The following companies provide ground-side communications access to satcom-equipped business aircraft: Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC) 2551 Riva Rd. Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 266-2329 Avicom Japan Ltd. Business Coordination Department Kenchiku-Kaikan 5-26-20 Shiba Minatoku, Tokyo 108 Japan +81 3 5443-9291 Comsat/KDD Consortium Comsat Aeronautical Services Comsat Corp. 22300 Comsat Dr.
With successful initial testing in early February of Eurocontrol's new Integrated Flight Plan Processing System (IFPS), one of the most significant steps to eliminate a pattern of multiplying congestion and increasingly costly delays in Europe's airspace has been taken.
For now, air-taxi operators with any size aircraft and regional airlines with aircraft having fewer than 10 passenger seats are not included in the FAA's proposal to upgrade FAR Part 135 airlines to large air-carrier standards. Under the far-reaching proposal, airlines using aircraft with 10 to 30 passenger seats would have to meet Part 121, the standards that now apply to scheduled operations in aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats. Comments are due June 27. For further information, contact the FAA's Alberta Brown at (202) 267-8248.
The text of the latest edition of the FAA's Airman's Information Manual, dated March 30, now is gender neutral. For example, former references to ``airman'' have been changed to ``pilot.'' In 1996, the AIM will be titled the Aeronautical Information Manual. Taking the initiative with the FAA on the revisions was an 11-member FAR/AIM committee, with Cheryl Mackie from AMSI, an aviation training company in Merrimac, Wisconsin, and both Cammie Schreck and Keith Gerard, from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, leading the effort.
Raytheon Aircraft is flight testing a higher performance version of the Hawker 800 that will be available this fall. The 800XP (Extended Performance) will be powered by two 4,660-pounds-thrust AlliedSignal TFE731-5BR engines, which enable a 14-knot gain in cruise speed, shorter field performance and longer range. Also, design weights have been increased, the interior enhanced, and various systems improved. The price, however, stays the same: $9.95 million.
Now available as a new Windows-based software upgrade is the Helicopter Association International's Maintenance Malfunction Information Report (MMIR) system. Version 2.0, developed under the auspices of an FAA-funded feasibility demonstration (B/CA, November 1994, page 30), allows users to send MMIR data to the HAI via modem. From the HAI, the data are transmitted to the FAA for inclusion in its Service Difficulty Report (SDR) program. The HAI is offering the program free of charge. Phone: (703) 683-4646.
ALPA pilots for USAir have reached an ``agreement in principle'' with management that will have a definite trickle-down effect on the wholly owned USAir Express carriers. It calls for a ``package of concessions and returns.''
The DOT's inspector general's office (DOTIG)--in an apparently unprecedented move--has refused to produce a key witness in the $28-million military-contract appeals case of TPI International Airways (see B/CA, April 1995, page C10).
Mid Michigan Air Center, formerly Aero Services, is completing an upgrade of its FBO at Tri City International Airport in Saginaw. Mid Michigan and its new owner, Carl Muhs, acquired the facility earlier this year. The company recently installed a WSI PilotBrief II weather information system. The Hangar 6 Complex, the passenger terminal and the crew lounges are being remodeled.
Leasing can tie companies to a contract and to an aircraft that changing conditions and requirements make undesirable. Because of this limitation, most firms would rather be aircraft owners. Nevertheless, according to Peter Redman, president of Cessna Finance, leasing still is an option exercised by companies with special requirements or by large businesses applying very sophisticated financial methods.
Sunrise Jet Center at California's John Wayne Airport is now operating from a new, larger facility. The terminal and hangar complex provides an outdoor deck overlooking the ramp, a passenger lounge, a crew lounge with shower and sleeping rooms, a kitchen, a conference room and overnight hangaring. Even an animal run, complete with water and biscuits for the traveling pet, is offered.
A transponder landing system (TLS) is scheduled to be installed at Wisconsin's Watertown Municipal Airport, and will be available for pilot demonstration approaches to the annual convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association in July. Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corporation of Hood River, Oregon, the system's supplier, is seeking FAA certification for it, and says its TLS is intended as interim technology prior to the implementation of GPS.
Regional airline officials are welcoming the FAA's proposed ``Commuter Safety Rule'' as much for what it does not do as for what it does. The massive proposal--called by Administrator David Hinson the broadest FAA rulemaking ever--would essentially bring FAR Part 135 regulations into line with Part 121. According to FAA estimates, the new regulations would impact some 65 airlines and 1,100 aircraft, costing regional carriers some $275 million over the next 10 years.
United Kingdom's Rolls-Royce finalized its acquisition of Indianapolis-based Allison Engine Company late in March. Mike Hudson, Allison's former executive vice president of engineering, was promoted to president and COO of Allison; and Colin Green, former managing director of Rolls-Royce Military Aero Engines in the United Kingdom, is Allison's new executive vice president of business operations. F. Blake Wallace, long-time CEO of Allison, left the company.
Microfin Corporation of Providence, Rhode Island recently received European Joint Airworthiness Authority approval to perform maintenance on European-registered aircraft. The company specializes in metal-finishing services. JAA approval applies to aircraft registered in these European nations: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
FAA is proposing to require fuel system vent protection systems on transport- category aircraft used in commercial operations. The systems are intended to reduce the severity of post-crash fires. Comments are due June 2. Contact the FAA at (206) 227-2133. In a separate rulemaking proposal, comments are due June 5 on a proposal to revise windmilling and rotor-locking tests as well as vibration standards for aircraft engines. Contact the FAA at (617) 238-7119.
Western Aircraft, an FBO at Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho, is one of several divisions that were put up for sale in mid-March by financially troubled Morrison Knudsen Corporation. Besides providing line and maintenance services, Western Aircraft is an authorized sales and installation center for Saunders spar straps and Aviadesign hydraulic landing gear for Beech King Airs. Morrison Knudsen closed its flight department late in 1994 and sold its Falcon 900.
British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has closed on its $525-million acquisition of Allison Engine Company. Rolls-Royce is issuing 331 million in new stock to recoup the purchase price. According to B/CA sister publication Aerospace Propulsion (AP), ``For a fraction of the cost of a full-scale development program for any single engine, the British engine maker will get instant access to the regional turboprop market just in time for its expected boom.'' AP also said Rolls gets a U.S.
The near-term outlook for the helicopter market is a mixed bag. Few expect sales to be very strong, yet manufacturers see solid growth opportunities in the longer term. That optimism was pervasive at this year's Helicopter Association International convention where four new models were displayed and several others were announced. Complaints about the cost of acquiring, owning and operating helicopters finally have taken hold of the market, and manufacturers are designing new products that offer better value and more economical operations.
Martin Aviation's new and significantly larger business aviation terminal is under construction at its FBO facilities on John Wayne/Orange County Airport in Santa Ana, California, where it has been located for over 72 years. An item in B/CA's April issue (page 16) inadvertently moved Martin to California's Long Beach Airport. Martin's new terminal at SNA is scheduled to open in the fall.
Airport litigation--Under an FAA NPRM, rules of practice for the filing of complaints and adjudication of compliance matters involving federally assisted airports would be contained in a new FAR Part 16. Currently, such rules are covered in Part 13: Investigative and Enforcement Procedures (September 1994, page 22). Storage tanks--The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to clear banks and other lending sources from liability for cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks (August 1994, page 22).
Legislation that the Clinton administration introduced last month to realign the DOT lays the foundation for the President's plan to create the U.S. Air Traffic Control System (USATS)--a government-owned ATC corporation separate from the FAA. The bill would consolidate the DOT's 10 separate agencies into three units--the FAA (minus ATC), the Coast Guard and a new Intermodal Transportation Administration. In sharp contrast, most members of the business aviation community support an independent FAA that retains its ATC functions.
In 1994, particularly the last half, aircraft sales were very good, which translated into a bullish year for the aircraft finance business. Compared to that of recent years, business was so good that several aviation finance specialists told us some heartening news: Commercial banks that traditionally avoided lending for aircraft purchases were doing so--and at competitive rates. Many are being far less cautious than in recent years, when most commercial bankers were more than happy to leave the esoteric world of aviation finance to the specialists.
Comm frequencies--The FCC proposed that aviation services be permitted to use additional VHF comm frequencies (September 1989, page 30). Loran and Omega--A proposal would permit use of Loran-C, Omega and other area nav systems for VFR use in TCAs (August 1989, page 21).
