It is often said that trends in the regional airline business start in the Northeast. Provincetown-Boston Airline was the first to make seasonal ``migrations'' from New England to Florida in the winter, and it grew to be the nation's largest regional prior to its demise. The former Executive and Pilgrim Airlines introduced the first modern turboprop aircraft into service with Beech 99s and de Havilland Twin Otters, respectively.
It is rare indeed that virtually all of Washington's aviation-related alphabet organizations agree on anything; but fear is a great motivator, and these groups believe we all have much to fear from a quick and dirty ``reform'' of the FAA.
With a ``more business-like operation'' in mind, FAA Administrator David Hinson has reorganized the agency along the lines of key functions: regulation and certification, air traffic services, research and acquisitions, airports, civil aviation security and administration. Each of the six functional areas is headed by an ``associate administrator.'' Hinson said, ``We must meet increased customer needs with decreasing financial resources, and we need to move beyond business as usual.''
NBAA reports that the government of Venezuela dropped a proposed 30-percent luxury tax on imported and domestic sales of U.S.-registered aircraft as well as a plan to confiscate such aircraft if they remained in the country for more than six months. The association said it received assurances from the U.S. Trade Representative's Office in Washington, D.C. that it will continue to monitor the situation if similar actions are proposed or implemented.
In two years, Germany's Frankfurt Airport plans to introduce a fee structure related to the cost of runway and slot time, and airport marketing and planning officials say their objective is to deter use of the airport by general aviation aircraft. Although passenger airlines wishing to use Germany's Frankfurt Main Airport will always be free to do so, the aim of airport authorities is to increase the Frankfurt facility's role as a leading European air cargo hub.
Commuter Air Technology now makes the CATPASS Exhaust System for the King Air 200/B200. The new exhausts are built from coated stainless steel that is claimed to greatly reduce the sooting associated with OEM stacks, and virtually eliminate cracking. Other declared benefits are increased speed (7.5 knots average), improved fuel efficiency (two to five percent) and lower maintenance and overhaul costs. However, at equal horsepower, the CAT exhausts back-pressure the engine, which may cause a required increase in ITT.
303 Protectant, from 303 Products Incorporated, is formulated for use on deicing boots, pressure door seals and aircraft interiors. The protectant is said to provide ultraviolet screening, ozone protection, enhanced ice-shedding properties and shine. It acts as a restorative for instrument panels, vinyl, plastic or leather, and as a conditioner for door seals to prevent drying and cracking. Non-toxic and biodegradable, 303 Protectant contains no silicones or petroleum-based chemicals. Price: About $12 per quart. Free sample kit is available. 303 Products, Inc., P.O.
ACR Electronics' new Forever Light is designed as an emergency flashlight. Activated by pouring almost any water-based solution, such as salt water, into the case of the unit, the product has an operating life of five continuous hours or 12 hours of intermittent use. According to the manufacturer, the unused flashlight will last for more than 25 years of dry storage without losing battery power. The product measures 7.13 inches long by 2.25 inches in diameter and weighs 4.6 ounces. Price: $16.95. ACR Electronics, 5757 Ravenswood Rd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312.
First flight of the prototype of the Embraer EMB-145 regional jet is on tap for May. Certification testing of the 50-passenger, Allison-powered EMB-145 will include three pre-production aircraft in addition to the single prototype. Deliveries of the $13-million aircraft are scheduled to start in the second half of 1996. At press time, Embraer said it had 10 orders for the aircraft, four purchase options and 132 letters of intent placed by 17 airlines.
March 1--Duty times: Deadline for compliance with flight attendant duty times and minimum rest requirements for operations under FAR Parts 121 and 135 on-demand and scheduled certificate holders. June 21--ELTs: Newly installed ELTs must meet TSO C91a. July 1--Alcohol testing: FAR Part 135 operators with 11 to 50 employees to whom alcohol-testing rules are applicable will have to be in compliance. December 31--TCAS: Turbine-powered FAR Part 135 aircraft
Near-collisions on the North Atlantic are rare, even though losses of procedural separation are common. Only three or four near-collisions have been reported in this busy, non-radar environment in the last decade. The most notorious of these occurred when a Lockheed L-1011, whose crew had mis-programmed the inertial navigation system, came within 100 feet of a Boeing 747 at FL 350.
The PC-12 is Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG's newest, largest, most powerful and most sophisticated single-engine aircraft certified for civil use. The ``12'' stands for 1,200 shp, giving this single-engine aircraft the weight-to-power ratio at takeoff of a twin-engine turboprop.
The FAA has issued an AD that makes mandatory the modification of up to 5,000 Terra Model 250 transponders. The modification is necessary so that the units will respond to interrogations by Mode S ground stations and airborne TCAS equipment. To date, Terra has modified several hundred units. Modification costs about $400 per transponder, and the mod must be incorporated by August 6. For details, contact Terra Corporation in Albuquerque at (505) 884-2662.
Business jet manufacturers have plans in place for this year's maintenance and operations (M&O) meetings. Meetings scheduled are as follows: Cessna Citation, Wichita, May 1-3; Gulfstream, Savannah, June 5-8; Israel Aircraft Industries Astra and Westwind, San Diego, April 23-26; Raytheon Beechjet, Wichita, March 20-22 and Raytheon Hawker Jet North American Operators Conference, Captiva Island, Florida, May 22-24. Canadair will hold regional M&O meetings for the Challenger starting March 20 in Cincinnati.
In the United States, more than 650 airports now have some form of airport-access restriction based on aircraft noise. That number has grown from 593 airports in 1993 and 400 in 1988. The most severe restrictions include nighttime curfews and maximum-decibel levels or other noise levels. Many airports also can impose fines and can ban aircraft that do not operate within the guidelines.
A groundbreaking ceremony in December 1994 launched the conversion of Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin to a civil facility to be named Bergstrom-Austin International Airport. The conversion project includes the construction of a full-service FBO and other business aircraft facilities, plus an airline terminal, a 7,000-foot runway and a new ATC tower. Cargo operations are scheduled to begin in 1996, with full operations to follow in 1998.
``Political grandstanding'' is how many Washington, D.C. and aviation industry observers described the spur-of-the-moment safety summit called in early January by Transportation Secretary Federico Pea.
Passengers had just settled into their seats on the Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 when smoke began to seep out of an overhead storage compartment. At the time, the airplane was being pushed back from the gate at Dorval International Airport in Montreal, Canada to begin a scheduled leg to Detroit. Crewmembers grabbed two halon extinguishers, opened the overhead compartment, doused the fire and started an emergency evacuation of the 60 passengers. Two of those passengers were injured during the egress operation.
Never mind its historic charms--New England can be a tough place to run an airline. And when your operation depends largely on a Boston presence, it can be tougher still.
FAR Part 135 operators of turbine aircraft with 10 to 30 passenger seats have only until December 31 to install TCAS I, meaning a delay of more than 10 months from the original February 9 date. But it considerably accelerates the deadline from the initially proposed March 31, 1997 date (B/CA, May 1994, page 11). The FAA didn't say why it sharply cut the compliance period, but the move is surprising since the agency admitted the likelihood of many operators being unable to meet the deadline.
This year's Flight Safety Foundation European aviation seminar will take a hard look at preventing controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents and the safety impacts of the new super-long-range business jets, said Stuart Matthews, chairman, president and CEO of the FSF. The FSF's seventh annual European Aviation Safety Seminar will be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands on February 28 through March 2 at the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel.
Once again, FlightSafety International is offering a free two-day series of Mitsubishi MU-2 flight-proficiency seminars. The classroom program is scheduled for February 11-12 in Newark, New Jersey; February 28-March 1 in Tulsa and March 11-12 in Augusta, Georgia. Program topics include cockpit resource management, flying in icing, and autopilot operation. (A well-attended series of MU-2 seminars was held in March and April 1994.) For more information, contact June Spencer at FSI's Learning Center in Houston at (800) 927-1521.
NTSB cited pilot error as the cause of the crash of a Piper Navajo on April 27, 1994, but blamed Connecticut's Sikorsky Memorial Airport for the deaths of eight persons aboard. The Safety Board said the fatalities were caused when the aircraft struck a blast deflection fence at the end of Runway 6. Furthermore, the NTSB said two previous accidents in the past 10 years might have been avoided if approach lighting for Runway 6 had been installed. The aircraft crashed following a ``higher than normal'' approach in a tailwind and ground fog.
Initial steps to harmonize FAA helicopter airworthiness certification standards with European Joint Airworthiness Authorities (JAA) helicopter standards are under way. A notice of proposed rulemaking offers revisions that will make FARs and JARs covering standards for both normal- and transport-category rotorcraft virtually uniform. The NPRM also introduces safety improvements, clarifies existing regulations and proposes other changes. Comments are due March 28. Contact Carroll Wright at the FAA in Fort Worth. Phone: (817) 222-5120.
Mesa Airlines is now the Mesa Air Group. The Farmington, New Mexico-based company has announced two name changes ``to help clarify the airline's different operations more accurately.'' Mesa Air Group replaces the old corporate moniker of Mesa Airlines. And the former Mesa Airlines division, which includes the United Express operations at Denver, America West operations at Phoenix and Columbus, and the generic Mesa Airlines operation in New Mexico, is now called Mountain West Airlines.
