Two major players in the aerospace fastener field--Fairchild Fasteners of Torrance, Calif., and Kaynar Technologies Inc. of Orange, Calif.--plan to join forces. Fairchild expects to acquire Kaynar after obtaining the requisite financing and regulatory approval. Both companies have operations overseas, as well as in the United States. Kaynar's major customers include Boeing, General Electric and Pratt&Whitney.
(www.nbaa.org/member/airmail/subscribe.htm) --The Washington, D.C.-based trade association has established a separate section of its Air Mail e-mail system for member company flight department managers who want to discuss fractional ownership. Subscribers who want to post e-mail messages to the site should address them to [email protected]. The association requests that all discussions of fractional ownership be conducted in this separate forum, so as not to generate unwanted messages for managers who do not wish to dwell on the subject further.
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) is looking at the possibility that competition in air traffic control services could possibly reverse the increase in delays in Europe's congested airspace, according to a Reuters news dispatch.
A key finding of a recently published study of New York City's heliports is a recommendation that the city keep its current three-heliport system and erect a noise barrier near the East 34th Street Heliport. The study, conducted by the New York City Economic Development Corp., also declared that the policy of prohibiting sightseeing flights at the heliports should continue.
NBAA has issued an alert bulletin to remind its members that they are responsible for determining whether they are qualified to use FMS, GPS and RNAV procedures. ``Pilots should neither request nor accept an ATC clearance for an IFR arrival, departure or approach procedure unless both the crew and aircraft are qualified to fly that procedure,'' warns the NBAA. ``IFR chart subscriptions and/or navigation databases may contain procedures that can be flown only with certain avionics equipment or specific FAA authorization,'' added the association.
A recent study found that a majority of top executives and upper and middle managers polled consider company aircraft a business tool rather than a perquisite. Some 72 percent of the top execs surveyed as part of Runzheimer International's 1998 Survey&Analysis of Financial Treatment of Executive and Business Vehicles think company airplanes are necessary to conduct business. Fifty-eight percent of the upper managers surveyed, as well as 55 percent of the middle managers questioned, agreed.
Winslow Life Raft has added one Type II life raft to its Corporate Aviation Life Raft product line and retooled two of its Type I life rafts. The newcomer is the Uni-Light, designed for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with limited storage space. It's built in a Type II single-tube configuration, with reduced weight and pack size. The revised Ultra-Light (shown) offers reduced weight and pack size, but retains all of the design features of the original Super-Light.
DeCrane Aircraft Holdings, the El Segundo, Calif.-based avionics component manufacturer and avionics systems integrator for business and commercial aircraft, has signed an agreement to acquire PATS, inc., the Columbia, Md., company that manufactures auxiliary fuel tanks for the Boeing Business Jet. The PATS acquisition is the latest in a string of aerospace purchases by DeCrane, which within the past year and a half has acquired Audio International, Avtech Corp. and Dettmers Industries. DeCrane's other U.S.
Boeing shipped a record 559 transport aircraft last year, including eight Boeing Business Jets. The airplane delivery total was the highest in company history. Boeing holds 46 orders for BBJs and plans to deliver 29 more of the long-range corporate jets by the end of this year.
(www.FSG-Inc.com) -- Flight Services Group, the Connecticut-based aircraft management and charter organization, has established a new Aircraft Acquisition and Budget Center at its Web site to help potential aircraft users determine which type of airplane is best suited to their budget and travel patterns. Users need to register and answer several simple questions, such as number of people that usually travel, locations visited and approximate number of trips per year.
FAA now expects to commission its GPS wide area augmentation system (WAAS), which is designed to allow Category I precision approaches, in September 2000, some 14 months later than planned. Software problems were blamed for the delay. The FAA remains committed to WAAS, despite congressional threats to cut off funding, and several aviation associations believe the postponement represents an opportunity to ensure safe implementation of the enhanced GPS system.
Honeywell's AM-250 Barometric Altimeter will offer some price relief for those in need of RVSM equipment. Weighing less than 48 ounces, the unit features dual, silicon pressure transducers, altitude encoder and ARINC 429 airdata outputs, along with an aircraft-specific static source position cor- rection module. The 3 ATI package is 6.7 inches long. Price: $17,000 Honeywell, Business and Commuter Aviation Systems P.O. Box 2111, Phoenix, Ariz. 85036 Phone: (602) 436-5312 Fax: (602) 436-5300
Bombardier Aerospace (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)--Bill Monroe has been appointed senior vice president of North American sales for the company's business jets. He is based in Wichita. Other members of his sales team are Keith Garner and three regional vice presidents--Geoff Nye, Eastern region; Dana Arnold, Central region; and Richard Beine, Western region.
While ditching often seems a remote possibility, training and equipment are all that stand between you and survival if you splash. The corporate demand should be to have water survival training courses, life vests and life rafts designed to the same high quality and performance standards as your aircraft. Training should be mandatory for everyone who travels on the company aircraft.
Austin Executive Airport is slated to shut down on May 1. According to Airport Manager Gary Suhr, the Texas facility's 190 acres have been purchased by the Gottesman Co., a major real-estate developer in Austin. ``We don't know what plans Gottesman has for the property, but after May 1, we'll have 30 days to wrap things up here, and the airplanes have to be gone,'' said Suhr.
Perhaps taking a cue from the FAA's treatment of nearby Centennial Airport, Jefferson County commissioners have lifted a ban on applications for passenger service from Jeffco Airport in Broomfield, Colo. The move is expected to keep the airport eligible for roughly $1 million in federal aid.
Executive Jet Management added three aircraft to its charter fleet in December 1998. The company plans to add a total of 25 managed aircraft to its fleet this year.
(www.rockwell.com) -- Rockwell Collins has set up a Web site for customers who want to check the company's products and systems for any potential problems associated with operation beginning in 2000. The company's Y2K database lists more than 30,000 Rockwell Collins products, including those produced by the recently acquired Passenger Systems business and others manufactured by Rockwell subsidiaries in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The House of Representatives has taken the first steps to reauthorize funding of the FAA, take the aviation trust fund off budget and provide money for the Airport Improvement Program before AIP funds run out on April 1. Because House and Senate conferees could not agree in late 1998 on a full-year funding package for the agency, FAA programs were only authorized through March 31. Sen.
This year the Helicopter Association International returns to Dallas--home of several helicopter manufacturers and service providers, including Bell and Eurocopter--for its 51st Heli-Expo on February 21-23.
Last year, Pilatus Aircraft sold a record 76 PC-12s and delivered 51 of the single-engine turboprops. To reduce the backlog for the Pratt&Whitney PT6-powered airplane, production at the company's Swiss factory is slated to increase from four to five units per month during the second quarter.
