FAA warns pilots that laser light activity is scheduled at Dorney Park&Wild Water Kingdom in Allentown, Pa. nearly every evening through September 2. Airmen can contact Allentown International Airport tower for exact times and days at (610) 264-4539. Several injuries to the eyes of crew and passengers during previous laser light encounters are still under investigation, and the FAA is studying the matter in order to determine an acceptable laser beam power level (April, page 10).
Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque says an impetus from corporate operators could hasten the approval for business jets of a new airframe patching procedure that can be done overnight. The FAA has already approved the so-called ``Band-Aids'' for aluminum-clad airliners with hairline cracks and skin punctures. The speedy technique bonds and heat-cures thin layers of boron-fiber-reinforced epoxy film to the aluminum.
Freshly updated with facts and figures about turbine business aircraft is the `97 Jet&Propjet Corporate Directory from AvCom International. This 419-page, softcover volume lists 457 different models and model derivations, 54 manufacturers, aircraft registration and owner identification. A repeat feature this year is a list of 2,700 aircraft that have been written off or otherwise withdrawn from service. Price: $21.95. Avcom International, P.O. Box 2398, Wichita, Kan. 67201. (316) 262-1493; fax (316) 262-5333.
Gulfstream is building a paint facility at California's Long Beach Airport that the company says will double painting capacity to 70 aircraft per year. From the left, Larry Flynn, vice president of aircraft services; James Swindells, vice president of completion services; Beverly O'Neill, mayor of Long Beach; and Ken Kelley, general manager of Gulfstream Long Beach, symbolically break ground for the paint shop.
Ever wish you had a crystal ball to see where--exactly where--your aircraft are at any time as they proceed from one point to another? Well, a computer communications network originally developed by the FAA is helping a handful of air carriers, cargo operators and, recently, a few corporate operators to keep tabs on their aircraft when they're airborne. What's more, your nexus to this network may be as close as your personal computer or fax machine.
Five new hangars for Banyan Air Service at Fort Lauderdale's Executive Airport are scheduled to be available for use in August. Under construction since the beginning of the year, the hangars are designed to accommodate Gulfstreams, Challengers and other similar-size aircraft. Currently, 900 aircraft are based at Banyan.
Kamchatka. Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula continues to grow in popularity as an alternative to Tokyo for tech stops. According to Fred Robinson of Wayfarer Aviation, though, weather updates at ``Petro'' are spotty, so depend on Anchorage Center as the authority for met and runway conditions. Approach procedures at Petro tend to be unique, too, ``so bone up ahead of time.'' Magadan is a good alternate, Robinson said.
Photograph: Heartstream's Forerunner AED Three automated external defibrillator (AED) manufacturers offer equipment designed for non-medical personnel, such as flightcrew members. The cost of the equipment is in the $3,000 to $4,000 range. Laerdal Medical Corp. of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. offers the Heartstart 911. The unit is a semi- automatic AED weighing just under nine pounds with battery and electrodes, and has a three-button operation for on/off, analyzer and shock control.
Two Raytheon Aircraft facilities have been named authorized service centers for Hawkers: Raytheon's operation at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita and The Chester Service Center in South Wales. In the future, the Welsh FBO will expand to also service the Beechjet, the King Air family, the Hawker Horizon and the Raytheon Premier I.
Photograph: Watch for these classic airplane stamps to go on sale in July. Is there a stamp set featuring classic helicopters in our future? Sure to be a collector's item among aficionados of early aircraft is this commemorative sheet of postage stamps saluting ``20 Classic American Aircraft.'' The stamps, which will be dedicated at the U.S. Air and Trade Show in Dayton, Ohio on July 20, will be available for sale in U.S. post offices late next month. As a consultant to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) project, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Walter J.
The accident made headlines everywhere. A Boeing 757-200 operated by AeroPeru crashed into the Pacific Ocean on October 2, 1996 at 0116 local time, about 30 miles off the coast of Lima, Peru. Initial reports said the flightcrew had become ``confused'' over conflicting indications on their flight instruments. This was a scheduled passenger flight from Lima to Santiago, Chile. All 70 people on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed.
Even though general aviation trade groups have given high marks to FAA's Part 61 revisions, most of them have committees and staff members scrutinizing the text for potential trouble spots. Upon the rules' implementation, we're bound to find out the rest of the pitfalls, notes Jacqueline Guennewig, NATA's specialist in government and industry affairs.
Bombardier Business Aircraft (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)--Jim McDonough was appointed southwest regional sales manager for Bombardier Aviation Services.
A new product from Jeppesen is an aircraft fuel tester made of clear butyrate plastic that resists cracking, breaking and yellowing, according to the company. To prevent fuel spillage and splashing, a removable splash guard attaches to the side of the tester. Other features of the unit are a magnified viewing area for closer inspection of the fuel sample and a solid bronze rod actuator to prevent breaking. Price: $12.95. Jeppesen, 55 Inverness Dr. E, Englewood. Colo. 80112. (303) 799-9090; fax: 303-784-4137.
Elliott Aviation (Moline, Ill.)--This full-service business aviation center announces two appointments: Tim McKune to instrument department manager and Lisa Pensinger as sound management system (noise control) sales manager.
Aviation Insurance Offices' Association (London, England)--Keith Selby, head of aviation underwriting at Swiss Re UK, succeeded Barry Wilkes as chairman of this group representing the aviation insurance market in London.
Raytheon Aircraft said it will seek to have a $60-million verdict against the company set aside. ``We are confident that the facts will ultimately support our case,'' said Raytheon. The firm was ordered to pay the money to the families of two men killed in the crash of a 1981 Baron 58P in 1991. The NTSB said the accident happened in a practice area with the new owner and his instructor pilot aboard. The airplane was maneuvering between 5,400 feet and 7,300 feet when it started a rapid descent and hit the ground in a spin.
Jan Willem Stuurman, CEO of the European Helicopter Association, has been elected as an honorary life member of the U.S. Helicopter Association International. The former Royal Netherlands Navy commodore has been credited with bringing the diverse European helicopter interests together, enabling them to present a united policy in his dealings with the JAA. The HAI citation recognizes Stuurman's ``Tireless efforts to further the cause of international cooperation among helicopter industry and government bodies.''
King Air E90 operators can purchase flight manual revisions from Sterling Executive Charter that should enable them to meet special flight procedures required for obtaining permission to use London City Airport, according to a spokesman for the Norwich, England company. To meet the airport's special requirements, Sterling developed a CAA-approved extension to E90 flight-manual procedures following a series of flight tests (March, page 16).
Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) introduced language into a continuing resolution concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's new restrictions on methylene chloride (MC).
Photograph: Before we slid the bubble wrap in front of the HUD, we had a superb view of the airport on short final. The symbology shows that we're one knot slow, slightly right of the Tucson localizer 11L centerline, and on glideslope. The airport environment is boxed, thereby showing our proximity to it. Captain David Maahs, a senior Gulfstream IV pilot for Honeywell, doesn't spend a lot of time making small talk about new products.
Atlantic Aviation has been approved as a service station by the Republic of Argentina. The status allows the Wilmington, Del.-based company to perform maintenance, modifications and repairs on Argentinean-registered corporate aircraft and their components.
Dassault Falcon Jet (South Hackensack, N.J.)--The following six promotions were made in this business jet manufacturer's Teterboro flight operations department: Jerry Tritt to chief pilot, technical; J. David DeAngelis to chief pilot, operations; Richard C. Iudice to assistant chief pilot; Tom Major to the new position of manager of flight operations and maintenance; Tricia Rogers to flight operations administrator; and Dan Petramale to chief of maintenance.
Thanks to the efforts of local and national aviation trade groups, the Texas House of Representatives dropped a provision from a proposed bill that would have removed aircraft parts and repairs from their current tax-exempt status (May, page 17). The House also reduced a proposed 10-cents-per-gallon fuel tax to four cents. However, the future of the bill was uncertain at press time because the Senate had not finalized its version.
