The introduction of a paint shop at Sabreliner's Midcoast Aviation in Little Rock, Ark. is one of several new capabilities that Sabreliner has undertaken to meet the needs of an expanding marketplace. The paint shop will be part of a two-hangar complex recently leased by Midcoast at Little Rock Municipal Airport. The additional 68,728 square feet of hangar space is scheduled to be fully operational by January 1999, increasing Midcoast's Little Rock capacity by 34 percent.
Atech Turbine Components in Worcester, Mass. received P&WC approval for the application of an alternate coating to the diffusion on specific PT6 hot section components and for the repair and overhaul of PW100 outer combustion liners .
Operators interested in buying or selling aircraft now have access to an extensive new interactive Internet site--aircraftbuyer.com--introduced at the NBAA convention in October by The McGraw-Hill Cos.' Aviation Week unit. The site was developed by B/CA and A/C Flyer, an aircraft resale magazine.
Operators are reminded that November 24 is the deadline for comments on the FAA's proposal to require Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems on all turbine aircraft with six or more passenger seats (October, page 72). For a description of available or developing TAWS units and their costs, see the article beginning on page 78 of this issue.
Properly registered business aviation operators can participate in the International Flight Folder Program, introduced in October by the National Weather Service. On request to the NWS' Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Mo., operators can obtain the IFF via fax. The program is designed for the airlines as part of U.S. agreements with ICAO. Each IFF contains route-specific winds, temperatures aloft, significant weather charts, TAFs, SIGMETS and METARS. For more details, contact the IFF program office at (816) 426-3427, ext. 248.
At press time, AMR Combs was sending information packages to prospective buyers for its fleet of 14 FBOs following the parent company's decision to focus solely on its core airline operations. Dallas-based AMR Corp. in late September announced plans to sell three non-core businesses that together made up its AMR Global Services unit, including the FBOs, an airline-oriented ramp handling company and a telemarketing unit.
University of New Haven (New Haven, Conn.)--John D. Kelly was appointed director of aviation programs for the School of Public Safety and Professional Studies. Since 1980, he has been president of Shoreline Aviation, an FAA repair station in Houston, and also serves on the board of the National Air Transportation Association.
Italy's Air Dolomiti was named regional airline of the year by the European Regions Airline Association at its recent 1998 general assembly at Hanover, Germany. The carrier, majority owned by Leali Steel Group, flies a fleet of ATR aircraft from hubs at Trieste and Verona. As a code-sharing partner of Lufthansa, it flies to eight domestic destinations in Italy as well as Barcelona, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris.
The FAA issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making on August 19 that is one of the most broad sweeping regulatory proposals ever published by the U.S. government. The NPRM will require installation of Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems in all turboprop and turbofan aircraft with six or more passenger seats. The requirement applies to aircraft operated under FAR Parts 91, 121, 125 and 135.
Heartened by the success of its first International Business Aviation Pavilion at Farnborough '98, U.K.-based AviaSource International will try its hand at an IBAP at the Paris Air Show, set for June 13-20, 1999. According to AviaSource, the first IBAP at Farnborough attracted visitors from 18 countries, and the company claims that ``well over 90 percent were important decision-makers.'' The IBAP is designed as a forum for aircraft operators and suppliers to come together to conduct business.
General aviation needs technicians, and to keep the vocation alive and well, the Aircraft Electronics Association in Independence, Mo. is waging a nationwide campaign to attract students to avionics repair and sales as a career. Would you like to be an avionics technician promoter? The AEA's 12-minute video ``Avionics: Are You Up for the Challenge'' is free to anyone who wants to use it to address students and talk up avionics. As the videotape rolls, technicians explain the attractions of the job. To request the video, phone (816) 373-6565 or e-mail [email protected].
AMR Combs (Fort Worth)--William S. Koch is the new president of the FBO network, following the November 1 retirement of Robert P. Anderson, who held the position for 13 years.
The latest from Rapid Response Systems is the FTS aircraft de-fueler/refueler. The unit defuels avgas or Jet-A from an aircraft and stores it in a tank. Capacities range from 250 gallons to 1,000 gallons. When the operator is ready, the fuel can be returned to the aircraft via a filter system. A custom-designed pump, activated by any power-tool air hose, delivers flows from 20 gpm to 70 gpm. Price: $7,700 to $11,800, depending on size of the tank. Rapid Response Systems, 2531 Westview Dr., Bartlesville, Okla. 74003. (918) 333-5474; fax: (918) 338-2228.
AlliedSignal's 1998 survey of business aircraft operators' expectations for the purchase of new turbofan aircraft nearly matched the record high levels reported in 1997. Based on input from over 1,000 flight departments in North America, Latin America and Europe, the five-year world market extrapolation for new business jet deliveries rose 2.8 percent over 1997's results. Among the regions surveyed, expectations increased in North America, remained stable in Europe and declined in Latin America.
Insiders say that FAA certification of the Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 business jet will slip until mid to late 2000, although the firm is standing by its projected date of fourth-quarter 1999. The first production conforming aircraft won't fly until early next year, followed in 30 to 60 days by the second and third flight test aircraft.
Sales of used turbine aircraft continued at a brisk pace and the value of the jet and turboprop fleets each increased more than two percent during the second quarter of 1998, according to the publishers of The Aircraft Bluebook. Bluebook publisher Primedia Intertec, based in Overland Park, Kan., noted that the robust sales activity continues to push up jet prices, although turboprop values rose only slightly.
The ``yolk'' referred to in the September Intelligence item describing the interior styling of the Jaguar King Air (page 26) should, of course, be ``yoke.''
Air traffic controllers may begin to provide pilots with more timely and accurate alerts on wind shear, microbursts and other severe weather when the FAA eventually starts installing a new computer program called Weather Systems Processors. But the product is about two years down the road. Installation of production-version WSPs is not scheduled to start until nearly 2001, and the technology has yet to be developed.
Orenda Recip Inc. opened its Nova Scotia factory, where it plans to build V-8 engines intended for new airframes as well as retrofit for existing turboprop- and piston-powered airplanes. Gordon A. Gilbert
United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines has launched new Canadair Regional Jet service between Chicago O'Hare and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., and upgraded service from its Washington Dulles International hub to Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; and Hartford, Conn. The O'Hare-Wilkes-Barre service, with three daily roundtrips, comes as a result of so-called ``exemption slots'' awarded by the DOT to promote jet service to markets perceived to be underserved. The carrier also gained exemption slots for service from O'Hare to Charleston, W.Va.
Embraer has made a number of top management changes, both at the factory in Brazil and at the company's EAC subsidiary in Fort Lauderdale. EAC President Sam Hill has been named vice chairman of the EAC board of directors and will work closely with Maurcio Botelho, Embraer CEO and EAC board chairman, in business and strategic development of the company. Hill is replaced by Gary Spulak as EAC president and director of financial development. He previously was executive vice president of EAC and has been with the company since 1983.
Cutter Aviation, the Phoenix-based aircraft sales and service organization, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. William P. Cutter and his wife Virginia founded the original company, Cutter Flying Service, in Albuquerque in 1928. Today, the FBO is headed by Chairman and CEO William R. Cutter, son of the founders. One of the oldest FBOs in the United States, Cutter Aviation sells new Raytheon Beech Aircraft and a variety of preowned airplanes from sales offices in Phoenix; Albuquerque; Long Beach, Calif.; and Austin, Midland and San Antonio, Texas.
Bombardier's mulsize contender, the Continental, was introduced at the NBAA convention in October, but it won't officially be launched until it has a sufficient number of firm orders. Bombardier expects that to happen by mid-1999. The interior cross section will be 86 inches wide and 73 inches high, with a 61- inch wide flat floor. The length of the passenger cabin is 16.5 feet. The Continental will have an NBAA IER range of 3,100 nm with eight passengers. Power will come from two 7,595-pound-thrust AlliedSignal AS907 turbofans.
Gulfstream Aerospace and GATX Capital Corp. have formed a joint-venture company to offer flexible, short-term leases on Gulfstream IVSPs and Vs. The joint-venture company, Gulfstream GATX Leasing LLC, placed orders for five G-Vs and one G-IVSP with deliveries from 1999 through 2001. The venture ownership is split 85 percent by GATX and 15 percent by Gulfstream. GATX is providing financing and management, while Gulfstream is handling sales, marketing and aircraft maintenance.
