Newly STCed are Tel-Tail vertical tail/rotor floodlights from DeVore Aviation for Bell 407 and 430 helicopters. Included in the kits are mounting hardware, streamlined light assemblies with adjustable reflectors, quartz halogen lamps, lens covers to direct and disperse the light, gaskets and placards. Light assemblies are installed atop the horizontal stabilizer. The current draw is 5.4 amps. Kit price for the Bell 407--$2,144; for the Bell 430--$2,832. DeVore Aviation Corp., 6104 Jefferson, NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109. (505) 345-8713; fax: (505) 344-3835.
Shell Aviation is renovating its terminal building at Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. A customer service counter and new carpeting, restrooms, and interior and exterior lighting are part of the remodeling efforts expected to be completed by early spring. The FBO now is open from 0630 hours to 2200 hours from Sunday through Thursday, and from 0630 hours to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Availability is 24 hours. A welcome addition to the airport is a customs office.
The 11th-hour proposal by a National Mediation Board mediator to end the American Airlines pilot dispute was even more restrictive than the tentative agreement approved by the Allied Pilots Association board of directors in fall 1996. APA President Jim Sovitch, who apparently supported the tentative agreement, called the mediator's proposal a substandard offer.
Whether you're a new copilot of a King Air, or a seasoned captain of a G-IV, the thought of advancing to ``head honcho'' of a corporate flight department probably has crossed your mind. It doesn't matter if the job title is chief pilot, aviation manager, director of corporate transportation services or just ``Top Gun''; the position is viewed by most business pilots (and increasingly, by maintenance technicians) as the ``top of the heap'' in business aviation.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund excise taxes that expired at the end of 1996 were reinstated effective March 7, but they are only effective until September 30. The NBAA, among other aviation trade groups, is hoping the temporary nature of the reinstatement will force Congress to consider a long-term commitment to the taxes. The association feels that these taxes are a proven and fair way to fund programs for improving the ATC system.
An Internet version of this company's directory of FBOs, airport identifiers, VORs, AM radio stations, airborne phone ground stations, frequencies for ATC towers and ARTCCs, and FSS phone numbers.
An industry-financed market research group has determined that at least 1.2- million American men and women have a strong desire to learn to fly and have the wherewithal to do so. What then accounts for the fact that student starts are at their lowest level since the Korean War?
A late summer closing is expected for Evandale, Ohio-based General Electric Co.'s purchase of Greenwich Air Services, an engine maintenance company based in Miami. Under terms of the purchase agreement, GE also obtains the rights to complete Greenwich's proposed purchase of UNC Inc., an Annapolis, Md. engine maintenance company that is the parent firm of Garrett Aviation Services in Phoenix and Airwork of Millville, N.J. In mid 1996, Greenwich completed the acquisition of the engine maintenance division of Dallas-based Aviall (B/CA, July 1996, page 17).
``One of our customers' biggest concerns was that, with the restrictions presented by the 16-g crashworthiness rules, we wouldn't be able to offer the same level of comfort in the Gulfstream V as in the G-IV,'' said Lynn Bedgood, Gulfstream Aircraft research and development program manager for completions. ``I'm happy to report that we have been able to retain the G-IV's seating comfort in the G-V. It was one of the requirements that we set when we launched the program.''
The NPS-A2 water sterilizer, from International Water-Guard, protects your onboard water supply by bombarding it with ultraviolet light, says the company. To sterilize the water, the NPS-A2 uses a mercury vapor lamp to kill bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms. No chemicals are added to the water. According to the manufacturer, this sterilizer meets FAA equipment standards. The NPS-A2 is in use on a variety of business and commercial aircraft. Price: $12,500. International Water-Guard, 575 Powell St., Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1G8 Canada.
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.
