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.
The Piaggio P-180 Avanti twin-turboprop was removed from a series of proposed ADs that would tighten up the rules for operating in icing conditions. The proposal covers thousands of aircraft with unpowered ailerons and pneumatic boots (November 1997, page 17). But the P-180 is not one of them. Piaggio informed the FAA that the P-180 has a bleed air and electrothermal anti-ice system.
Simulator installations have been made by FlightSafety International at the following locations: a Citation I in Vero Beach, Fla.; a Learjet 55 in West Palm Beach; and a Challenger 604 at La Guardia Airport.
Installation of a new Hartzell replacement kit eliminates the recurring and extensive inspection requirements of AD 97-18-02 and 97-19-02, affecting various 1950s and 1960s Twin Commander 500 series aircraft, as well as several piston singles and twin models from Beech, Cessna and Piper. Twin Commander Aircraft in Arlington, Wash. is selling the kit (consisting of a pair of new three-blade propellers, two new polished spinners and mounting hardware) for $18,500, or $19,700 with deice boots.
Dallas' Love Field does not anticipate any negative impact on general aviation now that Continental Airlines has introduced flights from DAL to Cleveland and Houston. "A few more flights a day won't hurt us," said Fain Johnston, the airport's assistant director of aviation. She explained Continental's move means a total of only seven additional flights per day.
The General Accounting Office published a report this spring that should be interesting reading for anyone who's ever been on the pointy end of an FAA enforcement proceeding-or anyone who finds himself in such a position. The GAO, Congress' investigative arm, interviewed scores of FAA safety inspectors and members of the general counsel's staff in FAA regional headquarters offices to develop its comprehensive report about how the FAA enforces its regulations. What did the GAO find?
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.
