EMERGING AIRCRAFT TARGET DATES 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 Milestone AASI Jetcruzer 500 Turboprop Certification
-- Atlantic Aviation (Wilmington, Del.)-Blake C. Fish has replaced Joseph J. McShulkis as senior vice president of the line service division. McShulkis is retiring after 42 years with the company.
The complete proceedings of the Flight Safety Foundation's 10th annual European Aviation Safety Seminar are now available in print and compact disc format. More than 200 aviation professionals from 43 countries attended the meeting, held March 16-20 in Amsterdam. Some 24 presentations were made on such topics as preventing approach and landing accidents, FAA/JAA harmonization and CRM. Copies of the proceedings are available for sale from the FSF in Alexandria, Va. Phone: (703) 739-6700.
The small town of Clyde, Ohio is about to get an airport. Located nearly midway between Toledo and Cleveland, Sandusky County Airport is scheduled to open in October. The 5,000-by-100-foot paved runway will include side edge lights as well as a PAPI and REILS, and have a GPS approach. An FBO is being selected.
Designer of Learjet Dies of Leukemia-Reno Gazette (May 15, 1978) RENO, Nev. (UPI)-Industrialist William P. Lear, whose maverick genius created the car radio, the eight track stereo, the Lear Jet and 150 other patented inventions died in Reno yesterday morning after a long bout with Leukemia.
FAA granted Sino Swearingen an exemption from the FAR Part 23(d) requirement that multiengine airplanes must have propellers to qualify for Commuter Category certification. The exemption allows the company to increase the SJ30-2's maximum takeoff weight to 13,200 pounds from 12,500 pounds and retain single-pilot status, thereby greatly increasing its range/payload flexibility (April, page 35). If the Sino Swearingen exemption becomes a precedent, theoretically any new light jet with an MTOW of up to 19,000 pounds could be eligible for a Commuter Category exemption.
Contact the following companies for ground-side communications access for your satcom-equipped business aircraft: Aeronautical Radio, Inc. Stephen Means Senior Director Marketing 2551 Riva Rd. Annapolis, Md. 21401 (410) 266-4276 Fax: (410) 266-2329 American Mobile Satellite Corp. 10802 Parkridge Blvd. Reston, Va. 22091 (703) 758-6000 Fax: (703) 758-6111 Avicom Japan Ltd.
Corporate aircraft operators in Europe are facing increased constraints as the European Commission considers several slot-allocation options. "We are discussing what kind of new rules to propose," the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) was told at its recent annual meeting in Brussels by Frederick Sorensen, the EC's head of air transport policy. Ideas on the table include buying and selling of slots, "or, we can have airports lease slots so that demand and capacity would equalize. That means it will be more expensive to fly to those airports," he added.
Aircraft modifiers say an effort by the FAA to force them to either re-certificate modified products to the current standards rather than those existing at the time of the original type certificate or demonstrate that changes are neither significant nor substantial could dramatically increase costs for aircraft operators and ultimately stymie the modification business (May 1997, pages 114 and 118; July 1997, page 25; and October 1997, page 24).
In the Intelligence item on the NBAA's pledge for its members to cease operating FAR Part 36, Stage 1 aircraft in the near future, the Sabre 40A should not have been listed as a Stage 1 aircraft (March, page 22). The business jet meets Stage 2 noise levels . . . The Ayres Loadmaster is not using a Soloy gearbox (April, page 22).
As the average size of regional-airline aircraft continues to grow, so does the carriers' ability to haul additional cargo. More and more regional airlines are actively marketing their freight-carrying capabilities, often in conjunction with the cargo and small-package services of their senior partners, and it is paying off, according to carrier officials.
Election of Dr. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie as the new number-two man to Indonesian President Suharto casts a cloud over the future of national aircraft industry IPTN. As the former research and technology minister, Habibie was a virtual one-man show at IPTN, pushing his prized N-250/270 70-passenger turboprop and his proposed 100- to 130-seat N2130 regional jet projects.
In celebration of B/CA's 40th anniversary, each month throughout 1998 we will present excerpts from the top features published 40 years ago. We hope you find them interesting, thought-provoking and, in some cases, even amusing. From the May 1958 issue:
Do you know these terms? Brain bag, flick roll or strangle the parrot. According to the authors of Plane Talk: A Lexicon of Aviation Words and Phrases, the terms mean crash helmet, another name for a snap roll and turn off the transponder, respectively. These and other unusual and odd terms are just three of hundred's in Lewis Poteet and Martin Stone's 224-page, softcover book, a lively dictionary of lingo from the world of flight and a testament to picturesque speech.
The importance of flexibility and on-time arrival that are strong suits of corporate flight departments was echoed in a recent survey of business travelers. The International Air Transport Association polled long-haul business travelers and found that they were more interested in comfort and reduced travel time than in lower fares. Short-haul passengers said punctuality and schedules are more important than cost. In the cabin, the travelers said they are most interested in power sockets for computers and on-board access to voice and data communications.
Garrett Aviation continues to research the viability of replacing Gulfstream II and III Rolls-Royce Spey engines with FAR Part 36, Stage 3-approved GE CF34-8C turbofans. This spring GE completed a detailed computational fluid-dynamics analysis of the proposed retrofit. "The data is key to further quantify the expected performance improvements" of the engine change. While Garrett has not disclosed a projected cost for the reengining, in private it has told Gulfstream operators the engine swap would fall in the $11 million range.
Anyone who uses the Internet can now find information on the entire range of FAA's human factors research as a result of the agency's new interactive website. The site includes a "suggestion box" that is intended to let the FAA's staff, research organizations and the aviation community suggest human factors research topics. The "agency is committed to ensuring that critical human factors issues are addressed in the acquisition and integration of all new and modified aviation systems," said Maureen Pettitt, the FAA's chief scientist.
An 11th-hour amendment offered by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) will restore $243.6 million in cuts from the fiscal 1998 Airport Improvement Program. "That will leave a $30-million shortfall in the AIP budget, but that's certainly not as disastrous as a 16-percent rescission in airport funds," said Henry Ogrodzinski, president of the National Association of State Aviation Officials. In March, the House Appropriations Committee voted to cut $275 million from the AIP's $1.7-billion budget to help fund disaster relief to Bosnia.
It was the 25th anniversary of the NBAA International Operations Conference, in San Antonio in March. At the first IOC, at NBAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., back in 1973, you could have crowded the participants into a single hotel room. San Antonio attracted a record 578 attendees, of which nearly 50 percent raised their hands when asked if it were their first IOC experience.
After a three-month slippage in the schedule, MidAmerica Airport, located east of St. Louis, is expected to open this month. But, until an FBO is built, Airport Terminal Services will provide GA line services, including jet fuel and avgas, inflight catering, starter units and lavatory services. MidAmerica is designed to be a joint-use facility with Scott Air Force Base near Mascoutah, Ill. (January, page 33).
