31. CAE is one of the largest producers of flight simulators and flight training devices.
The correct price for Assessment Compliance Group's downloadable standard international operations manuals and RVSM-RNP operations and maintenance manuals is $1,900 (``New on the Net,'' July, page 47).
The NBAA is vigorously defending its position that fractional ownership operations should continue to be governed by FAR Part 91 instead of more-restrictive Part 135 rules. The action is a response to criticism that the NBAA's policy does not reflect the view of the group's core constituency; traditional flight departments that own or lease whole aircraft. To the NBAA, differing perceptions of fractional ownership are the root of the dilemma.
NASA has chosen Rockwell Collins to lead a team of aerospace organizations to develop a synthetic vision information system (SVIS) for air transport, business and regional aircraft. SVIS is designed to enhance situational awareness and reduce accidents by giving crews a graphic depiction of surroundings in bad weather and darkness.
Canada's government will invest $154 million in Pratt&Whitney Canada, to fund development of several programs including the PW308 engine -- selected to power the Raytheon Hawker Horizon business jet. The contribution was made through Canada's controversial Technology Partnerships Canada program, which competitor Embraer and the Brazilian government allege is an illegal government subsidy. P&WC says the funding is repayable through engine sales, and also will be used to renew its Product Oriented Technology program for an additional three years.
Those looking to add to their fleet will find money readily available and at favorable terms. Although the lenders defer to Alan Greenspan on what's going to happen to interest rates -- at least through June 2000 when his term ends -- they all venture to say that the rates are likely to remain stable or even lower than in 1998, unless a monetary crisis hits. Financial institutions say that corporate aircraft are a superb collateral value.
Bombardier Aerospace plans to invest $48 million to expand Belfast City Airport in Northern Ireland. The construction project will include a new airport terminal building, an expanded ramp area designed to accommodate up to 10 aircraft, new taxiways, extra parking and new road and rail links. Subject to planning approvals, work will commence this fall, with the new terminal operational by the end of 2000.
Canada's IMP Group International has attached Air Atlantic to its Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group, consolidating its airframe and systems maintenance operations under a common corporate structure. St. Johns, Newfoundland-based Air Atlantic had provided commuter feed for Canadian Airlines, but shut down its regional airline operation in October 1998 after the two parties failed to agree on cost splitting.
Sikorsky Aircraft's Turkish subsidiary has teamed with the Turkish Alpata Group for the construction of machined helicopter components to be sold worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Sikorsky will buy half the shares of Eskisehir, Turkey-based Alp Aviation, though the Turkish government still has to approve the deal. The Alpata Group and Sikorsky first joined forces in 1998, when the Turkish start-up company won two $60 million contracts to build components for Sikorsky helicopters.
In aviation perhaps as much or even more than in other enterprises, technology captures our imaginations, holds our fascinations and inspires awe. But technology by itself is cold. It takes the human touch -- the unique combination of genius, intuition, perseverance and science to bring technology to life.
The FAA's proposed rewrite of FAR Part 145 repair station regulations is an ambitious attempt to embrace four decades of technological change, but the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) the agency published in June needs a lot of industry input before it's acceptable.
Honeywell expects to receive FAA certification of its AIS-1000 OneView airborne television system in early September. The system will offer up to 40 channels of programming from commercial direct broadcast satellite service providers, and enables passengers to view four different channels of programming simultaneously. The basic OneView hardware sells for $245,000; DBS subscription rates are being negotiated and will incur additional costs. The installation includes a MR-400 multi-channel receiver decoder and a CAL Corp.
For the first time, our salary survey was broadened to include two increasingly important corporate aviation jobs: flight attendants and schedulers/dispatchers. All but one of the flight attendant responses were received from operations in which the largest aircraft was a heavy corporate jet. The remaining response was from an air-carrier flight attendant.
Ted Finck has been appointed manager of FSI's new training center in Columbus, Ohio. He was previously manager of the company's Bethany, Okla. training center.
Boeing says half of the 46 Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) on order have flown, with the majority now undergoing custom interior work at completion centers. First delivery of the 737-700 derivative is planned for this summer, though it remains to be seen which buyer will receive the first aircraft. Likely candidates include General Electric -- Boeing's program partner on the BBJ -- and unnamed operators in Switzerland and the Middle East. Boeing is expected to announce additional BBJ sales at the NBAA convention, to be held in Atlanta in October.
Bizjet has opened the doors of its new, 50,000-square-foot paint facility, built to handle aircraft as large as a Boeing Business Jet. The facility offers containment, air treatment and painting systems, and features water-based strippers for paint removal. Primers and high-builds are applied with a high-volume, low-pressure system, and all paint is the new high-solid, high-gloss type with minimal solvents.
Corporate flight department employees may compete for a scholarship offered by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Valued at $8,000, the scholarship will enable one person from an NBAA-member flight department to attend the university's Corporate Aviation Management (CAM) certificate program. CAM course options include aircraft selection and retrofitting, corporate aviation finance and budgeting, flight department customer service, aviation safety and security, and crew resource management and problem-solving.
The Cuban government has awarded an estimated $20 million contract to a Canadian firm to design and supply a new air traffic management system. Intelcan Technosystems will provide radar processing, voice communications, flight data processing, message switching and a nationwide data communications network. In winning the contract, Intelcan beat Thomson Airsys ATM of France and Italy's Alenia. Intelcan supplied Cuba's existing air traffic control system in 1978, and implementation of the new equipment is expected to take two years.
The FAA has proposed a $1.32 million fine against Colvin Aviation of Athens, Ga., for deliberately conducting commercial passenger and cargo flights after the agency revoked its operating certificate. The FAA issued an emergency order revoking Colvin Aviation's certificate on November 18, 1998, amid allegations that the company falsified flight records and flew unairworthy aircraft. The agency withdrew the revocation order on December 3, 1998, as part of a settlement agreement and consent order negotiated with the operator.
Honeywell's Primus Epic avionics system has been chosen for the new Bell/Agusta AB139 twin-engine helicopter. Primus Epic is based on the Boeing 777 avionics package and will be offered to buyers in VFR, three-axis IFR, four-axis IFR or military search/rescue configuration. AB139s also will be equipped with Primus II comm/nav/ident radios and a digital autopilot. Bell/Agusta will market both civil and military AB139 variants, with assembly split between the United States and Italy.
The Christie Battery System (CBS) now provides more accurate and timely battery maintenance information with the introduction of its enhanced Proease DATAFX. The enhanced DATAFX now features a larger screen that enables users to monitor cell voltages, current and fault conditions simultaneously. DATAFX works in conjunction with the CBS and a Windows 95-based software package to file service data, provide FAA reports and reduce time spent on documentation tasks by 10 to 40 percent.
Once a business gets over the basic need, method and cost equation to settle on the use of business aircraft, all the other issues can be reduced to one key concern: dispatch reliability. A successful flight department, share ownership, charter operator or air carrier needs to make certain that the airplane is ready to move its contents when and where expected. Dispatch reliability depends heavily on maintenance.
