Bets are on that the National Air Transportation Association's 56th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas will bring members three profitable days of workshops on managing, marketing and making money in the aviation-service industry. NATA `96 is scheduled to get under way on April 22 (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) with a keynote address by Russ Meyer, chairman and CEO of Cessna Aircraft.
Sometimes the little guys get to lead. Such is the case with Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA), a Washington/Dulles-based regional carrier that operates Jetstream 41s and 32s as United Express. Under a research grant from the FAA, ACA is pioneering what could well be the next step in crew resource management (CRM).
NTSB continues its investigation into the January crash of a Mitsubishi MU-2 that occurred about 30 minutes after the aircraft departed Salt Lake City. Killed in the crash were four executives of a regional Coca-Cola bottler, two Salt Lake City advertising-agency employees and the two pilots. Meanwhile, the crash in March of a chartered Learjet near Sao Paulo, Brazil remains under investigation. All five members of a Brazilian rock group, the Mamonas Assassinas, died in the accident. The aircraft's pilot, copilot and two other passengers also were killed.
FAA plans additional evaluation projects to test an experimental general-aviation datalink service. The first such project, done in the Washington, D.C. area in cooperation with the AOPA and several dozen pilots, concluded in December 1995 (B/CA, October 1995, page 39). The AOPA's Air Safety Foundation is expected to issue a report on the results of that evaluation this month. The MIT-developed system automatically provides weather reports, weather radar pictures and nearby traffic information to a cockpit display via datalink from ground stations.
Yet another low-fare regional jet carrier is preparing to take wing. Northern Airlines plans to begin scheduled service from Syracuse, New York in the third quarter with a fleet of at least three Fokker F28-Mk.4000s.
Aerotec USA (Fort Lauderdale, FL)-J. Douglas Hinton is this company's appointee to the newly created position of director of new aircraft sales for the Czech-built LET turboprop aircraft.
AOPA is in an uproar over Governor William Weld's plan to end the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission (MAC) and transfer its functions to Massport. Since Massport owns Boston's Logan and Hanscom airports, the AOPA doubts it would make unbiased decisions when it comes to allocating funds and resources to the state's 42 public-use airports. The AOPA also fears that without the balance of the MAC, Massport might once again attempt to charge higher fees to general-aviation operators. In 1989, the courts shot down Massport's attempt to do so (B/CA, March 1989, page 19).
By midyear, Greenwich Aircraft Corporation hopes to have funding in place to complete an STC program to replace the Falcon 20's 4,500-pounds-thrust GE CF700 turbofans with 4,750-pounds-thrust P&WC PW305s. A spokesman for the Sausalito, California company says FAA certification should occur about 19 months after financing is secured. About 85 Falcon 20s have been converted to TFE731 power in an AlliedSignal program.
New helicopters that offer lower operating costs and quieter, smoother flight will help spur the market in coming years, Allison Engine Company predicted. Allison is forecasting average yearly sales of about 600 civil helicopters over the next decade. Allison's annual 10-year forecast shows a 46-percent overall increase in the number of helicopters sold, compared to 1995's prognosis. However, Allison cautioned sales will suffer if manufacturers do not continue to aggressively drive down costs. Allison is predicting 400 worldwide civil sales this year.
Hamilton Standard is helping Toyota conduct a study to determine the market for an aircraft version of the V-8 engine that powers Toyota's luxury car, the Lexus. The 360-hp, twin-turbocharged and water-cooled engine received FAA approval in February. Hamilton Standard is supplying a full-authority digital engine control in addition to a four-blade, composite propeller. The engine has been test flown as the right-side powerplant on a Cessna 340 (B/CA, October 1995, page 20).
From Oklahoma State University-the prime contractor for the NASA Aerospace Education Services Program-comes a new, three-day crew resource management (CRM) training course. According to OSU, the course is FAA approved and ``exceeds the latest regulatory changes to crew training for the regional airline industry.'' Three professors with commercial and military aviation experience developed the course to meet the training needs of corporate flight departments and regional airlines.
The Official Helicopter Blue Book now is available on CD-ROM in addition to the loose-leaf paper version that's been available since 1979. HeliValues, the Lincolnshire, Illinois publisher of the Blue Book, says the CD-ROM version will introduce improvements over the paper version, such as showing resale values more clearly and accurately. In addition to the basic Blue Book, the CD-ROM includes the company's helicopter specifications book and an equipment list and price guide.
Opponents to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's plans to close the city's Meigs Field have been joined by the National Air Transportation Association and Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. For months, Daley has been on record in support of turning the airport into a park, after the airport lease expires in September. NATA calls the action ``reprehensible'' since it would ``threaten the safety'' of air travelers and hurt the area economy. Governor Edgar recently reiterated his opposition to closing the airport.
While Tokyo's Narita Airport (as well as other Japanese airports) and Hong Kong International Airport continue to resist ready access by corporate aircraft, B/CA's recent tour along the central arc of the Pacific Rim has shown most flights to important destinations are being welcomed. For example, two new airports in the vicinity of Hong Kong have opened up and they allow reasonable access to this vital economic hub in the Pacific Rim. The new airfields are free of noise restraints, are operational around-the-clock and provide complete ground services.
Harry Combs, founder of the Combs Aircraft FBO chain and a president of Gates Learjet, is among four nominees for induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. Ceremonies will be held during the Hall of Fame's 35th enshrinement dinner on July 20. Besides founding Combs Aircraft (now AMR Combs), he sold the company in 1967 to Gates Rubber Corporation, which later bought Learjet. He became president of Gates Learjet, and served in that capacity from 1971 until 1983.
Watching how FAA headquarters operates these days inspires mixed emotions. The interested observer frequently doesn't know whether to laugh-because the FAA looks so silly-or to cry-because the agency's mission is so important and the focus of its leaders appears trained on the wrong objectives. The issue of equipment reliability within ATC facilities is one example, but first a bit of background:
With the completion of a new FBO facility at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport this month, three-year-old Eagle Flight Services will become the Las Vegas Executive Air Terminal. The new facility provides ramp parking for up to 200 aircraft, service and storage hangars with state-of-the-art fire-fighting systems, and a full-service terminal building that includes a wing-shaped canopy extending over the entrance to protect arriving and departing passengers from the elements.
Jonathan Ornstein has moved to London to become the chief executive officer of Virgin Europe, a new Southwest Airlines-type venture of Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson and Continental Chairman David Bonderman.
Clearly apprehensions about investment in Vietnam are present, but international corporations seem to feel the risks of working with the Communist regime are acceptable. And the Communist regime seems to feel it must work to encourage partnerships.
FAA has adopted its comprehensive and controversial revision of FAR Part 61 and Part 67 pilot medical standards, some 15 months and 5,200 responses after the proposal to rewrite the rules was published. Among the new rules: Heart replacement, pacemaker implants and cardiac valve replacement will be disqualifying conditions for all classes of medical certification. And commercial pilots over age 50 must be tested annually to a more stringent vision standard. The new regulations take effect in September.
Atlanta-based ValuJet will receive local marketing support to provide service from Atlanta to Fort Walton Beach, Florida and Mobile, Alabama. The former is served by nine weekday Atlantic Southeast trips, and the latter receives eight Delta jet flights.
The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association is celebrating its silver anniversary next month with the 25th annual symposium and trade show in Nashville. ``Technically in Tune'' is the theme of the show, which runs from May 14 through May 18.
Dassault Falcon Jet is consolidating all aircraft completions and refurbishments at its Little Rock, Arkansas facility. Previously, the facility only outfitted new Falcon Jets purchased for Western Hemisphere customers, while aircraft destined for European operators were completed in France. To handle the expected increase in workload at Little Rock, Dassault plans to add in the fourth quarter a new support shop and paint-preparation building that will free up two hangar positions for outfitting.
In May, the FAA is expected to make a template Advanced Qualification Program available to small airlines and corporate pilot training organizations. The proficiency-based training program previously was limited to use by airlines. To spur AQP implementation, the FAA contracted with Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle to develop an AQP database. FlightSafety International is a subcontractor, and is charged with developing aircraft libraries to which the program can be applied. (See article beginning on page 64.)
