CAE Electronics of Montreal has been selected to build American Eagle's new Embraer EMB-145 full-flight simulator. The unit is scheduled to be delivered in December 1998. Eagle begins receiving the first of its 42 145s in February. The simulator contract was the fourth received from American Airlines recently and has the added significance of being the first time CAE has built a simulator for an Embraer product.
Do you have a short time to de-stress in the cockpit or crew rest area and want to make it count when you have the chance? Or, do you feel yourself flagging and want to increase your alertness? Give yourself permission to try a restorative disconnection from outer events, and try using visualization. Psychologist Margaret Rappaport, M.D., Ph.D. of Orleans, Mass., an FAA aviation safety consultant who also lectures widely on aviation psychology and human factors, suggests an exercise using your kinesthetic body (the inner sense you have of your body).
Available now from ASA is the third edition of its Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, containing 7,400 terms and about 480 illustrations. The phonetic alphabet and Morse code are included in the appendices, along with a list of aviation acronyms. Price: $19.95. Aviation Supplies&Academics, 7005 132nd Pl., SE, Newcastle, Wash. 98059. (206) 235-1500; fax: (206) 235-0128.
It is only tentative--subject to rank-and-file approval--but the United pilots' ALPA unit has approved the use of regional jets by the airline's affiliated Express carriers. That means that United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines may begin scheduled service with its new fleet of Canadair Re-gional Jets on December 8 in United Express livery. The Dulles, Va.-based carrier will have four CRJs this fall out of a total order of 12 plus 36 options.
An unprecedented five airlines will serve the Aspen ski market this year, straining the airport's capacity and capability for handling commercial traffic. Those carriers will be fighting to attract passengers who also are being lured by major airline jet flights into nearby Eagle County Airport, some 60 miles away. It was just a few years ago that only two airlines served the Rocky Mountain hamlet of Aspen. Aspen Airways operated a fleet of Convair 580s and BAe 146-200s ``up and down the hill'' from Denver.
Business Express in late September officially landed its third code-sharing agreement--this time with American Airlines. Along with its Delta Connection and Northwest Airlink agreements, BizEx is now an American Connection. The Dover, N.H.-based carrier will provide American feed at Boston from Burlington, Vt.; Bangor and Portland, Maine; Lebanon, N.H.; and Quebec City, Quebec. American Connection service will be expanded to Albany, Islip, Rochester, Syracuse and White Plains, N.Y., as well as Ottawa, Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia, later this fall.
New Piper Aircraft already has collected more than 74 orders for its six-place, turboprop Malibu Meridian. First flight of the Meridian is slated for August 1998, with certification expected by mid 2000 and deliveries beginning immediately thereafter, according to Chuck Suma, the company's president and CEO. One item that sets this aircraft apart from its most direct competitor (Socata's TBM 700) is its price: $1.3 million, compared with $2.5 million for the TBM 700.
James O. Rice, VisionAire's chairman and chief executive officer, dreamed in 1988 of building a completely new and more affordable jet aircraft with a cabin big enough to function as a small airborne office. Having never been in the aircraft business before, his wife questioned the wisdom of his decision, especially considering Rice's admitted mechanical ineptitude. Undaunted, over the next seven years Rice assembled a team of respected industry veterans to help him design, build and market his dream machine.
Global 24-hour operations are a challenge to pilots' strength, stamina and the basic human need for sleep. Even more than credit-card debt or any other kind of financial pressure, sleep debt (getting less than the six to eight hours of sleep that most people need) can't be ignored because safety is at stake.
FAA is deferring until March 1, 1998 imposing fees for operations that transit U.S. airspace during flights between points in Canada. On that date, Nav Canada is scheduled to implement its own en-route user fee system. In the absence of a Canadian en-route fee, the FAA was concerned that a ``significant number'' of affected flights would divert to use only Canadian-controlled airspace because it would be the least expensive route. The diversions would temporarily increase Canadian ATC workload and disrupt U.S.-Canada bilateral ATC agreements, the FAA said.
Three expansion programs are under way at Dallas Airmotive: A component cleaning and non-destructive inspection facility is being built in Dallas; an Allison 250 component repair shop will be opened in Lafayette, La.; and Allison 250 modular repair capabilities will be added to the company's St. Louis Regional Turbine Shop. The facility will perform manufacturer-approved repairs.
RTS Services in Euless, Texas says its new P&WC and TPE turboprop turbine gear and shaft restoration process has reached a ``solid 65-percent recovery rate. What's more, the recently established firm asserted, ``We can turn gear and shaft restorations in 24 hours when necessary''
Illustration: Illustration: Graph: Executive Turbofan Deliveries Source: AlliedSignal Aerospace AlliedSignal's annual 11-year business aviation market outlook projects deliveries of new business jets to approach 5,300 units valued at nearly $60 billion for the 1998-2008 period. Specifically, after cresting in 1999, deliveries will remain at near-record levels before achieving another record peak in 2007-2008.
Operation of King Air 350s on dirt runways has been FAA approved. The approval is in the form of a flight manual supplement. However, some early King Air 350s will have to incorporate a Collins AP with a rudder boost servo ($38,000). Regarding the aircraft's engines, P&WC has increased the TBO from 3,000 to 3,500 hours and boosted hot section inspection intervals from 1,500 to 1,750 hours.
Flight training and charter continue to make up the two largest segments of GA flying hours in Australia, representing 24.4 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively, of all GA flying, according to the country's General Aviation Association. Personal and business flying together represent 24.9 percent of GA hours. According to the GAA, business flying is at its lowest level of activity since the mid 1970s.
Additional hangar facilities and ramp space are under construction at Stuart Jet Center on Witham Field. The new buildings will include a complex able to hangar up to three Gulfstream IV-size aircraft simultaneously and a 32-unit T hangar for light singles and twins. Some 100,000 square feet of additional ramp space and tiedown area is also being built. (561) 288-6700.
AlliedSignal says it has reduced engine component repair turn times at its Phoenix facility by an average of 50 percent. For example, TFE impeller shrouds can be repaired in five days. In addition, AlliedSignal says its 1998 repairs catalog will show price reductions on more than 400 repairs.
AlliedSignal is developing an upgrade for its TFE731-2 engines that the company promises will ``improve reliability'' and reduce costs. The -2C mod comprises a new, cooled high-pressure turbine module for improved disk and blade life, new carbon ring seals and an N1 digital electronic engine control that will provide automatic recording of engine data and better built-in test capability.
Tallahassee, Fla.-based Flightline Group has taken over management of general aviation line service and fueling operations at Florida's Gainsville Airport. A renovation of the airport's general aviation terminal and hangar facilities is scheduled to start in early 1998.
Work on the ST-50 single-engine turboprop is at a virtual standstill, as its developer remains in the hands of a government receiver. Israviation, based in Israel's Upper Galilee, has been looking for a buyer or major investor since late summer, when its owner and financial backer pulled out of the project. A prototype of what is intended to be a five-place, all-composite, pressurized aircraft has logged some 75 hours since it first flew three years ago. The P&WC-powered ST-50 originally was scheduled to receive certification in 1998 (July, page 12).
A business aviation and office complex that eventually will offer a complete range of services--from transient fueling to major maintenance and outfitting--is being planned for a 200-acre site at Denver's Centennial Airport. The project, named the Centennial InterPort AirBusiness Campus, is being masterminded by SunBorne Development of Englewood, Colo., assisted by the Aviation Resource Group of Aurora, Colo. SunBorne expects to begin construction of basic FBO facilities by mid 1998.
International Water Guard's new-development water sterilizer--the Model NPS-A3--has been welcomed aboard Bombardier's Global Express and the Canadair Challenger 604 as standard equipment. The new model (price: $11,300), slated for mid 1998 availability, was devised to protect passengers and crew on long-range business jets from waterborne bacteria and viruses. Ultraviolet light is used in the water treatment process.
