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.
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.
