On November 4, U.S. Customs is scheduled to implement a year-long test of the General Aviation Telephonic Entry (GATE) program. During this experiment, pre-approved U.S. or Canadian-registered general aviation aircraft having no more than 15 passenger seats and reentering the United States from Canada can land at virtually any airport and make only a phone call to clear customs. (See B/CA, October, page 18.) That's the theory.
Jet Corp of St. Louis has designed a cleaning and testing procedure for hydraulic filters used in Falcon Jets that allows operators to reuse certain SoFrance filters
Initial worldwide figures for September 1996 revealed nine new-jet sales, off 82 percent from 33 during in September 1995. Three new turboprops sold during the month, off 79 percent from 14 last year. U.S. jet sales tallied at: Six new, off 63.6 percent from 22 last year; 43 used, down 54.3 percent from 94 in September 1995. For turboprops, sales for the month were: Three new, down 70 percent from 10; and 28 preowned, off 65 percent from 80.
For airframe manufacturers, the benefits of fractional ownership programs aren't tough to understand. The programs are doing what years and years of more traditional sales haven't done: They are bringing new buyers into the market. Up to 80 percent of share buyers are described as ``concept buyers'' who have not owned business jets before. Moreover, as many as a quarter of the owners are seen as likely to buy additional shares, and the sense is that at least some of them will go on to buy their own aircraft.
Thirty-one members of the House Ways and Means Committee urged the Internal Revenue Service to reverse its new stand on treating major engine overhauls as capital expenditures rather than ``ordinary'' business expenses (B/CA, October, page 28). Capitalization means the cost of the work must be deducted over several years, resulting in additional taxes. ``Clearly the IRS is overstepping its authority,'' said the Committee, noting a change in policy ``of this magnitude'' should be subject to hearings.
Air BP will replace Conoco as the brand name of the fuel sold at what is now an FBO network in the eastern, midwestern and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States carrying the Conoco brand name. Under an agreement signed in October between the two companies, Conoco will continue to supply fuel to the FBOs, but Air BP will market the fuel under its name as well as incorporate the FBOs into Air BP's international network.
Tan Son Nhat Airport in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City is the site of a future FAA-certificated repair station. The facility will initially service airliner and rotary-wing aircraft, but a spokesman said the operation eventually would expand to cover corporate jets. The enterprise is a cooperative agreement between IndoChinAir, an aircraft component overhaul company in Arizona, and the Vietnamese Air Force Aircraft Repair Company in Ho Chi Minh City. A liaison office, The Vietnam Resource Group, has been established in Washington, D.C. to handle inquiries.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) operates 83 airplanes in 36 countries, mostly in primitive circumstances. Their equipment ranges from Cessna 185s to a King Air 200. About 130 MAF pilots operate to and from over 3,000 airstrips from 46 different bases. The flying is extraordinarily demanding of basic piloting skills, judgment and problem solving.
Larry Collier, 53, a veteran of the business aviation industry, died September 1 of a heart attack. In 1967, he started his career at Duncan Aviation as an avionics technician, and at the time he left Duncan, he was manager of installations. Most recently, Collier was the designated alternate station (DAS) coordinator for modifications at Garrett Aviation Services in Springfield, Illinois.
D-STAR Engineering, a research and development firm in Shelton, Connecticut, has stopped developing a smaller, more efficient, diesel-powered APU for corporate jets after the U.S. Air Force withdrew funds for the project (B/CA, August 1994, page 28). The company started work on the system two years ago, promising the unit would have ``improved fuel economy, lower emissions, lighter weight, smaller size, reduced parts count and enhanced reliability'' over currently available APUs.
Jack Taylor, who has been president of this aircraft sales organization since its founding in 1976, stepped aside and has been given the title of chairman emeritus. The presidency has been assumed by Jerry Smith. In addition, Jon Taylor was named a vice president and partner in the firm.
When it set out to establish the ASRS, the FAA realized that to get something, it would have to give something back. What pilots get in return for submitting a report is ``transactional immunity;'' that is, a shield from disciplinary action in exchange for giving information. The FAA takes the official view that by voluntarily submitting information, those reporting are adopting a cooperative attitude and are, therefore, in some circumstances, shielded from penalties.
The power of microprocessors has brought all manner of capability to aviation. From FADECs to FMSes, it seems nearly everything we do is made better by manipulating the flow of electrons. But the gains are not only managed in the cockpit.
Old helicopters don't suddenly die. They just get ``phased out'' to be replaced by newer and better models. Or so it seems, sometimes. Citing improvements in speed, range, payload capacity and operating costs, McDonnell Douglas will introduce an ``advanced version'' of its eight-place, twin-turbine Explorer. The new MD902 is scheduled to replace the MD900 series in 1997.
Austrian regional Tyrolean Airways has confirmed an order for two additional Canadair Regional Jets, scheduled for delivery in January and March 1997. The order will bring the Innsbruck-based carrier's CRJ fleet to seven aircraft. The value of the order was placed at approximately $44 million.
Timberline Aviation opened its FBO this month at Colorado's Grand Junction Airport. The new operation offers airframe and avionics maintenance, as well as line services. Crew and passenger amenities include sleeping rooms, WSI weather and flight planning, catering, crew cars, rental cars, hangar storage, deicing, engine preheating, ground power and a self-service food canteen. In addition to its regular hours of 0600 to 2200 daily, line and emergency services are available on call at any time. Phone: (970) 243-1800.
By NBAA convention time at the end of the month, most of the Martin Aviation operations--including a newly built executive terminal--at John Wayne Airport are expected to be acquired by AMR Combs. The 73-year-old Martin Aviation is currently owned by Air/Lyon, Incorporated. The acquisition will bring to 13 the number of AMR Combs FBO locations. (714) 263-5800.
HBAcorp, the Olympia, Washington-based FACTS cabin and cockpit emergency-training company, has built a new truck-mounted mobile training device to replace the one that was destroyed in an April 7 head-on collision with another vehicle (B/CA, May, page 22). The new unit, called FACTS-III, includes ``lots more bells and whistles'' than the previous trainer. The company also is building FACTS-IV, a mid-size mobile simulator for pilot-only operators of Citations, Learjets and other aircraft.
A U.S. appeals court denial of Honeywell's petition for a rehearing is the latest in the drawn-out patent suit waged by Litton Industries against the Phoenix firm. The dispute concerns alleged wrongdoing in the design and marketing of ring laser gyro inertial navigation systems (INSes). The denial reaffirms the court's July decision that Honeywell intentionally infringed Litton's patents (B/CA, August, page 24). Honeywell plans to appeal the damage award in this matter and in another aspect of the case.
The FAA has appointed Guy Gardner, a former astronaut and director of the agency's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, as associate administrator for regulation and certification. If that title sounds familiar, it's because it belonged to Tony Broderick for many years. Broderick resigned the post under pressure in the midst of the FAA's handling of events following the ValuJet accident in Florida.
At times, air traffic density over the North Atlantic seems like the rush hour crunch on an urban freeway. Transoceanic crossings are becoming routine for many business aircraft operators. Every day, for example, about 20 to 25 business aircraft transit the North Atlantic, according to Brian Bowers, manager of Area Control Center Operations at Gander Air Traffic Control.
This month, at the NBAA convention in Orlando, Honeywell is going to roll out its most significant advancement in avionics design since the introduction of the spinning iron gyroscope in the early 1930s. It's called Primus Epic, and it could radically change the way you will fly your next new aircraft. In early October, we had an opportunity to preview Primus Epic and try out some of its features in a cockpit mockup that will make its public debut at the convention.
How fees relating to fractional ownership should be taxed is the subject of considerable confusion and debate. The trouble arises from a disconnect in FAA and IRS regulation. While the FAA has tacitly endorsed fractional ownership as non-commercial transportation carried out under FAR Part 91, Subpart F, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ruled that fractional-ownership plans are commercial for tax purposes because owners have surrendered possession, command and control of the aircraft.
