Carl Albert wasted no time in establishing an agenda for the new Dornier Luftfahrt--installing a new top management group with marching orders to cut costs.
FAA is reviewing a noise-compatibility program proposed under FAR Part 150 for Dayton International Airport. The agency is scheduled to approve or disapprove the proposal on or before October 30. Under Part 150, interested parties can comment on the proposal. Earlier, the FAA determined that associated noise-exposure maps previously submitted are in compliance with Part 150 requirements. For more information, contact Airports Engineer Lawrence C. King at the FAA's Airports District Office in Detroit.
FAA has agreed to push back the phase-in schedule for the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) standards in North Atlantic Track (NAT) airspace to March 27, 1997. The plan, originally scheduled to be fully implemented in January 1997, calls for 1,000-foot vertical separation minimums initially between FL 330 and FL 370 (B/CA, May, page 11). The three-month extension gives immediate relief to operators working on getting their aircraft equipped and certificated to use RVSM airspace.
FAA certification of S-TEC Corporation's first product for the helicopter industry-a stability and control augmentation system (SCAS) in the Bell 206L-4-is scheduled in October. The Mineral Wells, Texas company says the basic SCAS (with an optional force trim) for the 206 will be the first in a complete line of helicopter flight-control systems (B/CA, April, page 26). The SCAS will be sold in kit form with installations available from S-TEC-approved service centers. Pricing was not available at press time.
The Eurocopter EC 135 single-turbine helicopter recently received certification under Joint Aviation Authorities JAR Part 27. The approval applies to both the version of the aircraft with a 700-shp Turbomeca Arrius 2B engine and the version powered by a 731-shp P&WC 206B. Certificated performance numbers include a maximum altitude of 20,000 feet, takeoffs and landings up to 5,000 feet, an operating temperature range of -30C to +39C and a maximum indicated speed of 141 knots.
Compliance Software has introduced SAFnet to assist substance abuse program managers to confidentially exchange employees' drug and alcohol test result information among employers, collectors, laboratories and medical review officers. It also avoids duplication of effort and paperwork. The interface with the SAFnet network requires a standard modem, 486 or better computer, SAFnet-supplied software and an assigned mailbox address. Price: One-time startup software fee is about $99.
Photograph: Technicans make final preparations on the BMW/RR BR710 for its expected certification on the G-V this month. BR710 FOR G-V NEARS CERTIFICATION BMW/Rolls-Royce expects to receive certification this month for its BR710 turbofan engine. This initial certification of the 14,800-pounds-thrust turbofan, the first German civil jet en- gine to be designed for production, ap-plies to the version for the new Gulfstream G-V. The BR710 series for the new Global Express is scheduled to receive certification in February 1997.
The Aviation&Aerospace Almanac from The McGraw-Hill Companies is a 660-page, softcover reference brimful of current and historical statistics, including financial and operational data, inventories and comparisons with other modes of transportation. Facts and figures on general aviation, regional airlines and major domestic and international carriers is followed by an organizational directory and statistics from the FAA, the DOT and the NTSB. Contact information for key people in the industry and for members of congressional committees overseeing aviation is included.
Photograph: The Williams/Rolls-Royce-powered Premier I remains on schedule for a first flight in mid 1997, followed by FAA certification and the start of customer deliveries in late 1998. RAYTHEON SAYS PREMIER I IS ON TARGET ``On schedule, on budget and on target'' was how Roy Norris, president of Raytheon Aircraft, described the development status of the company's first business jet design, the Premier I (B/CA, October 1995, page 50).
Allison's AE 3007A might be termed a laid-back engine design because its temperature and stress margins are so wide. At a maximum takeoff thrust rating of 7,426 pounds, flat-rated to 30C, the engine has a 200F temperature margin below its 8,600-pounds-thrust design limit. In tests, Allison pushed the engine to 9,500 pounds of thrust with no detrimental effects. Normal takeoff thrust rating is just over 6,600 pounds, further widening the temperature margin between everyday operation and design limits.
J. H. Productions has introduced customized passenger safety briefing cards design-ed to meet or exceed the requirements of FAR Parts 91, 121, 125, 135, plus Advisory Circular 121-24A. The company says its computer-design methods allow a true representation of a cabin interior, including color scheme, equipment locations and operation. Customers need to send in a videotape or color slides of their aircraft livery, cabin interior and equipment. Price: $2,000 for 50 two- or three-fold cards. J. H. Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 30528, JFK Airport Station, Jamaica, NY 11430.
With America losing more than one airport per week, it's nice to report when a field is preserved, especially an historic site that has figured prominently in the growth of general aviation. Recent developments at Philadelphia's Wings Field have increased the chances that the reliever airport and birthplace of the AOPA will not only remain open, but will be upgraded to enhance its utility for companies and individuals that use the small, privately owned, public-use airport.
The Dassault Falcon 2000 is the latest business jet to be approved to operate at London City Airport. The airport is attractive to business aircraft operators because it is just six miles from downtown London and has no slot restrictions. However, to obtain approval to use the 4,000-foot-long runway, operators are required to fly no less than a 5.5-degree approach angle; to employ noise-abatement departure procedures; and to generate no more than 94.5 EPNdB noise levels.
The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS) is the centerpiece of the continent's plan to improve and simplify its air traffic and airspace management. TAAATS, which is scheduled to go into operation in 1998, will provide the first fully integrated ATC system for Australian airspace and will cover about 11 percent of the world's surface. TAAATS services will apply to all operations except for VFR flights outside controlled airspace and away from radar coverage. For details, contact the TAAATS project office at +06 268-4609.
Photograph: EJA Chairman Richard Santulli (left) and NetJets Europe CEO Hannes Ziegler NETJETS LAUNCHES EUROPEAN OPERATION Executive Jet Aviation in late June launched NetJets Europe, a fractional ownership program that mirrors the company's NetJets program in the United States. Three Citation S/IIs currently are operating from NetJets Europe's Lisbon, Portugal base, and the company has booked flights through the end of the summer.
Honeywell's Primus 1000 system for the EMB-145 features a five-tube configuration with eight-by-seven-inch displays. The glare- shield module houses the flight-guidance system mode control in the center, flanked by left- and right-side display controllers. In addition, separate caution and warning light annunciators are mounted outboard of the avionics controls, and they command the flightcrew's attention when needed.
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) in June denied the $28 million breach-of-contract appeal against the U.S. Air Force by TPI International Airways. TPI immediately filed for reconsideration of the decision.
A July ruling by a federal appeals court that Honeywell infringed on a Litton Industries patent for ring laser gyro inertial navigation systems (INS) partly reinstates a 1993 jury verdict against Honeywell. That verdict, which called for Honeywell to pay $1.2 billion in damages, was overturned by a judge in January 1995.
In a move to concentrate its services solely on aircraft maintenance, refurbs and completions, Dallas-based K-C Aviation plans to sell its Transportation Services and Jet Professionals units to Jet Aviation. Transportation Services is K-C's charter and management unit operating out of Montvale, New Jersey. Jet Professionals provides consulting and personnel services from its main office in Shelton, Connecticut. The sale would increase Jet Aviation's management fleet to 215 aircraft worldwide.
With about a month to go before the curtain rises on England's Farnborough Air Show, indications point to a record-breaking turnout by exhibitors and spectators. According to the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), the sponsor of the biennial event, the number of exhibitors is expected to surpass the 667 companies that exhibited in 1994. More than 150 aircraft are scheduled to participate in static and flying demonstrations. And SBAC anticipates that up to 150,000 attendees from 30 nations will attend the show.
Certain FAR Part 139 certification requirements would be applicable to airports served by scheduled aircraft with 10 to 30 passenger seats, under another provision of the draft FAA reauthorization bill being reviewed in the House. Currently, Part 139 applies only to airports served by airliners with more than 30 passenger seats. Some organizations, like the National Air Transportation Association, see the proposed requirements as an operators' cost burden that does not provide any commensurate payback in increased safety.
