Following a long and bitter battle between general aviation operators and airport authorities, FAR Part 91 aircraft may now use Aspen's Pitkin County Airport between one-half hour after sunset until 2300 hours for arrivals and 2230 hours for departures. All aircraft operating during this period must meet FAR Part 36, Stage 3 and, although operations can be conducted under both VFR and IFR, the pilot must be instrument rated. Prior to this change, only airlines were permitted to use the airport during night hours (B/CA, June 1993, page 33).
Alliance Engines, the newly formed venture between Duncan Aviation and KC Aviation, plans to start offering repairs and overhauls on AlliedSignal APUs in June in recently acquired facilities in Maryville, Tennessee. The company expects to extend its services to TPE331 turboprops in July and to TFE731 turbofans in October. Alliance has promised to cut costs and turn times for overhauls and repairs on AlliedSignal engines (B/CA, December 1994, page 66).
Tridair Helicopters said it expects to add a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) to the company's Gemini ST, an Allison-powered, twin-engine version of the Bell LongRanger. The FADEC will facilitate the pilot's option to transform the Gemini ST from single- to twin-engine operations in flight, a procedure the FAA currently limits to emergencies. Meanwhile, the Costa Mesa, California company is expected to receive single-pilot IFR certification for the Gemini ST before May. Higher gross weight approvals also are pending.
AlliedSignal Aerospace of Torrance, California and Aviation Corporation Rubin of Moscow, Russia, have formed a joint venture to make and market wheels and brakes for civil aircraft worldwide. The new venture is called Rubix. G.A.G.
Eurocontrol is testing its Integrated Flight Plan Processing System (IFPPS) in several European traffic centers. The system, which is designed to dramatically reduce congestion and delays within Europe's airspace, calls for all flight plans to be filed directly through a new automated Central Flight Management Unit (CFMU) at Eurocontrol headquarters in Brussels, Belgium instead of through local ATC centers. Situation display monitors at the CFMU provide oversight of airspace congestion in order to make flight-plan changes.
AlliedSignal now offers a computerized engine data monitoring service to operators of TFE731 engines who are not customers of the company's Maintenance Service Plan (MSP). The service, standard for MSP subscribers, is available through Jet-Care International of Hampshire, England and Morristown, New Jersey for an annual subscription cost. The Jet-Care computer compares engine instrument readings reported by the pilots to empirically derived models of that aircraft/engine combination and gives warnings of any potential problems.
FAA has upgraded its guidelines for the development, implementation and assessment of crew resource management (CRM) training programs. The guidelines, published in new Advisory Circular AC 120-51B, focus on improving communication skills, teamwork, task allocation and decision making. CRM training is required for FAR Parts 121 and 135 operators. Copies of the circular are available free of charge from DOT, General Services Section, M-443.2, Washington, DC 20590.
Martin Aviation is constructing a new business aviation terminal at its FBO in Long Beach. The complex, scheduled to open in the fall, will be a two-story building considerably larger than the former facilities and will comprise work and rest areas for passengers and crew, hangar space, offices and an expanded ramp. In addition, on-site catering and rental cars will be available. During construction, Martin is operating from temporary facilities.
Forgetting to call the outer marker is a technical violation that can lead to serious consequences. The FAA suspended an airman's ticket for not calling the outer marker during an instrument approach to Yakima, Washington, a non-radar facility. The pilot on the approach was flying a Cessna Caravan. After reporting the localizer inbound, the pilot was requested to report the outer marker. It was a call he forgot to make.
By the end of the summer, Delta Connection carriers Comair and SkyWest will be operating their Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ) in no less than 53 city pairs covering nearly 25,000 route miles. Overall average stage length will be 461 sm.
Dallas-based Aviall named R. Frank Leftwich president of Aviall Asia Limited, a newly-formed marketing company based in Hong Kong. Leftwich, who has been with Aviall for 25 years, most recently was executive vice president of marketing. Aviall Asia will be responsible for managing and coordinating the marketing of all Aviall's engine maintenance services in the region as well as for parts distribution. The new division was expected to open a headquarters office in Hong Kong and a satellite office in Singapore this month. G.A.G.
Guidelines for complying with FAR Part 135 ground deicing and anti-icing requirements are the subject of new Advisory Circular AC 135-16. The 18-page document provides guidelines for complying with training rules and pre-takeoff contamination checks, plus it outlines alternative procedures to the pre-takeoff check that may be FAA approved. Free copies of the circular are available from DOT, General Services Section, M-45.3, Washington, DC 20590.
First flight of the prototype of the Embraer EMB-145 regional jet is on track for mid-year. Certification testing of the 50-passenger, Allison-powered EMB-145 will include three preproduction aircraft in addition to the single prototype. Deliveries of the $13-million aircraft are scheduled to begin in the second half of 1996. Meanwhile, Ozires Silva, one of Embraer's founders and its CEO for more than 20 years, resigned as president. Former senior vice president of production, Juarez de Siqueira Britto Wanderley, is Embraer's new president.
A former U.S. Air Force altitude chamber at the old Williams Air Force Base in Mesa, Arizona is now being operated by the University of North Dakota's Center for Aerospace Sciences. Currently, the chamber is being operated approximately one week each month, and it is available for corporate pilot training.
FAA adopted more stringent training and flight experience requirements for operators of Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters. The special FARs are the agency's answer to the ``high number'' of accidents involving those aircraft. Since certification in 1979, the R22 has been involved in 339 accidents in the United States, said the FAA. Currently, about 855 R22s and three R44s are U.S.-registered. The FAA's action falls short of an earlier NTSB recommendation asking the agency to ground the helicopters and perform a certification review.
In 1996, Jetstream Aircraft says it will introduce an increase in engine power, revised stall speeds and new flap settings to permit takeoff payload increases. A 2.2-percent increase in thermodynamic engine power, the introduction of a nine-degree flap setting and the revised stall speeds will give typical improvements in takeoff weight of 300 pounds at a hot/high airfield, and 700 pounds on shorter runways in cooler conditions, claims Jetstream.
The Jetstream 41's panel reflects a blend of proven analog systems and new digital technology. Honeywell's SPZ 4500 avionics system features four, five-inch by six-inch EFIS tubes that are used for the EADI and HSI displays. The EADIs provide airspeed and vertical speed displays, but separate analog altimeters flank the gauges. Analog RMIs are located adjacent to the EHSIs.
General Electric engine specialists inspect one of the two CF34-3B turbofans assigned to the flight-test program for the new Canadair Challenger 604 business jet. The -3B promises to lower fuel consumption, improve climb speed and reduce hot/high takeoff distance, says GE.
Consider this: You may be able to drive through a stop sign or a red light without any harm whatsoever. You can cross a railroad track when the gates are down and live to brag about it. You can do either one several times if you are lucky. You can also fly into or near a thunderstorm and survive. Maybe you have already. Maybe you have been lucky.
Eighty years ago a rider attached to a U.S. Navy appropriation bill changed the course of aviation development forever. A little-noticed provision of the service's annual funding legislation, which was approved by Congress on March 3, 1915, authorized the creation of a committee of 12 non-salaried presidential appointees that would help coordinate aeronautical research in the United States.
Putting the wrong type of fuel into an aircraft is at least as big a concern as contaminated fuel. Most susceptible to the problem are high-performance piston singles and cabin-class piston twins that fuelers could mistake for turboprop aircraft. Turboprops equipped for overwing fueling also are potential candidates for contamination with avgas.
Christopher A. Hart, formerly a member of the NTSB, is the FAA's appointee as assistant administrator for system safety. Hart, an attorney, pilot and aeronautical engineer, reports directly to FAA Administrator David Hinson. Establishment of a high-level safety office was emphasized when the agency announced a new structure late in 1994 (B/CA, February, page 24). The head of the office is to be a ``safety ombudsman'' and ``not a policeman,'' Hart said.
Friends and acquaintances of the men shown here were quick to point out to us that in our January issue (page 34), the pictures were switched over the names of the two international marketing officials for Learjet.
Airline Educational Services of Anchorage, Alaska has produced a crew resource management video program designed for corporate aviation and for Parts 121 and 135 certificate holders.
Standard Aero, an engine overhauler based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, has acquired Turbine Overhaul Power Plant Support (TOPPS) from its former owners KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corporation. The acquisition of TOPPS, located in Tilburg, Netherlands, expands Standard Aero's capabilities in the repair and overhaul of P&WC PW100 turboprop engines that currently power the following aircraft: the ATR-42, -72, EMB120, Jetstream ATP, Fokker 50 and Dash 8.
