The House and Senate voted to reinstate the 10-percent federal excise tax, and President Bill Clinton was expected to sign the bill. Aviation interests opposed to user-fee initiatives had advocated reinstating the tax, which was allowed to lapse at the end of 1995. Also included in the legislation is language that will change the IRS Code to allow companies that operate as an affiliated group to determine on a flight-by-flight basis whether the fuel tax or the commercial ticket tax applies.
Gulfstream has expanded the MedAire services being offered as a standard feature for G-V customers. In addition to facilitating contact between the aircraft occupants and medical professionals on the ground, the coverage now includes aid anywhere on the ground that the crew and passengers happen to be while away from home base. Also part of the service: The Phoenix-based MedAire staff will conduct an initial crew training in first aid.
If the Twin Commander line became a stepchild under Gulfstream's ownership, it's back in the bosom of the family now. Under the stewardship of Arlington, Washington-based Twin Commander Aircraft Corporation (TCAC), support has improved, parts prices have been dropping, and market values and activity are on the rise.
Operators planning transatlantic crossings must remember that a current FAA Letter of Authorization (LOA) is required in order to fly in the North Atlantic Minimum Navigation Performance Specifications (MNPS) airspace. MNPS includes altitudes between 27,000 and 40,000 feet. To enter this airspace, an aircraft and its crew must meet the specs, and the LOA must attest to the fact that the requirements have been met. Those who have been operating with an LOA should remember that it expires on October 1 of this year.
Charter operators can now post deadhead legs on CharterNet, an Internet site from the Cambridge, Massachusetts publishers of the Air Charter Guide. Air-taxi companies can list their deadhead flight availability status themselves or allow CharterNet operators to list and sell deadheads for them. In either case, an option is available for anonymous listing to keep knowledge of traffic pattern information about a particular trip from the retail public. Contact CharterNet at (617) 547-5811 or http://www.guides.com/acg.
Now that ozone-depleting ingredients are disallowed, CRC Industries has introduced its Precision Plus avionics cleaner. This product is designed to de-crud printed circuit boards, landing gear, micro switches, engine controls, avionics and more. Precision Plus removes light oils, krytox and other contaminants. It leaves no residue, is non-staining and non-corrosive, according to the manufacturer. List price: $42.76 for a 16-ounce can, $513.12 by the case. CRC Industries, Inc., 885 Louis Dr., Warminster, PA 18974. (215) 674-4300.
Corporate Air Parts has introduced an emergency survival bag to reduce a survivor's loss of body heat and risk of hypothermia. This live-body bag weighs only 18 ounces, and is built of a microthin layer of aluminized film, laminated to a brightly colored (International Safety Orange) rip-resistant, flame-retarding material. Waterproof and wind proof, the product's tough, cocoon-like structure is said to deter shark attacks by keeping body fluids and odors from entering open waters. Price: $49.95. Corporate Air Parts, Inc., 6920 Hayvenhurst Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91406.
The HUM-Bug Test Kit (a.k.a. the Hydrocarbon Utilizing Microorganism Detector Kit) sniffs out possible microbial growth in jet fuel wing tanks. Each kit consists of a sterile hypodermic sampling syringe and a sealed test bottle. Within each test bottle is a hydrocarbon fuel in a sterile environment with a nutrient dye indicator. Waste products of microorganisms in the fuel react to the nutrient dye by turning pink or red. Detection time: 12 hours or less. Price: $15 per test. Hammonds Fuel Additives, P.O. Box 38114-407, Houston, TX 77238. (713) 442-3777.
The Apollo Navigation Management System from II Morrow recently received STC and TSO C129-A1 approvals, allowing it to be used for GPS non-precision approaches. The TSO and STC cover the panel-mount Apollo 2001GPS (shown) and 2001NMS, as well as the DZUS rail-mount-configured Apollo 2001D and 2101 models. All versions allow for an autopilot interface, CDI/HSI interface and multiple avionic annunciators. Price: $4,995 for the Apollo 2001; DZUS rail-mount systems with keypad begin at $9,995. II Morrow, Inc., P.O. Box 13549, Salem, OR 97309. (503) 581-8101.
Illustration: FBO AND AIR TAXI BAROMETER The National Air Transportation Association's monthly index of FBO and charter businesses showed an overall 10.32 percent increase in April and May of this year over the base period (fourth quarter 1995). The statistics are derived from a representative sample of NATA members. PRODUCT ANALYSIS: KLN 900 Now that we've flown several hundred hours using the KLN 90B panel-mount GPS receiver, we've been thoroughly impressed with its performance and utility.
Growth of more than 20 percent over the past two years has propelled NBAA membership over the 4,000 mark. The trade group began in 1947 with 19 members, topped the 1,000 mark in 1974, and grew to 3,000 members in 1988. Rock Hill, New York-based Frontier Insurance Group became the 4,000th member after acquiring a Beechjet 400A. As of August 1, the NBAA had 2,256 voting members that operate aircraft, 1,757 associate members including vendors and OEMs, and 45 affiliate members that operate non-U.S. registered aircraft.
Table: EMERGING AIRCRAFT TARGET DATES The following are target dates for emerging aircraft. These dates, supplied by the airframe manufacturers, are subject to change-and frequently do. Each month, this table will endeavor to show the most current schedule. (This table is not available electronically. Please see the September, 1996 issue.) NEW SEALS MAY PROLONG LIFE OF 731s For its TFE731 family of engines, AlliedSignal has developed a new carbon seal system that is designed to cure one of the most common causes of unscheduled engine removal.
Revisions to the federal excise tax law shift the entire fuel-tax collection responsibility from the FBO to the fuel producer. Previously, all but one cent of the tax on avgas was collected by the producer. This seemingly insignificant amount has caused ``incredible record-keeping and administrative burdens'' on FBOs, claimed the National Air Transportation Association. NATA estimates that omitting the one-cent collection requirement will save FBOs thousands of dollars in administrative costs.
This FBO has made three personnel changes: David R. Madden was appointed manager of the corporate charter department; Dan Elwood is director of operations and Terry Hebbard is now chief pilot.
Photograph: Flight Dymanics' HGS 2000 installed in a Falcon 2000. REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: FLYING BLIND Guy Mitaux-Maurouard is a brave man. In late June, Mitaux, chief test pilot for Dassault civil aircraft, settled into the right seat of a Falcon 2000 flight-test aircraft for a flight from Istres, France. I took the left seat of the Flight Dynamics HGS 2000-equipped aircraft and swung the large holographic combiner into view. ``What do you want to do today with the HUD?'' Mitaux inquired.
FAA in mid July granted an STC for the Collins Pro Line 4 avionics package for the Falcon 50EX, which paves the way for certification of the business jet this fall. The STC also will enable Dassault's Little Rock, Arkansas completion center to offer the package as a retrofit for the approximately 250 existing Falcon 50s. In addition to the new avionics suite, the 50EX is powered by new AlliedSignal TFE731-40s.
Members of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America have proposed adopting restrictions on soliciting legal business from relatives of people killed in disasters. After taking heat for the behavior of attorneys following recent airline crashes, the group is considering a ban on face-to-face and direct-mail solicitation. The proposal was made at the group's annual convention in Boston. A subcommittee was tasked with developing standards that will be put to a vote of the membership.
Fargo Jet Center has opened at Hector International Airport. The new FBO provides 24-hour services, including charter, maintenance, sales, leasing, training and fuel sales. Fargo's facility includes a 12,000-square-foot hangar for maintenance and aircraft storage. (701) 235-3600.
One of the newest shared-aircraft ownership programs to sprout up and serve a regional area is Corporate AirShare from Atlanta-based Hill Aircraft. The program, designed to cover transportation requirements throughout the southeastern United States, involves 25-percent ownership shares in King Air B200s. The program entitles each owner to 200 hours of flight time per year for the five-year contract period. In addition to the acquisition cost, owners pay a fixed monthly fee and an hourly flight-time fee.
Most powerful of the second-generation, TFE731 turbofan engines, the -60 produces 5,000 pounds of takeoff thrust and is flat-rated to a sea-level ISA+17C day, corresponding to a density altitude of 1,900 feet. It's equipped with an N1 fan rpm referenced, digital electronic engine control (DEEC) that provides most of the functionality of a FADEC.
A survey of wages and benefits for 30 different job classifications in the FBO and air-taxi industries has been published by the National Air Transportation Association. Based on the responses from NATA member-companies, ``The 1996 NATA Compensation Survey'' details pay and benefits reported for pilots, mechanics, technicians, administrative personnel, dispatchers and top executives. Copies of the survey are available for $99 to NATA members and $150 to non-members. Phone (800) 808-6282 to order.
Shipments of new U.S.-built general aviation aircraft in the first six months of 1996 were up 10.3 percent to 503 units worth some $1.25 billion, compared to 456 aircraft worth $1.27 billion in the like period in 1995, according to Washington, D.C.-based GAMA. Turboprop deliveries jumped 26 percent to 135 units, while piston aircraft shipments climbed by 12 percent, for a total of 273 aircraft. However, business jet deliveries were off about 10 percent, dropping from 105 units in the first half of 1995 to 95 aircraft this year.
In July, the MD Explorer became the first U.S. helicopter to undergo certification validation by Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities, according to McDonnell Douglas. Following the review of U.S. certification data, the JAA recommended that its 27 member-nations issue type certificates for the eight-place, twin-turbine rotorcraft. The Explorer was certificated by the FAA in December 1994, and four Explorers currently are operating in Europe. The $3.2-million Explorer has a NOTAR anti-torque system and is among the most quiet of all helicopter models.
Pennzoil is marketing an R-12 freon replacement that holds promise for retrofitting freon air-conditioning systems in already fielded aircraft. In December 1995, manufacturing of ozone-depleting R-12 stopped, under Environmental Protection Agency rules. While existing stocks can still be used, prices have tripled (by some accounts) over the last six months, and supplies can be hard to come by.
