Delta Connection carriers Comair and SkyWest have retired the last of their 19-passenger aircraft-in both cases Fairchild Metros. Also in both cases, the smallest aircraft in their fleets is now the 30-passenger Brasilia. Both also operate the Canadair Regional Jet.
U.S. regional airlines produced 3.7 billion passenger revenue miles in the September quarter for a 5.7-percent increase, according to statistics released by Regional Airline Associates and AvStat Associates of Washington, D.C.
The TAF/METAR decoder from Sporty's Pilot Shop was developed to help pilots master the changeover in weather formats (B/CA, January 1996, page 15). Users will find three levels of information: detailed definitions of each unit of information, the format of the report, and ab-breviations and acronyms. Turn the wheel to align the number of the item you wish to identify, and the explanation appears in the display window on the front of the decoder. Price: $14.95. Sporty's Pilot Shop, Clermont County Airport, Batavia, Ohio 45103. Phone: (513) 732-2593; fax: (513) 732-6560.
International Aviation Services (Fort Worth)-Earl E. Parker has been promoted to vice president of operations for this company that services corporate airliners.
In anticipation of doubling current aircraft production levels to approximately 60 G-IVSPs and G-Vs by 1999, Gulfstream will add a 64,000-square-foot aircraft paint facility to its Long Beach, Calif. service and completion center. The Savannah-based company says painting operations in the new facility are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter.
The words lawyer and bargain rarely end up in the same sentence, but at $24.95 Jerry Eichenberger's 226-page General Aviation Law (second edition) clearly is a good value. The book provides a thorough overview of the U.S. legal system as it pertains to aviation, and discusses in detail the structure, function and modus operandi of the FAA. While oriented primarily to the private pilot, General Aviation Law does include several chapters of interest to all airmen, including sections on FAA enforcement procedures and medical certificate appeals.
FAA (Washington, D.C.)-Ralph Eschenbach, vice president and chief technology officer at Trimble Navigation, is the new chairman of the agency's research, engineering and development advisory committee.
The winner of the FAA's nod for a $2.9-million contract for a Precision Runway Monitor (PRM) system at Lambert St. Louis International Airport is AlliedSignal Aerospace. PRMs are surveillance systems developed to help controllers handle high-density, high-frequency arrival traffic at airports with closely spaced, parallel runways. The system will ease the monitoring of aircraft approaches in bad weather by providing ``more rapid and precise updates of aircraft positions,'' the agency says. Lambert Field's PRM is expected to be operational by late 1998.
Avior Technologies (www. avior.com)-Information on each aspect of this Miami-based firm: parts availability and prices; charter aircraft bookings, maintenance capabilities and prices; and aircraft for sale.
Have you ever been puzzled by a three-letter airport identifier that seems to bear no resemblance to the airport's host city or the area it serves? If Denver International, logically, is DEN, why is Maui OGG? So intrigued was Don Smith, a retiree from American Airlines, that he researched all the airports served by that airline. A sampling follows:
FAA will let air-taxi operators display their certificate number rather than require the name of the certificate holder on aircraft exteriors, under an FAA proposal. The change will revoke the requirement in new FAR Part 119 that the name of the certificate holder be displayed on the outside of the aircraft. While pleased with the FAA's proposal, air-taxi interests are concerned that the proposal will not be finalized before Part 119 takes effect on March 20 (B/CA, September 1996, page 22).
Sino Swearingen Aircraft (San Antonio)-Paul David Bartles was appointed vice president of manufacturing for this maker of the SJ30 family of business jets. Mike Potts, veteran public relations specialist, has left Raytheon's Beech unit to join Sino Swearingen as director of corporate communications.
GAMA's vice chairman Edward Stimson will represent general aviation on the FAA's research, engineering and development advisory committee. Acting FAA administrator Barry Valentine recruited six additional new members from other segments of the aviation industry-from airport management to aircraft manufacturers. Since 1989, the 30-member committee has counseled the FAA administrator on research and development matters, including aircraft safety, human factors, air traffic services and airports.
Norton Performance Plastics' Composites Operation has been selling quartz fiber radomes since the early 1990s on the claim that their approximately 20-percent higher cost will be offset by durability. That claim is now being tested.
The early numbers are in on the 70-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-400A, and they are impressive. Direct operating costs are expected to be a mere five to six cents per available seat mile over a 400-mile leg. It also is expected to do up to 1,000 miles out of Denver on an ISA+30C day with a full passenger load-not that anyone would want to do that. Climb to 25,000 feet from sea level on a standard day is pegged at 15 to 16 minutes.
The definition of long-range flying is in the process of immediate change. Thirty years ago, long range was defined as coast to coast in the United States-about 2,500 nm. Twenty years ago, it was transatlantic-up to 3,500 nm. Until recently, some business airplanes could fly as far as 4,500 nm in favorable circumstances. This year, however, will mark the beginning of business flights over very long ranges up to 6,500 nm.
Version 6.1 of II Morrow's Apollo Precedus handheld GPS navigation unit contains additional features over previous units. The upgrade includes an HSI and display of geographical boundaries and coastline data. The unit also has zooming capabilities. VFR only. Price: Version 6.1 upgrades start at $50 and ultimately depend on what Precedus version a customer has and what up-grade is desired. II Mor- row, Inc., 2345 Turner Rd. SE, Salem, Ore. 97302. (503) 581-8101; fax: (503) 364-2138.
Operators of about 200 Raytheon 1900Ds must replace the right-side exhaust stack on both Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6 engines over the next 1,000 hours time-in-service. The FAA said it has reports of damage to cabin windows and wing skin caused by exhaust heat. Parts are being provided at no cost to operators until June, after which the cost will be $6,452 per aircraft.
Raisbeck Engineering recently received an STC enabling Boeing 727-200s to meet FAR Part 36, Stage 3 without installing hush kits or new engines. The STC involves changes to the aircraft's high-lift system to minimize drag, and consequent revisions to takeoff and landing speeds and distances. Raisbeck says the changes do not alter fuel consumption or empty weight. The price of the kit, which will be available in mid-April, is $695,000, with installations available at Raisbeck's Seattle headquarters.
An expected increase in maximum takeoff weight from 6,000 pounds to 6,284 pounds for the new Agusta A109 Power will add to the twin-turbine aircraft's payload options with only a slight performance penalty, according to Agusta officials. The company also said that a HUMS (health and usage monitoring system) will soon be available for the Power. While the projected DOCs for the Power were originally $395 per hour, Agusta said that due to TBOs that have already been extended, it expects DOCs to actually be $386 an hour.
The cost of transporting government personnel would drop 25 percent if air taxi aircraft were used in place of their counterparts now being flown by the military, according to a study by The Air Charter Guide. The study was based on five different aircraft types currently in use by the services, ranging from the King Air 200 to the DC-9. The Air Charter Guide, published in Cambridge, Mass., is a directory of charter operators.
Sikorsky said it has started assembling parts for its 19-passenger, 22,000-pound MTOW S-92 Helibus medium-lift helicopter. Rollout of the General Electric CT7-powered aircraft remains on schedule for January 1998 and first flight is scheduled for later that year, the company said. FAA Certification is planned for 2000. Three prototype aircraft will be built (B/CA, March 1996, page 22).
Now that Fairchild Dornier has committed to launching its 32-seat 328JET, the company says the first-production aircraft will enter service in early 1999. Features of the aircraft include a high-speed cruise of 375 KTAS, a takeoff field length of 3,950 feet and two Pratt&Whitney Canada PW 306/9 turbofan engines. The manufacturer is touting the 328JET as being suitable as a corporate jet, ``with its widebody cabin available at one-third to one-half the price of large business jets'' or as a corporate shuttle.
Raytheon King Air 300-series operators are among the most pragmatic people in the business aircraft community. For them, the King Air 300 or 350 is the ultimate airborne passenger van: It's reliable, it's versatile, and its capabilities are unmatched by any other type of aircraft. We spoke with more than 40 operators, and asked them what they liked, what annoyed them and how well the aircraft is supported by Raytheon. Their responses were surprisingly consistent, taking into account individual variations in day-to-day use.
With its SJ30-2 prototype flying, its factory in Martinsburg, W.Va. under construction, its development funding in place, and its executive staff reading like an excerpt from a ``Who's Who'' of business aviation talent, Sino Swearingen faces the second quarter up and running. In mid January, Mike Potts joined the company's newly amassed executive crew as director of corporate communications. He worked in various communications capacities for Raytheon, nee Beech, for 18 years.
