Aviation Methods, Inc., a San Francisco-based charter, sales and management firm, has been acquired by the TAG Group S.A. The Luxembourg-based holding company will integrate AMI's operations with its own similar operations of TAG Aeronautics Limited. Tag Group also recently acquired Geneva-based Aeroleasing, one of the largest charter operators in Europe.
Offspring of a team effort of II Morrow and PS Engineering is the SL10 line of audioselector panels. The panels are available in four models: The SL10-MS (shown, $1,695) includes intercom, hi-fi stereo and MB; the SL10-S ($1,395) comes with intercom and hi-fi stereo; the SL10-M ($1,495) has an intercom and built-in MB; and the SL10 ($1,095) is a standard audio selector panel with six-place intercom. Each model can be connected to as many as three trans-ceivers and six receivers. II Morrow, P.O. Box 13549, Salem, Ore. 97309. (503) 391-3260; fax: (503) 364-2138.
The U.S. makers of aircraft, avionics, powerplants and accessories recently announced with understandable fanfare the industry's extraordinary results for 1997 operations. This segment is growing at a rate of 50 percent per year. -- Highest industry billings ever-$4.7 billion, up from $3.1 billion. -- Highest shipments since 1985- 1,569 units, up from 1,130 units. -- Single-engine piston sales up 70.8 percent and jet sales up 44.4 percent. -- Best safety record ever in terms of numbers of accidents.
Pan Am International Flight Academy, which in late 1997 branched out into business jet training with an FAA Level C Learjet 35/36 simulator, plans to add a Citation simulator by year-end. The Miami-based firm has been offering airline training on its Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed simulators since December 1992. The company, which recently received FAR Part 142 training center approval, was originally part of Pan Am World Airways, but went out of business when the airline went bankrupt in 1991. A year later, the academy reopened under new ownership.
Two blocks of Mesa stock totaling 14.3 percent of the carrier's outstanding shares recently changed hands, triggering an increase in board members from seven to nine. Barlow Partners, which already owned 6.6 percent of US Airways Express carrier CCAir, acquired 5.3 percent of Mesa Air Group.
The transfer of Mitsubishi MU-2 worldwide customer support responsibilities from Raytheon Aircraft to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America (MHIA) is expected to be completed this month. Raytheon Aircraft took over service and support functions when it bought the Diamond business jet program from Mitsubishi in 1986. MU-2 operators with questions about product support should contact MHIA in Dallas at (972) 248-3108. There are about 370 MU-2s in service worldwide.
McGraw-Hill's 764-page AIM/FAR 1998 gives pilots a heads up on changes in the regulations by first listing all changed sections and then highlighting all revisions in the text. Other features include: page headings for faster access to information, thumb indexing to help locate AIM chapters and FAR parts, cross references and a free, postpaid mid-year update. A "Flight Forum" section excerpts FAA answers to pilot questions. Price: $29.95 for hardcover and $15.95 for softcover. McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 11 West 19th St., New York, N.Y. 10011.
The Learjet 35/36's AlliedSignal TFE731-2-2B turbofan engines have matured into some of the most reliable powerplants fitted to light jets. The current mean time between unscheduled removals is about 10 events per 100,000 flight hours. Starting in the second quarter of this year, AlliedSignal will offer the -2C upgrade, which incorporates more robust parts from higher thrust versions of the TFE731, thereby increasing ITT margins and extending maintenance intervals. The goal is to increase reliability to better than 6.7 events per 100,000 flight hours.
Corporate pilots Mike Coady and Bill Wagner are old hands at international flying, having logged more than 100 North Atlantic crossings between them. In this era of the intercontinental business jet, such experience may not appear especially remarkable until you learn that neither aviator is piloting Gulfstreams, Challengers, or Falcon 50s and 900s usually associated with transoceanic operations.
-- First Heli-Network (www.first-heli-network.co.uk)-The address for this site in the December 1997 issue (page 36) was incorrect. Guests can review information on this British company's plan to operate a helicopter fractional ownership program. -- Metro Business Aviation (www.metrofbo.com)-Detailed descriptions of each of the varied services of this London-based FBO, management and charter company are covered in this site. Metro operates the former Hunting facilities at Heathrow, Luton and Stansted Airports.
Cheyenne Airmotive recently completed a $1.5-million, two-year project to renovate its aircraft paint, interior and maintenance operations at Wyoming's Cheyenne Airport. New facilities include two aircraft paint hangars, each able to handle aircraft up Falcon 20 size.
Fizzy, named for its function as a fuel system ice inhibitor, is a new FAA-approved anti-icing additive for jet fuels. As water separates from fuel in cold temperatures, Fizzy "leaves" the fuel and dissolves in the water, thus lowering the water's freezing point. Available in five-gallon pails or 55-gallon drums. (Distributors' retail prices vary.) Hammonds Fuel Additives, 15760 W. Hardy Rd., Ste. 400, Houston, Texas 77060. (281) 820-5674; fax: (281) 847-5129.
In celebration of B/CA's 40th anniversary, each month throughout 1998 we will present unedited excerpts from the top features published 40 years ago that month. We hope you find them interesting, thought provoking and even amusing. From the March 1958 issue: -- Cover Story: Business planes such as Magnolia Petroleum Co.'s Twin Beech are often seen these days meeting connecting flights at busy terminals. Shown in this picture is the ramp at Dallas' new Love Field [airline] terminal.
Having problems staying within the 35 R/X's forward c.g. limit? Even when empty, Raisbeck's $79,850, 12-cubic-foot capacity, aft fuselage baggage locker helps move the c.g. aft. When loaded to the 300-pound limit, the locker's contents can shift the c.g. aft by 2.5 percent MAC, or more, depending upon MTOW. That moves the 35 R/X into the heart of the weight and balance envelope, thereby reducing trim drag and making it easier to balance the fuel load. The kit also is available for the 36 R/X.
Tom Tirey, president of Baseops International of Houston, was bullish about the international handling agent's new directions when he told B/CA that a Baseops World Fuel Card will be introduced during the NBAA's International Operators Conference in San Antonio on March 16-19. After World Fuel Services Corp.'s purchase of Baseops earlier this year (January, page 22) Tirey is still in charge The company is now operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Miami Springs, Fla.-based firm and sitting on its own fuel supply.
This year started with two fatal accidents in January involving FAR Part 91 turbine airplane operations, NTSB records show. On January 13, a Learjet 25B (N627WS) on the Runway 26 ILS at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport clipped trees before crashing about two nm short of the runway. The accident killed the two pilots. On January 21, a Commander 695A (N269M) crashed following a "rapid loss of altitude" about five minutes after takeoff from Boca Raton, Fla.
Flight department managers have progressed far beyond the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" state of mind and set of aircraft maintenance practices. Highly complex, sophisticated systems, soaring costs, new practices, minimum equipment lists and other regulatory changes, and a variety of other influences-led by an increase in professionalism and in basic management training and skills in flight departments-have led to fundamental changes in the task of managing aircraft support.
Global Navigation Services is offering a GPS training program at customers' locations. The day-long ground training session includes optional inflight training on the customer's aircraft. While the program is applicable to any GPS receiver, II Morrow is the first manufacturer to authorize GNS to conduct training. Cost varies: for example, $325 per pilot (up to four pilots) per ground session, plus expenses. Inflight training is another $325 per pilot. For details, contact GNS in Eugene, Ore. at (541) 607-5791.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. of White Plains N.Y. is developing a stick shaker for helicopters to enable pilots to avoid over-torque or over-temp conditions without needing to look at cockpit instruments. The shaker is a variation of one the company provides on a variety of corporate jets. Initial applications are on Bell 427s and 430s.
Serious clear-air turbulence encounters by corporate aircraft average less than one a year, according to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. An ASRS database search revealed only eight reports from January 1, 1988 to the present. Aircraft involved ranged from one that was less than 5,000 pounds MTOW, two small transports (5,001 to 14,500 pounds), four light transports (14,501 to 30,000 pounds) and one medium transport (30,000 to 60,000 pounds). Initial CAT occurrence altitude varied, with the high reported at 41,000 feet and the low at 1,000 feet.
An STCed floorboard warming system for 20/30 Series Learjets is available now from Duncan Aviation. This foot warmer, weighing less than 15 pounds, operates on 28-volt DC. The pilot and copilot each have their own individual controls and can chose from three different temperature settings. Kit price: $5,250 uninstalled; $6,620 in-stalled. Duncan Aviation, Lincoln Airport, P.O. Box 81887, Lincoln, Neb. 68501. (402) 475-2611; fax: (402) 475-5541; (800) 228-4277.
Intertec Publishing has released its updated line of Ac-U-Kwik flight-plan- ning and scheduling products for 1998. The Airport/FBO Directory (shown, $31.95) helps pilots to locate U.S. and Canadian public airports and FBOs. The Jet FBOs Directory ($11.95) is a pocket-size reference listing U.S. and Canadian public airports that sell jet fuel and that have hard-surfaced runways at least 3,500-feet long.
The European Business Aviation Association's 1998 Convention, slated for April 7-9 in Brussels, Belgium, is billed "as the primary conference where operators and aviation authorities meet, while supported by a small show," said Fernand Francois, chief executive officer of the EBAA.
GA Team 2000 is hoping that the message in its first annual report will encourage more funding by member organizations and additional support from other industry sources. The report details what GA Team 2000 believes was its contribution to an increase of eight percent in student pilot starts from November 1996 through November 1997 (August 1997, page 24). The NBAA sent its members the report along with a letter asking them to support the general aviation revitalization effort with a contribution of $450 from corporate members and $1,000 from associate members.
