AlliedSignal has extended Duncan Aviation's authorized engine work to cover line services for the TFE731 series fanjets that power the Dassault Falcon 900EX, the Falcon 50EX, the Astra SPX and the Learjet 45. Separately, Duncan recently developed three Audio International entertainment systems installations for midsize business jets.
The fiscal 1998 transportation appropriations bill, recently approved by the U.S. Congress, provides $9.08 billion for FAA operations and facilities, and requires the FAA to ensure it is processing requests for pilot records within 30 days. The bill no longer contains a provision allowing the closing of Richards-Gebaur Airport in Kansas City, Mo. and Bader Field in Atlantic City, N.J. The bill also prohibits implementing the Ha-Laska Free Flight demonstration in fiscal 1998 (May, page 20), but the Wide Area Augmentation System was fully funded.
Teledyne Controls has signed an agreement with Dassault Electronique under which the Los Angeles firm will assist in the marketing and customer support of a Ground Collision Avoidance System (GCAS). Dassault Electronique, which is developing the product, says GCAS is an improvement over conventional GPWS because its look-ahead capability tells pilots how much time they have to avoid an obstacle, not just the time to impact. GCAS is scheduled to be available in 1998 (July, page 16)
Associated Aviation Underwriters of Short Hills, N.J. launched an insurance product it calls ManagAir for fractional ownership and managed aircraft operators. Raytheon Travel Air, which just announced its entry into fractional ownership, is the launch customer.
What with a whole new generation of fuel-efficient long-range jets coming on line, it's getting harder to make a buck on fuel sales. Or so most FBOs would have you believe. . . . In addition to the newer jets burning less Jet A, their larger fuel capacities and better economy just about encourage the practice of tankering, or carrying more fuel than you need to fly a particular leg of a trip.
The National Driver Register in Washington, D.C. changed its mind and decided to continue--until December 31--to remain the contact point for prospective employers requesting air carrier pilot-applicant driving records. On January 1, 1998, operators must start sending the requests to the applicants' home state motor vehicle offices, rather than to the NDR. The shift was originally to take place last October 1.
Raytheon King Air C90/100 series training is now being offered by QuickTurn, a new division of SimuFlite Training International in Dallas. The five-day program includes ground school and instruction in a King Air C90 flight training device. A two- or three-day C90/100 recurrent training course also is available.
United Kingdom's Hunting Aviation continues to sell businesses that are not seen as core. The latest is Hunting Corporate Completions at Biggin Hill, which has been sold to Los Angeles-based Trace Worldwide, an aerospace marketing organization. Two other companies, Hunting Airport Systems and Hunting Avionics, were divested in July.
Raytheon is offering an Executive Ownership Program to buyers who take delivery of a new King Air B200 before December 31: free maintenance for four years or 1,000 hours (whichever comes first), 6.5-percent interest for two years, 12-year amortization and 10 percent down.
Flight Dynamics will certificate its Head-Up Guidance system for the Challenger 604. The system, a derivative of the HUD option for the Canadair Regional Jet, is scheduled to be certificated by mid 1999.
Two developments from Honeywell should be welcome news to international operators. The company said its Aero-I satcom system, a collaboration with Racal, is scheduled to be available in mid- to late-March 1998, corresponding with the Aero-I capabilities of the Inmarsat ground earth stations. Secondly, Honeywell said it has made the necessary modifications to its Primus II digital radios to meet the 8.33 kHz communication frequency spacing required for European flight operations beginning January 1, 1999.
Basic information about airports and their based FBOs can be quickly found at this site. Additional-ly, the site links to weather reports, and recreational areas and other services.
Certification of the Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 has been delayed another nine to 12 months, until the second half of 1999, with deliveries starting in late 1999. According to Sino Swearingen CEO Jack Braly, ``Our research shows that our customers want to be able to fly the SJ30-2's basic long-range mission--2,500 nm with up to three passengers and a pilot--and they want to do it in well-optioned airplanes, as well as have the flexibility to carry such necessities as survival equipment for overwater flights.''
Starting December 8 in Baltimore, the NTSB will hold a five-day public hearing into the July 17, 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 into the ocean off Long Island, N.Y. While the latest factual data on the accident are expected to be provided, a determination of cause will not be rendered. The crash has been the largest accident investigation in the NTSB's history.
Piston engines ranging in power from 180 hp to 300 hp that burn Jet A1 kerosene are under development in France by Socata subsidiary SMA and Renault Sport. Two engines recently completed an initial phase of bench testing and are being prepared for test flying.
Top officers elected by this organization representing women employed in corporate aviation are Elizabeth A. Clark, president, who is a King Air and Beechjet captain with Mississippi Chemical Corp., and Maria Jeanmaire, a first officer at Tenneco.
In this month's Cause&Circumstance(page 98) you'll read about two highly trained air carrier pilots who stalled a DC-8 freighter, more or less intentionally during a post-overhaul flight check, and then were unable to extricate the aircraft from the increasingly deepening stall. The airplane crashed into the Virginia hills after descending in the stall for some 10,000 feet.
Operators with P&WC turbine engines that have completed as much as 75 percent of their TBO hours now can join the company's Eagle Service power-by-the-hour fixed-cost maintenance service plan. Operators pay an enrollment fee but do not pay for the hours already used until the engine actually goes in for a hot-section inspection or overhaul. The plan covers all unscheduled engine removals and P&W service bulletins.
Bombardier opens a new completion center in Montreal this month that replaces the smaller facility acquired from Innotech Aviation in December 1996 (December 1996, page 20). While, the new center will be dedicated to completing Global Express aircraft, it also will handle some Challenger completions. Bombardier's first factory service facility in Europe will open in Berlin. Also, this month, the company's new aircraft delivery and painting center goes on line in Wichita.
Survival Products offers a newly TSOed four- to six-person life raft weighing in at 12 pounds and packed into a four-by-12-by-14-inch valise. The inflated raft exceeds government requirements with its fresh water buoyancy of 190 pounds per person and a deck area of 3.6 square feet per person. Price: $995. (An 18-pound, nine-person raft, not yet TSOed, is priced at $1,295.) Survival Products, Inc., 5614 S.W. 25th St., Hollywood, Fla. 33023. (954) 966-7329; fax: (954) 966-3584.
FAA and Transport Canada type certification of the 600-hp Orenda V-8 piston engine is now scheduled before year-end, two years later than originally planned (May, page 14). Production engines will be built at a new facility slated to open this month in Debert, Nova Scotia. Orenda has flown developmental engines on a King Air C90B, which will be the first aircraft to obtain an STC for installation of the powerplant.
