Things are tough all over -- when it comes to hiring, that is. Everyone knows the U.S. economy is going gangbusters, and anyone who has tried to fill an open position -- seemingly any open position -- knows that one of the collateral impacts of today's economic boom is a dearth of qualified job candidates. The U.S. Department of Labor re-cently released data that show the U.S. unemployment rate to be at a 29-year low -- hovering somewhere close to what economists call the ``static'' unemployment rate. Translation: Anyone who wants a job can get one.
Kohlman Systems Research (KSR) and AeroMech have teamed with Aerodata to help European business aircraft operators comply with RVSM (reduced vertical separation minimums) avionics requirements. Called Aeroflight Servicegesellschaft, the venture will focus on aircraft no longer supported by airframe manufacturers, and will be based at Aerodata's location in Braunschweig, Germany.
Scotland's Clydesdale Bank has invested $31.6 million in Inverness, Scotland-based PDG Helicopters, to fund expansion in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South America. Based at Inverness in northern Scotland, PDG is one of the United Kingdom's largest on-shore operators, with a fleet of 16 Eurocopter AS350B, AS355F, SA315B, SA365C and Bell 206B helicopters. The company carries passengers and supports filmmaking, but its core business is fish.
In December 1978, a DC-8-61 approached Portland, Ore., with a gear problem. Although the flight engineer (FE) visually determined the gear was down and locked, the captain continued trying to find out why the nose gear did not show a down and locked green light. Meanwhile, the first officer (FO) and the FE saw a more significant problem. They were running out of fuel.
Gulfstream Aerospace and Heart of Georgia Technical Institute formed a cooperative education agreement for aviation maintenance technology students to work at Gulfstream's Service Center in Savannah
Air BP Americas is moving its headquarters from Houston to Warrenville, Ill., a result of its December 1998 merger with Amoco. Air BP also has changed its U.S. management to reflect Amoco's wider geographical coverage. Air BP General Manager Ken Massey returned to the company's U.K. headquarters, and was replaced by Peter O'Callaghan and Graham Rose. Air BP marketing teams will remain in Houston, Miami and Toronto, but all other management functions will relocate to Warrenville -- a Chicago suburb -- by the end of this month.
The company made five new management appointments: Darin Alley, manager of completions; Michele Kerstein, manager of part sales and marketing; Kip Harkness, director of completions; Des Bassett, director of sales for Eastern Europe; and Jim Lewis, regional sales manager in the Pacific Northwest.
Canada's provider of air navigation services has proposed cutting its user fees up to 14.6 percent, saying industry growth has expanded its revenue base. The reduced fee structure, which is scheduled to go into effect on September 1 for a one-year trial, could be worth around C$90 million. ``This is our first fee reduction applicable to all users of our services,'' says John Crichton, Nav Canada's president and CEO. ``The major factors driving this decision are growth in the industry, and our ability to operate a more efficient system.''
John Lauber was appointed vice president of the company's new office of safety and technical affairs in Washington, D.C. Previously, Lauber served as vice president of the Airbus Training Center in Miami Springs, Fla., where Larry Rockliff succeeds him in that position. Meanwhile, Jon L. Bryan has been named sales director of the Airbus Corporate Jetliner program.
Hypoxic Hypoxia -- Respiration fundamentally involves the supply of oxygen to the air sacs of the lungs and the exhaust of carbon dioxide. Oxygen compromises 20.9 percent of the volume of the atmosphere up to 80,000 feet. Assuming a sea level pressure of 760 mm Hg, the partial pressure of oxygen is 159 mm Hg in ambient air. However, the lungs not only exhaust carbon dioxide, they also transpire water vapor at a relatively constant pressure of 47 mm Hg.
The aircraft manufacturer appointed regional sales managers for Business Aviation Services as follows: Kirk Schiebelhut, Wichita; Don Nolan, West Coast; and Tom House, Great Lakes region. Also, Jim Lundeen was named customer service manager of the Denver Business Aviation Service Center, while Heinz Tom came aboard as regional manager in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services of Berlin, Germany.
SimuFlite Training International is offering a new, two-hour Advanced Airmanship ``Thunderstorms, Airplanes and Radar'' course that is packaged as a multimedia presentation
The FAA's contract tower program saves $250,000 per airport and should be expanded to include all non-radar airports, according to the DOT's Inspector General (IG). The IG wants the FAA to outsource operations at 70 additional VFR-only control towers, but says the FAA has cut all but 14 of these from its list due to a different interpretation of congressional guidelines.
Rifton Aviation, based at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., won a gold award for customer service in Exxon Co. USA's Tiger Spirit program
BMW Rolls-Royce plans to increase production of its BR700-series turbofan from 220 to 300 engines per year to meet the demands of airframe manufacturers. The company plans to invest DM15 million ($8.1 million) on its plant in Dahlewitz, Germany, which does final assembly on the BR710 engines for the Gulfstream V and Bombardier Global Express business jets, and BR715 engines for the Boeing 717-200.
You see headlines like that in the newspaper and your first reaction is, ``Isn't that what they're supposed to be doing?'' That's exactly how I felt when I read that the FAA had unveiled a new project to ``encourage compatible land use around airports.'' Airports have been disappearing in front of developers' bulldozers for decades and are being plowed under at a rate of more than one per week, according to the AOPA.
``To reduce turnover, we have a development plan for every employee,'' said Steve Brechter, vice president and general manager for UTFlight, the executive transport division of United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn. He advises managers to think of crewmembers as a group of ``selves'' with individual skills and needs, not a unit. The department has 58 selves in its employ.
Europe's Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) is considering a proposal allowing single-engine turboprop aircraft to fly freight under night and instrument conditions. According to the Single Engine Turboprop Alliance (SETA) -- an alliance of manufacturers, operators and distributors -- current rules force the use of piston-twin aircraft, which have a higher fatal accident rate than single-engine turboprops. Britain's CAA is resisting the initiative, saying Europe's high population density raises the risks posed by forced landings.
The Greek Ministry of Health has ordered five Agusta A109 helicopters for air ambulance use. The 35 billion lira contract includes training and spares, and was signed after a multinational ``fly off'' of various helicopter types. The Hellenic Ministry chose the A109 as the best compromise of cost and performance. Powered by two Pratt&Whitney Canada 206C engines, the A109 is capable of category `A' takeoffs from elevated helipads without any reduction in payload, Agusta says.
Newly elected members of the board of directors are Chuck Johnson, president of ERA Aviation; Bob Ferguson, chairman/president/CEO of Midway Airlines; and Greg Taylor, vice president of US Airways Express. David Siegel, president of Continental Express, was elected the association's vice chairman, succeeding Bob Martens, who resigned from the position after leaving Business Express Airlines.
Former NTSB member and NASA scientist Dr. John Lauber will head Airbus Industrie's new Office of Safety and Technical Affairs in Washington, D.C. The office will support the company's expanding role in the North American aviation market and will combine Airbus' North American government, safety and maintenance oversight. The company's Toulouse, France headquarters will continue to set policy. ``The influential role U.S. agencies play required us to increase our participation here,'' says Jack Schofield, chairman and CEO of Airbus' North American branch.
