The United Kingdom's CAA has withdrawn a 20-year-old U.K.-registration requirement calling for additional strength for the leading edge of the wings on Cessna Citation 500s and Citation I series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.
As part of its analysis of the performance of software change 6.04A, the FAA is beginning to survey pilots using TCAS. The software is designed to reduce unnecessary TCAS Resolution Advisories. Makers of TCAS equipment were required to install the software by December 31, 1994. The FAA's TCAS Transition Program office asks pilots who have not received a questionnaire by January 15 to contact Liz Sheridan at ARINC Research in Maryland. Phone: (410) 266-4792.
North East Corporate Dispatcher Association (Teterboro, NJ)--Bob Weinwurzel, supervisor of dispatch/scheduling operations for Philip Morris was elected to a one-year term as president of the association. Elected as vice president was Pamela Lorenzo of Dassault Falcon Jet.
SL Auburn (Auburn, NY)--Stephen F. Smith has been promoted to president of this manufacturer and marketer of aviation and industrial spark plugs and igniters.
Jet Aviation's Teterboro FBO plans to start construction in the spring on a 40,000-square-foot hangar and a 17,000-square-foot office building for tenant customers. The new facilities are expected to be available for occupancy in December.
Atlantic Coast Airlines President and CEO Kerry Skeen is the new chairman of the RAA, replacing outgoing Jerry Atkin of SkyWest. Skeen formerly ran regional airline operations for Delta and later moved to WestAir, where he established the Atlantic Coast Division at Washington Dulles International. WestAir later sold the operation to a group of investors.
The flying public was naturally a bit skittish over commuter airline safety after a week of breathless and largely uninformed TV commentary on the crash of an American Eagle ATR 72-200 in Indiana. So, I suppose it was only natural that the release of a set of commuter-safety recommendations from the NTSB and an ill-reasoned pronouncement from an industry watchdog group would generate a pre-Thanksgiving hysteria over commuter airline safety. Unfortunately, some of the public's truly unwarranted concern lingers today.
The FAA at B/CA press time restricted the ATR-42 and ATR-72 from operating in known or forecast icing conditions. That equates to temperatures of 40F and below in visible moisture.
Public auction of 55.4 percent of its voting stock for $182.4 million completed the privatization of state-owned Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer in December 1994.
