United States Aviation Underwriters and its former chairman, John Brennan, plan to appeal a federal court decision convicting them of mail fraud in connection with insurance settlements resulting from the 1987 crash of a Pacific Southwest Airlines BAe 146. The aircraft crashed after a former airline employee smuggled a gun onboard and shot the pilots. All 43 persons aboard were killed. The government claims USAU put the entire allocation of settlements on the airline instead of on Ogden-Allied, the company that provided security services at the airport.
Sabreliner Corporation recently completed the purchase of Turbotech Repairs, a five-year-old engine service company based in San Diego. In addition to overhauling components for P&WC PT6 and PW100 turboprops and for AlliedSignal APUs, Turbotech is an authorized maintenance center for Allison 250 turboshafts. St. Louis-based Sabreliner will transfer the Allison 250 work from San Diego to the company's Neosho, Missouri facility. Turbotech's other engine work will remain in San Diego, Sabreliner officials said.
Bell chose Pratt&Whitney Canada's 600-shp PW206D turboshaft engine to power the Bell/Samsung Model 427 light-twin turbine helicopter (B/CA, April, page 30). The new twin will have a maximum gross weight of 6,000 pounds and will use the four-blade composite rotor that's on the Model 407. The 427 will seat seven people plus the pilot, and, in EMS configuration, will carry two litters in fore and aft orientation without encroaching on the cockpit. Base price is $1.875 million, and certification is planned for late 1998.
Russia's Rybinskie Motory and General Electric have signed a joint agreement to develop and manufacture aircraft engines in Russia . . . The FAA research and testing facility in Atlantic City was renamed the William J. Hughes Technical Center, after the New Jersey native, ambassador to Panama and long-time supporter of the facility.
This firm announced three appointments: Tom Brown as manager of Citation training, Robert H. Freeman as manager of Learjet training and J. Brent Poer as the senior manager of courseware.
At press time, the House was scheduled to start considering legislation that rejects President Clinton's proposal to fund the FAA through new user fees. Instead, the bill proposes to establish a National Civilian Aviation Review Commission to provide a ``comprehensive, independent review of overall aviation safety and the structure and future financial requirements'' of the FAA. Another aspect of the bill provides $5.65 million to maintain Loran-C as an interim navigation system until GPS is on fully line.
Leonard Greene, Ph.D., founder and current president of Safe Flight Instrument, is this year's recipient of the annual NBAA Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation. Dr. Greene is the inventor of the stall warning indicator, the product that launched Safe Flight Instrument in 1946. He also helped to found the Corporate Angel Network, and piloted its first flight. Dr. Greene's award will be presented on November 21 during the NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention in Orlando.
Honeywell's Business and Commuter Aviation Systems in Phoenix and Trimble Navigation of Austin now will market regional airliner versions of their HT9000 and HT9100 GPS-based navigation management systems. Under the joint venture, Trimble will produce the hardware, and Honeywell will market it. Both systems are approved under TSO C129-A1 for non-precision approaches and for en route and terminal navigation. Honeywell and Trimble introduced the products in 1995 for the major carriers.
New format, standardized VFR+GPS charts now are available from Jeppesen&Company GmbH for Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Changes were made to simplify navigation and flight planning. Among the revisions: Airspace for which clearances are required is depicted, and restricted areas are marked in red. Also, minimum safety flight altitudes of 1,000 or 2,000 feet above the highest obstruction within each half-degree sector are clearly shown. Color-coding for topographical levels has been added.
A Falcon 900 was the first recipient of a CAL Corporation dual satellite telephone system. JetCorp of Chesterfield, Missouri performed the installation.
Photograph: The first Global Express is scheduled to roll out later this month, followed by its first flight in September. GLOBAL EXPRESS ROLLOUT NEARS Excitement and anxiety are building within the Global Express development team at Bombardier-excitement over the anticipated rollout on August 26 and anxiety that anything could happen to cause the company to reschedule this milestone.
Keith Butler-Wheelhouse joins this avionics manufacturer this month as its executive director. In November, he is slated to be appointed as its chief executive as well.Linda Martin
The latest Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) sale is four of the 50-passenger airplanes to Argentina's Pampas Air. Ever heard of it? The order has been pending for some time, but it seems the principals did not come up with a name for the new airline until recently.
One of business aviation's ``Holy Grails'' has been to find a reliable way to offset the cost of ownership of an aircraft when it isn't being used for its primary mission of transporting corporate employees. Some operators have found that chartering their aircraft can be an effective way to reduce the costs of ownership, but finding passengers is often a hit-or-miss affair. And what do you do when you need another aircraft on short notice or when you're deadheading?
Lachlan Beatson, a veteran AlliedSignal executive who recently was hired to oversee manufacturing at Learjet, was named the company's president following the abrupt departure of Jim Robinson. Robinson, also an AlliedSignal alumnus, left to head up Fairchild's newly acquired Dornier operations in Germany after only five months as Learjet president. In January, he replaced Brian Barents, who also left the company suddenly.
Delta Connection Atlantic Southeast Airlines has a public relations problem. It seems that civic leaders in Columbus, Georgia were publicly concerned about delays and cancellations around the time of the Atlanta-based Summer Olympics.
(Fillup Flyer Fuel Finder-June 1996) This table shows the results of a June 1996 independent survey of U.S. FBOs. The survey, by Fillup Flyer Fuel Finder in Cincinnati, reflects fuel prices reported by 1,863 U.S. FBOs. All prices are full retail-before discounts, if any apply-and include taxes and other fees. Contact Fillup Flyer for individualized customer fuel surveys at (800) 333-7900.
DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo, who said she would not travel on ValuJet Airlines in particular, and no ``commuter'' airlines in general, has resigned. Schiavo gave no reason for her decision, but said she was not forced out. Industry insiders think otherwise. They say her views were contrary to those of the Clinton ddministration, the DOT and the FAA, which have been coming under increased scrutiny for their management of aviation safety.
A second runway and a business aviation center are on tap for Chep Lap Kok, Hong Kong's new international airport. The airport is scheduled to open in April 1998 with one runway. The second runway is scheduled to be completed in October 1998. Business aviation flights soon could double beyond the 500 movements currently at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport, estimated Henry Townsend, chief executive of the newly established Hong Kong Airport Authority.
The latest edition of the NBAA's biennial report on state taxes on fuel, use taxes, aircraft registration fees, personal property taxes and the types of operations that may be exempted from taxation is now available to non-member companies. The report shows that 16 states impose registration fees; six states do not impose any sales and use tax on aviation; and two states-Texas and Connecticut-do not have a tax on fuel. To obtain a copy of the 1996-1997 State Aviation Tax Report, contact the NBAA at (202) 783-9266.
