The recently announced reorganization of the FAA will prepare the way for spinning off its ATC functions if Congress votes to do so. Legislation to establish an ATC corporation stalled in the last Congress, but the Clinton administration is expected to push for it again in the new Congress. Also, the new organization restructures the main functions of the FAA, creates a special Safety Office to report directly to the FAA administrator and appoints long-time FAA official Anthony Broderick to head the FAA's safety responsibilities.
Air Ontario has named Steve Smith president and chief operating officer for the Air Canada Connector. Smith most recently was director of leisure sales for Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations. Prior to that position, he was general manager of passenger sales for Air Ontario, which is a subsidiary of Air Canada. The carrier serves London, Ottawa, Tameness, North Bay, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Windsor and Toronto Pearson, all in Ontario.
Delta Connection Comair has taken delivery of its 20th Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) while also exercising 10 of 20 CRJ options. Comair serves 30 markets from its Cincinnati hub with the 50-passenger aircraft, operating 252 daily flights and posting a utilization rate of 2,800 hours per year. Average stage length for the aircraft is 463 miles with an average flight time of one hour and 22 minutes.
Eurocopter Southern Africa was recently established as a subsidiary of Eurocopter, the joint company of France's Aerospatiale and Germany's Deutsche Aerospace. The new subsidiary, based at Lansaria Airport, will handle sales and customer support for the entire Eurocopter product line in southern Africa and neighboring countries.
Dallas-based Superior Air Parts expanded its general aviation international distribution division to Johannesburg, South Africa. Pieter Visser is the sales manager of the new parts distribution center known as Superior Air Parts PTY. The Johannesburg office phone number is +011-827-9664; fax: +011-827-9781.
The second prototype of the Chichester Miles Leopard four-place light jet, powered by two 700-pounds-thrust Williams FJX-1 turbofans, is now scheduled to fly in the spring. The aircraft was originally set to fly in March 1994 (B/CA, December 1993, page 20). Flight testing of the first prototype ended a few years ago, following the demise of the engine manufacturer Noel Penny Turbines.
From the air it looks like a four-legged spider, or perhaps a space vehicle out of Star Wars. On the ground, it is a picture of efficiency that will make any regional airline--and perhaps a few majors as well--envious.
AlliedSignal will dismiss 1,000 employees (2.6 percent of its total work force) by June at its recently acquired Lycoming Turbine Engine division. Prior to the layoffs, the Stratford, Connecticut-based Lycoming unit employed some 2,900 workers. AlliedSignal said the layoffs reflect the ``elimination of staffing duplications from the integration of the two businesses'' and the end of the manufacturing run of the AGT1500 engine for the U.S. Army's M1 tank program.
On December 15, 1994, the Miami judge overseeing Piper Aircraft's bankruptcy proceedings was due to decide whether to continue the company's reorganization efforts, to allow the company's creditors to take over the manufacturer as proposed in 1994 (B/CA, September 1994, page 18) or to allow the creditors to vote on a new bid to buy Piper. The new offer was submitted jointly by Piper International Corporation--an entity comprising Kaiser Aerospace&Electronics--and Teledyne Continental Motors, one of Piper's largest creditors.
The process of dealing with the denial or revocation of a medical certificate can seem like a maze of red tape--and frankly, it is. If you have been caught in what appears to be a succession of unending procedural nightmares, you need the help of two experts: an AME and a lawyer, both of whom are experienced in medical certification problems.
Environmentally concerned managers of painting facilities will be interested in a new service that recycles the plastic blast media used in aircraft paint stripping. The service includes leasing the plastic media in addition to the recycling. For more information, contact Poly-Pacific Technology in Vacaville, California at (800) 961-6688.
Why was the Experimental Aircraft Association exhibiting for the first time at the annual NBAA convention in October 1994? Primarily to promote its own annual show as a place where business aircraft operators should attend and their suppliers should exhibit.
National Air Transportation Association, the Air Line Pilots Association and other organizations representing commercial pilots and operations expressed disappointment with the FAA's lowering of the minimum random drug-testing rate from 50 percent to 25 percent, effective January 1. NATA, ALPA and other groups said that aviation's extremely low positive test findings justify a reduction of the rate to 10 percent (B/CA, December 1994, page 17).
Several airlines, airport authorities and government agencies are jointly participating in an evaluation of Robotic Vision Systems' new ground-based, electro-optical system designed to detect ice on aircraft and to monitor contamination of deicing fluid. The Hauppauge, New York-based company's new detection system is called ID-1. Those involved in evaluating it are United Airlines operations at Denver Stapleton Airport, Delta Air Lines flights at Boston Logan Airport and various airline operations at Montreal Dorval Airport.
Orenda Aerospace, a division of Hawker Siddeley Canada, has acquired S-R Technologies, a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada company specializing in the repair and surface treatment of helicopter engine parts. Based in Toronto, Orenda also repairs turbine engine parts. This is the second acquisition reported for Orenda in the last three months: Orenda recently bought Can-Am Corporation in Nevada with the aim of certifying a V-8 engine for aircraft use.
International Civil Aviation Organization adopted several revisions to its recommended safety practices. The major change is a recommendation that ICAO member nations investigate ``serious incidents'' in the same manner as that required for accidents. Another change is a recommendation that accidents and serious incidents to aircraft less than 4,960 pounds MTOW be reported. While member nations are not required to follow ICAO recommendations, many of them already have the same or more stringent requirements in place.
As of January 1, all FAA-certificated airports are required to have redesigned runway and taxi signage that conforms to the standards in FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-18C. The deadline for the new requirements was extended one year because of limited sign manufacturing capacity and the fact that only about 60 percent of the affected airports had complied (B/CA, April 1994, page 22).
FAA says it has reason to believe some maintenance performed by Harrington Industries--a non-certificated maintenance facility in Aiken, South Carolina--may have been done using ``unapproved data or techniques.'' The agency conducted a random inspection of seven aircraft on which Harrington worked and noted control surfaces were not within the manufacturer's tolerances. Defects were discovered on five aircraft that had undergone interior work. At press time, the FAA investigation was continuing and no enforcement action had been taken.
Cessna Aircraft has issued an early invitation for owners of Citation business jets to sign up to transport athletes to and from the Special Olympic World Games in New Haven, Connecticut this summer. The third Citation Special Olympics Airlift will occur on June 30 and July 10 to transport the expected throng of 2,000 athletes. Olympics contenders will represent up to 28 states and will be transported via Citation to and from Hartford's Bradley International Airport. Average flight times of 1.5 to 3.5 hours are anticipated.
Most pilots recognize there is a big difference between knowing enough about weather to satisfy the FAA, and knowing enough to stay out of trouble in an airplane.
Sixty years ago, one of the most celebrated and controversial airplane manufacturers of all time, the Granville Aircraft Corporation, closed its doors. Alternately hailed as builders of some of the fastest aircraft of the 1930s and decried as makers of natural-born killers, the Granville Brothers became infamous for their Gee Bee racers. The high-powered, rotund airplanes seemingly defied aerodynamics in setting numerous speed records. Unfortunately, their legacy is a lethal one, as one by one the Gee Bee racers crashed.
Air L.A. has named Tim Clarey as company president. Clarey, 48, joined the Los Angeles-based carrier after 28 years in the airline industry, most recently as an airline analyst with Fairchild Aircraft. He also has served as director of revenue accounting for Empire Airlines (acquired by Piedmont, which was acquired by USAir), and was general manager of former Mohawk Airlines of Syracuse, New York.
Increased maintenance-check intervals have been approved for the 50-passenger Fokker 50. The manu- facturer says this change should result in maintenance-cost reductions ranging from nine percent to 21 percent.
