Ever since Gulfstream threw down the gauntlet and announced it would join the fight to capture the very-long-range business jet market, Canadair and Gulfstream have been locked in a competition for what many believe is a small corner of the business aircraft marketplace.
Proposed changes to FAR Part 23 small airplane airworthiness standards would allow airplanes to be certified with alternative methods (other than a fuel-pressure indicator) of providing pilots with advance warning of fuel-system problems. The proposal says the FAA may approve fuel-flow indicators or other types of monitors that would provide the pilot with advance warning of engine failure. For details, contact the FAA in Kansas City at (816) 426-5688.
On April 1, the U.S. Navy transferred authority to use the Naval Air Station (NAS) Agana in Guam to Ted Ybarra, Executive Manager, Guam Airport Authority, P.O. Box 8770, Tamuning, Guam 96931. Phone: (671) 646-0300. On June 1, the Navy is scheduled to transfer authority to use the NAS in Bermuda to the Government of Bermuda, c/o Airport General Manager, Bermuda Air Terminal Bldg., 2 Kindley Field Rd., Saint George's CE CX, Bermuda. Phone: (809) 293-1640.
GPS receivers from Trimble Navigation Limited of Sunnyvale, California now are FAA approved to TSO C129 (A1) specifications, allowing them to be used for stand-alone, non-precision approaches. Certification is standard to Trimble's new panel-mount 2000 Approach and 2101 Approach receivers. For a fee, older Trimble GPS receivers can be upgraded to C129 (A1) certification. The Trimble 2000 series is compatible with the FAA's Wide-Area Augmentation System.
Piedmont Aviation Services recently relocated its Winston-Salem, North Carolina FBO to the company's remodeled corporate headquarters building. The new location offers a ``state-of-the-art'' weather and flight planning center, crew snooze rooms, a kitchen and vending area, and a passenger lounge three times the size of the previous one. Rental and courtesy cars still are available.
Continued progress with new business aircraft designs, enthusiasm in the civil helicopter market and questions cropping up from consolidation in the regional sector define the emerging aircraft story this year. This section lists available information about future programs that have progressed far enough to yield preliminary performance data. Some aircraft previously included, like the Canadair Challenger 604 and the Bell 430, have progressed to the point that they are now included in the appropriate aircraft charts.
The total of U.S. general aviation accidents in 1994 (1,989), fatal accidents (392) and fatalities (706) were the lowest since the compiling of such statistics began in 1958, NTSB data show. In fact, the 1994 total dropped below 2,000 for the first time since the compiling of such statistics. But due to an apparent decrease in general aviation flight hours in 1994, the rate (the number of accidents per 100,000 hours) increased slightly. The total accident rate went from 9.09 in 1993 to 9.47 in 1994, while the fatal accident rate changed from 1.78 to 1.87.
U.S. corporate aircraft charter operators are seeing a sharp increase in business, according to James Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association. Speaking at the FAA General Aviation Forecast Conference in March, Coyne said charters of GA aircraft were up 10 to 20 percent in 1994. Also, the association has completed a seven-minute videotape promoting charter. For further details, contact NATA at (703) 845-9000.
In its final report, the NTSB cited four probable causes of the crash of a USAir DC-9 on July 2, 1994 at Charlotte, North Carolina. They were (1) the pilots' decision to continue an approach into ``severe convective activity'' conducive to microburst, (2) their failure to recognize a wind-shear situation in a timely manner, (3) their failure to establish an appropriate attitude and thrust setting necessary to escape the wind shear and (4) a lack of real-time weather and wind-shear hazard information dissemination from ATC.
Dassault will introduce a Falcon 50 derivative in late 1996. The Falcon 50EX, an upgraded replacement for the Falcon 50, will feature a Collins Pro Line IV avionics suite similar to that installed in the Falcon 2000. AlliedSignal's new TFE731-40 turbofans will power the 50EX, providing better climb, cruise, range and fuel specifics. The new aircraft will be priced at about $15.4 million.
Air taxi operators of turbine aircraft question if an NTSB recommendation calling for upgraded flight data recorders is appropriate to its segment of the industry. The National Air Transportation Association says no, it is not, and labels ``unacceptable'' the Safety Board's remarks that a cost estimate of up to $70,000 per aircraft is ``reasonable.'' The NTSB wants the upgraded FDRs on FAR Part 135 aircraft with 10 or more passenger seats (B/CA, April, page 22).
Piper Aircraft's latest reorganization filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court provides for the sale of the firm to Newco Pac, a new entity owned by Dimeling, Schreiber&Park (DS&P) and Teledyne Industries. DS&P is a Philadelphia-based partnership that owns a diverse portfolio, including Rocky Mountain Helicopters. Teledyne supplies engines to Piper and other manufacturers.
The big legislative question for the aviation community this year is what, if anything, Congress will do with a plethora of proposals put forward to change the structure of the FAA. Answering that question directly is difficult because the options proposed to date vary widely.
Aviall, Incorporated completed the sale (announced in summer 1994) of its business aviation engine overhaul business and its Dallas' Love Field FBO to Dallas Airmotive (B/CA, August 1994, page 28). The sale includes the business-airplane-repair and helicopter-engine-repair facilities located south of Love Field, plus six turbine-engine repair shops located throughout North America.
New airports open and under construction in the region promise substantial improvement in access, parking and ground services for corporate operators. Major handlers report Osaka's Kansai International Airport (RJBB), opened in September 1994, has taken some traffic pressure off Tokyo's Narita (RJAA) and Nagoya/Komaki (RJNN). RJBB provides fast response on slot time requests, and excellent ground handling and parking, according to major handlers.
The new Denver International Airport has received hundreds of complaints about aircraft noise, despite its mere three months in operation and its sparsely populated prairie surroundings. Part of the problem appears to be related to a local rule restricting westbound departures from Runway 25 to aircraft that meet Stage 3 noise levels. Another procedure puts aircraft in long straight-ins at relatively low altitude over residents of rural areas accustomed to low background noise levels and unaccustomed to numerous overflying aircraft.
Table: RESIDUAL CARGO CAPACITY (This table is available electronically. Please see the May, 1995 issue.) Delta Connection Business Express has now joined the growing number of regional airlines actively marketing their freight-carrying capabilities--and it is paying off, according to carrier officials. Airlines have gone to great lengths to fill empty airplane seats. Yield management has enabled carriers to anticipate the number of empty seats on a particular flight, for example, and offer those seats at a discounted rate.
NBAA has appealed to Walter Mondale, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, in its long-time battle to improve airport and airspace access for business aviation in Japan. In a letter to Mondale, the association said, ``It is ironic that at a time when Japan and the United States have been endeavoring to ease strained trade relations . . .
The organizational meeting of the Women Engaged in Corporate Aviation Network (WECAN) took place during the International Women in Aviation Conference held March 16-18 in St. Louis. WECAN was formed to serve as a support group for women in all aspects of business aviation. Loretta Cook, a pilot for the Washington D.C.-based Gannett newspaper chain, was elected president. The Women in Aviation Conference attracted 1,015 attendees (up 35 percent from 1994's total of 650), and all 50 U.S. states and nine nations were represented.
The enactment of product liability reform legislation in 1994 removed a big item from the agendas of five major national general aviation trade groups: the AOPA, General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Helicopter Association International (HAI), National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and the NBAA.
Hawker Siddeley Canada's Orenda Aerospace has frozen the design of a 600-hp, fuel-injected, twin-turbo V-8 powerplant for aviation applications (B/CA, December 1994, page 30). Toronto-based Orenda hopes to certify the engine by the end of the year. The company has signed a contract with Stevens Aviation of Greenville, South Carolina to distribute the engines for initial installation in King Air 90s. The $100,000 engine will produce 500 hp at 25,000 feet.
Senator Wendell Ford (D-KY) has introduced S.682--the Clinton administration's proposed legislation requiring some or all FAR Part 139 certification requirements to apply to airports served by airline aircraft with nine or fewer passenger seats. Part 139 standards currently apply only to airports served by air carriers with more than nine passenger seats.
Fire safety--The FAA proposed a rule to require fuel-system vent protection during post-crash fires in transport aircraft used in commercial service (March 1995, page 16). Autopilots--A proposed revision to FAR Parts 121, 125 and 135 would permit use of an autopilot for takeoff and the initial climb. Current rules prohibit the autopilot for this use below 500 feet agl (February 1995, page 23).
USAir Express carrier CCAir has posted operating and net profits for the first time in seven consecutive quarters, following a major financial restructuring. The Charlotte-based regional reported an operating profit of $395,807 and a net profit of $196,625 for the three-month period ended December 31, 1994. Operating costs during the quarter dropped by $1.9 million, or 11.3 percent, compared to the same 1993 period. Operating revenue, on the other hand, decreased $1.1 million, or only 6.6 percent.
Gust loads--The FAA proposes to revise the gust-load design standards for transport category airplanes as follows: by adding a new requirement for a discrete tuned gust; modifying the method of establishing the airspeed for maximum gust intensity; and providing for a rough-air airspeed (November 1994, page 26). Turbochargers--The FAA seeks to determine if circumstances surrounding accidents and incidents involving turbocharger failures warrant extensive AD or other actions (September 1994, page 18).
