On March 31, SimuFlite Training International inaugurated a Gulfstream IV/IVSP maintenance training program. SimuFlite says the five-day course features ``A&P licensed, operationally experienced instructors using multimedia classrooms and avionics trainers.'' Training is available at SimuFlite in Dallas or at a client's site. Phone: (800) 527-2463 or (972) 456-8000.
Airwork now offers Allison 250 operators factory-authorized engine repair and engine module overhaul at the company's Van Nuys, Calif. location. Previously, Airwork's Allison 250 work was available only from the firm's East Coast facilities. Meanwhile, Airwork recently inaugurated a 24-hour, toll-free engine troubleshooting hot line: (800) AIRWORK. The company promises that customers who call will be put in direct contact with a service technician, ``not a salesperson.''
Apparently displeased with the level of compliance with its recommendations, ICAO President Assad Kotaite wants his organization to play a ``more active role'' in getting member states to implement its standards and practices. ``We must examine ways and means of enhancing enforceability of ICAO annexes,'' he said. ICAO should be ``empowered'' to closely check on the implementation of safety and security standards and carry out regular inspections. Member nations are not required to comply with ICAO policies, and even the FAA has not agreed with all the recommendations.
The large cabins of the new breed of ultra-long-range executive jets--the Gulfstream V, Bombardier Global Express, and Boeing Business Jet--are presenting interior designers with a luxury they've rarely enjoyed in the past: lots of cabin volume.
Operators of single-engine turbine helicopters face a conflicting set of FAA and JAA rules. Implementation of JAR Ops 3 standards in Europe could restrict the use of single-turbine helicopters at night and in IFR conditions. The FAA, on the other hand, is so impressed by the reliability of single-engine turbine aircraft, it has proposed allowing passenger-for-hire operations in single-turbine aircraft in IFR weather.
Mesa Air Group took consolidation steps in March, reducing its six individual airline divisions and subsidiaries to four. The company already had announced consolidation of its flight and maintenance operations and the moving of its training operations to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Charleston, S.C.-based Hawthorne Aviation plans to build an 18,000-square-foot hangar and a 12,000-square-foot office/terminal by year end at its FBO at Dulles International Airport.
Dassault Falcon Jet says its Falcon 900EX received airworthiness and noise certifications from Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau. Falcon 900EXs slated for CAB approval do not need to be modified or carry any additional avionics or other equipment, according to Dassault.
Servisair, an FBO chain based in Lisbon, Portugal, now is providing general aviation handling services at Spain's Malaga Airport. The Spanish Airports Authority awarded the company a three-year concession. Before the new venture, Servisair already was providing supervision and representation service to airlines and tour operators at Malaga. Servisair now provides handling services at 26 airports in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.
Environmental issues put a glitch in Raytheon Aircraft Services' plans to open an FBO at Atlantic City International Airport early this year, according to a Raytheon spokesperson. The original timetable announced in spring 1996 as part of an airport-expansion program called for the service facility to be operational now (B/CA, July 1996, page 24). Instead, officials expect groundbreaking for the $5.9-million, 62,700-square-foot FBO to be in early spring, with occupancy slated for January 1998.
In the wake of successful tests in 1995 and 1996, the first InfraTek fluidless pre-flight deicing system is now in operation at Prior Aviation, a Buffalo, N.Y. FBO. Designed by Process Technologies of Orchard Park, N.Y., InfraTek consists of a tent-like structure containing hundreds of infrared heating panels to remove ice and snow quicker and cheaper than fluids (B/CA, June 1996, page 32), said Prior officials. Aircraft simply taxi into the tent and are deiced with passengers aboard and the engines running.
A $5,000 flight dispatcher scholarship is being offered by Exxon and its chain of Avitat FBOs. The funds can be used for entry-level schooling or continuing education for business aviation dispatchers--or even as tuition for next year's NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference. For further information about the scholarship, contact Janelle Lacoste of the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Committee at (504) 582-4322.
Owner/operator-flown helicopters for business purposes was one of the few segments of U.S. helicopter operations to experience a decrease in accidents in 1996 compared to 1995--11 versus 15, according to the Helicopter Association International. Only one corporate-flown helicopter accident was reported in 1996, but there were none in 1995. Overall, compared to 1995 (shown in parentheses), the HAI reports 172 total accidents (162), 32 fatal accidents (26) and 55 deaths (46). FAR Part 91 personal flying had the most accidents--43 compared to 29 in 1995.
The American Association of Airport Executives recently founded the U.S. Contract Tower Association (USCTA) to work for adequate funding for the FAA Contract Tower Program. The AAAE's Spencer Dickerson is executive director of the USCTA. Presently, there are 128 towers in the program. The program is supported by most pilot groups.
Approximately 275 U.S.-registered Mitsubishi Diamonds and Raytheon Beechjets will require modification, if the FAA enacts a proposed AD. The FAA says the purpose of the AD is to prevent uncommanded nose-down pitch at certain flap settings during icing conditions. In connection with special operating procedures during icing conditions, the AD would require installing an ice detector on some 89 MU-300s, at an FAA-estimated installed price of $11,800 per aircraft.
Quick! Identify a particularly cruel instrument of medieval torture. (a) The rack. (b) The thumbscrew. (c) An airline coach seat from the East Coast to Tokyo. (d) A coach seat anywhere.
Wichita's Century II Convention Center will host the Society of Automotive Engineers General, Corporate and Regional Aviation Meeting (GCRAM) on April 28 to May 1. GA engineers will hear presentations on interior and exterior noise, aircraft propulsion, flight testing, experimental aircraft, fuel and lubricants, and aerodynamics. Seventy exhibitors have signed on for the event. GCRAM is cosponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Get further information from SAE, of Warren, Pa., by calling (412) 776-4841; fax: (412) 776-2103.
The Flight Safety Foundation's annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar (CASS) to be held April 30 and May 1 in Phoenix will focus on the theme of ``Safety in a Changing Environment.'' An area of keen interest on the agenda is fatigue, alertness and performance in corporate flight operations. ``The introduction of the long-range business jets--the Gulfstream V and the Global Express--raises these safety concerns'' since duty times are not regulated for corporate pilots, said Stuart Matthews, FSF chairman.
The Treasury Department recently opened a U.S. Customs Service office at the Million Air FBO at Missouri's Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Clearance services are available 24 hours a day, every day, although a minimum of two hours notice is required. To schedule a customs service agent to meet the aircraft on arrival, call (314) 428-8230.
Over the last few months, we logged responses to a salary questionnaire included with the November 1996 issue of B/CA. In all, almost 600 postage-paid cards were returned, predominantly from corporate pilots in the United States. Our response rate of a little over two percent of pilot readers was about par for a direct-mail survey.
It's hard to resist the temptation to gather a little data on operations. While we had pilots provide salary information, we slipped in some questions on their operations as well. Three-quarters of the pilots who responded say they fly for FAR Part 91 operations, with 20 percent flying for a combined Part 91/135 operation and just five percent operating solely under Part 135. Still, many Part 91 operators seem to be adopting at least some of the requirements of Part 135.
National Air Transportation Association (Alexandria, Va.)--Dan Shoemaker was appointed as specialist in government and industry affairs for this advocacy organization for general aviation service companies.
