For its first time in northern California, AOPA Expo `96, slated for October 17-19 in San Jose, will feature 350 general aviation exhibits. This year's seminar program will address such issues as medical certification, icing and buying/selling an aircraft. Register in advance by calling (301) 695-2060. Package plans, daily registration and special options are available.
During the recent Farnborough Air Show in England, Continental Express (COEx) became the North American launch customer for Embraer's EMB-145 regional jet by ordering 25 of the new 50-passenger aircraft plus an extraordinary 175 options. The deal could top $3 billion if all of the options are exercised.
Now that Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities have certificated the Flight Dynamics HGS-2850 Head-Up Guidance System for the Falcon 2000, Dassault officials expect FAA certification shortly. The company revealed plans to offer a similar Flight Dynamics system as an option on the already-certificated Falcon 900EX long-range (4,500-nm) transoceanic trijet. Meanwhile, the new Honeywell/GEC Marconi HUD 2020 for G-IVSPs and G-Vs continues toward FAA certification in the fourth quarter (B/CA, November 1995, page 20).
DOT recently revised its Standard Industry Fare Level (SIFL) rates for the remainder of this year. The current rates are: 0-500 sm-$0.1729, 501-1,500 sm-$0.1318, more than 1,500 sm-$0.1267. The SIFL terminal charge is $31.61. SIFL rates are used to satisfy the IRS requirement for operators to compute the value of non-business transportation aboard employer-provided aircraft. The formula applies on a per flight, per person basis when a seat is occupied by a guest or family member not traveling on business.
The federal taxes you pay in connection with expenditures for engine overhauls and other heavy maintenance may get even more taxing, if the Internal Revenue Service gets its way, according to a report from the NBAA. Costs associated with heavy maintenance have historically been deductible in the year incurred. But in recent audits of airlines and some business aircraft operators, the IRS has been attempting to mandate ``capitalization'' of these costs.
Instead of squinting and still not being sure of fuel type and purity, pilots could try the Airtrans Fuel Tester from Sporty's Pilot Shop. The device's specific-gravity float design can be used to determine the difference between avgas and other types of fuel, and even water. If the float is on the bottom, not to worry. But if it is on the surface or suspended, water, jet fuel or another contaminant is present. The tester is 8.25 inches long and has a reversible screwdriver mounted on the tip. Price: $11.95. Sporty's Pilot Shop, Clermont County Airport, Batavia, OH 45103.
In September's Fit for Flight (page 104), melatonin was mentioned as a sleep aid as well as assisting in adjusting to circadian changes (such as that caused by jet lag). First and foremost, note that melatonin is not a drug (thus allowing a doctor to determine its use)-it's sold as a ``food supplement.'' It isn't even monitored by the FDA and, therefore, is not officially regulated as to dosage, usage and purity.
The Career Pilots Association (CPA) believes that the ``trend toward low entry-level pay scales, buy-a-job pay-for-training practices and the bottom-line thinking prevalent in today's aviation environment'' is wrong and compromises the health and safety of the industry. According to the organizers of the new, non-profit CPA, ``Today's flightcrew members are increasingly being asked to perform more work with less prestige, benefits or respect than ever before and are being paid below minimum wages.''
General aviation facilities could be affected by the U.S. government's recent moves to increase aviation security intended for the airlines, according to the National Air Transportation Association.
A Fluidplastic noise and vibration canceling system from Lord Corporation's Mechanical Products Division in Erie, Pennsylvania is being tested for use in helicopter cabins. Fluidplastics combine the capabilities of elastomeric elements with the effects of fluid moving between sealed chambers to reduce the rotor-induced, four-per-rev vibration common to most turbine helicopters. Initial tests are being conducted in the Bell 430 and Agusta 109.
On the brink of the FAA's release of the proposed revision to FAR Part 145 repair station rules, the National Air Transportation Association is warning that the costs associated with new requirements contained in the proposal ``will effectively double the financial and administrative burden on repair stations.'' The Part 145 rewrite process is now in its seventh year, after being launched in mid 1989 (B/CA, September 21, 1989).
To be available in early 1997 is Monsanto Company's Skydrol 5, a new hydraulic fluid that will eventually replace Type IV. Skydrol 5 still has the fire-resistant properties of Type IV, plus claimed improvements in erosion protection, toxicity characteristics and weight savings. Available by the quart, gallon, five-gallon pail and 55-gallon drum. Call Monsanto for prices. Monsanto Co., 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167. (214) 694-1000.
In a move anticipated for more than a year, Horizon Air has decided to return its 12 Dornier 328 high-speed turboprops and standardize on a new fleet of de Havilland Dash 8s. The Alaska Air Group subsidiary has ordered 25 firm and 15 ``conditional,'' plus 30 options for the Dash 8 with the right to convert Dash 8-200s to -300s, or -400s on short notice. This elevates the orders from 37 to 50 and 70 seats, respectively.
Century Aerospace (the former Paragon Aircraft) claims its planned single-engine business jet will have a direct operating cost of approximately $250 an hour, about the same as a cabin-class piston twin, yet it will go ``twice as far, twice as fast.'' The Columbus, Ohio company says the $1.8-million Century Jet (previously known as the Spirit) will cruise at more than 400 KTAS over a 1,300-nm range at altitudes up to FL 410. First flight of a production-conforming prototype is scheduled for the fall of 1997.
The makers and marketers of aviation computing systems have been busy during the previous 12 months, introducing new or upgraded versions of their software, retiring older products, making proven products more versatile and powerful, launching or embellishing Internet services, selling their products outright to other vendors and scrutinizing the marketplace to anticipate the next wave of development.
Space-Ray has introduced a series of infrared gas tube heaters appropriate for hangars. Available in both natural and propane gas-fired models, the Space-Ray Cold Blocker comes in a smooth, 9.25-foot-long cast iron U-tube design with aluminum reflectors for uniform heat distribution. Units come factory assembled at mounting heights from six to 20 feet above the floor. Four different capacities can be ordered, ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 BTUs per hour. Price range: $800 to $1,600. Space-Ray, 305 Doggett St., Charlotte, NC 28236. (704) 372-3485.
Unless there is another postponement, and there have been several, the transition of Canada's government-operated ATC system to Nav Canada, a non-government, nonprofit corporation, is scheduled to occur on October 31. The changeover, which was originally targeted to occur on April 1, calls for the new organization to be funded totally from user fees, and many of them will be increased. The present Air Transport Taxes system will be phased out over a period of two years. Nav Canada is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, and Ken Copeland is the chief executive officer.
On November 4, U.S. Customs will start allowing pre-approved aircraft operators reentering the United States from Canada to clear customs by phoning (800) 98CLEAR. To participate in the General Aviation Telephonic Entry (GATE) program, operators must complete Customs Form 442 and submit it to the customs office nearest to the applicant's most frequently used airport. The forms should be available from local customs offices, but at press time some offices were not aware of GATE and didn't have forms. Direct questions to U.S. Customs in Washington, D.C.
Lack of federal funding has terminally paralyzed TCAS IV, the planned next-generation, GPS-based TCAS that would have offered a number of enhancements over TCAS II. But software Change 7 for TCAS II comes to the rescue: it will incorporate virtually all of the functions of TCAS IV with plenty of room for growth. Change 7 is expected to be released to the industry by the end of this year. (For a status report on TCAS, see page 60.)
Renovation of the terminal lobby, the acquisition of updated aircraft service equipment and the construction of a 50,000-square-foot hangar are all scheduled to be completed at Million Air's Salt Lake International Airport FBO by the middle of this month. The facility, which changed ownership early this year, operates on a 24-hour basis and includes a repair station. In addition, the company plans to offer aircraft management services.
Remember TCAS IV? That was to be the next-generation, GPS-based TCAS that would have offered a number of enhancements over today's TCAS II. TCAS IV proponents will tell you that development is quiescent, awaiting future federal funding. Wrong. TCAS IV is beyond coma-tose, much less resting comfortably. It's virtually dead. And in the absence of a Lazarus-like miracle in Congress, it won't be revived. (TCAS III never made it past the computer-aided-design screen, a victim of technological limitations on its horizontal collision avoidance logic.)
With its fuel pump teething pains now far behind it, the TFE731-40 is on course toward becoming one of AlliedSignal's most successful engines. Compared to the first- generation -3A 3,700-pound-thrust turbofans that power the Astra SP, the new 4,250-pound-thrust -40 produces 21 percent more high-altitude thrust, and it squeezes six percent more energy out of a pound of fuel. The -40, which weighs 119 pounds more than a -3A, has a scaled-down version of the wide-chord fan fitted to the -5B engine that is installed on the 731 Falcon 20 and Dassault Falcon Jet 900B.
