With a target of January 1, 1998, Eurocontrol is coordinating the implementation of 8.33 kHz spacing in airspace above FL 200 in the core area over Europe. The effects of the gradual saturation of the VHF band in Europe have been problematic, and the European Business Aviation Association says reducing channel spacing from the current 25 kHz to 8.33 kHz would increase the number of channels available from 760 to 2,280. But the EBAA believes the deadline allows insufficient time for manufacturing the necessary avionics and for equipping aircraft.
NBAA International Operators Conference was rescheduled for February 26-29 in Orlando. Presenters will discuss topics such as Eurocontrol, long-haul operations and reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM). Updates will be given regarding advancements in security, flight planning, cabotage, and airport and airspace access in various regions of the world. To register, phone (202) 783-9284. The registration fee is $500 for NBAA members and $575 for non-members.
Current potassium-based deicing/anti-icing fluids that meet specification AMS 1426B and AMS 1432 are being phased out. In their place, the FAA has approved AMS 1435, a generic fluid. To allow for ample production of the newer fluids, the FAA has set June 1 as the cutoff for use of deicing fluids other than those meeting AMS 1435. Until then, any one of the previously mentioned types can be used.
February 12 is the deadline for the FAA to receive comments on the proposed revision of FAR Parts 1, 61, 141 and 143 airman and training certification rules (B/CA, November 1995, page 32). Separately, on January 31, the FAA adopted new security regulations requiring 10-year employment history background checks of individuals applying for positions that will authorize them to have unescorted access to secure areas at airports. Also, an applicant's job history will have to be reviewed for ``unexplained gaps'' in employment (B/CA, November 1995, page 16).
NBAA is currently accepting nominations for the 1996 Jack Doswell Award and the Award for Meritorious Service. The Doswell award honors lifelong achievement on behalf of business aviation. Past recipients include Preston Parish, Janice Barden, Priscilla Blum, Jay Weinberg, David Woodrow and Don Baldwin. The Award for Meritorious Service is presented for an outstanding contribution to the use of aircraft as a business tool. Previous recipients include Russ Meyer, Allen Paulson, Dee Howard, Jim Taylor and Al Ueltschi. Nominations for both awards are due March 8.
Shipments of U.S.-built general aviation airplanes in 1995 improved considerably over 1994, according to preliminary figures from the Aerospace Industries Association. The 1,020 airplanes shipped last year represented a 9.9 percent increase over the 928 airplanes delivered in 1994. Helicopter shipments, however, did not show a similar increase. The AIA reports 314 civil helicopters shipped in 1995, a less than two percent increase over the 308 rotorcraft delivered in 1994.
Nearly 5,000 veteran air traffic controllers involved in the illegal walkout of 1981 continue to seek reinstatement. But only about 40 have been re-hired to date since President Clinton lifted the Ronald Reagan-imposed ban on re-hiring former members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO). The current union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), long has insisted that many key ATC facilities remain understaffed. The FAA maintains it fulfills staffing requirements.
Aircraft manufacturer Saab Aircraft of Sweden received FAA certification of an extended wing-tip modification for the Model 340B regional turboprop. The mod lengthens each wing by 2.1 feet. Saab claims the extension, also approved by Transport Canada, provides improved airfield performance as well as additional range capability. Transport Canada also certificated a gravel protection kit for the 340B. The kit contains protective measures for the landing gear, fuselage, propellers, ram air inlets, underside antennas and lower beacon light.
FAA officials say they are keeping January 1, 1997 as the date for implementing Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) for flights over the North Atlantic. The decision was made despite the fact that many corporate aircraft operators regularly transiting the North Atlantic may not be able to obtain, install or get FAA approval of avionics to meet the RVSM standards. The NBAA and others want RVSM implementation delayed for at least a year (B/CA, December 1995, page 86).
When American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashed into mountains on approach to Cali, Colombia on December 20, 1995, the aviation industry was at once saddened and astonished.
FAA said the 1996 annual random drug-testing rate will remain at 25 percent of covered employees, even though 1995 is the fifth straight year that the random drug-testing-positive rate continued to be below 1.0 percent. Since alcohol testing only started in January 1995, the FAA says there are ``insufficient data'' to modify the current testing rate of 25 percent. The industry repeatedly has called on the FAA to lower the drug-testing rate to 10 percent. The agency lowered the rate from 50 percent to 25 percent in January 1995 (B/CA, December 1994, page 17).
Ronald L. Patrick, vice president of distribution strategy and development at Aviall in Dallas, was elected president of the association for this year.
From LandSea Systems, the TT-3024A Aeronautical Inmarsat-C System allows two-way text messaging and automatic position reporting from aircraft to home base via the Inmarsat-C satellite network. Flight tracking software permits position reporting from anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. A single jet-blade antenna performs as a GPS and Inmarsat-C antenna connection. Using the system, passengers and crew can send and retrieve e-mail from their home offices to PCs on their aircraft. Price: $30,000 with printer. LandSea Systems, Inc., 849 Seahawk Cir., Ste.
Is Honda developing a turbofan engine to go with the business jet that the company flew two years ago? Not likely. The Japanese auto manufacturer always has claimed that the aircraft is strictly a research-and-development vehicle for testing advanced aerospace materials for cars (B/CA, March 1993, page 18). But, late in 1995 at California's Mojave Airport, Honda started flight-testing an 1,800-pounds-thrust turbofan mounted on a Boeing 727 testbed. Honda says it is uncertain whether it will attempt to market the engine.
An enhancement to Northstar Technologies' GPS-60 is a 12-channel GPS receiver that is now a standard feature. A panel-mounted VFR system, the Northstar GPS-60 arrives loaded with software to organize and display all available frequencies. The unit functions worldwide and comes with updatable U.S. airport data from Jeppesen, plus data on several private airfields. Helicopter and international data are optional. An LED display optimizes visibility. Price: $3,495. Northstar Tech-nologies, 30 Sudbury Rd., Acton, MA 01720. (508) 897-6600.
Stand with a group of pilots for more than five minutes, and someone will mention American 965, the Boeing 757 that crashed in the mountains on approach to Cali, Colombia in December 1995. While it will be months before we learn from investigators what caused the accident, it seems certain that human performance-on the ground, in the air, or both-will be cited in the list of causal factors. Indeed, if the initial reports from Cali (see Cause&Circumstance, page 79) are correct, situational awareness ultimately may dominate discussions of this accident.
National Air Transportation Association supports a bill introduced by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) that would relieve employers of legal liability if they release a pilot's employment and training records to prospective employers. But the FBO and air-taxi trade group expressed concern about the financial and administrative aspects of complying with this bill.
Gulfstream and Rolls-Royce extended the warranty for the Tay 611-8 engines on the G-IVSP to five years or 2,500 hours, whichever comes sooner-up from four years or 2,000 hours. The new warranty, which includes six months of labor, brings the G-IVSP engine coverage up to that of the G-V. The Bombardier Global Express, the G-V's primary competitor, has similar coverage and also is powered by Tay 611 series engines.
Fokker Aircraft will transfer leasing programs to a new company, debis AirFinance, for which the main shareholder is the aircraft maker's parent company Daimler-Benz. The new company, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, will start lease operations with an initial batch of 35 Fokker-owned Model F100s, F50s and F28s. The remaining aircraft in Fokker's lease portfolio will transfer to debis AirFinance this year.
No, this aircraft did not make an emergency landing at the doorstep of the Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park. Instead, Astra Jet Corporation may have started a new marketing trend when it trucked the mockup of the new IAI Galaxy business jet to the famous restaurant late in 1995. The goal-apparently reached-was to put the aircraft in a location where business executives in the city would find it easy to tour it. Among some 50 corporate executives visiting the mockup was Christopher Forbes, chairman of Forbes magazine.
To get an idea of where helicopters stand in today's corporate flight department, we polled nearly 100 U.S. operators with mixed fleets that included rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft. Of those, more than one-third, or 34 operators, returned our 26-question fax survey that delved into operations, piloting and the future of corporate-helicopter utilization.
To help assess the severity of turbulence in regions where Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (1,000 feet between FL 290 and FL 410) are going to apply, crews should include magnitude and deviation in feet from the assigned flight level in all reports of moderate to severe turbulence.
To its line of replacement windows, LP Aero Plastics has added cockpit side and cabin side windows for the following aircraft: Pressurized Navajos, Mojaves and Cheyennes. The windows are made of stretched acrylic to Piper's specifications. Price range: $1,350 for a cabin window to $1,475 for the left front cockpit window (shown). LP Aero Plastics Inc., RD #1 Box 201B, Jeannette, PA 15644. (412) 744-4448.
