First quarter shipments of new U.S.-built GA aircraft were the best since record keeping started in 1946, according to GAMA. Compared to the first quarter of 1997, aircraft billings increased by 28.8 percent, to $1.141 billion in the first quarter. The 82 jet deliveries was an increase of 30.2 percent over the first quarter of 1997. Turboprop deliveries increased 20.5 percent to 47 units. And the 327 piston-engine aircraft shipments was a 142.2 percent increase over first-quarter 1997 deliveries.
Deliveries of the Learjet 45, which received basic FAA certification in September 1997, are starting, now that the aircraft received flight-into-known-icing approval and production certification (April, page 20). Bombardier plans to deliver 48 aircraft in the current fiscal year that ends January 31, 1999 and 60 during FY 1999/2000. Learjet says total orders stand at nearly 160. JAA certification is expected this summer.
Ready now for your reference is the '98 Jet and Propjet, a 435-page directory of 11,702 business jets in corporate and government service, plus 10,400 turboprop aircraft. Aircraft listed are registered in seven world areas, covering 134 countries. The compilation features 187 aircraft models built by 44 manufacturers. The book also identifies all aircraft withdrawn from service. Price: $21.95. Avcom International, P.O. Box 2398, Wichita, Kan. 67201. (316) 262-1493; fax: (316) 262-5333.
New elected officers are: president Elizabeth Clark, a Beechjet and King Air captain with Mississippi Chemical Corp., and secretary/communications director Jane Toth, a copilot at Wayfarer Aviation.
A Senate bill basically paralleling the provisions of H.R. 664, the "Airplane Emergency Locator Act," is in the works, according to a spokesperson for Representative Christopher Shays (R-Conn.). The legislation would extend the requirement for ELTs to jets. Shays introduced the House bill in spring 1997 in connection with a Learjet 35A that is still missing and assumed crashed after an attempted landing at New Hampshire's Lebanon Airport on December 24, 1996 (August 1997, page 14).
Garrett introduced a fuel pricing plan at its Los Angeles International Airport FBO in which ramp fees are waived with a specified minimum fuel purchase, based on aircraft size. Also, there is a discounted fuel price when more than the minimum is purchased. For example, the minimum fuel purchase necessary to waive the ramp fee for a Gulfstream, Challenger or Falcon 900 is 250 gallons. Double that purchase, and Garrett knocks off 20 cents per gallon from the total fuel purchase.
Mert Madden, president of Madden Aircraft Sales in Dallas, died April 6 at the age of 77 from cancer. Madden was known for his modification of the Tempo II pressurized corporate aircraft and for his conversions of many other aircraft. Formerly a military pilot, Madden worked several years for L.B. Smith, an FBO in Miami. Upon moving to Dallas, he founded his own corporate aircraft sales business and was an Aero Commander dealer.
Aeor Mats and Pylon Mats from I.L.Y.P. Sales provided removable covers to protect aircraft wings and pylons from structural damage during maintenance and repairs. The closed-cell vinyl sponge matting--available for most business aircraft--is fluid-resistant and wipes clean with alcohol or soap and water. Yellow borders on the 25- to 45-pound mats warn of hazardous work areas. The nonskid, pebble-finish mats, says I.L.V.P., help to relieve workers' leg and back fatigue.
This chart, supplied by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fl., shows the number of accidents and major incidents experienced by the turbine-business aircraft fleet from the time the specific model was introduced through 1997. WORLDWIDE AIRCRAFT-SPECIFIC ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS Business Jets Number of Accidents/ Major Aircraft Incidents Challengers 14
Lancair International selected BFGoodrich's Stormscope WX-950 thunderstorm detection system as standard equipment on the Columbia 300, a four-place, single-engine recip scheduled for certification in the fall (May, page 68). The system will be designed to interface with the Avidyne/AvroTech Flight Monitor multifunction display.
FAA extended the comment period to June 26 on its August 1997 proposal to update the overall regulatory structure of FAR Part 107 (airport security) and Part 108 (aircraft operator security). Several general aviation interests are already on record proposing that separate rules be adopted for general aviation operations (February 1998, page 24). For more information, contact the FAA at (202) 267-9496.
A realignment of the top executives at Signature Flight Support and its parent unit, BBA Aviation, resulted in Bruce Van Allen being promoted to president and CEO of the FBO chain. Dick Dodson moved up to become president and CEO of the BBA Aviation Division. In addition to Signature, BBA Aviation includes Dallas Airmotive (which recently acquired Precision Avionics and Instruments in Atlanta).
Nearly five percent fewer regional airlines carried seven percent more passengers during 1997, according to the RAA. They also generated 7.6-percent more revenue passenger miles on an increase of only 3.5 percent in available seat miles, and average load factor increased from 53 to 55 percent year-over-year. The number of airlines in operation declined 4.6 percent to 104-a number that stood at 169 in 1987.
Despite initial misgivings from many quadrants about Jane Garvey's lack of aviation experience, she has done a remarkable job of turning potential critics into fans during her first nine months on the job. Already popular on Capitol Hill when she got the FAA job, Garvey has managed to solidify her support in Congress and won kudos for her efforts to communicate with the people who build and fly aircraft. She's also drawn praise for trying to develop consensus answers to major problems and prioritizing the FAA's safety agenda.
A strike or even a work slowdown by air traffic controllers in Canada is not imminent, despite an overwhelming rejection in early May of a proposed contract offer. Officials from Nav Canada and the Canadian Air Traffic Controllers Association told B/CA that the steps required to obtain authority to strike (including a work slowdown) take several months.
Something special is in the air at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.: Two business aircraft hanging on high for public view-a Beech King Air A90 and a Cessna Citation 501. The business aircraft classics are part of a new, NBAA-sponsored "Business Wings" exhibit that opened on June 12 and runs through May 31, 1999 to inform museum visitors about the roots and purpose of business aviation.
When you decided to become an aviation professional, you knew you would have to master many skills-piloting, for example, and engineering and management. But, I bet you never suspected one of those critical skills would be legislative lobbying. Well, it is, and if you avoid using that skill, you risk serious consequences.
Avidyne Corp. received TSO C113 EFIS and C110 lightning sensor system approvals for its flat-panel, multifunction flight computer, thereby paving the way for STC approvals in a wide variety of installations, including in Mooney 252s. TSO C63c weather radar interface certification is expected by the end of the summer. News of the TSO approval was welcomed by AvroTech, a manufacturer of large format, flat-panel MFDs that will use Avidyne's software.
The CFE738 engine, built under a joint program between AlliedSignal and General Electric, recently passed 100,000 hours of operation since entering service in 1995. More than 100 engines are in service
Aircraft painting companies and other aviation users of methylene chloride may be given more regulatory relief from Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules aimed at lowering exposure rates to the caustic chemical (February, page 28). OSHA is considering a petition to extend to April 10, 2000 the start-up date to install engineering and respirator controls that limit exposure. The current deadlines are August 31 for respirator controls and December 10 for engineering controls.
New from PPG Industries is a disposable, single-application rain-repellent coating kit formulated as a visibility enhancer for glass-faced aircraft windshields. PPG's Hydrophobic Coating Application Kit includes Surface Seal coating and all materials needed to clean, prime and coat the windshield in about one hour. The handle-box kit weighs less than 10 pounds. Price: $350. PPG Industries, P.O. Box 040004, Huntsville, Ala. 35804. (205) 851-7001; fax: (205) 851-8822.
