Litton Poly-Scientific's newly TSOed Model 952-21 triple-frequency emergency locator transmitter (ELT) has a six-year life span. The unit features a 121.5/243 MHz homing transmitter and a 406.025 MHz satellite transmitter. Polar orbiting satellites are able to receive the unique coded message transmitted by the 406.025 MHz transmitter. The satellite system provides location accuracy to within three miles. Litton's double-frequency ELTs can be upgraded to the triple-frequency model. Price: $3,150. Litton Poly-Scientific, 1213 N. Main St., Blacksburg, VA 24060.
David R. Rodenhuis, Ph.D. was appointed to the new position of director of the Aviation Weather Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Aircraft Technical Publishers has added the AlliedSignal Commercial Avionics Maintenance Library to its ATP Navigator CD-ROM product line. The library includes service manuals for AlliedSignal's Bendix/King and Global Wulfsberg avionics. This first release contains manuals for the Silver Crown line. Manuals for other current-production lines will be added to future revisions. Annual subscription price: $3,000. Aircraft Technical Publishers, 101 S. Hill Dr., Brisbane, CA 94005. (415) 330-9550.
Cessna finally expected to receive FAA certification for its Bravo business jet in late November or early this month, about seven months later than originally scheduled (B/CA, October 1994, page 21). Officials attributed the delay, in part, to additional FAA requirements. Powered by two 2,750-pounds thrust P&WC PW530 turbofans, the $4.4-million Bravo will have a max cruise speed of 401 KTAS, Cessna says. The Bravo's max fuel NBAA IFR range is 1,600 nm, and the max payload is 2,177 pounds.
Barry Controls Aerospace of Burbank, California and Lord Corporation of Erie, Pennsylvania expected to receive FAA certification before the end of the year of their respective active noise reduction systems for the interior of McDonnell Douglas DC-9s and MD-80s. Barry Controls says its system of ``active tuned mass'' absorbers replaces the OEM-tuned vibration absorbers to reduce noise.
The Canadian government said it will grant an $87 million ($64.5 million U.S.) loan to Bombardier for its development of the proposed 70-passenger CRJ-X regional jet (B/CA, October 1996, page 22). The investment, to be repaid in full from royalties on the first 400 aircraft sold, leaves little doubt that Bombardier will proceed with this stretched version of its current 50-passenger Regional Jet. If a launch decision is made by year-end, certification could occur in late 2000.
The U.S. fleet of business jets (FAR Part 91 and Part 135) had a better accident record in the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period in 1995. However, the same cannot be reported for non-U.S. business jet operations, nor for the U.S. and non-U.S. fleet of turboprops, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Florida. On October 30, the U.S. fleet had its first fatal accident of 1996 when a Gulfstream IV crashed, killing all four persons aboard. (See the following item.)
The National Air Transportation Association's Flight Training Committee wants the FAA to hold off approving the use of PC-based aviation training devices to meet FAR training criteria. In a letter to the agency, the committee asks for a delay in issuing an advisory circular on the devices and cites a study saying a percentage of learning does transfer from the computer screen to an aircraft cockpit--but the extent is unknown.
Over the next few months, the former military installation facilities at Trenton Airport will be turned into a full-service FBO. In addition to complete line and maintenance services, Executive JetPort officials say they plan to offer tenant and transient aircraft hangar space, to manage an FAR Part 135 fleet, as well as to sell and broker used aircraft and provide interior refurbish-ing and airframe painting. (888) JetPort.
The city of Chicago closed Meigs Field on September 30, after a federal court denied a temporary restraining order (B/CA, October, page 13). However, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued an indefinite stay preventing the city from beginning demolition of the lakefront airport. The Illinois Court of Appeals also issued a similar stay, but it was initially effective only until October 25. The courts said they would use this time to review the lower court rulings. The AOPA, GAMA, NBAA and the State of Illinois had filed suit to stop Chicago from closing the airport.
Certification of the Honeywell/Trimble HT1000 as the standard optional GPS receiver for Aero International (Regional) ATR 42 and ATR 72 regional airliners is scheduled in the first quarter of 1997. Sunnyvale, California-based Trimble Navigation builds the system, and the Honeywell unit of Glendale, Arizona markets and supports it. The HT1000 is approved under TSO C129 for non-precision approaches and for IFR en route and terminal navigation.
Duncan Aviation is relocating its instruments and avionics component services to a new 44,000-square-foot facility at Nebraska's Lincoln Airport. The move should be completed by January 1997.
Current fees levied for flying in Canada's airspace will remain unchanged for at least a year while operational control of the country's air-navigation system moves from the government to Nav Canada, a not-for-profit corporation (B/CA, October, page 13). At the end of the transition period (fall 1997), Nav Canada's board members will establish new fees for navigation and communications services provided for landings and takeoffs, and for en route domestic and international operations.
GPS, as a navaid, is a razor-edged sword that can slice a course seemingly with the precision of a skilled surgeon wielding a scalpel. This sword, however--for all of its prodigious capabilities--has two edges. The other side of the blade can slice up a pilot's situational awareness with the speed of a samurai turned sashimi chef.
Special Committee 177 of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics wants the FAA to prohibit the use of portable electronic devices during takeoffs and landings, as well as to totally ban devices that transmit radio waves. Examples of the devices are a pager that automatically acknowledges a call by sending a signal back or a wireless modem on a laptop computer.
This FBO has made several senior management changes: William W. Cutter was elected president and chief executive officer, and Kathyrn Cutter was elected vice president and chief financial officer. Promotions to vice president and general manager were announced for Lowell Whitten at the Albuquerque operation, Angelo Tedeschi at the Phoenix facility and Alfonso Moreno at the El Paso operation.
K-C Aviation of Dallas has sold its Jet Professionals Incorporated division (a Shelton, Connecticut-based provider of crew personnel) and the charter and management operations that it acquired four years ago from Executive Jet International. These units now will come under the wing of Jet Aviation, the West Palm Beach division of the Switzerland-based company (B/CA, September 1992, page 32).
Now, lissen up. President Bill Clinton has presented us with an outrageous and upsetting proposal that NATA President James Coyne charges ``is a serious threat to corporate aviation.'' Clinton proposes a $225 fee per flight on business jets and turboprops to pay for his national literacy program. Just who is he going to make literate? In addition to this ridiculous proposal, he would impose a $10 increase in the international departure tax to pay for community college education. We could live with this.
In her memoir, Bill and Moya Lear, An Unforgettable Flight, Moya Lear gives readers her view of the life and times of one of general aviation's most colorful figures. Her book is a reminder that Bill Lear's genius extended far beyond one of the first corporate jets. Lear talks about development of the ADF, car radio, autopilot, the Learstar, the Learjet, the Learstar 600 (basis for the Canadair Challenger), the eight-track tape, a failed attempt at building steam-powered cars and, finally, the Learfan.
Researchers at Baylor University in Waco, Texas will step up their investigation into the use of ethanol and various blends of alternative fuels in aircraft turbine engines. Part of a $1-million grant from the Texas Alternative Fuels Council, a government and industry group, was used to purchase a King Air A90 that will be instrumented to monitor the impact of ethanol and other potential fuels on air pollution and engine performance. Researchers said the aircraft is the first to operate with a blend of fuel alternatives.
Berkshire Hathaway, the Omaha-based conglomerate, is about to acquire another company: FlightSafety International, the simulator-training organization of Flushing, New York. The two firms entered into a merger agreement in mid October in which FSI is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire by year-end or early 1997. Warren E. Buffett, chairman of the board of Berkshire, implied that Al Ueltschi would remain chairman and CEO of FSI.
Tinsley Advertising Agency, a large, Miami-based firm, has been selected to spearhead GA Team 2000, an industry-sponsored and financed general aviation promotional effort (B/CA, May, page 11).
