The -5BR is the most highly evolved variant to date of the first-generation TFE731 turbofan engine. The engine is fitted with a single-channel, digital electronic engine control (DEEC) that is referenced to the N1 fan speed. The DEEC also features automatic fan speed, turbine speed and ITT limiting, built-in fault recording and engine trend monitoring.
FAR Part 150 proposed noise compatibility programs have been submitted for Hawaii's Kahului Airport, Washington's Snohomish County Airport and Tennessee's Chattanooga Airport (Lovell Field). The FAA is scheduled to approve or disapprove the programs by October 2. Interested parties are invited to comment on the proposals. Earlier, the FAA determined that noise-exposure maps for these airports are in compliance with Part 150.
Federal Communications Commission has abolished licensing requirements and fees for aircraft radios-with the notable exception of aviation ground radios. The decision was enacted on an interim basis, pending final action to consider comments received on an FCC proposed rulemaking. Aircraft owners previously were required to register aircraft radios with the FCC every 10 years at a cost of up to $115 per transmitter.
FAA reportedly plans to subject some non-regional-airline aircraft to icing tests. Similar tests on regional turboprops preceded the recent release of a series of ADs affecting the operation of those aircraft in icing conditions. The aircraft, all with pneumatic deicing systems, underwent tests to determine their ability to fly safely in icing conditions that are rare, but more severe than those required for icing certification. At press time, the FAA would not elaborate on plans for testing other aircraft.
Mesa Air Group will turn back its two 70-passenger Fokker 70s and probably replace them with eight regional jets of another type, the carrier said in late April. A Mesa statement said the company would evaluate the Canadair Regional Jet, Embraer EMB 145 and used Fokker 100s.
Total deliveries of new U.S.-built general aviation aircraft in the first quarter of this year were up 9.1 percent compared to those in the first quarter of 1995, but deliveries of new business jets were off 4.3 percent, says GAMA. Notably, in 1995, total jet deliveries were up despite a first-quarter drop also. Three months into this year, deliveries compared to those of a year earlier (in parentheses) were: jets-45 (47); turboprops-60 (52); and recips-122 (109) for a total of 227 (208).
Northwest Airlink Mesaba Holdings and its senior partner have amended their code-sharing agreement to include a flat rate paid per available seat mile. The amendment is expected to be the basis for a 10-year extension to the agreement that would begin April 1, 1997.
It's a vexing problem: Crew performance issues continue to play a significant role in accidents and incidents, despite the focus on crew resource management (CRM). As part of the industry's continuing effort to improve crew performance, the FAA, in conjunction with Washington-Dulles-based regional airline Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA), is studying what the agency calls advanced CRM or ACRM.
The noise abatement office at New York's Westchester County Airport has produced videotapes detailing its recommended VFR arrival and departure route procedures. Shot with the assistance of based operators, the videos show a pilot's eye view of the routes that cause the least amount of noise disturbance over the ground. Tapes are available showing the routes for helicopters, corporate jets and light general aviation aircraft. To obtain a video and other noise-abatement materials, call the HPN noise office at (914) 285-4862.
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Wendell Ford (D-KY)-sponsors of the all-user-fee-funded FAA-hope to use the fiscal 1997 transportation funding bill as a vehicle to advance their proposal. During a recent hearing they expressed exasperation that they were unable to get a consensus for their ``FAA Reform'' proposal and said they would work with the Senate Appropriations Committee to move the legislation forward. ``We may end up doing what I have never liked or appreciated doing, and that is legislating on an appropriations bill,'' McCain said.
When American Eagle flight 4184 went down near Roselawn, Indiana on October 31, 1994, claiming all 68 souls on board, it introduced a new weather phenomenon into the aviation lexicon-''super-cooled drizzle droplets (SCDDs).'' Now the FAA and the industry are at severe odds over how to solve the problem. The agency has issued proposed ``generic'' airworthiness directives for each regional airline turbo- prop that would prohibit flight in freezing rain or freezing drizzle con-ditions. The RAA wants the ADs withdrawn.
Flight-test results have prompted Cessna to proclaim an increase in max cruise speed for the Citation Bravo from 394 KTAS to 401 KTAS. The new business jet, powered by two 2,500 pounds-thrust P&WC PW530 turbofans, is scheduled to receive FAA certification in August. Cessna had set April as the certification date when the Bravo was first announced at the Farnborough Air Show in September 1994 (B/CA, October 1994, page 21).
In early 1997, the FAA wants to begin increasing traffic capacity on certain Pacific Ocean routes from the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii by reducing nose-to-tail separation between aircraft from 100 to 50 nm. Such a reduction will require more precise navigation standards and equipment than those currently in use over the Pacific. More importantly, business jets might be relegated to designated ``slow-lane'' transoceanic tracks if they can't keep up with speedier airliners. (See article beginning on page 76).
Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) recently was FAA commissioned at Boston's Logan Airport. The Raytheon-built system enables ATC controllers to warn pilots of wind-shear microburst and gust-front activity. Warnings will include the type and strength of the wind shear and the location along the runway where an aircraft will first encounter the shear. The Logan TDWR is the seventh of 47 systems being installed at airports across the nation. The first TDWR was commissioned at Houston in July 1994.
On charts published after June 20, watch for a ``210K'' to appear in the center of holding-pattern depictions above 6,000 feet msl up to and including 14,000 feet msl in the Alaska and New York flight information regions. The icon means that the holding-pattern airspace is smaller than standard and that the maximum holding airspeed cannot exceed 210 KIAS in order to remain within protected airspace. The normal maximum airspeed for standard-size holding patterns at these altitudes is 230 KIAS.
Only licensed pilots would be permitted to fly an aircraft involved in any record-breaking attempt, under legislation introduced by Representatives John Duncan (R-TN) and Jim Lightfoot (R-IA). The bill was drafted in response to the crash of a Cessna 177B that killed seven-year old Jessica Dubroff, her father and flight instructor (who was pilot-in-command) while attempting to set a record that would have made the girl the youngest person to ``pilot'' an aircraft across the United States.
The United States and Canada are expected to start using new ICAO Meteorological Aviation Weather Report (METAR) codes on July 1, about six months later than nearly all other ICAO member-countries. The delay was attributed to the high volume of traffic within and between the United States and Canada. For an FAA booklet explaining the METAR codes, submit $1 per copy (to cover postage and handling) to B/CA, 4 International Dr., Rye Brook, NY 10573. Or, contact the FAA at (202) 267-7770; fax: (202) 366-7083.
Avcon Industries of Newton, Kansas has received certification for its empennage-mounted fins on Learjet 35s and 36s. The installation, designed to improve low-speed stability and handling, does not require major trim modifications that the company initially thought would be required (B/CA, March, page 20). The fins' installed price is $89,500, but a necessary update of the stabilizer trim actuator will add ``from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars,'' depending on which model actuator is in the aircraft.
Astra Jet, Incorporated, the Princeton, New Jersey company that Israel Aircraft Industries set up in 1987 to market Westwind and Astra business jets, is looking to a new president and a partnership with a new company to improve sales and service. The new company might be run by former Learjet president Brian Barents. Roy Bergstrom, who headed Astra Jet since its establishment, stepped down as president on May 31, and Wayne Oedewaldt, Astra Jet's West Coast Sales Manager, was named interim president.
TURBINE BUSINESS AIRCRAFT SALES (JANUARY 1996-APRIL 1996) Worldwide retail sales of new and used turbine aircraft lagged 16.3 percent behind last year, the drag largely generated by a 50-percent-plus slump in overseas deliveries. Yet news for general aviation continues to be upbeat as U.S. deliveries of new turbine aircraft surged 15.2 percent ahead of those during the first four months of 1995.
Corporate Jet Management, a new aviation service organization, recently was launched in London, England. The company hopes to sell shares in aircraft and to offer other strategies for aircraft ownership, charter and management as well as engage in aircraft sales. Meanwhile, JetAir Leasing, headquartered in West Sussex, England, has teamed with Minneapolis-based Adcom Express to form JetAir Charter and Leasing USA.
An American Eagle Simmons captain, who has flown the ATR out of Chicago all winter, told B/CA he had mixed feelings about the AD that prohibits operation of the aircraft in icing conditions. ``On the one hand, it eliminates arguments with the company. They have no choice but to ground the aircraft, and the pilot no longer has to defend a decision based on his/her perception that the flight conditions are unsafe.
Aviall has signed a definitive agreement to sell its engine and component repair operations to Greenwich Air Services of Miami. The agreement follows a letter of intent signed earlier (B/CA, March, page 26), and the sale would make Greenwich one of the largest independent aircraft engine repair facilities. After the sale, Aviall's only remaining business will be its parts-distribution services. Dallas-based Aviall has been shedding business units since it spun off from Ryder System in mid 1993.
Crossings Aviation of Tacoma, Washington, has acquired 100 percent of the stock and assets of Harbor Airlines, including the latter's 54-acre airport facility located at Oak Harbor, Washington.
Sino Swearingen selected Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics for its SJ30-2 business jet. The Primus configuration in the SJ30-2 will feature a two-tube, eight-by-seven-inch EFIS, dual integrated avionics computers, a micro air-data computer, Primus II digital radios and a Primus 650 color weather radar. FAA certification and initial deliveries of the SJ30-2 are expected in late 1998, although the aircraft program's schedule frequently has slipped. A production facility is being built in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
