When Congress reinstated the excise tax (see Intelligence 1), it broadened the exemption for air-medical operators to include both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft exclusively dedicated to acute-care emergency medical services. The action also lifted a restriction limiting the exemption only to those flights not using federally funded airports or aviation facilities and services.
The National Air Transportation Association, an air-taxi trade group, said the FAA's 10-hour delay in transporting FAA investigators to the TWA Flight 800 crash scene was unacceptable and a sign of things to come. The FAA said agency pilots were out of duty time and had to wait 10 hours before making the flight to Long Island, New York. NATA has opposed FAA initiatives to further limit pilots' duty times, saying the proposals will impair flexibility of air-taxi operators.
Photograph: CPR Prompt, a hand-held unit that ``talks'' a person through the steps of CPR. CPR PROMPTER During any flight, if you've had the training, you may be called upon to administer CPR to someone who has stopped breathing. At a moment like that, the last thing you want is a mental block on that critical lifesaving procedure. This is where CPR Prompt comes in.
Construction of a new Jet South hangar on Southwest Florida International Airport was scheduled to be completed this summer. Half of the 24,000-square-foot structure will be used for maintenance; the other half will be rental space for corporate aircraft tenants of the FBO. (941) 768-3454.
Harold W. Buker, Jr., who was the director of the New Hampshire Division of Aeronautics for 10 years, died July 9 of cancer at the age of 77. During his aviation career, he amassed over 25,000 flight hours in more than 75 types of aircraft. During World War II, he flew several missions as a B-24 captain, until he was forced to ditch into the North Sea and was taken as a prisoner of war. After the war, Buker bought several charter aircraft, including DC-3s and a Learjet, and became one of Robert Kennedy's pilots.
With no new aircraft in the pipeline, rebuilding existing models may well be the next best thing. At least that's what Twin Commander hopes, as it markets it's Grand Renaissance Commander, essentially a completely rebuilt 690-or as one service center de-scribed it, a new airplane with old sheet metal.
Hood River, Oregon-based Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corporation received FAA approval for its transponder-based landing system (TLS), which offers Category I precision-approach capability. The system is operating in Madras, Oregon and Watertown, Wisconsin, and installations are pending in Batesville, Indiana and Sun Valley, Idaho. TLS uses transponder returns received at several ground-based sensors to compute aircraft position relative to the approach. Corrections are transmitted to the aircraft and displayed on the glideslope indicator.
A turboprop commuter aircraft was departing Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The captain and first officer, both experienced ATPs, were rushed to complete the checklists during the abbreviated taxi from the ramp to the departure end of the runway. ``Cleared for immediate takeoff, traffic on final.'' The first officer didn't perform his normal check of the engine instruments during the takeoff roll, as he was still running the takeoff checklist when the tower issued the immediate takeoff clearance.
First quarter 1995 was a rough one for U.S. regional carriers, what with the two accidents in late 1994, and a blistering general press that literally scared passengers away from the so-called ``commuters'' in general and turboprop airplanes in particular.
In recent months, we've taken on the media over the general lack of understanding about aviation that is exhibited in the wake of airplane crashes. Sometimes, the rush to find the ``cause'' of a crash, or to judge who is responsible can be both infuriating and embarrassing. Witness the ValuJet accident and the more recent crash of TWA Flight 800.
On October 10, the FAA will institute the largest-ever airspace modification. The changes affect all airspace and procedures within 150 nm of DFW. Among the changes: Four vortacs will be decommissioned, and six new ones will go on line. Twenty-four low-altitude en route airways will be realigned, two high-altitude jet routes--J66 and J181--will be modified, and a third one will be added. More than 140 intersections will be dropped, and 275 new ones will take their place. Eleven new STARs and nine new SIDs will be added, and 158 new approach procedures will be implemented.
Orlando-based Signature Flight Support and its 36 U.S. FBOs soon will be completely owned by BBA Group. The Britain-based company, which currently holds 68 percent of Signature, completed an agreement in August to purchase the remaining 32 percent from New York-based Acadia Partners. Separately, Signature expects to close a deal soon in which it will acquire all four of International Aviation's FBO locations--Santa Fe, New Mexico; Teterboro; West Palm Beach, Florida; and White Plains, New York (B/CA, June, page 24).
Full-service maintenance capability has come to Sacramento's Mather Airport as the result of Rancho Murieta Aviation moving its operations from Rancho Murieta Airport. Rancho Murieta provides service for Astras, Cessnas, Falcons, Hawkers, King Airs and Learjets. (916) 364-4711
British-born Sir Frank Whittle, the man credited with inventing the jet engine, died in August at age 89. He had been living in the United States since 1976. His invention was patented in 1930 and, therefore, the British could have been the first to fly a jet aircraft. But the government rejected the idea--until Germany made the first jet flight in 1939. And it was 1947 before Britain's first jet became operational (B/CA, June 1987, page 34).
Al Smith, former governor of New York State and loser, in 1932, in the presidential race against Herbert Hoover, once said, ``What this world needs is a good five-cent cigar.''
Brazilian regional airline TAM, prevented by government regulators from expanding internationally, is doing so anyway, through the acquisition of Paraguayan flag carrier Lineas Aereas Paraguayas (Lapsa). The So Paulo-based carrier reportedly is paying $23 million for 80 percent of the carrier from Ecuadorian flag carrier Saeta. The Paraguayan government will retain its 20 percent in the carrier.
One of the most current and complete sources of U.S. general aviation activity information is the 1996 General Aviation Statistical Databook from GAMA. The 28-page publication contains statistics on new GA airframe shipments (from 1946 through 1995), aircraft fleet activity, the pilot population, safety trends, airports and ATC facilities. In addition, there is a section forecasting GA activity all the way to 2007. Copies of the booklet are available for $10 each from GAMA, 1400 K St. NW, Ste. 801, Washington, DC 20005-2485. Phone: (202) 393-1500; fax 202-842-4063.
An advanced automated cockpit weather information system (CWIN) designed to give pilots real-time data is being flight-tested through September 30 on a United Airlines DC-10 in a project sponsored by NASA's Langley Research Center. The CWIN integrates data from communication satellites and GPS satellites, ground radar images and airport observations, and displays the information on a CRT in the cockpit. The data are updated every 15 minutes and a touch-screen menu allows the pilot to select various types of data.
Remember when Atlantic Southeast was having public relations problems with the city of Columbus, Georgia? Seems local civic leaders were concerned about poor ASA reliability with the Olympics' women's fast-pitch softball competition coming to town (B/CA, August 1996, page C3). Well, the Delta Connection carrier has decided to correct the problem of delays and cancellations at the source. Effective October 1, it will remove its two daily BAe 146 roundtrips from Atlanta. The 88-passenger quadjets will be replaced with 66-passenger ATR 72s.
With the new FAR Part 67 airmen medical regulations scheduled to take effect on September 16, the FAA is expected to have a fully rewritten guidebook for AMEs to assist in the medical certification process. The last revision of the guide was in 1992.
Effective November 4, U.S. Customs will start allowing pre-registered aircraft operators reentering the United States from Canada to clear customs via telephone and, thereafter, to land at any U.S. public-use airport. Under the General Aviation Telephonic Entry (GATE) program, customs agents will meet selected flights for random inspections. To apply for participation in GATE, operators must submit Customs Form 442 to the U.S. Customs port of entry nearest the applicant's most frequently used airport of arrival.
Two VFR-only GPS receiver systems from England's Skyforce Avionics will be marketed and supported throughout North America by The K Group of Viewtown, Virginia. The two systems are: the Skymap II with a built-in GPS receiver and moving-map display, and the Tracker II, which provides a moving-map display for aircraft already equipped with a GPS unit. The Skymap II will sell for about $1,700, and the Tracker II for roughly $1,200.
Western Pacific Airlines, the Colorado Springs-based, low-fare start-up, has selected the Dornier Do 328 for its new feeder airline, Mountain Air Express (MAX). First deliveries are scheduled for this month, and the wholly owned subsidiary plans to launch operations December 4.
