-- ASOS/AWOS Stations (www.faa.gov/aua/ipt_prod/terminal/asos/asos.htm)-Current weather information as reported by the more than 200 federal and non-federal AWOS and ASOS stations around the country are available at this site. Additional weather data for each of those locations also are provided.
A New Zealand court convicted an aircraft salesman and parts trader of manslaughter in the case of two pilots who were killed when their Robinson R-22 crashed in October 1995. The jury found James Gedson guilty of selling the helicopter after equipping it with illegally fabricated tail-rotor blades that had previously been severely damaged on another R-22. Robinson says New Zealand police believe this is the world's first homicide prosecution for knowingly supplying bogus parts.
Connecticut DOT is reviewing a dozen responses to its request for proposals to provide FBO and corporate hangar management at Oxford Airport. Bidders include Miller Aviation, Hangar Corp. of America, Joseph Del Balzo Associates, Airport Corp. of America, R. Dixon Speas Associates and Million Air Bridgeport, as well as Keystone Aviation, the current FBO at Oxford.
In less than a 30-day period, helicopters operated by Air Methods Corp. were in two fatal accidents. On December 14, 1997 at Littleton, Colo., a Bell 407 crashed after striking power lines on takeoff. Killed in the crash were the pilot, two flight nurses and a patient. On January 11, a Bell 222 on an EMS mission crashed in the mountains near Salt Lake City. The pilot, two medical crewmembers and the patient died in the accident.
Allison Engine Co. in Indianapolis manufactures the AE3007 turbofans that power the Citation X business jet and the Embraer RJ145 regional jet. In an Intelligence item in the January issue describing the schedule for additional AE3007 overhaul facilities, we incorrectly stated the manufacturer as Phoenix-based AlliedSignal (January, page 20).
Duncan Aviation of Lincoln, Neb. plans to retain the name and the key people of Kal-Aero, as it welcomes the Battle Creek, Mich. company to its fold. An agreement under which Duncan will acquire Kal-Aero was expected to be finalized in January. Both firms specialize in airframe, engine and avionics maintenance, line service, interior refurbishing, completions and painting.
General Aviation Traffic Advisory Systems will be the subject of a new TSO. Systems intended to be addressed by Technical Standard Order C147 will be similar to TCAS I, but with changes in power output and display requirements to make them less expensive. One product the FAA sees as a primary candidate to meet the new TSO is BFGoodrich's Skywatch (July 1977, page 26). Comments on the proposed TSO are due by February 20.
United States Cargo Service closed its 15-year-old FBO, Rickenbacker Aviation Services, at Rickenbacker Airport in Columbus, Ohio, following a dispute with the airport authority over FBO expansion plans. "Our plans continually fell on deaf ears," said Ralph Richter, president of Richenbacker Aviation Services. The existing facility is now operated by CMH Aviation as Rickenbacker Flight Services.
Aircraft engineers would have us believe that aerodynamics is a mature science. If that were true, then pro- and anti-winglet advocates might not be so strongly opposed. NASA's Richard T. Whitcomb invented these nearly vertical wingtip extensions in the early 1970s as a means by which wing lift-to-drag performance could be increased.
As the FAA continues to move toward a GPS-based navigation system, concerns about vulnerability of the satellite signals are mounting. The U.S. Air Force Research Lab at Eglin AFB, Fla. plans to buy eight jammers from a Russian firm that exhibited units at the Moscow Air Show in 1997. The Air Force will assess how the jammers work and examine countermeasures. Several GA trade groups are on record supporting continued funding of Loran to provide a backup to GPS.
Airshow, Inc., recently flight-demonstrated its direct-broadcast television system in December aboard a customer Gulfstream III business aircraft. The Airshow-TV package is a partnership between Tustin, Calif.-based Airshow, antenna builder Datron/Transco, Racal Avionics, Ltd., and a direct-broadcast satelite operator (December 1997, page 97). Airshow-TV currently provides in-flight television reception over the Continental United States, with Latin America, Europe, and Asia forthcoming.
Dakota Aero Manufacturers of Bismark, N.D. hopes to receive an STC by midyear to sell Twin Commanders reengined with the 600-hp Orenda V-8. However, FAA certification of the avgas-fueled, water-cooled engine itself has slipped more than three years, with the latest target set for this month or March (November 1997, page 22). See page 40 for more details on the Dakota Commanders.
The new 10,000-foot Runway 17R/35L at Kentucky's Louisville International Airport opened recently for VFR traffic only. Category I operations are scheduled to be added in March, and Category II will be added in June. Also in March, Runway 1/19 will close.
January came and went without the scheduled rollout of the 19-passenger S-92 Helibus (March 1997, page 18). The first three of five prototypes of the helicopter are still being built. A Sikorsky spokesman told B/CA the FADEC-equipped, GE-powered helicopter will begin its flight-test program in the third quarter. Certification is planned for 2000.
Other than the normal certification process, corporate aircraft customers will not encounter delays in having orders for Enhanced Ground Proximity Systems filled in a timely manner, according to AlliedSignal Avionics. A company spokesperson told B/CA that in anticipation of pending rulemaking and the decision by the major airlines to equip their fleets with EGPWS voluntarily, it prepared for increased production requirements. AlliedSignal currently is the only manufacturer of FAA-approved EGPWS units.
Efforts were under way to develop new ways to detect CAT even before a United Airlines B747 suffered a fatal encounter with clear air turbulence in December 1997. According to published reports, two laser-based systems are scheduled to be tested early this year. A unit called "Socrates" is being developed for the FAA by Flight Safety Technologies of New London, Conn., while Coherent Technologies of Boulder, Colo. has created the Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system under the auspices of NASA.
Eric Anderson was elected chairman of this distributor of aviation parts. His predecessor, Robert Lambert, will continue as a director on the company's board.
Toronto City Aviation is a new FBO at Toronto City Centre Airport and the newest member of the Esso Aviation family. Currently only turboprop aircraft are permitted to use the 4,000-foot runway. (416) 361-1100.
Flight departments with their own fuel farms now have at least six places to turn for "FAA acceptable" training in safe fueling operation, proper quality control and fire safety training. Despite the fact that the programs are designed for FBOs, the trainers' primary customers, much of the information should be useful to corporate operators that are solely responsible for ensuring the quality of fuel storage and pumping fuel into the company aircraft.
If you read between the lines on the thousands of pages of reports recently released by various Washington-based commissions studying civil aviation, two things become clear. One is that the way the U.S. aviation infrastructure is managed and funded is due for a change. The second is that the management systems and infrastructure that immerge from this change will be based almost entirely on the requirements of the scheduled air carriers.
Heli Expo '98-the annual rotorcraft industry show that is scheduled to be held February 15 through 17 in Anaheim, Calif.-will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Helicopter Association International (HAI). But the event may be bittersweet for at least one person. The 1998 HAI convention will be the last one that Frank L. Jensen, Jr. will preside over as the leader of the Alexandria, Va.-based trade organization's staff. Jensen-a Charleston, S.C.
