Ten new jets sold in the United States in November, down from 17 in November 1994. Cessna sold four Citation V Ultras and Raytheon Aircraft Company delivered two Hawker 800s. Single sales were listed for the Canadair 601-3R, Dassault Falcon 2000, Learjet 60 and Gulfstream IVSP.
Persons and organizations who want to comment on a broad revision of airman and training certification rules still can do so. Just days before December 11, 1995, when the comment period was originally scheduled to expire, the FAA responded to requests for more time and extended the deadline until February 13. The proposal contains significant changes regarding the certification of pilots, instructors and training establishments (B/CA, November 1995, page 32).
Sabreliner Corporation appointed Stephen Townes as president of AirTech. Formerly known as DynAir Tech, the company was purchased by Sabreliner in June 1995. AirTech provides maintenance and modification for heavy business jets and airlines at facilities in Amarillo, Texas; Phoenix and Miami. Townes was previously an executive vice president at Stevens Aviation and vice president of business development at The Dee Howard Company.
NTSB investigators are still trying to determine the probable cause of the November 19, 1995 crash of a Beech Baron transporting three Jeppesen executives and two other people. The aircraft plunged into Lake Erie after takeoff from Cleveland's Lakefront Airport. Killed in the accident was the pilot and owner of the aircraft, Milford Derrick, who was director of Jeppesen's Aviation Training Technologies unit. Jeppesen officials John White and Dale Sherman were injured in the crash. Two other passengers were listed as still missing at press time.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is saying ``come on down'' for some education and recreation (the year's first NASCAR race) during the week of January 28. The university is offering a Corporate Aviation Executive Management program on February 1 and 2 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The two-day program will teach the language of corporate management, giving an overview of leadership skills, human-resource planning, organizational design, communication techniques and corporate strategies.
Citing a need to concentrate working capital on acquisition of new aircraft, Mesaba Holdings has announced that it is discontinuing the payment of dividends to stockholders. The last dividend-three cents per share-was paid in the June 1995 quarter.
After a three-month trial, Learjet officially unveiled its Laser Link for Windows, a new computerized maintenance-tracking system. In an introductory offer available through July, Bombardier Aviation Services will provide initial enrollment in the program free of charge to customers scheduling a 300/600-hour or six/12-month inspection at a company service center. Laser Link tracks all ADs, service bulletins, life-limited parts and serialized components, and identifies all required upcoming inspections and replacements, according to Learjet.
The 13th annual International Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium offered by the Southern California Safety Institute will be held January 29 through February 2 in San Diego. On the program will be expert presenters holding forth on subjects as diverse as ditching and water survival, jungle survival, inflight emergency case studies and more. During a presentation called ``Anatomy of an Accident,'' members of a panel will discuss their experiences in a runway-collision accident between a B737 and a Fairchild Metro at Los Angeles Airport.
Executive Jet (Montvale, NJ)-Bob Staib joined this aircraft management firm as vice president of sales for the West, where he will oversee sales of the company's NetJets fractional-jet-ownership program.
New helicopters from Bell Helicopter and Italy's Agusta Group are nearing certification. Bell said it expected to receive certification for the single-turbine Model 407 in December 1995 and for the twin-turbine Model 430 later this month. Certification of the single-turbine Agusta A119 Koala was also pending at press time. The A119 may be available with a Turbomeca or Allison powerplant.
SimuFlite Training International's Challenger 601-3A/3R full-motion flight simulator has received FAA Level D initial qualification. The CAE-built device is SimuFlite's 15th FAA-approved business-jet simulator and the Dallas company's first to receive Level D approval. Among other advantages, a Level D simulator program can qualify a pilot for a type rating without him or her undergoing training in an actual aircraft. SimuFlite expects to have a Hawker 800/1000 simulator in operation in February, and a G-IVSP simulator on line in April.
Mohammed Al Fayed, chairman of the company that controls Harrods, the London department store, purchased three London-area FBOs from Hunting Business Aviation and British Petroleum. Harrods Holdings will operate the facilities-at Heathrow, Luton and Stansted Airports-under the name Metro Business Aviation. Former Gulfstream Aerospace employees Joe Anckner and Larry Bolton were appointed executive vice president and general manager, respectively, for Metro.
Fernand Francois, president of the European Business Aviation Association has announced the elimination of ETOPS (Extended Overwater Operations) requirements from new JAA regulations. The requirements would have forced JAA-registered corporate jets to meet full-airline ETOPS (Extended Overwater Operations) requirements from new JAA regulations. The requirements would have forced JAA-registered corporate jets to meet full-airline ETOPS standards.
England-based Captain Zvi Doron, the person who brought you the Hummingbird software for evaluating and comparing helicopter performance (B/CA, September 1995, page 58), recently introduced similar software for light and medium airplanes. Called Sparrowhawk, the PC-compatible program allows comparison of performance capabilities for up to three aircraft simultaneously. Parameters of aircraft from two-seat pistons to twin-engine turboprops are included in the database.
Once more, communication and cooperation win without the power of size or weight. We are referring to the success of smaller, regionally oriented aviation groups to obtain significant changes in the way the federal government does business. A few months ago, it was the New York State Aviation Association as victor (B/CA, November 1995, page 42). This time, it is the culmination of more than three years of effort by the Teterboro Users and Operators Association-known locally as TUG (Teterboro Users Group).
Cessna's initial batch of new 172s and 182s, scheduled to get under construction later this year, will not be designed to burn unleaded avgas. The company said the American Society of Testing Materials' (ASTM) delay in approving the specification for the new fuel forced the decision (B/CA, June 1995, page 24). Phillips Petroleum, which could produce 82UL avgas, says ASTM approval is still several months off. In the meantime, Cessna says it has not abandoned its long-term plans to build aircraft that can use unleaded avgas.
The Royal Aeronautical Society and the American Helicopter Society have sent out a call for papers to be presented at a jointly sponsored conference in London on November 12-13. ``Innovation in Rotorcraft Technology'' is the conference theme, and papers are being requested to address aerodynamics, acoustics, structure, materials, flight controls, avionics, engines, other systems and manufacturing technology. Abstracts of proposed papers must be submitted by February 29 to the Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamilton Pl., London W1V 0BQ England.
American Association of Airport Executives is sponsoring a workshop on airport privatization on February 4-6 in Reno, Nevada. Workshop speakers and participants are expected to represent the views of both proponents and opponents of the concept, which has been proposed as a solution to airport-capacity problems. The attendance fee is $195. For more information, contact the AAAE in Alexandria, Virginia by phone: (703) 824-0500 or fax: (703) 671-8622.
Publications, special reports and other literature from the Flight Safety Foundation are now available on the Internet's World Wide Web. The FSF home page contains access to nearly 800 pages of information, including online issues of Flight Safety Digest, Accident Prevention, Helicopter Safety, Cabin Crew Safety, Airport Operations and Human Factors&Aviation Medicine. Special reports on bogus parts, smoke hoods, flight-deck technology and FSF seminar proceedings also are available. The FSF site's address is http://rhytech.com/-fsf.
Air Routing has provided a list of non-Stage 3 corporate aircraft banned from using Hong Kong International Airport (VHHH). The aircraft are: Falcon 20, G-II/IIB/III, Hawker 600, Learjet 23/24/25/28/29, JetStar 23/29 and Sabreliner 40/60/65/80. Since occasional exceptions can be made, check with your handler.
For most business-aircraft operators, the FAA is the local inspector who dutifully, and usually cordially, conducts certification check rides and maintenance inspections. But no matter how amicable your local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) representative is, there are times when you wonder if the agency isn't just a Washington-based bureaucracy whose primary objective is to make life difficult for those who fly.
KC Aviation (Dallas)-Robert W. Nelson is this FBO chain's new executive vice president. Most recently, he headed Textron Lycoming Division's flight services.
A recent NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System report provides a good reminder (as though you'd forgotten) that the FAA sometimes splits hairs when defining operating procedures. A VFR pilot called approach control prior to entering Class B airspace. The controller responded with the aircraft's call sign, transponder code and a request for an ident, with which the pilot complied.
