To speed up the use of satellite technology in aviation, the FAA has approved GPS as a primary means of en route navigation over oceanic and remote areas--with certain restrictions. At press time, the agency was preparing detailed guidelines to cover installation, certification training and operational issues related to GPS navigation over oceans and remote areas.
REGIONAL Airlines of Nantes, France has contracted for three Saab 2000 high-speed turboprops. Deliveries will run from May through early 1996. The carrier, which already operates the Saab 340Plus, said it opted for the 2000's 360-knot cruise speed, commonality with the 340 and state-of-the-art technology. The first aircraft will link Lyon, France with Barcelona and Madrid, Spain, as well as Nice and Marseilles, France to Barcelona.
USAir Express Chautauqua has sent Saab Aircraft scrounging the world for older model 340As with an order for 10. The carrier, which took over the Indianapolis hub from USAir subsidiary Jetstream International, already operates six 340As as well as 12 Fairchild Metro II aircraft.
The latest product from Aeroprice Software--the ``Aircraft Value Book''--helps prospective buyers of piston-singles identify aircraft to fit their budgets. Once the interested buyer keys in a specific budget allowance, Value Book sorts through a database and shows every aircraft within that parameter as well as the latest affordable year and the corresponding retail values. The ``book'' contains pricing data from 1947 to 1993 for the 50 most common single-engine aircraft. A PC-based spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 or Quattro Pro) is required. Price: $29.95.
A widely accepted definition of crew resource management is a method of making optimum use of the capability of the individuals and the systems in an aircraft to achieve the safest and most efficient completion of a flight. To accomplish its goal, CRM often introduces practices and procedures that may appear to be at odds with the way many pilots were taught to fly--that is, with the pilot-in-command (PIC) as the sole arbiter of how to conduct a flight.
For 13 years, James D. Raisbeck, president of the company that bears his name, has been defying the odds. Raisbeck Engineering's specialty is building modification kits, or ``systems'' as Raisbeck prefers to call them, for Beech King Airs. Most modifiers don't survive a third as long as Raisbeck Engineering, let alone thrive as this Seattle-based firm has done. The proportion of Raisbeck-equipped Beech King Air 200 aircraft, for example, has increased from five percent in 1985 to 35 percent of the active King Air 200 fleet today, the firm's records show.
Dutch manufacturer Fokker has begun operation of the Fokker Training Center (FTC), located five miles from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The center provides training for flight- crews, flight attendants, maintenance personnel and flight operations specialists. It is jointly owned by Fokker and the Friendship Simulation Company (FSC), which operates the simulator facility. The first Fokker 70/100 full-flight simulator will be installed early this year, followed by a second in the fall.
Signature Flight Support seems determined to make its La Guardia Airport FBO more attractive and efficient. Signature will completely renovate its two-story facility into a modern business aircraft service environment with a conference room, oversized telephone booths with laptop computer ports, an on-site catering kitchen and a refitted crew lounge and quiet room. New bathrooms will include spacious dressing rooms, and the reception area is being redesigned with lounge chairs and meeting centers. The overhaul is scheduled for completion by the autumn. (718) 476-5200.
The United Kingdom's CAA has withdrawn a 20-year-old U.K.-registration requirement calling for additional strength for the leading edge of the wings on Cessna Citation 500s and Citation I series aircraft. The CAA's decision is one of the early benefits of establishing Joint Airworthiness Authority standards for European aviation.
Desert Air has remodeled its executive terminal, become an Exxon Avitat, expanded its maintenance offerings and extended operations to 24 hours a day since purchasing the FBO from Aero Services in September 1994. Amenities include a conference room, separate crew and passenger lounges, on-site rental cars, a crew car, catering, hangar storage and a flight-planning ares (602) 991-0900.
Gulf Aeronautical Services plans to open a full-service FBO in March. The facility will open with all standard ground services plus line maintenance. FAA and JAA approvals are to follow. For details write to GAS, P.O. Box 20285, Manama, Bahrain. Phone: +973 451 952; fax: +873 275 198.
Air Methods Corporation, a Denver-based provider of aeromedical services, withdrew as a bidder for Rocky Mountain Helicopters of Provo, Utah. Air Methods said the price is ``more than fair value'' for the assets to be acquired. At press time, a firm offer from another buyer was expected. Rocky Mountain Helicopters has been operating under Chapter 11 since October 1993.
The move to maximize each crewmember's involvement in the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft varies widely throughout corporate aviation. While most operators speak respectfully of the tenets of CRM (cockpit and--more recently--crew resource management) for expanded communication and enhanced teamwork on the flight deck, the day-to- day application of those principles ranges from zealous to casual. Some operators even dismiss the concept as a newfangled way to compromise a pilot's independence.
For 20 years, under the guidance of Gisele Richardson, Richardson Management Associates of Montreal, Quebec, Canada has been conducting workshops and presentations aimed at solving attitude and behavior problems in the cockpit and other ``office'' environments. The goal of the ``Human Element in Aviation'' workshop is to increase flightcrews' skills and comfort in working with each other by showing them practical ways to make and maintain tangible and significant changes in their attitudes and behavior.
High frequency (HF) radio is perhaps the oldest form of airborne radio communications. It provided the first primitive air-to-ground radio contacts as early as World War I, as well as the radio links for Richard Byrd, Rene Fonk, Amelia Earhart and many other early pioneers of the 1920s and 1930s. It allowed World War II bombers and transports and piston-engine airliners to communicate over long distances. It was the standard means of en route communications in the continental United States until approximately 1960.
Handlers continue to report excellent service at Johannesburg Lansaria Airport (FALA). But Jan Smuts International often is congested and lacks full corporate aircraft services.
Professional Pilot Federation, an Arlington, Virginia-based group of about 1,000 pilots in their late 50s, is suing the FAA over the ``Age-60 Rule.'' In a suit filed in federal appeals court in Chicago, the group claims the agency failed to act on scores of petitions challenging the requirement that after their 60th birthday, pilots may not fly aircraft under FAR Part 121 (B/CA, October 1993, page 21). Barry Harris, FAA deputy administrator and acting administrator during George Bush's presidency, is a consultant for the group.
What costs the FAA less than $2 million a year, protects thousands of pilots from peril and has become increasingly productive in recent years? The answer is the Aviation Safety Reporting System, one of those rare government programs whose benefits far exceed its costs.
Aviation Supplies&Academics has launched a series of products to accommodate the change to the NOS Instrument Approach Charts. An Approach Binder ($9.95) is constructed of durable plastic with a reinforced spine and steel rings to accommodate the four-hole drill pattern. To protect the most frequently used charts, sheet protectors are available in packs of 10 ($4.95). A NOS Approach Kit ($19.95) contains the binder, 10 sheet protectors, three colored dividers (extending to the bottom) and five colored dividers (extending to the right side). ASA, Inc., 7005 132nd Pl.
If a proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule for the aerospace industry is adopted, paint shops and manufacturers will have to institute major changes in the way aircraft are stripped and painted. However, many in the general aviation market argue that the rule--aimed at cutting hazardous air pollution--is primarily based on experience gained with the airlines and the military and has little bearing on the more demanding and unique business aircraft marketplace.
CAIG Laboratories provides an Aviation Maintenance Kit with two non-flammable, environmentally safe sprayon products to clean and protect avionics. ElectricALL deoxidizes, cleans, preserves and improves conductivity on electrical connections. MechanicALL lubricant spray protects metal parts and mechanisms from corrosion. It dissolves corrosion and is formulated to prevent tarnishing. The kit also includes extension tubes, lint-free cloths, swabs and cleaning brushes. Kit price: $24.95. (Products can be purchased separately.) CAIG Laboratories, Inc., 16744 W.
