Certification testing is under way of a radar altimeter that AlliedSignal says will offer easier installation and greater reliability. The new Bendix/King KRA 405B, designed to replace the KRA 405, will provide analog as well as digital ARINC 429 formats. According to AlliedSignal officials, it will interface with such other components as GPWS, TCAS and flight-control systems-without the use of converter boxes.
Learjet maintains its replacement windshield is a proven safety product, while saying that an after-market windshield available at about half the price from Perkins Aircraft Services is not. Shortly after Perkins introduced the PMA-approved windshield in 1995, Learjet warned its customers that the FAA did not require the Fort Worth firm to perform bird-impact tests, nor did Perkins do so voluntarily. However, Perkins said it recently performed those tests-and fulfilled FAA criteria.
Learket, Inc. (Wichita)-This airframe manufacturer has added three sales directors: Nicholas R. Jones for Southeast Asia and Australia; Gerald B. Moore for Mexico and Central America; and Joseph Papke for South America.
The `96 Jet and Propjet Directory from AvCom International is a listing of the registration numbers and the owners/operators of more than 18,000 turbine-powered business aircraft in the United States and 138 other countries. Included are the identification of aircraft that have been written off or otherwise withdrawn from service, piston aircraft converted to turboprops and turbojets retrofitted to fanjets. Price: $21.95, plus $3 shipping and handling for U.S. residents. AvCom International, P.O. Box 2398, Wichita, KS 67201. (316) 262-1493.
International Aviation Services (IAS), a newly established firm, is acquiring the former Page Avjet facility at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, and will enter the large-aircraft service business. In addition to completions, IAS will provide maintenance, avionics upgrades and painting. Walter Nubel is president and CEO of the new company. One of the board members of IAS is Ross Chapin, who was president of Page Gulfstream in San Antonio and a member of the board of Page Avjet until 1991.
Mena, AR-Excel Aircraft Services recently opened a new and larger corporate aircraft painting facility, which the company says can accommodate Gulfstream-size aircraft. The company promises use of the new facility will ``dramatically increase the overall quality'' of paint jobs without affecting turnaround time. (501) 394-5713.
Escalating bird populations, particularly larger birds, are an increasingly serious hazard to jet aircraft and merit aggressive efforts to combat their presence near airports, according to the NTSB. Safety Board Member John J. Goglia is leading an NTSB effort to learn more about the damage birds pose when they collide with jet aircraft. Part of the problem, says the Safety Board, is that windshield and engine-certification impact tests do not cover larger birds, such as the Canada goose.
Jeppesen Sanderson and Schweizer Aircraft plan to jointly develop a training package aimed specifically at helicopters. Jeppesen will supply textbooks, testing materials and training videos based on Schweizer data. Schweizer has renewed its emphasis on training since announcing the Model 300CB (B/CA, March 1995, page 20). Deliveries of the -300CB began in August 1995, and more than 20 are in service in the United States.
NASA-funded research into aircraft design would be eliminated or sharply reduced if a group of senators has its way. Senate Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) is one of the members who claim NASA-funded aircraft research, plus several other government-subsidized programs, are part of what he dubs the ``Dirty Dozen Corporate Pork Chops.'' As such, they have ``no place in either a free-market economy or in a budget where we are asking millions of Americans to sacrifice. . . ,'' McCain said.
Organized labor lost an additional 388,000 workers-dropping from 16.7 million to 16.4 million-during 1995, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate of unionization of employed wage and salary workers fell from 15.5 percent to 14.9 percent-10.4 percent for private industry and 37.8 percent for government employees. Against that backdrop is new AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who hopes to reverse the slide by stepping up organizing activity and adopting a more confrontational stance toward management.
Bell has joined with South Korea's Samsung Aerospace to develop a light-twin helicopter, the Model 427. The new twin, to supplant the proposed 407T, will have a gross weight of 6,000 pounds and will use the four-blade composite rotor that flies on the Model 407. A powerplant provider has not yet been selected. The 427 will seat seven plus pilot, and, in EMS configuration, 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. Samsung builds parts for Bell's 212 and 412.
In March, Dallas Airmotive opened an engine repair shop-the company's sixth satellite facility. The Phoenix shop will provide hot-section repairs and power-section repairs for P&WC PT6As and JT15Ds, as well as module repair for the Allison 250 series. In addition, the 3,000-square-foot facility will maintain an inventory of parts and lease engines, and will be the base for a field service representative. March marked the completion of Dallas Airmotive's first year of operation since buying the turbine-engine maintenance business from Aviall.
Passengers can enjoy a pilot's eye view via Aerial View Systems' AVS460 miniature color video camera. The camera is recessed into the cockpit glareshield and automatically adjusts to different viewing attitudes for taxi, takeoff and landing. Included with the camera system are a camera control unit, servo programmer, cables and connectors, and installation hardware. The system has been DO-160C tested for magnetic interference and for conducting and radiating electronic noise. Price: $12,000. Aerial View Systems, P.O. Box 9905, Newport Beach, CA 92658. (714) 759-1321.
Cessna's newest business jet, the eight-passenger Excel, has entered flight test on its way toward FAA certification in mid 1997 (B/CA, November 1994, page 18). The Excel, which made its first flight on February 29, combines a truncated Citation X cabin with the Citation V Ultra's wing and empennage. The new jet will have a maximum speed of 436 knots and a 1,600-nm range. A pair of P&WC 3,640-pounds-thrust PW545A turbofans powers the Excel. Thrust reversers and single-point refueling are standard. The purchase price currently is $6.595 million.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games are cosponsoring a conference on May 9 and 10 to provide operators with details of special ATC procedures that will be in effect during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta-July 19 through August 4. The conference fee is $35. For more information, contact Gary Stephens at (770) 946-7761. Meanwhile, the FAA published Special FAR 47 outlining the ATC procedures that will be in effect from May 15 to August 11.
The RAA is challenging the FAA's proposed flight-time and rest requirements based on the application of research science used to justify the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The RAA joins the Air Transport Association (ATA) and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) in stinging renunciation of the proposal.
Arizona Rotorcraft (Mesa, AZ)-George Adams has been promoted to director of marketing, and Dennis Linde was hired as Northeast sales and service representative at this authorized maintenance center for Allison engines.
The NBAA's Cabin Attendants Workshop is slated for May 11 in Dallas. The program will highlight the cabin attendant's managerial role that is critical to the safety and comfort of the passengers. Speakers will discuss various facets of this responsibility, such as developing a professional attitude, cockpit-cabin relations, budgeting techniques, duty and rest cycles, fatigue and health. The fee is $150 for NBAA members; $225 for non-members. Call (202) 783-9284 to register.
Why has it taken so long for the Advanced Qualification Program to take hold? While the philosophy underlying the program is fairly straightforward, implementing an AQP is a daunting task, requiring a sophisticated examination of what aviators do, how they do it, and how they are taught to do it. Here's a quick guide to building an AQP. Phase 1-Application. The opening shot is an application to the FAA that includes a basic outline of the proposed AQP and the plan for implementing the program.
The Flight Safety Foundation's 41st annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, which convenes Wednesday, April 24 through Friday, April 26 in Orlando, will focus on the theme ``Solutions Today for a Safe Tomorrow.''
The opportunities and risks of doing business in Vietnam are significant, according to Charles Childers, president of Seattle-based Yukon Pacific Company, an aviation consultancy with substantial business interests in the country.
The Tour Operators Program of Safety (TOPS), initiated two years ago by the Helicopter Association International, became a stand-alone organization in February. The HAI's goal was to produce a program to help reduce air-tour industry accidents. TOPS recommends safety actions to be taken on five fronts: flight operations, management, maintenance, ground support and equipment. Compliance with suggested standards will bring air-tour operators up to FAR Part 135 standards, according to TOPS officials in Kirkland, Washington.
The second annual fly-in for owners of Twin Commanders will be held April 18-21 in San Antonio. This year's convention will focus heavily on maintenance tips, engine analyses, systems trouble-shooting, flight operations and controlling costs. The meeting also will have presentations and exhibits by Commander vendors. For more information, contact the Twin Commander Flight Group, 601 N.W. Jefferson, Ste. 5, Blue Spring, MO 64014. Phone: (816) 224-0346; fax: (816) 224-6877.
Rapidly expanding demand on ATC and emergence of new technologies like GPS and digital datalink are driving free-flight implementation, FAA Administrator David Hinson said at a free-flight kickoff on March 15. The concept allows pilot-selected routings, altitudes and speeds; and it will be safer, faster and will yield additional airspace capacity. Business jets already are the biggest single users of the National Route Program, a precursor to free flight, which likely will take at least a decade to fully implement (B/CA, June 1995, page 90).
