Business & Commercial Aviation

Edited By Robert A. Searles
CAMP Systems International can provide subscribers e-mail notification of the IFR movements of their aircraft on a real-time, per-leg basis or via a daily summary report. Robert A. Searles

Edited by Robert A. Searles
ATR 72: a proposed rule that would require initial and repetitive inspections to detect fatigue cracking in the fuselage. BAC 1-11-200s and -400s: a proposed rule that would supersede an existing AD by adding a requirement to perform a one-time inspection of fasteners in joint-strap installations and replacement of rivets with bolts, if needed. Canadair RJ: an emergency AD requiring a one-time visual inspection (and reinforcement if necessary) of center fuel tank electrical wiring conduits.

Edited By Robert A. SearlesArnold Lewis
Aircraft delays in Europe during the summer of 1998 were the worst ever, according to airline and business aviation groups.

Edited by Robert A. Searles
Raisbeck expects to receive a supplemental type certificate for its Boeing 727-200 Heavy Gross Weight (HGW) modification in March and anticipates starting deliveries of the retrofit in April. The Seattle company finished flight testing the 727 modification in December and is currently reviewing data to confirm Stage 3 noise compliance.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
Aero Quality Sales and Electromech Technologies have formed a rotable exchange pool for operators of Raytheon King Airs and Model 1900s.

Edited by Robert A. Searles
FAA has reaffirmed its ruling that Colorado's Centennial Airport discriminated against an airline by denying its petition to run scheduled passenger service. Neither the airport nor John Andrews, president of Centennial Express, the carrier that sought to serve Centennial, expressed surprise at the decision. The airport has asked Susan Kurland, the FAA's associate administrator for airports, to overturn the ruling and release AIP funds to Centennial. If that request is denied, the airport said it will take its case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

By Linda L. Martin
AlliedSignal's entry into the telecommunications industry is its AIRSAT 1 airborne satellite telephone that uses Iridium World Air Service. AIRSAT 1 provides customers with air-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-air global communication. The unit is voice only, and a multi-channel AIRSAT product is in the works. Price: $29,500 AlliedSignal Electronic and Avionics Systems 23500 W. 105th St., Olathe, Kan. 66061 Phone: (913) 712-2613; Fax: (913) 712-2940

By Kent S. Jackson
When we saw the shark fin, the conversation naturally turned to the IRS. I was fishing in the Gulf on a boat named Rockcrusher #3'' with a good friend and client. My friend's company builds roads in Florida, and I wanted to know if he had ever taken any deductions for entertaining clients on Rockcrusher #3. ``We take 100-percent depreciation,'' he said, eyeing the shark, ``and the IRS didn't say `boo' about it when we got audited.'' Amazed, I asked how the boat showed up in their books.

Linda L. MartinEdited By Robert A. Searles
Elliott Aviation (Moline, Ill.)--Mark Digney joined the company's Moline, Ill., FBO facility as customer service manager.

Linda L. MartinEdited By Robert A. Searles
Duncan Aviation (Lincoln, Neb.)--Bill Prochazka has been promoted to vice president of aircraft and customer service at the FBO chain's Battle Creek, Mich., facility.

Linda L. MartinEdited By Robert A. Searles
Mercury Air Group (Los Angeles)--Joseph A. Czyzyk has been promoted to president and CEO. Seymour Kahn, former board chairman and CEO, will continue as chairman.

Robert A. Searles
(www.oshkoshpilotshop.com) -- Oshkosh Pilot Shop, a store based near Miami International Airport, has an Internet site for shoppers looking for a variety of aviation equipment. The retailer stocks GPS units, headsets, microphones, sunglasses, charts, logbooks, books on flying and other aviation-related items.

Edited By Robert A. SearlesLinda L. Martin
During the recent holiday season, the AOPA used the power of the 30-second TV spot on behalf of local community airports. The association ran two half-minute advertisements on The Weather Channel and sponsored 57 segments of the cable TV station's programming from December 24 through January 1. The AOPA commercials touted the value of airports and left viewers with something to think about: ``America's pilots care about local community airports. You should, too!'' The association estimates that its message reached 13.5 million households.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
Morris Morgan, 79, former manager of aviation for Texas Eastern's worldwide Gulfstream operation, died January 2 of cancer in Houston. Amassing 59 years in aviation, he began his career as a U.S. Navy pilot in World War II and joined Trans Texas Airlines after the war. In the 1980s, he co-founded Corporate Concepts and Trinity Aviation, an aviation consulting, management, leasing and financing company.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
BFGoodrich, a firm that's been providing aircraft with inflight deicing systems for more than 30 years, will now start providing aircraft on the ground with ice detection. The company recently purchased the Robotic Visions Systems Model ID-I ice-detection product line. The ID-I uses electro-optical laser technology to detect ice and frost on wings and other critical surfaces, even through water or deicing fluid, as well as in the dark while the aircraft is on the ground.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
Galaxy Aerospace has appointed International Corporate&Cargo Services as its sales representative for Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Linda L. MartinEdited By Robert A. Searles
Petersen Aviation (Van Nuys, Calif.)--This FBO announced two promotions: Ken Curry to vice president and general manager and George Walker to executive director.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
Premier Air Center, a factory-authorized Cessna Conquest and Citation Service Center located at St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Ill., has received Joint Aviation Authorities approval of its maintenance and installation services.

By Richard N. Aarons
Usually Cause&Circumstance focuses on accidents or incidents that expose subtle causal chains or technical anomalies that if misunderstood or go undetected can lead a professional flightcrew to grief. But then, sometimes people do just plain stupid things in flying machines. Normally, those reports end up in the circular file, but this one was too incredible to pass up.--RNA

Edited by Robert A. Searles
UTFlight, the Hartford, Conn.-based aviation department of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), says it has become the first corporate aircraft operator in the world to be registered to ISO 9002, the international quality standard (B/CA, October 1998, page 94). The certification signifies that the flight department has developed a systematic approach to its business, thereby assuring that it can consistently deliver high-quality service. UTFlight launched its effort to gain ISO approval after Steven P.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
Unison Industries is now the sole-source supplier of all permanent magnet alternators, ignition exciters, ignition leads and certain igniter plugs and signal and control harnesses for General Electric CT7 and CF34 engines.

Edited By Robert A. SearlesArnold Lewis
Employees of Swiss regional Crossair are in line to share some $14.6 million in profit-sharing following a stellar 1998 by the unit of SAirGroup. The company has reported preliminary revenues for the year of $732.3 million, ``considerably higher than those of last year,'' said President and CEO Moritz Suter.

Edited by Robert A. Searles
The world's first Cessna Citation Excel simulator has been FAA certificated. The Level C unit, which is located at FlightSafety International's Citation Learning Center in Wichita, is to be upgraded to Level D standards in the near future. Meanwhile, FlightSafety has ordered a new Gulfstream IV Level D simulator for its Philadelphia/Wilmington Learning Center, with delivery expected in first quarter 2000. FSI currently operates three G-IV simulators, with a fourth slated to become operational in Savannah later this year.

Edited by Robert A. Searles
A new Flight Safety Foundation publication on approach and landing (ALA) accidents is slated to be available this month. The digest will include the latest data from the FSF's ALA reduction task force, along with an earlier ALA task force report and information gleaned from a study of controlled flight into terrain accidents. The new ALA digest, which is expected to cost members $25 and nonmembers $45, about can be ordered by calling (703) 739-6700.

Edited By Robert A. Searles
New Jersey's Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU) has unveiled a program that offers business aircraft operators the ability to purchase fuel at wholesale prices if they lease hangar space at the field.