Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)-Jennifer Wagner was appointed manager of media relations for this manufacturer of communication products and systems for aviation.
Vancouver, B.C.-based Mercury Scheduling Systems, Inc. has developed a new entry-level crew planning package for Windows 95 and NT. The new NOVA-Lite builds on Mercury's DOS predecessor, Northstar. The new package features multiple Windows user interface and online help. NOVA-Lite is designed to meet the needs of smaller airlines with 250 flightcrews or less. It provides crew planners with tools to maintain flight plans, construct pairings and publish rosters.
Illustration: Graph: Cumulative Value of Business Jet Deliveries (1998-2007) The business jet market in "peaking, not booming," but peaking is good, says Richard Aboulafia, director of aviation consulting for Teal Group Corp. of Fairfax, Va. He forecasts a cumulative value of about $33 billion in major manufactures' business jet deliveries in 10 years. (See chart). The market is being driven by the new models of aircraft that have recently hit, or are about to hit, in a "supply/push, rather than a demand/pull" climb, he explains.
The Mini-TAN Lubricant T3st Kit Tests for undersirable acidic components in lubricants, but not for the other conditions listed in Product Previews in the July issue (page 104).
Available from airports in the Garden State is the 1998 New Jersey Airport Directory. Ted Matthews, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Aeronautics, said the biggest change in the pocket-size publication is the shift from overhead views of the state's airports to oblique views that show the airports as they appear at pattern altitude. There is no charge for the directory since it was financed by the aviation fuel tax.
The Doublefly distress marker light plays a dual role. First, it's a strobe that flashes to get the attention of a search- and-rescue aircraft or vessel. Then, once the rescuer is closing in, the survivor(s) can guide the searchers by flipping a switch to illuminate a 1.0-cd incandescent lamp. The steady light will give the navigator a solid point of reference and better distance perception. The Doublefly measures 4.5
Opening day at Signature Flight Support in Milwaukee was celebrated by both staff and customers this summer when the FBO vacated a temporary location at Milwaukee International Airport and set up shop in a new, modern 9,000-square-foot facility. The building offers advanced flight-planning areas, a pilot lounge/snooze room, crew shower areas, executive conference rooms, a catering "prep" kitchen, computer dataports in all public areas and a state-of-the art lobby. Signature-Milwaukee's telephone (414) 747-5100 and fax numbers (414) 747-5400 remain the same.
One reference book on transoceanic and long-distance navigation to have within your reach is Global Navigation for Pilots: International Flight Techniques and Procedures, second edition. This new release from Aviation Supplies and Academics was written by Dale DeRemer, a former chief pilot and professor of aviation at the University of North Dakota, and Donald McLean, a former charter pilot and naval aviator.
Safety professionals view the world's mishaps from atop Heinrich's Pyramid, a three-level theoretical formulation that states for each catastrophic accident, there are many minor accidents; and for each minor accident, there are many incidents. If you can get a handle on the incidents, then, you can reduce accidents.
All four persons aboard a Socata TBM700, N69BS, were killed when the aircraft crashed while on downwind to South Dakota's Spearfish/Black Hills Airport on August 4. Witnesses said that there were jagged ceilings at the time about 400 feet to 500 feet agl. They saw the airplane below the clouds and as the airplane proceeded downwind, it momentarily entered a cloud. As it came out of the cloud, it turned left in about a 30 degree bank. The angle of bank increased to about 70 degrees to 80 degrees, the tail came up and the airplane hit the ground nose first.
Henri Ziegler, 92, the respected founding father of Airbus, died July 23 in France. Ziegler was the spark behind the development of the Airbus A300B program that kicked off in May 1969. After organizing the consortium's integrated management and sales structure, he worked as Airbus Industrie's managing director until he retired in 1975.
FAA (Washington, D.C.)-The agency has filled two high-level positions: Steven B. Zaidman is the new associate administrator for research and acquisitions, succeeding George Donohue. Herman A. Rediess has been named director of the FAA's Office of Aviation Research.
Flat-panel multi-function display technology is much closer to becoming a reality in smaller business aircraft, now that Avidyne has obtained FAA TSO C63c radar interface certification, in addition to its TSO C113 EFIS and TSO C110 lightning sensor approvals (July, page 47).
Illustration: Diagram: A range of data relay are being evalutated for use with the FAA's Free Flight concept, soon to be tested by pilots and controllers in Alaska and Hawaii. Here, an advanced Mode S transponder being developed by Honeywell would be used to relay various types of information. As summer was winding down, Congress was still deliberating Fiscal 1999 funding approval for Flight 2000, one of the FAA's pet projects.
Following its investigation of 25 reported incidents of ice-induced engine flameouts of TPE331-powered airplanes since 1974 and the issuance of several ADs, the NTSB is recommending that the FAA require the development and installation of a fully automatic, engine ignition system. The current system requires pilot input. Until such a system is installed, the Safety Board wants AFM's revised to include dual-engine flameout procedures. AlliedSignal officials were not available for comment.
Professional Flight Management (PFM) and Pensacola, Fla.'s Advanced Aviation Services International, Inc. (AASII) have teamed up to cross-promote and market each others' products and services. Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based PFM has selected AASII's maintenance management software to interface with PFM's flight operations programs. Both organizations will maintain their own identities, and will be exhibiting together at the NBAA convention in October.
On July 24 a Citation 500, operating as a cargo flight under FAR Part 135 by Skyward Aviation of Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, Canada, was destroyed during an aborted takeoff at Rawlins, Wyoming. The two pilots were injured. The captain said that during the takeoff roll, the airplane felt "sluggish," which he attributed to high density altitude. After rotation, the airplane climbed to about 10 feet and "shuddered." The captain aborted the takeoff, landed the airplane on the runway, applied brakes and deployed a drag chute, but the chute cord broke.
Regent Aerospace Corp.'s Aircraft Window Inspection Prism Kit (P-Kit) allows the user to perform window bolt-hole inspections without removing the window. The kit is appropriate for many types of aircraft for which the inspection is required, including turbines. Price: $225. Regent Aerospace Corp., 27968 Beale Ct., Valencia, Calif. 91355. (805) 257-3000;fax: (805) 257-6863.
FlightSafety International reports that its new Bell 430 full-flight simulator, now in residence at FSI's Fort Worth Learning Center, is about to begin its journey to certification, which is anticipated in the early fourth quarter. The Bell 430 simulator is equipped with the VITAL Chroma-View-Plus visual system, enabling a colorful 180-degree view. A graphic resolution of 1.6 million pixels and 11,000 polygons per channel produces sharp detail for the pilot, said FSI.
Reduction of cabin noise levels by as much as 50 percent is being claimed by a Southern California manufacturer of new lightweight acoustic and thermal barriers.
Las Vegas Airlines will challenge American Eagle's dominance in the Caribbean in October with establishment of a new Virgin Islands International Airlines (VIIA), based at St. Thomas. The carrier intends to lease three de Havilland Dash 8-100s configured for 34 passengers and says it will compete with Eagle on the basis of "price, service and better connections," according to a recent filing with the SEC.
