Bombardier will provide unlimited maintenance training for Challenger operators for $249 per month. Under the ``Smart Training'' plan, operators can attend courses in Montreal or Phoenix as often as they like, add or replace students, and train on any Challenger model. The initial contract is for three years and is transferable upon sale of an aircraft. The cost can be consolidated with Bombardier's Smart Parts plan, but Smart Parts is not required for participation.
ATR Size Approx. Vol. W L subscript 1 In super- + or - + or - + or - + or - script 3 Liter .03 In .76 mm .04 In 1.0 mm Dwarf 95 1.56 2.25 57.15 12.52 318.0 1/4 Short 215 3.52 2.25 57.15 12.52 318.0 1/4 Long 335 5.49 2.25 57.15 19.52 495.8
The FAA, Honeywell, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, AlliedSignal and Boeing will jointly develop the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS), an element of the nation's future air navigation system. LAAS ground stations will augment global positioning system (GPS) signals at 150 U.S. airports, ensuring adequate signals for precision instrument approaches up to Category III. LAAS will complement the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), designed to support Category I approaches.
Columbus, Ohio -- Million Air plans to open a new facility with 90,000 square feet of hangar space at Port Columbus Airport on June 1. This 29th FBO in the company's chain will feature a new lobby, a passenger lounge, flight-planning and conference rooms, and a pilot lounge and showers. Phone: (614) 238-3900.
Softening worldwide demand for airliners and fighter aircraft has led General Electric to lay off around 300 workers at two U.S. jet engine assembly plants. GE will lay off up to 225 workers at its plant in Lynn, Mass., and another 70 at its factory in Evendale, Ohio. Company spokesman Rick Kennedy says each GE plant is ``in the process of evaluating its cost structure,'' and the layoffs are a conservative response.
Two new general aviation consulting companies are now open for business -- one providing liaison services with original equipment manufacturers, and the other offering a leadership training package for corporate flight departments. Schuller Aerospace Services International of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the creation of Richard Schuller, former director of business development for Standard Aero Alliance.
A series of voluntary service bulletins calling for wiring inspections on all current production Falcon Jets could result in up to 10 days of downtime for operators of as many as 160 aircraft. The action stems from a routine manufacturing audit held in late 1998 that revealed ``wiring installation anomalies'' that could lead to reliability problems, the company says. Dassault will bear the cost of complying with the bulletins, which could be as high as $24,000 per aircraft.
The House Transportation Committee has approved a comprehensive aviation package that would take the Airport and Airways Trust Fund off budget (hah), boost funding levels for the FAA and buttress funding for general aviation airports. God bless Committee Chairman Bud Schuster (R-Pa.) for ramrodding this bill. The FAA gets, in 2000, $14 billion -- $5 billion for Airport Improvement, $3 billion for facilities and equipment, and $6.1 billion for operations.
BMW/Rolls-Royce still sees the 70-seat barrier imposed by pilot union scope clauses as a key factor in the regional jet market. The company is projecting that 70-seaters will dominate the sub-100 seat market, according to BMW/Rolls' head of marketing and sales Mike Corne. The company sees the 70-seater market on a steady path, growing from about 20 aircraft per year in 1998 (namely Avro RJs) to some 110 aircraft per year by 2017.
West Star Aviation of Grand Junction, Colo., won Rockwell Collins factory authorization to perform the modifications and upgrades required to bring customers' radios into compliance with Europe's new 8.33 kHz channel-spacing requirements for aircraft operating above 24,500 feet
By midsummer, Avidyne expects to certificate an interface for AlliedSignal digital radars that will allow the company's multifunction display to replace CRTs now used to display radar images. The certification will extend the base of applications for Avidyne Radar, which was certificated in January for use with Bendix RDR 130, 150 and 160 weather radars. The new interface will work with the RDR 82, 84, 86, 2000 and 2100 systems as well as the vertical profiling version of the 82, 84 and 86.
Bell Helicopter Textron has bought an interest in one of Heliflite Shares' Bell 430 helicopters. ``This allows us to use Heliflite to provide helicopter demonstrations, and gives us a unique capability at a fraction of the cost,'' says John Wright, Bell's executive director of marketing. Based at Fort Worth's Alliance Airport, Heliflite is seeking other customers to buy shares in its first four ordered aircraft, and may take as many as 10 of the new twin-engine helicopters.
Texas Instruments (TI) is building a new flight department facility at McKinney Airport in McKinney, Texas. The development will include 21,250 square feet of hangar space to accommodate the company's two Challenger 604 aircraft, plus 12,500 square feet of office and shop space. TI will lease the hangar from ExecAir, a local FBO. Completion of the operations center is planned for October.
The FAA's DuPage Airport FSDO has chosen Karl Blaha, an avionics installation technician at J.A. Air Center, as one of the area's top-12 high-performance aviation safety counselors. Such counselors are volunteers appointed by the FAA, offering counsel to pilots on safety and aircraft maintenance.
The Lynton Group, a U.K.-based management company, has purchased an equity stake in Premier Aviation of Stratford, Conn. Company CEO Christopher Tennant says the investment gives it ``the majority of the profits'' while expanding its North American fixed- and rotary-wing charter operation alongside its FBO business. Premier founder Michael Maina will continue as chairman, and his son Simon will remain as president and chief executive officer. Lynton Senior Vice President David Oakes will join Premier's board. Over the past 15 months, Lynton has acquired U.K.
GPS provider Garmin has signed an exclusive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) contract with Afton, Wyo.-based Aviat Aircraft, maker of the Husky and Pitts Special aircraft. Garmin will provide its GTX320 transponder for both aircraft, and its ``VFR stack'' will include the GNC250XL VHF Comm with moving map graphics. The IFR package includes the GNS430, an integrated GPS/comm with VOR, LOC and glideslope, and a color moving map display. The GNS430 also boasts six TSO certifications and WAAS upgradeability.
Bombardier has increased the maximum gross takeoff weight of the Learjet 31A to 17,700 pounds (8,029 kg), giving operators 700 more pounds of payload capability with full fuel. The increase is the fourth for the 31A, which started with a 15,500-pound MTOW. The increase is available as an option on all new aircraft, and as a retrofit through a service bulletin on in-service aircraft. Total deliveries of the 31 and 31A stood at 168 aircraft as of mid April, including 21 aircraft delivered last year.
Three flight departments in Italy -- those of Olivetti, Pirelli and Fiat (which now has gone independent under the name CAF) -- have pooled resources to form Eurofly SpA, an executive air charter company with operations at Italy's Milan Linate and Torino airports. Eurofly owns 10 medium/heavy corporate jets, almost all manufactured by Dassault Aviation. Besides the three founding companies, the new entity's customer base includes other major Italian companies, such as Hdp, Ferrero and Merloni.
A Florida charter operator plans to cater to a unique air travel market: passengers seeking to visit friends and relatives incarcerated in federal prisons throughout the Southeastern United States. Melbourne-based GenAir has a single Cessna 421, but is talking with Sarasota Air about acquiring that company's Lear 25, a King Air and a number of piston twins. ``As these federal institutions have around 700 visitors daily, this service fills a definite void,'' the company says.
Only weeks after banning operations by Stage 1 aircraft, Naples Municipal Airport (APF) is considering a ban on Stage 2 aircraft as well. The action was triggered by pressure from the Naples City Council, which characterizes the Gulf Coast town as ``one of the most noise-sensitive communities in the nation.'' According to Ted Soliday, executive director of the Naples Airport Authority, the first step will be to evaluate the effects of the Stage 1 ban to see if action short of a full Stage 2 ban will suffice.
Severe weather may have contributed to the fatal crash of a Piper PA-46-350P near Waldron, Ark., on April 4. The aircraft's sole occupant, an instrument-rated private pilot, was killed after the aircraft ``descended from dark clouds in a nose-down attitude and rotating clockwise,'' witnesses told the NTSB. The Malibu had departed Nashville (BNA) for Dallas' Addison field (ADS) on the last leg of a flight that began in New Jersey. The pilot reported icing and fuel balancing problems at FL 240, and radar and radio contact were lost soon after.
Bell Helicopter Textron has redesigned the tail-rotor assembly of its Model 407 helicopter in hope of lifting a speed limitation imposed after three accidents where tail-rotor blades severed the aircraft's tail boom. The company says a ``graduated approach'' is needed to restore the 407's full performance envelope, but a modification that includes widening the gap between the tail rotor and its gearbox by 0.86 of an inch has performed well in test flights.
Edited by Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield Sikorsky Restricts S-76 Operations
Sikorsky has advised around 80 S-76A+, C and C+ operators to use ``Category A'' vertical takeoff and landing techniques as inspectors search for defects in the engines that power the type. The ``interim procedures'' -- designed to ensure a safe landing in the event of an engine failure -- follow Turbomeca's release of a service bulletin requiring ultrasonic inspections of centrifugal com- pressors on Arriel 1S1 and 2S1 engines.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has introduced a testing program designed to help FBOs assess the knowledge and skills of line-service personnel and ultimately reduce accidents. Under the ``Safety 1st'' program, technicians must pass both a written and practical test covering general safety practices, fuel quality, aircraft fueling operations, fuel farm management, ground service equipment, airport operation, aircraft services and customer service. FBOs will administer the exams and grade the skills test, while NATA will grade the written exam.
