After January 1, 1997, VHF com transceivers that do not meet a frequency stability tolerance of at least 30 parts per million and that do not have 25-kHz channel spacing are no longer authorized for use. FAA Advisory Circular 90-50D explains the FAA's policy on 25-kHz spacing and the relationship to tighter tolerances. In addition, the Aircraft Electronics Association in Independence, Missouri has prepared a list of radios that can and cannot be modified to meet the required standards. Phone: (816) 373-6565.
New from Safe Flight Instrument Corporation is an N1 computer/display. The system provides quick, accurate N1 settings. As a function of the anti-ice and environmental control system configuration, the system displays the appro- priate N1 for takeoff, go-around, maximum continuous and maximum cruise thrust settings. The system's three-digit display includes a control for crew selection of N1, temperature or test. Weighing less than a pound, the one-piece system is currently certificated on the Raytheon Beechjet. Price: $9,650 uninstalled.
Mark Hofmann, Ph.D., the agency's chief scientific and technical advisor for human factors, retired after more than 28 years of government service. Jan Brecht-Clark is now the acting chief while the FAA searches for a successor. Richard A. Weiss, manager of the general aviation and vertical flight office, also left the agency to become the Washington representative for the European Airline Association. At press time, a replacement had not yet been named.
Dallas-based SimuFlite Training International now offers training on its Gulfstream IVSP simulator equipped with Honeywell's SPZ-8400 integrated flight control system (IFCS). Since April, SimuFlite has been offering training on its G-IVSP simulator equipped with the SPZ-8000 IFCS. The two systems are interchangeable, and SimuFlite officials say its G-IVSP simulator is the only one offering an SPZ-8400 configuration.
The sale of Innotech Aviation's business jet completions division to Bombardier (see item above) will permit Innotech to expand its maintenance, refurbishing, mod and FBO services in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, according to company officials. To that end, in April 1997, Innotech is scheduled to start building a 60,000-square-foot service center, which is expected to open in September 1997 at Montreal International Airport (Dorval). Innotech will remain an authorized Challenger service facility.
Innotech Aviation's business jet completion division will become a unit of Bombardier. A purchase agreement signed between the two Canadian companies in November was expected to close this month. The facility, adjacent to Montreal International Airport (Dorval), will continue Canadair Challenger completions as well as specialize in completions of the Global Express. Bombardier also plans to continue Challenger completions in Tucson, although that location focuses primarily on Learjet completions.
After acknowledging that boarding-assistance devices will not work well with some smaller aircraft, the DOT is exempting operators of commuter aircraft with 19 seats or less from new requirements to provide such devices for passengers with disabilities. New rules required commuter airliners with 19 to 30 seats and airports to jointly develop a plan within the next several months to provide boarding-assistance devices for passengers with disabilities. Previous rules permitted operators to deny access to disabled passengers (B/CA, December 1992, page 34).
FAA Administrator David Hinson and his boss, DOT Secretary Federico Pea, are among top officials leaving the Clinton administration. Hinson told B/CA his proudest achievement was getting FAA employees ``to accept change as a way of doing business.'' One of his chief regrets is that not enough was done to improve GA safety. When asked how best to achieve a stable funding source for the FAA, Hinson deferred to a commission that will begin meeting in 1997 (B/CA, November, page 17).
Aviation safety information exchange and analysis prototypes were offered at the first Global Analysis and Information Network (GAIN) workshop hosted by the FAA's Office of System Safety and held in late October (B/CA, July, page 22). The FAA hopes to see the prototypes operating within a year. About 150 persons representing civil and military aviation attended the workshop, with (then) FAA Administrator David Hinson and NTSB vice chairman Bob Francis as speakers.
Customs service is now available from AMR Combs at Palm Springs Regional Airport. Advance notice is required and there is a fee. The amount of the fee depends on the aircraft model and the number of persons aboard. Note: the charge is doubled if customs service is provided outside of normal business hours-0800 to 1700 Monday through Friday. (619) 327-1201.
Henry M. Ogrodzinski was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of this trade group. Lloyd B. Parr, Missouri's administrator of aviation, is NASAO's newly elected president.
This FBO promoted Michael Rubin to president. The following staff changes were made at Hudson General LLC, the company's subsidiary: Paul R. Pollack was elected president, and Raymond J. Rieder was named executive vice president.
FAA denied Wilcox Electric's protest against the Wide Area Augmentation System contract award to Hughes Aircraft earlier this year. The agency said it did not have to bid the award and that its market analysis was sufficient. Wilcox protested the contract after the FAA canceled the original contract with the company to develop WAAS and retained Hughes, a Wilcox subcontractor, on a sole-source basis as the new prime contractor. WAAS is essential to enabling primary-means, GPS-based precision approaches.
Runzheimer International, the Rochester, Wisconsin travel consulting firm, has introduced a web site that, among other things, provides statistics and information on business travel costs. See www.runzheimer.com
Eleven member-nations of the European Joint Aviation Authorities have ratified the JAA's earlier validation of the McDonnell Douglas Explorer helicopter. The JAA validation allows owners of the Explorer to operate the aircraft within their own countries without additional national aviation authority certifications. Countries ratifying the JAA's validation are: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Monaco, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
The ability of the FAA to shut down airlines with the flick of a signature on an emergency order of certificate revocation or suspension has long created angst within the aviation community. Several relatively recent legal cases, however, have revealed chinks in the agency's armor. A common denominator in most such cases is Chapter 11 Protection from Creditors under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
AlliedSignal received FAA approval for its enhanced GPWS and the first installations of the system are on United Airlines Airbus A320s and American Airlines B757s. Enhanced GPWS (EGPWS) compares a digital database of the world's terrain with the aircraft's location and altitude to generate a map-like display of surrounding terrain. The new system gives an audible warning about a minute or more before the aircraft approaches threatening terrain. An EGPWS is priced at about $60,000 (B/CA, January, page 58).
Anchorage-based Peninsula Airways (PenAir) has acquired two used Saab 340s-the first to be operated in Alaska. They were modified at FFV Aerotech in Nashville and were to be placed in operation by year-end. PenAir dates back to 1950 and serves more than 50 Alaska communities with a fleet of 39 aircraft of nine different types. The carrier grew by about 30 percent in 1995, with nearly 80,000 passengers.
The acquisition of FlightSafety International by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is not expected to affect the day-to-day operations of the Flushing, New York-based pilot training company. In fact, Al Ueltschi, the 76-year-old former Pan Am pilot who founded FSI in 1951, is expected to remain chairman and CEO of the firm.
A year ago, aviation lost one of the most beloved figures from the golden age of aviation, Douglas ``Wrong Way'' Corrigan. Perhaps no one epitomized better the daring, seat-of-the-pants flying of the 1930s than the impish Irish-American. He became an instant celebrity in July 1938 when he flew nonstop from New York to Dublin after allegedly getting lost on a transcontinental trip from New York to California. The diminutive mechanic-turned-pilot earned his nickname and captured the imagination of a Depression-weary world by defying U.S. aviation authorities.
This avionics and flight-control systems maker has made the following staff changes: Dennis Tolleson has come aboard as dealer sales manager; Ron Tesdal was named director of engineering and Jim Odom was moved up to director of flight engineering and special projects.
Next time you go to the supermarket, take a walk down the cereal aisle. It will be a long walk, because of the literally hundreds of different ways the basic cereal grains are processed and packaged. Manufacturers are very creative in re-labeling and ``reinventing'' a very basic food product that can be--without excess sugar--very nutritious. Yet what food hasn't been challenged at one time or another as to its nutritional value or the concerns it raises about wholesomeness?
