A perceived shortage of ``quality'' technical people and a ``very dry'' pipeline of repair school students are spawning some changes in an industry that has long viewed the A&P mechanic as the bottom level in the corporate hierarchy, according to the president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association.
A request for proposals mailed to about 150 companies failed to yield bidders to operate the FBO at the Indianapolis city-center heliport. The facility, opened in 1986 and considered a national model for a city-center heliport (May 1985, page H15) is home to about five helicopters operated by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the city police and local television stations. Those tenants remain, but the FBO is padlocked, and there is no public use of the heliport.
Illustration: Chart: Range/Payload Profile These three graphs are designed to be used together to provide a broad view of Citation Bravo performance. Do not use these for flight planning. For a complete operational performance analysis, consult the flight planning and cruise performance manuals, as well as the FAA-approved flight manual. Time and Fuel Versus Distance--This graph shows two mission plots. The upper line represents high-speed cruise and the lower line represents long-range cruise.
BFGoodrich Avionics Systems' newly TSOed GH-3000 Electronic Standby Instrument System features a display that can be configured to match an aircraft's PFD. Navigation interfaces for the GH-3000 ESIS include VOR, ILS, DME and FMS. The system replaces the standby electromechanical attitude, airspeed and altitude instruments; multifunction displays; glideslope; and localizer in one 3ATI-size, flat-panel display. A remote air-data computer is optional. Price: $43,250. BFGoodrich Avionics Systems, 5353 52nd St., SE, Grand Rapids, Mich. 49588.
National Air Transportation Association urged Congress to exclude FAR Part 135 operators from any requirements for a defibrillator or other advanced medical equipment. ``On smaller aircraft, a device such as a defibrillator would be impossible to use because of lack of aisle space and the absence of necessary attendants,'' NATA said. But companies that train corporate aircraft crews to handle inflight medical emergencies disagree. ``A trained pilot could operate the equipment,'' said Joan Garrett, president of Phoenix-based MedAire.
Corporate operators that fly solely under FAR Part 91 are not immune from the pilot records-sharing law that is aimed at commercial operators. In fact, if they are not careful, Part 91 operators could get themselves embroiled in a lawsuit, warns the law firm of Filler, Weller and Tello of Alexandria, Va.
An FAA contract for $156,837 has been awarded to Booz-Allen&Hamilton of Mclean, Va. to conduct a review, mandated by Congress, of the agency's streamlined purchasing system. Celebrated by FAA staff and industry when it was implemented on April 1, 1996, the acquisition management system will get its report card by August 31.
Honeywell is now taking orders for its next-generation TCAS II. Deliveries of TCAS 2000 units, which will be available in a 4-MCU version for business and regional aircraft, are set to start in October. FAA-required ``Change 7'' software will be integrated into the units starting in late 1998. TCAS 2000 units carry an uninstalled price of $115,730.
U.S. Customs Service has added Texas' Midland International Airport, a user-fee facility, to the list of designated airports at which private and corporate aircraft arriving in the United States from certain areas south of the country must land to clear customs.
San Francisco--The newly-constructed AMR Combs FBO at San Francisco International Airport is scheduled to open in August. The company has been serving customers out of temporary quarters since it took over fixed base operations from Signature Flight Support in early 1996. (415) 877-6800.
Associated Air Center (Dallas)--Louis J. Churchville was added to the sales staff of this company that performs maintenance, modifications and custom completions of transport-category aircraft.
Precision Helicopter Services in Newberg, Ore. was recently designated by Eurocopter as a factory service, parts and sales facility for the AStar line of single-engine turbine helicopters. The company is also a support outlet for Bell and Schweizer helicopters.
Renton, Wash.--Sky Harbor Aviation, now open at Renton Municipal Airport, provides maintenance and corporate aircraft storage and tenancy in a 27,000-square-foot hangar/office facility. Fueling (Texaco) was scheduled to start in June. (425) 254-0400.
Low-flying aircraft are reminded to stay alert for the appearance of new tall towers, including one expected to be 1,500 feet agl near Skokie, Ill., according to the Helicopter Association International. The HAI also reports these other tall towers under construction: Milwaukee (724 feet agl); Scottsdale, Ariz. (603 feet agl); and Las Vegas (450 feet agl). For more information, contact the HAI at (703) 683-4646.
With the encouragement of FlightSafety International's CEO and Chairman Al Ueltschi, Warren Buffett, the pilot-training company's owner, has agreed to change the name of his Canadair Challenger 600 from Indefensible to Indispensable. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's chairman of the board and an Omaha resident, acquired FSI in late 1996.
A battle royal is shaping up among the established and wanna-be players in the international telecom industry, and the aeronautical satcom marketplace is a major objective of some of the contestants. The battle front is located only a few hundred miles above your head.
German manufacturer Grob Aerospace opted out of this year's Paris Air Show, but has generated plenty of activity back at its headquarters in Mindelheim. Preparations are under way to start production of the GF200, an all-composite, four- to five-seat, single-engine recip pusher, with the second prototype due to make its maiden flight this autumn. Production of the aircraft is due to begin in the latter months of 1998 (May, page 126). The aircraft has been in flight test since early 1992 (May 1992, page 18).
It is said knowledge is power, but in the aviation business, it's much more. For us, knowledge is survival. With that in mind, B/CA contributors Mal Gormley and Richard Reinhart, M.D., have spent the last year developing a unique Internet safety site called Safety Resource Center (SRC). It can be accessed from the Aviation Week Group's home page at www.awgnet.com. Press the ``Safety News'' button for access.
A cockpit system designed to provide pilots with real-time weather data around the United States and potentially the world will be flight-tested on a United DC-10 under a NASA contract. The system is being developed by a consortium of avionics and data suppliers led by McDonnell Douglas.
A proposed new, small turbine engine from Allison will look nothing at all like the engine builder's current--and ubiquitous--Model 250 turboshaft. While bracketing the same 350- to 800-shp power range, the powerplant will shun the Model 250's reverse-flow gas path for a more straightforward axial-flow configuration.
Autumn is the scheduled start-up for Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services, a joint venture between Bombardier Business Aircraft and Lufthansa Technik. The operation, based at Berlin's Schonefeld Airport, will provide factory-approved warranty service and maintenance for all Bombardier aircraft.
Although generally pleased with the FAA's plan to privatize five airports (June, page 22), FBOs are concerned over a provision that grants operators of privatized airports exclusive service rights. Speaking for FBOs, the National Air Transportation Association warns that the provision could lead to excluding other aviation businesses from the airport.
Airport authorities are imposing landing fees at Oregon's Portland International, Hillsboro and Troutdale airports effective September 1 for GA aircraft weighing 10,000 pounds or more and for all commercial aircraft. The tentative charges (per 1,000 pounds) are: $1.34 at Portland International, $1.07 at Hillsboro and $0.80 at Troutdale.
