Global Energy has entered the avcomps market with an aviation CD-ROM containing a full FAA database-more than 660 megabytes of information, says the Madison, Wis. firm. The CD-ROM includes the following: -- FAA written tests for certificates and ratings. -- FARs (required Adobe Acrobat reader is included). -- Pilot names, addresses, ratings and medicals (660,000 records).
Starting in the second quarter, AlliedSignal will offer Learjet 35/36 operators a -2C engine 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 unscheduled removals per 100,000 flight hours. The current mean time between unscheduled removals is about 10 events per 100,000 flight hours. (See related feature article beginning on page 76.)
Connecticut DOT has collected "three or four bids" to date in answer to Governor John G. Rowland's proposal to reduce state expenses by placing five state-owned general aviation airports under contract management. The airports affected would be Danielson, Groton-New London, Hartford-Brainard, Waterbury-Oxford and Windham. Danielson and Windham currently are under contract management by their FBOs. "Within the next three months, we should know if we'll be going forward with this," said a spokesperson in the state's aviation/ports office.
The number of fatal business jet accidents in the United States decreased from three in 1996 to one in 1997, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates. That one accident resulted in five deaths, compared to 11 deaths in three accidents in 1996. But the number of fatal U.S. turboprop accidents in 1997 increased to 14 from eight in 1996, and the number of fatalities rose from 38 in 1996 to 41 in 1997. Complete details of these and non-U.S.
U.S. Customs Service regulations pertaining to the filing of petitions in penalty, damages and seizure cases will be "significantly" revised to be briefer, clearer and allow for "more flexibility and useful contact" with government officials. Designed to administer cases more efficiently and fairly, these proposals will "promote a more customer-friendly atmosphere and eliminate needless or redundant provisions," said the service. Comments are due by April 3. For more details, contact Jerry Baskin at the Customs Penalties Branch in Washington, D.C.
Signature Flight Support significantly expanded its presence at Anchorage International Airport with the recent acquisition of the facilities of the former Anchorage Aviation Center. The new facilities will serve transient customers (including those with prior requests for overnight hangaring), while Signature's original and smaller site will handle tenant and avgas customers. Facility upgrading is planned. (907) 243-4328.
As Amsterdam's Schipol Airport becomes increasingly congested, plans are afoot to develop nearby LuchthavenLelystad for business aviation. Already a busy general aviation airfield with 125,000 annual movements (mainly single-engine training), construction on a new terminal is about to start and, over the next three years, the 4,100-foot runway will be extended to 5,900 feet and be fitted with an ILS. In addition, a 2,300-foot strip for light GA traffic is planned. Lelystad lies 27 miles northeast of Amsterdam with good freeway connections to Netherlands towns and cities.
University of Kansas has finalized its schedule of aerospace short courses for 1998. Some 32 courses in six locations will cover a wide variety of technical issues. For a catalog of the course descriptions and enrollment information, contact the University of Kansas, Aerospace Short Courses, Overland Park, Kan. 66213-2402. Phone: (913) 897-8500; fax: (913) 897-8540; e-mail: www.kumc.edu/kuce/app/aero.html.
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. If enacted, the rule will serve to establish a damage-tolerance-based supplemental inspection program for repairs that already have been made.
Edited by GORDON A. GILBERTAndrew Healey A BRITISH VIEW OF GPS, ETOPS AND 8.33 kHz
U.S. operators may be interested in the "oversees" viewpoint of some of the new technologies facing virtually all business aircraft operators. B/CA's London-based correspondent asked John Robinson, British aviation analyst and former chief pilot with Magec Aviation, for a European take on three evolving developments.
Independent US Airways Express carrier CCAir of Charlotte has completed a private placement of 545,000 shares of company stock at $2.75 per share, or nearly $1.5 million. The placement was arranged by Barlow Management Inc., the investment group that recently was unsuccessful in an attempt to acquire control of Mesa Air Group. A Barlow partner is Jonathan Ornstein, CEO of low-fare European carrier Virgin Express, former CEO of Continental Express and former executive vice president of Mesa.
The Hunan Yuanda Air Conditioner Corp. has begun operating its Cessna CitationJet in mainland China, according to reports from the Xinhua news agency. The aircraft was purchased new in March 1997, and is believed to be the first privately owned business jet flying in China, although chartered business jets have been operating there for some time. China Southern Airlines is assisting the company with operating the aircraft.
This year's Farnborough Air Show will be the last one to be held in September (September 17-13). Subsequent events will take place in July. The show's organizers said the decision was made after "extensive consultation" with industry. "Apart from reducing the chances of rain," said a spokesman, the new date also will "balance the run-up time between Farnborough and the Paris Show." The exact dates of Farnborough 2000 will be July 24-30.
A one-day helicopter ditching training course is now offered by FlightSafety International in cooperation with Stark Survival Co. of Panama City, Fla. The course is designed for pilots only and is suitable for all types of helicopters, says FSI. For realism, egress training is conducted in a water dunker. Training time also is devoted to cockpit fire and smoke management, and emergency air bottle and smoke hood deployment. The course is presented at FSI's West Palm Beach S-76 training facility.
Several business jet manufacturers will conduct maintenance and operations workshops this year. At press time, the following M&O meetings had been scheduled: Bombardier Challenger, April 30-May 1 in San Antonio; Cessna Citation, April 27-29 in Wichita; Dassault Falcon Jet, May 18-20 in Nice, France; Gulfstream Aerospace, June 2-4 in Savannah; Learjet, April 27-May 1 in San Antonio; and Raytheon Hawker, August 31-September 2 in Hilton Head, S.C. See B/CA's Calendar for more details.
Edited by GORDON A. GILBERTPerry Bradley WAAS TRIALS SUPPORT IFR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
While a fully operational wide-area augmentation system is still years away, the FAA already is conducting precision approaches using its WAAS prototype and is gathering data that will help it define procedures for approaches once the system is implemented.
Edited by GORDON A. GILBERTGordon A. Gilbert FIRM HOPES TO OFFER ORENDA-POWERED COMMANDERS
Dakota Aero Manufacturers plans to offer Twin Commanders reengined with Orenda V-8 powerplants. The Bismark, N.D.-based firm is working with Dick MacCoon and his company, MR RPM, to obtain an STC for the installation of the avgas-fueled, 600-hp turbocharged engine.
Burbank Aeronautical Corp. II is finally at the doorstep of certification for its $2.9-million hush kit for Boeing 707s. The kit, which brings B707s into compliance with FAR Part 36, Stage 3, has been in the works for four years (March 1993, page 22). First deliveries are scheduled for April. A spokesman for Burbank, Calif.-based BAC II said the project was "much more complicated" than anticipated. The company also is working on obtaining certification soon for B707 winglets.
Development, certification and deliveries of the Boeing Business Jet, a derivative of the next-generation B737-700 and 800, remain on schedule despite recent events, according to Boeing. A spokesman in Seattle told B/CA that the BBJ program is not impacted in any way by the FAA's increasing scrutiny of the company-first in the wake of earlier quality-control concerns due to accelerated production of B737s and, lately, the discovery of missing fasteners on the horizontal stabilizers of at least eight B737s.
Edited by GORDON A. GILBERTPerry Bradley FAA IS BUILDING ON HELI-STAR EXPERIMENT
The FAA is applying lessons learned during the Heli-STAR helicopter short-haul transportation network experiment during the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 to three new programs that the agency says it hopes will ultimately help it implement a free flight concept that will be applicable to helicopters as well as fixed-wing aircraft.
