Merrill Meigs must be looking down from that Big Hangar in the Sky with furrowed brow and considerable frustration concerning the sneaky goings-on at Chicago's City Hall. Mayor Richard Daley and spouse intend to close Meigs Field, the lakefront sanctuary for business and private aircraft. For what purpose? Aaaaagh, to make the 3,900-foot runway into a park.
British Aerospace has applied to the FAA for a 472-pound increase in the maximum takeoff weight for the Jetstream Super 31. A 240-pound increase recently was approved by the United Kingdom's CAA. Meanwhile, the company has launched a program to improve the hot-and-high airport performance of the 19-passenger, twin-turboprop regional transport. That product enhancement package is expected to be certificated and available by summer 1997.
Mesa Air Group has placed an order for 16 Canadair Regional Jets and has taken options for an additional 16 following ``an exhaustive study of competitive aircraft. . . .'' Deliveries will begin in February 1997, and the initial aircraft will be operated in the livery of America West Express out of America West's Phoenix and Las Vegas hubs.
George Poullos has given up. His Grand Island, Nebraska-based GP Express that brought essential air service to a number of rural Nebraska communities, leaves those communities with no rail service, bus service . . . or air service.
Between November 11, 1981 and July 17, 1995, the world's aviation safety authorities posted 31 Robinson R22 helicopter accidents involving loss of main rotor control. One of those incidents, the June 1992 loss of an R22 operated by Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, led to a recently completed four-year study by the NTSB of the design, certification, fabrication and operation of the popular light single-engine piston helicopter.
Two pilots set an around-the-world record in a Bell 430, even though they arrived at England's Farnborough Air Show a day later than scheduled. Their time of 17 days, six hours and 14 minutes shattered the old record by seven days. Ron Bower, president of Austin Jet of Austin, Texas and Bell Helicopter test pilot John Williams left Farnborough on August 17 for a westbound, 20,548-nm trip around the world. They arrived back in Farnborough on September 3. The original plan required the pilots to fly an average of 11 hours and about 1,300 nm per day.
It has jet performance and jet comfort and noise levels, but Saab Aircraft is finding it difficult to sell those attributes simply because the high-speed Model 2000 is pulled along by propellers.
SNECMA of France and Pratt&Whitney Canada hope to break into the powerplant market for regional jets with a 14,000-pound-thrust turbofan for the Aero International (Regional) AIR-70. The aircraft is the first of a proposed new family of regional jets ranging from 58 to 84 passengers. In May, SNECMA and P&WC announced joint development of a series of turbofans in the 12,000- to 16,000-pound-thrust class (B/CA, June, page 22). The AIR-70 engine is designated the SPW14.
Howell Instruments has developed the Jetcal 2000 for troubleshooting and operational checks on engine performance. This sophisticated analyzer is designed for use during ground runs and in flight. The Jetcal 2000 monitors barometric pressure, ambient temperature, fuel flow, fuel pressure, engine pressure ratio, engine and rotor speeds, engine temperature, variable vane and power-lever angles. Instructions and engine parameters are built-in. Price: $60,000 to $100,000, depending on the accessories, the number and types of engine applications and other options.
The largest-ever U.S. airspace modification is set to be activated on October 10 and will 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.
AAR Corp. (Elk Grove Village, IL)-This supplier of aerospace products and services announced two appointments: David P. Storch as chief executive officer, succeeding Ira A. Eichner, who remains chairman of the board, and James N. Vincent as senior vice president and general manager of AAR Engine Sales&Leasing. Aer Atlantic (Dublin, Ireland)-Stephan Arthur is the new managing director for this charter operation at Dublin Airport.
In its quarterly earnings report for the period ended June 30 and issued July 30, Mesa Air Group said it took a special charge of just over $1.7 million, or six cents per share, as a result of its decision to return two Fokker 70 aircraft to the manufacturer because of the Fokker bankruptcy. Those aircraft were operated out of Phoenix in America West Express livery. How many of the new 50-passenger jets would be assigned to Phoenix was not known at B/CA press time.
When Alain Brodin returned to the Washington, D.C. area in 1989 as president of ATR Marketing Incorporated, he brought only his suitcases. ``I was here for two years. I was not allowed to buy a house. . . . We were not allowed, even at my level of president, to move our furniture; we were allowed to rent furniture here.''
An addition to the international flight information manual clarifies that the ``30-minute'' communications rule for IFR flights within the New York Flight Information Region (FIR) applies to both private and commercial operations. Specifically, the requirements state that FAR Part 91 operators must have at least one long-range communications system (LRCS), and Part 135 operators must have at least two. In either case, the FAA says, ``If their LRCS should fail, they should be no more than 30 minutes from VHF coverage.''
Few business jets on the ramp command more respect than Gulfstream aircraft. It's been that way since 1968, the year in which Gulfstream II deliveries began. This venerable matriarch of the heavy-iron fleet offers business travelers cabin volume, range and speed that rival some current-production, large-cabin aircraft. The craftsmen at Bethpage, New York didn't know the meaning of the word ``compromise'' when they built G-IIs. As a result, a well-maintained G-II may outlive many of the pilots who first flew them.
It was not completely settled at B/CA press time, but Fairchild Dornier was on the verge of a decision that would make the Dornier 328 high-speed turboprop the industry's first 30-passenger turbofan.
Helicopter Association International is reminding European commercial helicopter operators that they have only until April 1, 1998 to complete conversions of their operations manuals to the JAR-OPS 3 format. Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities say the deadline won't be extended, and the conversion process is expected to take between three to six months. HAI says that a revised version of the JAR-OPS 3 format is scheduled to be published soon. Until then, JAR-OPS 3 draft dated May 22, 1995 is the current version.
Year-end certification is expected for avionics and data kits that will permit Gulfstream IIs and Challengers to meet the new Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) taking effect on transatlantic routes in March 1997. Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Innovative Solutions&Support is developing a G-II kit for sale through Gulfstream Aerospace. Its price of $200,000 does not include the cost of inspecting for, or correcting, skin waviness and related anomalies.
At a September 24 function in Washington, D.C., officials of General Aviation Team 2000 announced the advertising and marketing agency that was selected to spearhead the GA Team 2000 campaign. Proposals from 25 agencies were considered. Kicking off in 1997, the campaign, masterminded by GAMA and AOPA, aims to attract at least 100,000 new student pilots annually (B/CA, May, page 11). Previous attempts to boost the number of student starts (now about 65,000 annually) have achieved only limited success.
Paula Derks, long-time editor of the Aircraft Electronics Association's monthly magazine Avionics News, was named president of the association. Derks will succeed Monte Mitchell, who in 1995 announced his intentions to leave the post he has served for nearly two decades (B/CA, December 1995, page 26). Derks joined the Independence, Missouri-based trade organization nearly 18 years ago as an associate editor of Avionics News.
Over 150 employees at Atlantic Aviation's Wilmington Aircraft Services Division and Line Services Division are recipients of the NBAA's Maintenance/Avionics Technician and Aviation Support Services Safety Awards. The NBAA's Safety Awards program has the endorsement and approval of the National Safety Council.
