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.
Duncan Aviation (Lincoln, Neb.)--This FBO, modifications and maintenance facility promoted Todd Duncan to vice president of components services and satellites.
Helicopter Association of Canada is now based in new offices at British Columbia's Vancouver International Airport. Jerry Lloyd, president of the British Columbia Aviation Council, and HAC's new executive secretary and general manager, will preside over the organization's annual meeting set for April 20 and 21 in Vancouver.
The FAA picked COMSAT Mobile Communications to provide the satellite communications services portion of WAAS (wide area augmentation system), a required element for precision GPS approaches.
Nineteen-passenger aircraft may be considered passe in regional-airline circles, but Raytheon aircraft is not thinking in that direction with its 19-passenger Beech 1900D. The Wichita company has awarded a contract to Xian Aircraft Company of the People's Republic of China for 800 metal-bonded assemblies for wings and nacelles. The parts make up 100 shipsets.
Sabreliner Corp. hired former airline executive Thomas F. Derieg to manage its troubled SabreTech maintenance subsidiary. Former SabreTech president Steve Townes shed his management duties and now is vice chairman, concentrating on ``identifying and developing strategic marketing opportunities for the company,'' said Sabreliner. In recent months, SabreTech's various locations have been under FAA scrutiny for alleged regulatory violations. Both Florida facilities were closed due to the agency's investigations (B/CA, March, page 40).
While the FAA's 16-g seat rule is fairly specific in how it addresses chairs, side-facing divans continue to exist in a gray area. As one designer pointed out to B/CA, ``The FAA really wishes divans, sofas and side-facing seats would just go away, but there is so much pressure from the industry to have them that the feds are grudgingly trying to find ways to accommodate them.'' Accordingly, the FAA is finally beginning to formulate injury criteria for divans and their side-facing kin.
No type of aircraft, or its occupants, are immune from the itchy fingers of the thief or the meanness of the vandal. To help flight departments safeguard passengers' lives, and to protect costly equipment, FlightSafety International is teaming again this year with Air Security International (ASI) of Houston to offer one-day corporate aviation security training seminars at various FSI Learning Centers.
David Reeve has been named president and chief executive officer of Astral Aviation, the Milwaukee-based subsidiary of Midwest Express that does business as Skyway Airlines. Reeve comes to Astral from DHL Airways of Cincinnati, where he was director of flight operations.
The FAA chose the Raytheon Co., Equipment Division, of Marlborough, Mass., to build a 21st-century-caliber Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS) to generate ``better'' predictions of weather hazards in airspace within 60 miles of an airport. Raytheon will develop, test, install and maintain ITWSes at 34 operational sites, covering 45 airports with significant weather hazards. Memphis is slated to get the first production ITWS in November 2001, with the last installation in Dayton, Ohio expected to become operational in February 2003.
As of December 1996, the FAA may certificate pilots with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM). This is a major policy change which took years to achieve, and it is unique to U.S. aviation. This change means that pilots with ITDM now have the opportunity to fly as private pilots. Although it is not anticipated that many people will be able to meet the FAA's medical standards and requirements, those who can will see a dream come true.
AlliedSignal is developing a device that will consolidate the warning features of several different safety systems. The Integrated Hazard Avoidance System (IHAS) would incorporate the alerts now provided by weather radar, wind-shear systems, TCAS and GPWS. Claimed advantages of the IHAS are the prevention of garbled simultaneous warnings, lower costs of acquisition, and reduced system size and weight.
