Now much money will the FAA need each year to perform its missions, and where will that money come from? Those are two of the very important questions for corporate aviation that may be answered in Washington this year.
Business aircraft sales were up for the third consecutive year in 1996. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association reports that sales of new aircraft reached $3.1 billion, fueled largely by a resurgence in the turboprop market and continued strength in the export market. This was an increase of more than 10 percent from 1995.
Fairchild Dornier has dropped its plans for a new Metro with true standup headroom to compete with the Raytheon 1900D. The new cabin configuration was unveiled with a mock-up of the twin-turboprop aircraft a year ago at the Regional Airline Association convention. The company's priorities have shifted to the Do 328 and 328JET.
Leasing continues to be a popular vehicle for enjoying the benefits of business aircraft without the attendant tax exposure, and 1996 proved to be another growth year for the equipment leasing industry. New business volume was up, and lessors taking possession of aircraft at lease terminations experienced better-than-anticipated residuals due to a brisk resale market. One major lease/finance company claimed it increased its business aircraft portfolio by 20 percent.
Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, Germany's aviation authority, has awarded Public Transport Category approval to Raytheon's Beechjet 400A. The first German company to operate the 400A for charter is Augusta Air, based in Augsburg. The 400A is one of four corporate aircraft in Augusta's charter fleet.
Three regionals are de-merging from the Airlines of Britain Holdings (ABH) to strengthen their links with British Airways. ABH also owns British Midland, which is seeking to link up with German flag-carrier Lufthansa, which may include the taking over of some secondary routes between London Heathrow and Germany.
The Hawker Horizon, the first new aircraft to come out of the Hawker organization since it was purchased by Raytheon and moved to Wichita, offers a blend of corporate cultures. The new aircraft has the size and comfort for which Hawkers are known, but will be manufactured using processes similar to those employed on the Premier I, which Raytheon says will enable it to bring the Horizon to market for $14.5 million.
The final report of the Flight Safety Foundation's Fatigue Countermeasures Task Force recommends that cumulative duty for corporate pilots in a 24-hour period be limited to 14 hours, including a 10-hour limit on flight time. With the addition of more flightcrew members, the guidelines bend, stating duty periods could be increased-with specified restrictions-since the augmented crew would allow a fatigued pilot to leave the flight deck and get some sleep.
FAA lawyers and counsel for a Boeing 737 captain continue to spar in an Arizona federal court over the agency's authority to suspend the pilot's airman certificate. The case involves Timothy Frye, former chief pilot for Tucson-based Viscount Air Services. In October 1996, Frye repossessed a Viscount 737 at Pittsburgh that was subleased to Nation's Air.
The much-anticipated launch of the 70-seat follow-on to the 50-passenger Canadair CRJ regional jet came in February with 67 orders and options, including four firm for launch customer Brit air of Morlaix, France.
Allison Engine Co.'s highly regarded 10-year helicopter market forecast predicts total civil sales of approximately 500 helicopters this year, with increases to follow in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, when it predicts total sales of 650 helicopters. Sales are predicted to top the 600 mark through 2004. Driving that growth, Allison said, is a trend toward replacing existing helicopters, more than half of which are at least 20 years old.
Six months after signing a Tay engine support agreement with Rolls-Royce, Airwork says it's ready to accept powerplants for their first mid-life inspections. In addition to employing Rolls-Royce-trained technicians, Airwork says its Millville, N.J. facility has field troubleshooters at the ready, rental engines available and 24-hour AOG service. Meanwhile, Airwork and its sister company, Garrett Aviation, are in the process of being purchased by General Electric (April, page 25).
After a regulatory review program that lasted 11 years, the FAA released its rewrite of pilot certification requirements of FAR Part 61 and the training rules of Parts 141 and 143 (August 1988, page 21). The new rules go into effect August 4, but the FAA is accepting comments until June 3. At first look, the changes appear to be mostly positive for business aviation. In one of the major revisions, the new rules eliminate the requirement for six hours of instrument flight in six months to maintain instrument currency.
Saab Aircraft has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus Industrie that could lead to its becoming a risk-sharing partner in the 550-passenger A3XX jetliner. The MOU is only for the concept phase of the proj-ect, during which Saab will assign engineers to the design team for about one year. Saab could build ``selected areas of the main fuselage'' if the project continues.
Everything being tickety-boo at Chez Luigi, it was no longer resistible to fling to Florida for a long-awaited reunion with old friends living hard by the Atlantic in an enclave of Ft. Likkerdale named Lighthouse Point.
In a letter to Texas Governor George Bush and several members of the state legislature, the National Air Transportation Association warned that imposing a planned 10-cents-per-gallon fuel tax and lifting exemptions on sales taxes for aircraft parts and repairs equipment would drive many general aviation service companies to move their facilities to neighboring, ``more tax-friendly states.'' The FBO trade group said the proposed tax changes could cost aviation businesses more than $300 million a year.
April 23, 1998: Pacific routes--By this date, ICAO hopes to replace the existing NorPac and Hawaiian composite route structures, reducing lateral separation from 100 to 50 nm and longitudinal separation from 10 to seven minutes, with four minutes as an ultimate goal. December 31, 1998: Fuel storage tanks--Underground fuel storage tanks installed before December 31, 1988 must be modified or replaced to ensure corrosion, overfill and spill prevention.
General Accounting Office says the FAA has implemented 64 percent of the recommendations made by it, the NTSB and the DOT. However, the agency has met established implementation time frames for recommendations made by the GAO and the DOT only one-third of the time. The GAO says implementation times for NTSB recommendations were not readily available.
In mid April, the Gulfstream V received full FAA type certification and established three distance records, including a 6,012-nm nonstop leg from Tokyo to New York. In all, N502GV, the G-V demonstrator, flew more than 18,000 miles in seven days, cruised as fast as 512 knots and as high as FL 510. B/CA was on board for the entire mission, and we will have an exclusive report in our June issue. Gulfstream claims 70 orders for the G-V.
The de Havilland Dash 8-400Q is on track for first flight in November from the Bombardier unit's Downsview, Ontario, Canada plant. Flight testing is slated to begin at the Wichita flight test center in early 1998, culminating in certification and deliveries in the first quarter of 1999. In early March, the Pratt&Whitney Canada PW150A engine that will power the 70- to 78-passenger stretch of the Dash 8 family entered its flight test program, operating at up to 5,300 shp during a two-hour flight on Pratt's Boeing 720 flying test bed.
Proceeds from an initial public offering enabled First Aviation to acquire Aircraft Parts International Combs, a major supplier of aircraft parts, from AMR Services. The parts company will remain in Memphis. First Aviation also is the parent company of National Airmotive Corp., an Oakland, Calif. provider of Allison engine service. The IPO was handled by First Equity Group of Stamford, Conn.
National general-aviation trade groups are continuing at full tilt in their efforts to improve the FAA's management structure and funding sources. And they are beginning to feel more and more like a circus plate-spinning act-keeping regulatory assaults at bay and their members' interests aloft so that nothing that can hurt the industry comes crashing down.
Jet Aviation's FBO at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass. was appointed as a Raytheon service center. The appointment authorizes Jet Aviation to provide maintenance, inspections and other service for King Airs and Raytheon piston-engine aircraft. Jet Aviation Bedford also is an authorized service facility for the Socata TBM 700 and for McDonnell Douglas helicopters.
