DeCrane Aircraft Holding of El Segundo, Calif. signed an agreement to purchase Avtech Corp. of Seattle. Both firms are suppliers of avionics and other electronic systems.
The former Air Force base at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, adjacent to Taxiway V2, will become the site of a new FBO slated to open on September 1, 1999. After the city of Chicago awards the contract to the successful bidder, plans call for construction to begin on March 1, 1999. Meanwhile, the existing FBO, Signature Flight Support, is expected to be one of the contenders for development of the property.
Edited by Gordon A. GilbertRichard O. Reinhart, M.D.
For decades, aviation has been looking for a pill that improves sleep and decreases jet lag. And melatonin, by default, has become that for many aircrews. Now, the FAA has just released its review of what it knows so far about the effectiveness and safety of melatonin. For many users, melatonin has been known to initiate sleep as well as improve its quality often without a hangover effect. Melatonin is thought to be able to readjust our usual circadian cycle.
Preliminary Specifications of the 728JET Family Working Designation 528JET 728JET Capacity (31-in. pitch) 55 70 Cross Section 5-abreast 5-abreast Powerplant GE CF35-3BX GE CF34-81C T/O Power Rating 8.730 lb 12,650 lb Max Takeoff Weight 55,997 lb 69,996 lb Max Payload 13,338 lb 16,975 lb Design Range 1,200 nm 1,600 nm
Micro-Gloss is a two-in-one cleaner and polisher for acrylic aircraft windows. The wax-free formula removes swirls, milkiness, fine scratches and hazing. Micro-Gloss can be applied with a right- angle buffer or by hand. Price: $5.75 for an eight-ounce bottle; $62.50 for a gallon. Micro-Surface Finishing Products, P.O. Box 818, Wilton, Iowa 52778. (319) 732-3240; fax: (319) 732-3390.
The following are target dates for emerging turbine aircraft. These dates, supplied by the airframe manufacturers, are subject to change-and frequently do-as a result of design revisions, funding, testing delays or extensions, and/or the resolution of unforeseen problems. Each month, this table will endeavor to show the most-current schedule. Manufacturer Model AASI Jetcruzer 500 Turboprop Agusta A119 Koala Single Turbine Airbus A319CJ
Active anti-noise systems, which have for the last several years been offered as standard equipment or a factory option on regional airliners, are now increasingly common in business aircraft. A Lord Corp. system is standard on the Citation X, and, working with Ultra Electronics and Elliott Aviation, Raytheon has begun installing active noise systems in all new King Air 350s. Separately, Bombardier is testing an Ultra system that will be available as an option and a retrofit for Challenger 604s and 601s.
Ayres Corp. plans to acquire aircraft manufacturer LET of Kunovice, Czech Republic. The sale may help to accelerate development of LET's 40-seat L610, scheduled to be certificated by year-end. The 19-seat LET-420 received certification earlier this year (May, page 26). LET is under contract with Albany, Ga.-based Ayres to build the wings and empennage for the Ayres Loadmaster, a twin-engine, single propeller utility aircraft scheduled to fly this summer and enter service in December 1999 (May, page 106).
Dr. Oleg Antonov, head of the Moscow-based firm Aviaconversia, shocked a lot of GPS advocates in September 1997, when he showed off his new, portable, four-watt output, GPS/ Glonass jammer at the Moscow Air Show. You could almost hear the gasps from Washington when Dr. Antonov told onlookers that the box, ready for retail deliveries, could disrupt civil and military satellite navigation signals for more than 100 nm in any direction.
The controller at Santa Barbara TRACON was baffled. The Baron pilot he was working calmly acknowledged his repeated urgent instructions to turn to a new heading to avoid rising terrain, yet the radar track continued toward the hills and, within moments, the target disappeared from the scope. A short time later controllers received word that the airplane had crashed in the nearby hills and the pilot, its sole occupant, had been killed.
Continental Express is drawing legal flak over its decision to offer scheduled ExpressJet service between Dallas Love Field and its Cleveland hub effective July 1. The D/FW Airport board immediately said it would sue corporate parent Continental. COEx service between Love and Houston effective June 11 was not challenged because it is intrastate.
The news of Frank Sinatra's going up to that Big Hangar in the Sky went around the Planet Earth in seconds. His zillion fans were saddened but not shocked as the word of his rapidly failing health preceded his demise. The good, gray New York Times gave his passing two columns on the front page and two pages in the obit section, sometimes called the Irish sports page.
Dassault Electronique and Sextant Avionique of France have jointly established CNS Avionics to launch, market and support each firm's current communications, navigation and surveillance systems, as well as new products, such as GCAS (Ground Collision Avoidance Systems) and Aero-I satcom.
The celebrated mechanical ability of Clyde V. Cessna and the durable aircraft manufacturing empire he built are brought to you by an author who sits comfortably on a stack of best-seller books he's written on the history of American corporations.
Houston-based American Jet International has launched a fractional ownership program, offering up to five shares per aircraft in refurbished Learjet 25s, 35s and 55s. Called American Jet Shares, the net after-tax cost for a five-year ownership share is approximately $1,600 per flying hour, said AJI President Roger Woolsey. If an owner decides to sell after the five-year period, Woolsey says AJI will help with the sale for a "small fee." AJI has been a charter operator since 1991.
Bombardier anticipates Transport Canada certification of the Global Express this month, with FAA/JAA approvals to follow. Transport Canada certification had been targeted for June. Maximum range has dropped back to 6,500 nm from 6,700 nm while weight-reduction and SFC-improvement work continue (January 1997, page 18). Four aircraft are currently undergoing completions and the first customer aircraft is expected to be operational by year-end. Between 16 and 20 green aircraft will be delivered this year.
With the recent closing of Runway 1/19, the authority for Kentucky's Louisville International Airport is asking operators to pay particular attention to the noise mitigation procedures outlined in the airport's FAR Part 150 program. Among these is a request for business aircraft operators to use NBAA "close in" noise abatement procedures taking off to the east, west and north, and "standard" noise abatement procedures taking off to the south. It is unlikely that a night curfew will be imposed.
The NASA folks who run the Aviation Safety Reporting System lately have received a number of reports concerning a small patch of very important airspace-Prohibited Area P-56-that lies over the White House. Some arrival and departure procedures for nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport may bring pilots very close to and possibly into P-56 if they do not follow assigned routings precisely. Here's an ASRS report from a business aircraft copilot:
