In addition to receiving information and seeing photos of this Memphis-based FBO, the site also includes links to other aviation sites and data on local attractions, restaurants and lodging.
Virtually all production aircraft sooner or later are the subject of ADs, and new Gulfstream Vs have received their first hit. AD 98-09-01, effective May 5, requires inspections as well as functional tests of the elevator hardover protection system to detect any miswiring that could prevent correct operation of the HOPS, said the FAA.
On July 1, Continental Express will increase Embraer RJ145 ExpressJet service between Newark and Montreal from three to four times daily. In addition, it will begin nonstop service between Houston and Cincinnati with three flights daily effective August 1. With that new route, the carrier will serve Cincinnati from each of Continental's hubs-Houston, Newark and Cleveland. Cincinnati, of course, is the fortress hub of Delta and Delta Connection Comair.
Kentucky Governor Paul Patton was expected to sign legislation that establishes a dedicated aviation trust fund that state officials project will generate some $9 million a year for aviation projects. The state's six-percent jet fuel tax will finance the fund. Thirty states now have aviation trust funds, according to the AOPA.
An end-of-July rollout from the Renton, Wash. factory is planned for the BBJ, with the first flight planned for late August and certification in the fourth quarter. The Boeing Business Jet combines the fuselage of the new 737-700 with the center section, wing, landing gear and CFM56-7 engines of the larger -800 model. The -800's heftier structure enables the BBJ to be certificated at 171,000 pounds MTOW, an important factor because the BBJ will carry the Pat's, inc.
Pilots at Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. narrowly voted to reject a bid for unionization by the Office and Professional Employees International Union. Although PHI management is pleased that this was the second time a majority of pilots voted against joining this union (the first was in September 1997), the difference was just six votes out of 502: 254 against unionization, 248 for unionization. In the 1997 vote, 332 pilots voted against unionization versus 246 for it.
Continental reached a tentative agreement with its Continental Express pilots in early March on a new five-year labor contract. The carrier is represented by the Independent Association of Continental Pilots (IACP). According to union sources, the remaining issues involved labor protection, pay schedules covering a proposed 37-seat jet and first-officer pay.
Rulemaking has been proposed to require operators of older Airbus, BAC, Boeing, Douglas, Fokker and Lockheed aircraft to incorporate "repair assessment guidelines" for the fuselage pressure boundary (fuselage skins and pressure webs). If enacted, the rule will serve to establish a damage-tolerance-based supplemental inspection program for repairs that have already been made. Comments are due July 2. For more details, contact the FAA in Renton, Wash. Phone: (425) 227-2109. There are no plans to apply this requirement to mainstream business jets, said FAA officials.
Millville, N.J. engine maintenance company Airwork has taken a decidedly independent tack since being swept up in General Electric's acquisition of Greenwich Air Services and UNC (March, page 55). While a GE spokesperson declined to comment, sources indicate Airwork, which services Allison, Pratt&Whitney Canada and Rolls-Royce engines, as well as AlliedSignal APUs, is for sale. In addition to outside interest, Airwork's management team apparently is bidding to purchase the unit from GE.
FAA plans to form teams of specialists to examine issues of pilot decision making, loss of control, weather, controlled flight into terrain, crash survivability and runway incursions in an effort to reduce general aviation accidents. Under the new initiative, called "Safer Skies," the FAA said it will work to reduce the number of accidents by 80 percent over the next 10 years. The agency also reiterated its plan to require Enhanced GPWS in all turbine aircraft with more than six passenger seats. (February, page 17).
Russell Purchase, 85, instructor in the Air Transport Command in the 1940s and a pioneering corporate pilot after the end of World War II, died March 20 in Saginaw, Mich. Having earned his private pilot's license in 1936, he went on to start a flight-training program for the Civilian Pilot Training Service in his home community. Purchase was hired as a pilot for Dow Chemical in Houston in 1955, then was transferred back to Saginaw to manage the aviation division for Dow. In 1962, he formed his own charter business, Air-Flite, Inc.
-- November 9: Oxygen masks-Pressurized aircraft that operate above 25,000 feet msl and receive new TCs issued by the JAA after this date must have automatically deploying oxygen masks for each cockpit crewmember. -- December 22: Fuel storage tanks-Underground fuel storage tanks installed before December 31, 1988 must be modified or replaced to ensure corrosion, overfill and spill prevention.
Photograph: The Boeing MD 902 Explorer light twin was not included in the Bell deal and Boeing has said that it will shop for another buyer. The rebound in the helicopter market of the last few years firmly established itself as a trend this year, and the tea leaves promise good things at least through the end of the millennium. Driving the upbeat forecast are two primary factors: a robust global economy, and new helicopters that offer both improved performance and better operating economics.
-- Flight Services Group (Stratford, Conn.)-This aviation services provider made the following additions to its staff after purchasing six new aircraft for its charter/management fleet: in West Palm Beach, Fla., pilots Andrew T. Pratz and Ara Yanikian; in Cleveland, pilots Paul Fiorino, Michael Hoyle and Raymond Proud, and technician Robert Johnson; and in Norwich, N.Y., pilots Duane F. Boyd, Kevin O'Connor and Thomas R. Sovie.
McGraw-Hill's The Aviation Fact Book begins where the publishing company's Aviation&Aerospace Almanac and World Aviation Directory leave off. Its 300 pages of data include specifications of military, commercial and private aircraft, manufacturer's product lines and sales histories, aviation online sites, accident and operational statistics, historic events and more. Price: $24.95. McGraw-Hill, 11 W. 19th St., New York, N.Y. 10011. Phone: (212) 337-5951.
Despite on-the-job stress, air traffic controllers do not suffer from high blood pressure any more frequently than those who work at less taxing jobs, concluded a University of Milan study published in the American Journal of Hypertension. Previous studies have come up with different results, ranging from high blood pressure to no link. But some experts fault those studies because they allegedly didn't take continuous readings while controllers were working.
Boeing says the BBJ's estimated BOW has dropped to 93,000 pounds, a 1,000-pound reduction from original projections. But don't look for many design changes between now and November, when Boeing hopes to obtain FAA certification. This tight certification schedule doesn't leave room for development of additional features. Aerodynamic modifications and performance enhancements are likely to be post-certification programs. One mod still being considered is the addition of winglets (January, page 28).
An inability to match high quality with a competitive price prompted Toyota to discontinue further development of an aircraft version of the V-8 engine that powers Toyota's luxury car, the Lexus, according to a company official. The 360-hp, twin-turbocharged, water-cooled powerplant received FAA approval in February 1996. Hamilton Standard supplied a FADEC and a four-blade, composite propeller.
Illustration: Diagram: Fairchild Dornier 728JET Fairchild Dornier is taking on Bombardier big time in a battle for the European 70-seat market. The German/American manufacturer has accepted "pre-letters of intent" from Crossair of Switzerland and Germany's Lufthansa CityLine for 120 728JET regional transports and its planned 55- and 90-seat derivatives, plus options. The company was withholding comment on the negotiations at B/CA press time and the definition of a pre-letter of intent was not immediately clear.
An active noise control system previously offered on the aftermarket now will be standard on all King Air 350s. The system reduces overall cabin noise to just under 80 dBA, a reduction in some cases of as much as 10 decibels, according to its developers-the U.K.'s Ultra Electronics and Elliott Aviation of Moline, Ill.
An FAR Part 36, Stage 3 hush kit for Gulfstream IIs and IIIs is expected to receive certification in the fall. As previously reported, the $1.5-million (flyaway) kit is being developed by Stage III Technologies and will be marketed and installed by Dallas Airmotive (April 1997, page 14). Dallas Airmotive officials said the hush kit will cause no degradation in takeoff performance and only ``minimum'' change in cruise performance. Stage III and Dallas Airmotive also intend to offer by September 1999 a Stage 3 hush kit for the Rolls-Royce Spey engines on the Fokker 28.
Keene, N.H. officials are reviewing bids from FBOs in response to a request for proposals to expand GA services at Dillant-Hopkins Airport. According to airport manager Ed Mattern, the airport has been without an independent fuel-supplier for about a year, after the city assumed fueling services from an FBO no longer on site. In addition, there is currently only limited corporate aircraft hangar space and maintenance.
Photograph: The Airbus 319 offers interior space and cabin flexibility The emerging aircraft category has been dynamic over the past year as 11 new aircraft took flight, two new business aircraft were unveiled, one aircraft was added to the new-manu- facturers complement, and several models were either rethought or abandoned.
