The Italian government granted Piaggio Aircraft's request for ``preferential financial treatment benefits of Prodi Law,'' the equivalent of protection under Chapter 11 of U.S. bankruptcy laws. Three government officials have been appointed to restore the company to profitability. Immediate objectives are to restart aircraft marketing activities and re-establish product support services for customers of the company's Avanti turboprop and other aircraft.
Subject to regulatory approval, United Kingdom-based engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce expects to complete the acquisition of Allison Engine Company in the spring. Rolls-Royce says the maker of small turbine engines will continue to operate under the Allison name and remain in Indianapolis. However, F. Blake Wallace, long-time chief executive, is scheduled to leave the company.
GE Aircraft Engines is touting its first two years of CF34-3A1 service with the Canadair Regional Jet. Six airlines operate the aircraft--launch customer Lufthansa CityLine, Comair, Air Littoral, Lauda Air and SkyWest. GE says aircraft dispatch reliability during the first two years was 99.99 percent, while logging more than 217,000 engine flight hours. During that period, there was only one in-flight shutdown. The engine's shop-visit rate is 0.022 per 1,000 hours, or 45,000 flight hours mean time between shop visits.
Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer of commuter aircraft, was privatized at a government-sponsored auction in December 1994. Foreign investors, allowed to acquire up to 40 percent of the company's shares, bought 33 percent of the stock. Another 45 percent was bought by a consortium led by Bozano Simonsen, a Brazilian bank. As a result of the sale, the Brazilian government's share of Embraer fell from 86.8 percent to 18 percent. The auction was delayed several times by injunctions brought by unions (B/CA, July 1994, page 26).
The NBAA has created a special fund to help ``preserve, record and display'' business aviation's heritage. The first project of the fund will be to support an exhibition on business aviation at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. With a pledge of $20,000, AlliedSignal became the first contributor to the fund.
If anyone is interested in the Washington scene, there are three chairs open at the NTSB. Nominees will be carefully screened by Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD) who is now chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Last year, Pressler monkey-wrenched the confirmation of a Clinton nominee--James Hall--to the Board because Pressler was not satisfied with Hall's credentials for the post. The subsequent score (Lions 4, Pressler 0) saw not only Hall winning the nomination, but also his subsequently becoming chairman.
To protect your King Air's finish from prop ice hitting the fuselage, Stevens Aviation's Colorado facility has introduced Kydex Ice Shields. The shields are positioned over the forward fuselage avionics doors on King Air 200, 300 and 350 models to ward off dents and paint chips. Price: $1,995 per aircraft shipset (two shields). Stevens Aviation, Jefferson County Airport, 10656 W. 120th Ave., Broomfield, CO 80021. (800) 606-0017.
Commuter Air Technology (CATPASS) of Scottsdale, Arizona has introduced an advanced, low profile, exhaust gas extractor system for the Beech King Air 200/B200. The company modifies the King Airs as 13-passenger commuter aircraft. The company termed the old stacks ``1950s technology'' and said the new system--constructed of stainless steel with state-of-the-art coating that ``dramatically'' reduces sooting--results in a 7.5-knot increase in airspeed, a two- to five-percent improvement in fuel efficiency and lower maintenance and overhaul costs.
Dassault's Falcon 2000 is scheduled to enter service next month. The new jet received European JAA certification in late November 1994. FAA certification was expected in December 1994. Certification of the Falcon 2000's optional thrust reverser is anticipated by the time the aircraft enters service. By mid-1995, an optional Flight Dynamics head-up display should be approved on the Falcon 2000, and certification of flight management systems other than the Falcon 2000's standard Universal GNS-X also will be undertaken this year.
Efforts to establish a floating heliport on the Thames River in Central London remain tangled in legal controversy and conflicting permissions (Jeppesen United Kingdom).
In mid-December 1994, McDonnell Douglas celebrated the FAA certification and the first delivery of the company's new Explorer twin-turbine helicopter. The first production copy of the eight-place, NOTAR-configured rotorcraft was delivered to Petroleum Helicopters of Lafayette, Louisiana. The $2.9-million Explorer is offered with two engine choices: a 629-shp P&WC or a 641-shp Turbomeca Arrius. McDonnell Douglas says it has orders for more than 50 Explorers to date.
West Virginia Air Center, an FBO at Benedum Airport in Clarksburg specializing in completions, modifications and painting, has been purchased by Short Brothers (USA). The company was put on the block late in 1994 by Five-J Energy Corporation, its former owner (B/CA, October 1994, page 26). Short Brothers (USA) is the U.S. subsidiary of Short Brothers plc of Belfast, Northern Ireland, a unit of Bombardier, the Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based corporation.
Less than a year after acquiring Allison Engine Company from General Motors for $310 million, investment banker Clayton, Dubilier&Rice has turned a $215-million profit with the Indianapolis company's sale to Rolls-Royce plc for $525 million.
This month, the first prototype Bell 430 was scheduled to enter its third month of flight testing at the company's Mirabel, Quebec, Canada factory. The mid-size twin is based on the current Model 230 design. However, Bell has lengthened the fuselage by 18 inches, redesigned dynamic components and upgraded the aircraft's cockpit.
Flightcrews heading to Miami for Super Bowl XXIX on Sunday, January 29 at Joe Robbie Stadium will find some extra hospitality at a variety of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida FBOs.
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.
