American Eurocopter agreed to pay nearly $25 million in fines and penalties after pleading guilty to fraud in connection with the sale of five military helicopters to Israel (B/CA, March, page 22). The case also has resulted in federal government indictments against several individuals, including David O. Smith, American Eurocopter president, who denies any wrongdoing. Smith's trial is set to begin May 5.
In a move to prevent the inappropriate re-use of parts, American Eurocopter says it will start advising all of its U.S. customers whenever one of its helicopters is considered destroyed. Each advisory will contain the serial number of the destroyed aircraft and a warning that none of its components can be used as a replacement part for another helicopter without ``specific written permission from the company.''
The big difference between inventors Bill Lear and Dee Howard, aside from the two decades age disparity, is that Bill Lear had more formal education than Dee Howard. Bill completed nearly one year of high school, whilst Dee was an eighth-grade dropout. Lear's singular achievements need not be chronicled here; he is thoroughly documented elsewhere, including the U.S. Patent Office. Dee Howard, having fewer patents, may be a lesser light by a few watts, but his contributions to our industry are legendary.
It doesn't matter whom you talk with in the aviation business these days, the complaint is always the same: ``All these damn regulations are driving me crazy!'' The president of a prominent aircraft management and charter provider in the Northeast is bracing himself for another round of calls to his management clients. He has to deliver the unwelcome news that they'll have to shell out yet another $50,000 for a digital flight data recorder and $200,000 for a TCAS in order to keep their aircraft flying on his FAR Part 135 operating certificate.
VisionSafe, the Hawaii-based company that developed the Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS), is threatening to sue former FAA Administrator David Hinson for allegedly saying at an industry luncheon that the FAA has tested EVAS and ``it doesn't work.'' Pointing to the fact that EVAS is ``fully tested,'' FAA-certificated and is installed on a few aircraft, VisionSafe says his statement is ``categorically false and malicious.'' This threat of a lawsuit is the latest round in an ongoing battle between the company and the FAA over its regulations for coping with smoke in t
Rex-Cut Products has introduced an abrasive wheel that removes caked-on dirt, grit and sludge from seat tracks. One wheel installed on a die grinder can clean one seat track, while removing burrs and rough edges. Non-woven cotton fiber and abrasive grains do the dirty work. Cleaners are available in 54 and 80 grits in aluminum oxide grain mounted on a 1.25-by-1.5-inch shank. Price: $3.05 to $3.99 for each abrasive wheel, depending on quantity purchased. Rex-Cut Products, 960 Airport Rd., Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 678-1985; fax: (508) 677-4850.
In addition to a $9,000 charge for relevant service bulletins, Dassault Falcon Jet outlined these costs associated with its RVSM data package: updating the air data computer, at least $5,300 for Falcon 900s and $3,500 for Falcon 50s/200s; labor for ADC testing, one to two hours; labor for aircraft skin inspection, three to four hours; and labor for functional checks of the ADC and the pneumatic system, eight to 10 hours. Falcon 2000s, 900EXs and 50EXs incur no ADC costs. FAA and JAA approval of RVSM data packages for the above aircraft models is imminent, said Dassault.
FAA selected Pennsylvania and Tennessee to receive and administer State Block Grants under the Airport Improvement Program. Under this program, funding must be used to improve general aviation, non-primary commercial service and reliever airports. According to the National Association of State Aviation Officials, the two states were selected because of their strong aviation programs and able management. Over $400 million in AIP funds has been administered by the seven existing block-grant states in recent years (B/CA, August 1996, page 26).
The price of a green Boeing Business Jet, a derivative of the Boeing 737-700 scheduled for certification in late 1998, has escalated by $1.5 million to $32 million. But standard equipment on aircraft purchased after July 1, 1997 now includes a Flight Dynamics head-up display and a second HF radio. Training for BBJ flight and ground crews is expected to be provided by FlightSafety Boeing Training International, a new company being formed by FlightSafety International and Boeing. The new firm also will assume all the customer training that Boeing now handles by itself.
Did you hear the one about the difference between God and a pilot? God doesn't think He's a pilot. Or, how many pilots does it take to screw in a light bulb? The answer is one. The pilot just holds the bulb up to the socket and waits for the world to rotate around him or her. Or, what's the difference between a pilot and a turbine engine? The engine stops whining after the airplane lands. Hold it! This must be a schedulers and dispatchers meeting.
DOT and the Department of Defense said they reached an agreement assuring civil users of GPS the availability of a second frequency, but none of the candidate frequencies proposed so far are mutually acceptable to all federal agencies concerned. A second frequency is essential for civil use of GPS. Despite the current impasse, the feds promise a ``detailed plan...within one year'' for providing this second frequency.
AMR Combs refutes a published comment citing frequent near-misses between taxiing aircraft and ground vehicles on a service road adjacent to the FBO ramp at Denver International Airport. Jack Browning, vice president and general manager at AMR-Denver, is aware of only two or three ``almost incidents''--one recent--since the airfield opened in February 1995. He said the tower ``advises corporate pilots about the situation, and we monitor it all the time.
The November 1996 incident in which the pilot of a Skywest Airlines EMB-120 suffered an eye injury by a laser beam during an approach to LAX has prompted the NTSB to ask the FAA to expedite a simulator study to determine an acceptable laser beam power level. The NTSB also noted that Las Vegas ATC had recorded 51 laser incidents between October 1993 and October 1995. Additionally, the NASA-operated ASRS database includes reports of laser encounters in several states.
The biggest challenge in designing a seat meeting the 16-g certification criteria is the 1,500-pound vertical spine-loading requirement specified under FAA Technical Standard Order 127, according to Les Jennings, director of marketing for seat-builder Derlan, Inc. (formerly Tosington) of Santa Ana, Calif.
Now you can study for your master's degree in aviation, no matter where you live on the globe. School days at International Civil Aviation University (ICAU) are now in session. ICAU has no campus; its stock-in-trade is distance education via computer, with operations based in Melbourne, Australia. Its master's degree program in flight operations is open to anyone who holds, or has held, a valid Air Transport Pilot (ATP) license. A unique touch is that no undergraduate degree is required.
Customers were concerned after Superior Parts announced in 1996 that it wanted to sell its Superior Turbine division and get out of supplying components for Allison 250 engines. They counted on the company for supplying quality parts at reasonable prices and excellent warranties.
A state-of-the-art complex is in the works for Jet Aviation at Teterboro Airport. The FBO broke ground for a $4.5-million expansion that will include a 40,000-square-foot hangar built to accommodate simultaneously three of the largest long-range business aircraft, such as the Gulfstream V and the Canadair Global Express. With the new hangar, Jet Aviation will have a total hangar capacity of 200,000 square feet at Teterboro. Also under construction is an 8,600-square foot Jet Aviation support an-nex that will house offices and shops.
Garrett Aviation Services (Phoenix)--Perri Coyne is a new member of the company's marketing services staff, with a primary responsibility for public relations.
Investigators continue to seek the cause of a crash of an Israel Aircraft Industries Westwind 1124 during a night approach to Guatemala City. The accident killed the three crewmembers and two passengers--Bruce E. Haddad, GTE Corp. senior vice president of international operations and his wife. Safety analyst Robert E. Breiling says the aircraft, YV-160CP, was registered to Inversiones Liftoff of Venezuela and was destined for Dallas.
Both the Falcon 50 and the 50EX have TFE731 engines rated at 3,700 pounds of thrust for takeoff on a standard day, but that's where the similarity ends. Thermodynamically, the -40 is a 4,700-pound-thrust engine that is an offshoot of the -5B development program. It has a much more robust core with a one-third higher pressure ratio, made possible in large part by a new centrifugal flow, high-pressure compressor and single-crystal high-pressure turbine blades.
The 1997 Esso Network Directory, the third revised edition, contains information on the more than 120 Esso- and Avitat-branded FBOs in Canada. The 85-page pocket-size booklet contains the phone numbers, a list of services, radio frequencies, navigation data, hours of operation and the names of the general manager for each of the locations. Copies of the guide are available free of charge. Phone: (905) 678-3769.
Allison Engine Company has set a goal of early 1998 to complete a program of adding performance and operational enhancements to its line of Model 250-C20R Series II engines. The program, designated the Model 250-C20R+, has a goal of delivering better high-altitude, hot-day performance, re-duced fuel consumption and improved durability.
Aero Quality Sales (Stamford, Conn.)--This distributor of NiCd and lead-acid aviation batteries named George L. Drake as international sales manager, based in Stamford, and Ray Russell as international sales representative, with offices in London, England.
