No significant rule changes resulted from the FAA's recent update of its Aviation Insurance regulation, FAR Part 198. The regulation permits the government to provide insurance for civil aircraft chartered by the military when commercial insurance cannot be obtained
Golfbag Express is marketing a white plastic, golf-bag shipping container to ease the weight, space and handling problems of carrying golf clubs on multi-leg business trips in smaller aircraft. The golf clubs are shipped via United Parcel Service 2nd Day Air to the passenger's destination of choice: golf course, home or office. Price: No charge for the containers. Customer is billed only when UPS moves the bag-$59 each way, flat rate, within the United States, including Hawaii. Golfbag Express, 222 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. 2000, El Segundo, Calif. 90245.
Administrative Judge Allan Elmore of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals has reopened the appeals case of TPI International Airways based on new charges of "fraud upon the court" on the part of government witnesses. Following a series of hearings in 1995, Elmore had ruled against the small Brunswick, Ga., cargo carrier's appeal of an Air Force contract cancellation in August 1990 at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
An FAA program designed to transmit timely graphical, digital weather data to general aviation aircraft essentially free of charge is now in the works. The Flight Information Services program will involve the combined efforts of the agency, vendors and users to reduce weather-related accidents. Operators will need to purchase cockpit display capability. FAA data will be transmitted to aircraft through four VHF channels. Vendors will provide free basic FIS products to all properly equipped aircraft, but vendors could charge for more sophisticated service.
Ready for the asking at Wisconsin FBOs and pilot shops is the 1998 Wisconsin Aeronautical Chart produced by the state's Bureau of Aeronautics. The chart, which is available free of charge, has been completely revised and includes current airport surveyed runway lengths and landscape obstructions. Frequencies are listed for CTAF and AWOS at state airports.
The compliance date for operators using European airspace to install B-RNAV was August 1 at press time, and Eurocontrol's Alexander Hendriks proclaimed there will be no further postponements. Serious backlogs in the delivery and installation of required onboard equipment to hundreds of operators have forced two delays already (June, page 26).
Tyler Jet Completions in Tyler, Texas has been FAA approved as a certificated repair station to perform limited powerplant and accessory installations and repairs
Moshe Keret, IAI's president and CEO, is all smiles these days. We imagine he must have sighed mightily in relief when he saw the final financial performance figures for 1997. IAI's revenue was up 15 percent from 1996 to $1.7 billion. More importantly, the firm earned a modest $24.3 million profit, reversing five years of losses, including a $42 million loss in 1996. "We're now out of the recovery period and business looks very good for the first six months of 1998 and beyond. Our backlog has increased.
This FBO announces two appointments: Jim P. Johnson as director of operations for Downtown AirCharter and Tim Corter as the company's Twin Commander Grand Renaissance refurbishment supervisor.
At its annual maintenance and operations meeting, Gulfstream Aerospace told its customers that it hopes to increase dispatch reliability from "99.4 percent to 99.7 percent" through improved product quality and support
The recent flurry of emergency ADs mandating inspections of electrical wiring related to fuel quantity indicating systems and electrical wiring that runs through fuel tanks on Boeing 737s, 747s and 767s should be of interest and potential concern to corporate and regional operators for two reasons.
Miami-based Aeroservice Training Center and FlightSafety Boeing Training International have received FAR Part 142 training certification. Among other things, Part 142 allows for the increased use of simulators for most pilot training, testing and checking tasks. In the case of Aeroservice, the Part 142 approval permits the 22-year-old company to train, check and license pilots for DC-8s, B737s and B727s.
Wayfarer Aviation, the White Plains, N.Y.-based firm best known for its large charter and management operation, is greatly expanding its outside maintenance services. Under the label "Blue Light Service," Wayfarer President Jim Christiansen said the company now offers "'round the clock AOG and routine maintenance for most corporate aircraft." Wayfarer has maintained an FAR Part 145 repair station at Westchester County Airport for many years, but Blue Light Service is the company's first organized maintenance product.
K-C Aviation has rescheduled its 1998 Sundstrand APU training program at Westfield, Mass. to October 6-8. Originally, the program was scheduled for later in October. The course, FAA approved for IA renewal, will cover troubleshooting and inspections of T62T-39 and -40C series units. The course costs $850 and registration should be made no later than September 6. The course also will run in Dallas on December 8-10. For additional information, contact Jeff Shope at K-C Aviation in Dallas. Phone: (214) 902-7575, fax: (214) 902-7625.
Pat Andrews, general manager of global aircraft services for Mobil Business Resources Group, was presented with the Flight Safety Foundation's Business Aviation Meritorious Award. The award was presented at the FSF's annual corporate aviation safety seminar in April. Andrews was honored for "her outstanding efforts to improve corporate aviation safety."
Congress told the FAA in 1996 that it had to appoint an FAA Management Advisory Council made up of 15 industry representatives, a task that the agency is just now getting around to. The agency says the nominations have been made and are being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. But insiders say that GA will be poorly represented. That may not matter because several issues intended to be discussed by the MAC were taken up by the National Civil Aviation Review Council, another industry group in which many felt GA was under-represented.
The Gavilan 358, a single-engine, fixed-gear utility aircraft capable of carrying eight persons and operating from unimproved runways, recently received FAR Part 23 Certification. Powered by a 350-hp Lycoming turbocharged engine, the Gavilan 358 has a base price of $350,000, which includes a GPS receiver and a single VHF radio. The aircraft, under development since 1992, is manufactured by El Gavilan S.A. in Bogota, Colombia. Currently, there is no U.S. service or sales outlet (September 1992, page 26). See May, page 71 for a detailed listing of performance figures.
This aircraft management company made the following changes in its executive lineup after AMI was acquired by the TAG Group of Geneva, Switzerland: Duncan C. Higgins, former president and chief operating officer, was promoted to vice chairman. J.W.P. Cartwright, previously an AMI vice president, is president and chief operating officer. C. Jeffrey Weber is now president of AMI International, the holding company under which AMI conducts overseas operations.
If you use a computer, you're probably aware of the "Year 2000," "Y2K" or "Millennium Bug" issue. Most of us understand that it has something to do with how computers-from large mainframes to laptop PCs-will cope when the calendar rolls over from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000.
