AMR Eagle's Regional Aircraft Maintenance Center (RAMCI) in Gwinn, Mich. has reached an agreement with Atlantic Southeast Airlines to perform C-checks on the Delta Connection carrier's fleet of 12 ATR 72s. Eagle and ASA are head-to-head competitors on behalf of their respective senior partners at the Dallas/Fort Worth hub. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Aircraft painting companies and other users of methylene chloride have been given regulatory relief from Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules aimed at lowering exposure rates to the caustic chemical (May 1997, page 17). OSHA is delaying the compliance dates to install engineering controls that limit exposure until December 10. The agency also extended the requirement for using respirator protection at the new, lower eight-hour, time-weighted average permissible exposure limit until August 31.
Implementation of a significantly expanded no-fly zone for the Grand Canyon has been postponed from May 1 to January 31, 1999 to allow time for the FAA to establish a new route structure for the park. These and other new rules are designed to reduce alleged aircraft noise problems at the scenic site (February 1997, page 22 and January, page 22).
FAA extended the special training and experience requirements for serving as pilot-in-command or instructing in Robinson R-22 and R-44 helicopters. Special FAR Part 73, set to have expired in December 1997, was issued in March 1995 to address several Robinson helicopter accidents involving low rotor RPM and mast bumping (April 1995, page 24). Since SFAR 73 was issued, no accidents of these types have occurred.
Rockwell completed its purchase of Hughes' Avicom International and added its former in-flight entertainment unit based in Pomona, Calif. to the Collins avionics product line in Cedar Rapids, Mich. Ken McNamara, who led the business under Hughes, continues in his leadership role as a vice president and general manager with Rockwell Collins.
Helicopter Association International named retired U.S. Navy Captain Roy D. Resavage to become the trade group's new president. Resavage, a helicopter pilot since 1969, served as executive officer of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy and as commanding officer of the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., and held other assignments during his 27-year military career. Resavage joins the HAI after working in various executive jobs at PrimeCo Personal Communications. He takes over as the HAI's president on March 16, when Frank L. Jensen, Jr.
This year's FAR/AIM from Aviation Supplies and Academics features the revised FAR Parts 61 and 141 in full, and includes free mid-year updates. The publishers identify all changes since the last printing and provide indexes for both the FARs and AIM. Price: $15.95. Aviation Supplies&Academics, 7005 132nd Pl. SE, Newcastle, Wash. 98059. (206) 235-1500; fax: (206) 235-0128.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association heightened its drive against FAA contract ATC towers with the publication of a new booklet. The 12-page booklet, sent to the aviation media, describes the alleged staffing shortages and safety problems of the contract tower program. The Washington, D.C.-based controllers' union has been campaigning particularly fiercely since two fatal accidents in 1997 within the airspace controlled by non-FAA towers (December 1997, page 26).
FlightSafety International has closed its short-lived joint venture with Petroleum Helicopters that offered primary flight training in Schweizer 300s and Bell 206 JetRangers in Lafayette, Louisiana (December 1996, page 26). FSI continues to train PHI pilots, and also continues to operate advanced helicopter training in West Palm Beach, Fla. and Fort Worth. Before closing, the operation was frequently on the move, starting in Vero Beach, Fla. and later moving to Dothan, Ala. and then Alliance Airport in Fort Worth.
Air Security International, an arm of Air Routing International, has identified what it calls the 10 "most dangerous, intriguing and complex locations" for business travel. The locations are: Algeria; Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Central Africa; Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lima, Peru; Manila, Philippines; Medellin, Colombia; Papua New Guinea; and Southern Russia. For more details on each of these areas, contact Air Security International in Houston. Phone: (713) 430-7300.
Operators of more than 2,500 Piper Cheyennes will be required to amend their flight manuals to prohibit beta power settings in flight, if a proposed AD is adopted. Similar NPRMs published in 1997 cover nearly 4,500 other turboprops (August 1997, page 12). The FAA says that intentional or inadvertent engine operations in the beta range can lead to engine overspeed or loss of aircraft control. In recent years, nine incidents and five accidents have been related to beta operation in flight, according to the agency.
De Havilland is preparing the Dash 8-400 for its approximately one-year flight-test program, following its first flight expected in late January. Certification of the 70- to 78-passenger regional turboprop/corporate shuttle is scheduled for mid 1999.
A 60,000-square-foot aircraft painting facility is scheduled for completion in the fall at GE's Garrett Aviation on Capital Airport in Springfield, Ill. The new hangars will accommodate four to five aircraft up to DC-9 size, or up to eight smaller jets, compared to the present facility, which can house one large aircraft and one small aircraft simultaneously. The increased capacity means Garrett can paint an additional 20 to 22 aircraft.
Four TRACONs in the Washington, D.C. area will be consolidated into one center, and the FAA claims the move has the potential to produce "significant efficiency and safety benefits" for airspace users. The new Potomac TRACON will consolidate the functions of the existing TRACONs at Dulles, National, Baltimore-Washington and Andrews AFB. The timetable for constructing the new facility is pending the availability of funding.
Dassault Falcon Jet and Executive Jet Aviation in December 1997 sealed their long-expected deal that will see Falcon 2000s enter the NetJets fractional ownership program in early 1999. The EJA order is for 24 2000s, the first seven of which will be delivered in 1999 with at least five aircraft per year to follow. Four of the initial seven will be "core" aircraft that will not be sold to share owners.
Manufacture of the Saab 340 and Saab 2000 will cease by mid 1999. The decision, made by the board of Saab Aircraft parent Saab AB in mid December, was not unexpected. Company CEO, Bengt Halse, warned in late October that regional aircraft operations were unprofitable due to overcapacity in manufacturing. "As a result, Saab is considering to stop producing its two regional aircraft . . . by the turn of the century, and instead strive to participate as a partner and supplier for other aircraft manufacturers," a company statement declared at the time.
FAA officials at the agency's Small Airplane Directorate in Kansas City, Mo. were expected to make a decision soon on whether they will support Sino Swearingen's request to certificate the SJ30-2 under the commuter category of FAR Part 23. Even if such an action were okayed in Kansas City, both the Transport Airplane Directorate in Seattle and FAA headquarters would have to approve the issue.
Saab Aircraft AB of Sweden will emphasize service and parts support for the customers of 500 regional aircraft, now that the company has decided to discontinue production of its Models 340B and 2000 regional turboprops by mid 1999. Saab pulled the plug on production because of declining demand for the aircraft and years of financial losses.
Edited by GORDON A. GILBERTLinda L. Martin A HELICOPTER TREASURE
The Helicopter Association International's commemorative book, Helicopters: 1948-1998, is bound to be an aviation library must. The HAI tapped CBS News consultant Francis G. McGuire, an award-winning journalist who was formerly associated with Aviation Daily and the founder of Helicopter News, to chronicle the rise of the civil helicopter industry and its growth.
Hammonds Fuel Additives of Houston is providing free "Fuel Facts" cards for those who handle fuel products regularly. The pocket-size, laminated cards contain "at a glance" measurements, ratios and weights for various fuels and fuel additives. To request a Fuel Facts, fax your mailing address to Hammonds at (281) 847-5129.
The new Bombardier Aircraft service center at Schonefeld Airport in Berlin, currently a JAR Part 145-approved facility, expects to receive FAR Part 145 certification this month. The facility, a joint venture between Bombardier and Lufthansa, is the first factory service center outside North America. It opened in fall 1997 (September 1997, page 22).
The best sales companies for business aircraft of all shapes, sizes and motive power are not to be found in Wichita, Savannah, Montreal, Vero Beach et al. They are omnipresent at every airline terminal throughout the land.
