New-start regional jet carrier ``air 21'' has turned to the Fokker F28 as its centerpiece, the Fresno, California-based company has announced. Chairman and CEO Mark Morro said the first two Series 4000 twinjets were delivered in September. An additional 12 airplanes will be delivered during the following months, he added. Air 21 had initially planned to utilize DC-9s.
FBO Resource Group (Denver)-George F. Brewer, a veteran FAA executive who retired from the agency as manager of the Denver Airport Development Office, has joined this FBO consultant company.
New from The Fab Shop is the Towmaster Model 1000 all-electric tow cart, with a built-in recharging system. One person can operate the tug, and it ``is capable of moving small aircraft up to 15,000 pounds into tight spots.'' The Model 1000's ground power unit is capable of handling either 12- or 14-volt systems. Other standard features allow for safety, security and nighttime operations. Price: $3,995. The Fab Shop, 400 N. Walnut, McPherson, KS 67460. (316) 241-1570.
Canadair's Challenger 604, which received Transport Canada certification on September 20, topped several of its performance targets. Canadair claims that range is now 4,060 nm, empty weight is 200 pounds lighter, takeoff length is 440 feet shorter and landing distance is down 275 feet. Canadair also introduced a three-year/3,000-hour warranty package on the entire airframe and all systems. The primary airframe structure warranty was boosted to 10 years/10,000 hours. FAA certification was expected by the end of October.
Final results from flight tests this spring at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey confirmed that a Federal Express Boeing 727 made 100 ``hands off'' Category III approaches guided by DGPS signals, according to data issued by the FAA and Wilcox Electric. All the autolandings and sensor accuracies were within a 95-percent accuracy zone set by the FAA.
Support for the worldwide fleet of 425 IAI Jet Commanders, Westwinds and Astras is on the verge of getting a significant boost, according to Israel Aircraft Industries. ``Several million dollars'' will be spent to increase the manpower dedicated to both spares and technical support. Also, IAI will rewrite all maintenance and technical manuals and parts pricing catalogs to ``make them clearer and more concise.'' Meanwhile, service hours at IAI's main customer support center have been extended, and early in 1996, the company plans to open a spares facility on the U.S.
With just a few hours between the events, the FAA, in a brief ceremony, granted one-year-old Alliance Engines its repair station certificate, and the company opened its first work order.
Phoenix-based Garrett Aviation Services is working on marketing a hush-kit program aimed at bringing Lockheed JetStar IIs and 731 JetStars into compliance with FAR Part 36, Stage 3 noise standards. An STC, being developed by Star 3 STC, Incorporated (a new California-based company), is expected in December. Meanwhile, Quiet Nacelle of Miami is nearing completion of its four-year effort with Britain's Aravco to certificate a Stage 3 hush kit in BAC 1-11s (B/CA, October 1992, page 22). The BAC 1-11 400 series is now scheduled to be certificated in June 1996.
National Flight Services, the Tampa, Florida company that has been overhauling TPE331 engines for nearly two decades, received an STC for modifications that ``significantly increase compressor section efficiency'' for TPE331-1 and -2 series turboprops.
Care Flight, the emergency medical helicopter program of northern Nevada's Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA), based in Reno, is the first EMS provider to place a McDonnell Douglas MD900 Explorer into operation as an emergency medical transport aircraft. Previously, REMSA had leased an Alouette helicopter from Rocky Mountain Helicopters, which will now provide all maintenance and service functions for the Explorer.
Two U.S. turboprop sales were recorded in September 1995-one Beech King Air C90B and one King Air 350. Ten new sales were listed during September 1994. There were 36 resales compared to 78 in September 1994. Beech listed 21, Piper six, and three used Mitsubishi turboprops sold. Gulfstream and Swearingen each sold two used models and Cessna and SOCATA both posted single resales.
In the September ``Maintenance Resource Management'' feature, we reported that Grey Owl Aviation Consultants was located in Manitoba, Ontario, Canada. It should have read Onanole, Manitoba, Canada.
Cal Corporation of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is marketing an airborne telephone providing voice, fax and data services via American Mobil Satellite Corporation's AMSC-1 satellite. The firm says its Calquest phone services cover an area extending from Alaska to the Panama Canal and 200 miles off the North American coasts. Two special features are claimed for the Calquest: a low price of $15,500 (compared to that of other flight phones) and ease of use.
AlliedSignal, Bell Helicopter and Allison Engine Company have begun testing an accumulator staging valve (ASV) to prevent rotor droop in helicopters. Rotor droop occurs when the available torque to a helicopter's blade is reduced and rotor speed momentarily drops. A Bell 206L-4T TwinRanger, powered by two Allison 250-C20R turbines, is being used for the flight-test program. Following FAA certification on the TwinRanger, ASV conversion kits will be developed for other applications, including AlliedSignal (Lycoming) LTS-101 engines and other Allison 250 engines.
Following in the footsteps of Signature Flight Support and some other FBOs, all Atlantic Aviation facilities now are charging a ramp service fee to customers who do not purchase fuel. However, under the company's new Incentive Fuel Pricing program, the per-gallon cost of fuel decreases on a sliding scale, based on the maximum fuel capacity of the aircraft. AOPA members with piston aircraft receive an additional five percent off the price of avgas over the IFP discount price.
Available from Sporty's Pilot Shop is the JD-200 handheld transceiver, the follow-on to the A300. Newly incorporated features are a CDI with OBS and an LOC. Sporty's claims screen lighting has been improved, and keypad lighting has been added. EIght AA batteries operate the unit, and it can be powered by an optional cigarette-lighter adapter in aircraft with either a 12- or 24-volt system. The JD-200's other features are 760 comm frequencies, 200 nav frequencies, 20 memory channels, a to/from indicator for VOR operations, duplex communications and a low-battery indicator.
Executive Jets International of Montvale, New Jersey will introduce its NetJets fractional-ownership program to European operators through a marketing alliance with Zimex Aviation of Zurich, Switzerland. Zimex is a maintenance facility and charter/management operator (B/CA, March, page 26). Initially, four Cessna Citation S/II business jets will be committed to the European operation, but Executive Jet says its Zimex connection could grow to 10 to 12 aircraft in Europe.
Imagine a King Air B-100 with another 30 to 35 knots in cruise, and up to double the standard rate of climb. Throw in the ability to maintain full power to 16,000 feet. Now cut hot-section inspection costs by 30 to 50 percent, and fuel nozzle maintenance by 75 percent. Those are the claims of Executive Wings for its King Air B-100 Super 6, the latest in a series of ``Super'' aircraft STCed modifications from the Lakeland, Florida company.
FlightSafety International will install a full-flight simulator of the Bell 212 and 412 series at the company's Paris, France (Le Bourget Airport) training center. The device will be equipped with FSI's new VITAL VIII ChromaView system for improved visuals and panoramic MultiView display. Also, FSI will upgrade two Bell 212 and 412 simulators in Fort Worth to ChromaView levels. Meanwhile, FSI is expanding its Fort Worth operation to accommodate a simulator for the new Bell 430. That unit is scheduled to be installed in October 1996 and to meet FAA Level D standards.
It was a fleet of British Aerospace 146s and Avro Aerospace RJs to the rescue at Stuttgart, Germany recently when the airport's main, 8,220-foot runway was closed for resurfacing and lengthened to 10,975 feet. The runway handled between 260 and 270 flights daily at Germany's sixth busiest airport.
If you don't want to spend nearly $500,000 to purchase a set of winglets for your Gulfstream II, you now have the option of renting them. Seattle-based Aviation Partners Incorporated has a program under which G-II operators can lease the company's winglet installation for $7,500 a month over a six-year period with a 10-percent residual. The company, which says it has equipped nearly 30 G-IIs with its winglet system, claims the installation cuts fuel consumption by more than seven percent, translating into a gain of nearly 175 nm.
