New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani recently commissioned a study on the future of New York City's major airports-John F. Kennedy and La Guardia. Viewing them as major gateway airports, he feels they are lagging behind competitors, such as nearby Newark. The study, scheduled to begin in 1996, has been launched in an effort by the city to gain control of the airports from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and to improve their facilities and accessibility. It was not immediately clear whether general aviation will be addressed in the study.
Millville, New Jersey-based UNC Airwork is offering a warranty that covers all overhaul and maintenance work for the full TBO on P&WC PT6As and JT15Ds, AlliedSignal TFE731s, and Rolls-Royce Spey engines and engine modules. Airwork's new ``Engine Life Protection Plan'' is available to operators in the United States, Canada and other selected foreign locations. The company's engine trend-monitoring program is included free of charge. To obtain a facsimile of the warranty certificate, phone Airwork at (609) 825-6000 or fax 825-6408.
The current generation of high-performance turbofan aircraft are designed to cruise in the mid forties or above-not for boardroom bragging rights, but for exceptional fuel efficiency, to avoid the traffic congestion of lower altitudes and to top most of the weather. The result is a smoother ride for passengers. A few aircraft even push FL 510 when they are lightly loaded. A price must be paid, however, for such high-performance rewards: Pilots must exercise razor-edge pitch control during climb, cruise and descent.
Meanwhile, Centennial Airlines, of Englewood, Colorado, continues its quest to bring scheduled Part 135 service to two DIA satellite airports-Centennial and Jefferson County. Both general-aviation facilities are environmentally sensitive, with the residents in both areas fearing the impact of scheduled airline service on their neighborhoods. The start-up regional would like to operate 19- to 30-passenger aircraft from the two airports to the Western Slope communities, recognizing that it would have to depend upon O&D business travelers.
Responding to NTSB recommendations, the FAA will initiate rulemaking to require FAR Part 135 regional airliners with 10 or more seats, and certain air-taxi aircraft, to be equipped with upgraded flight data recorders. The formal proposal is scheduled to be published before December 31. Specifically, the proposal is expected to apply to air-taxi aircraft with 20 or more passenger seats and all multiengine, turbine-powered charter aircraft (B/CA, April, page 22).
As expected, Wilcox Electric, Hughes Aircraft and TRW have won the $475-million, six-year FAA contract to develop and implement the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). WAAS will comprise 24 ground-reference stations and three satellites that will monitor and correct the precision of GPS signals. Installation is slated to begin in late 1997, with an early 1998 in-service date. (See this month's Observer, page 58).
Total deliveries of new U.S.-built GA airplanes in the first half of 1995 were up 12.1 percent compared to the first half of 1994, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). In the first half, deliveries compared to those of a year earlier (in parentheses) were: jets-105 (101), turboprops-107 (84) and recips-243 (221). GAMA officials said, ``As we reach the one year anniversary of the signing of the GA Revitalization Act, both the shipments and billings for this year to date show encouraging signs of recovery....''
Stymied by insufficient data, NTSB officials investigating the September 1994 crash of a USAir Boeing 737 near Pittsburgh plan to conduct investigative flight tests. The tests may help determine whether wake turbulence from a Boeing 727 four miles ahead of the B-737 was causal. Test aircraft will comprise a USAir B-737 and an FAA B-727. The Safety Board also was unable to determine the cause of another B-737 crash, near Colorado Springs, in 1991 (B/CA, June, page 24).
Piper Aircraft, which officially emerged from bankruptcy in late July, will build just over 200 aircraft in 1996, and is considering the reintroduction of the Navajo twin-recip and the Cheyenne 1A twin-turboprop, said Chuck Summa, president and CEO of the ``New Piper Aircraft.'' At a news conference on August 3, an exuberant Suma said, ``We're putting Mooney and Cessna and Raytheon on notice. The race is on; catch us if you can.'' His goal is to gain recognition for Piper (again) as a technology leader that produces a complete line of light airplanes.
Aboveground fuel storage tanks are one way to meet the U.S. EPA's year-end 1998 requirements for replacing or enhancing underground tank systems. Areo-Power's Fireguard aboveground, double-wall fuel tanks are built with a concrete insulated lining between two tank walls. In the event of a pool fire, the lining will absorb fuel. The outer steel wall protects the insulation material. Capacities range from 300 gallons ($3,929) to 12,000 gallons ($44,000). Installation extra. Areo-Power Unitized Fueler, 103 Smithtown Blvd., Smithtown, NY 11787. (516) 366-4362.
Interstate Electronics Corporation and DAC International have signed a joint agreement for the distribution of IEC's GPS-based flight management systems. The IEC 9002 is a 12-channel, WAAS-compatible system that provides both lateral and vertical precision-approach capabilities. The IEC 9001 provides satellite-navigation data to FMSes for precision and non-precision landing guidance.
Russ Meyer, chairman and CEO of Cessna Aircraft Company, is the chosen recipient of the 1995 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. The award will be presented to Meyer for his ``leadership in the revitalization of general aviation, effective public service, and innovative aviation-related programs and opportunities for the disadvantaged and disabled.'' The National Aeronautic Association will present the award to Meyer at a ceremony on December 15 in Washington, D.C.
After months of delays, the FAA finally awarded a $475-million contract on August 3 to the Wilcox Electric, Hughes Aircraft and TRW team for development of the long awaited Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). When fully operational, WAAS will provide enhanced signal accuracy, integrity monitoring and more satellite navigation transmitters, allowing GPS to be used as a primary means of navigation.
Because the Yakovlev Design Bureau could not meet the production schedule, Israel Aircraft Industries is negotiating with several other subcontractors to build the fuselage of the new Galaxy business jet. Originally, Yakovlev's Saratov plant in Russia was to build the airframes (B/CA, May, page 110). ``Due to the difficulty in Saratov's manufacturing plant, IAI and Yak are implementing other alternatives...in order to keep the Galaxy program schedule intact,'' IAI said. Spain's Gamesa is the likeliest candidate; it is now building IAI Astra fuselages.
AlliedSignal is making plans to relocate production of the LF507 turbofan and the T53 and T55 helicopter engines from the former Textron Lycoming plant at Stratford, Connecticut. The U.S. Army-owned facility is among the military installations the federal government has listed for closure. The company said it is ``studying its options'' for relocating engine lines from the facility, which it acquired when it bought the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division from Textron in 1994.
Professional Flight Management is now offering PFM Windows software. Two modules are available-scheduling and recordkeeping-for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT. The scheduling module features a status-at-a-glance calendar that allows multiple-aircraft operators to schedule passengers and crew without changing screens. The recordkeeping module tracks aircraft, crew and passenger activity. Crew-activity logs include training and crew-currency tracking.
According to the DOT, Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) does not meet international security measures, and, therefore, it has taken steps to ensure that aircraft operators and passengers are alerted to this fact. U.S. airlines are required to warn passengers of the DOT's determination, even though the DOT did not say that aircraft operations at NAIA are necessarily unsafe. The Philippine government says a ``serious effort'' is under way to correct the deficiencies.
John Rahilly, formerly KC Aviation's vice president of marketing and sales, was bumped up to president after Richard Emery, an 18-year veteran of the Dallas-based service company, resigned. The leadership change came on the heels of parent firm Kimberly-Clark's merger with Scott Paper. Following the merger, Kimberly-Clark said it will sell shares in its airline subsidiary, Midwest Express, in order to increase the airline's independence and to allow the parent company to focus on its core operations.
St. Louis-area aviation pioneer Harold Roberts, 87, died July 9 at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri. In his youth, Roberts performed as a stunt pilot and wing walker in a flying circus and worked with Charles Lindbergh at Robertson Aircraft in 1928. After working for St. Louis Flying Service, he later bought the business and relocated it to Lambert Field following World War II. After selling the company and retiring briefly, his subsequent employers were FlightSafety International, Rockwell Aviation and Remmert-Werner.
``Value for money'' is John Lawson's operating philosophy at Bombardier's Canadair division. The president of Bombardier's Business Aircraft Division claims that's why, ``We continue to be the primary supplier of airplanes in the large category.'' And the tangible results are being passed on to Challenger 604 buyers. Two years ago, Canadair estimated the price of a completed 604 to be $20 million in 1993 dollars. Now it has increased only to $20.5 million.
Cameron Gowans is the new regional sales manager of this FBO's aircraft sales division. Previously, he was employed at Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah.
The threat of fees based on noise at all airports never materialized. The present weight-based landing fees remain: up to 50,000 pounds-$88.05 (U.S.); over 50,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds-$110.26; and over 100,000 pounds-$123.19 (Baseops International).
The concept of an independent FAA-as it was created in 1958 and as it existed until being shoved under the DOT umbrella in 1967-has been a dream of much of the aviation community for nearly three decades. However, the idea was only a dream until the Republicans took control of Congress. (The ill-advised proposal by Vice President Al Gore and DOT Secretary Federico Pea in the spring of 1994-and reiterated early this year-to spin off only the ATC system into an unwieldy government corporation was a nonstarter spurned even by most Democrats.)
