Gulfstream signed on as an official NASCAR sponsor. A Gulfstream official said that races sanctioned by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing are, ``the second most watched sport on network television in the United States.'' The sponsorship will result in a variety of cooperative advertising, public relations and hospitality endeavors that include customer, supplier and employee-related opportunities.
UPS will build a new heavy air freight handling facility at its main Louisville, Ky., hub, to replace the Dayton, Ohio, air freight hub operated by its Menlo freight forwarding subsidiary. UPS bought Menlo in December 2004 to acquire Menlo's heavy air freight capability, but it made no sense to have the heavy freight hub in Dayton, where UPS has no flights.
Frank Jensen Jr. died Feb. 12 at age 76. A decorated U.S. Army veteran, Jensen spent more than 20 years heading first the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, then the Helicopter Association International. He began his military career in 1943 at the age of 15, when he joined the U.S. Navy, becoming a combat aircrewman. After World War II, Jensen joined the Army, graduating with honors from Officer Candidate School, and served in the Korean War with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.
EAA Aviation Center, Oshkosh, Wis., received Aviation Week & Space Technology's ``Laurel'' Award honoring Tom Poberezny's leadership in two areas critical to aviation's future: the new sport pilot/light-sport aircraft rule and the Experimental Aircraft Association's youth aviation education programs.
Stevens Aviation Greenville, S.C., named aviation industry veteran Dave Grup Cessna Citation technical sales specialist. Grup comes to Stevens after an 18-year career at Cessna.
Officials at Garrett Aviation, which offers the FJ44 Eagle II engine and wing modification program for Cessna Citation 500s and 501Ps, say they see continued ``steady demand for eight to 10 aircraft per year.'' In addition, they expect to decide soon whether or not to pursue two related programs: an engine-only replacement for the aforementioned Citations and a possible reengining of the Citation II.
King Schools has announced an interactive CD-ROM to help pilots train to use the Lowrance AirMap 500 and 1000 GPS while on the ground. The VFLITE guide features scenario-based training with realistic product emulator (Virtual AirMap Device); detailed, narrated demonstration movies with on-screen text prompts to help users complete tasks; over 34 topics explained in detail; actual AirMap visuals used for emulation and animation; and a feedback system to keep users on the learning path.
Airline travel remains vulnerable to terrorist attack nearly four years after 9/11, the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association announced in releasing its Aviation Security Report Card, which takes a broad look at the nation's aviation security from airport perimeters to aircraft cockpits to screening passengers and bags. CAPA is a trade association that represents the pilots who fly for American Airlines, UPS, ABX Air, Southwest and AirTran.
Swissport Executive Aviation opened a corporate aircraft handling service at Nairobi, Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. This is the Zurich-based company's first such operation in Kenya and adds to its five existing facilities in South Africa and Tanzania. ``There are a number of business aircraft using Nairobi International and operators have been crying out for a quality service for passengers and crew,'' said Jeroen de Clerq, SEA's CEO.
Responsible for the reliable operation of technologically complex, high-ticket equipment, it's no wonder aviation maintenance managers quickly embraced the personal computer as a critical tool. Today, a hangar without a computer and Internet connection is a rarity. Manuals are available in electronic format; parts can be ordered online; there are software programs to help plan and schedule maintenance. Moreover, most new aircraft have a data port to download flight and maintenance information.
Lufthansa Technik, Hamburg, Germany named Andreas Meisel to succeed Wolfgang Gohde as senior vice president of the company's Aircraft Overhaul and VIP Jet Services. Gohde was named managing director of Lufthansa Systems.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. developed a landing light status annunciator that informs helicopter pilots whether their aircraft's landing light is on or off. The unit also displays LDG LT FAIL if the landing light is not working, regardless of the landing light switch position. The annunciator is designed as a plug-in replacement for the existing landing light relay on the Bell 206 and other helicopters. Safe Flight's unit will allow operators to avoid aircraft rewiring required for Bell 206 replacement relays under a pending Bell service bulletin.
The proud history of Dornier, founded in 1910, could be at an end. An auction began March 7 of what remains of the company's inventory, including the only 728 airframe completed. German insolvency practitioner Pluta has been appointed by the district court at Oberfaffenhofen to look after the affairs of AvCraft Aerospace GmbH, a German successor company, closely involved with the turboprop and jet versions of the 328 commuter aircraft, and closely connected with the U.S. company of the same name. Most of the 345 employees have been laid off.
Large-format screens with enhanced graphics capabilities, like these Rockwell Collins Reconfigurable Flight Displays, are enabling engineers to present more information to the pilot in a fully integrated, readily identifiable fashion. The more intuitive the displays become, the greater the flight crews' situational awareness. ``With the capability we currently have with today's electronic displays, we now have to ask the question, since we can do anything with these instruments, what should we do?''
Flight Display Systems, Alpharetta, Ga., appointed Tom Austin Jr. as company president. Austin is responsible for driving sales, support and production operations of the company's cabin entertainment offerings.
Bombardier unveiled plans to change to a common engine for the CRJ700 and CRJ900. The CF34-8C5B1, a derated sibling to the CF34-8C5 engine used in the CRJ900, will give CRJ700 operators ``savings up to 15 percent in engine maintenance costs over 15 years,'' as lower thrust levels translate into extended time in service before overhaul and longer life of engine parts. The company also said it would offer a new long-range model of the 70- to 78-seat CRJ700.
It's a classic recipe that's been cooked up for millions of years. In March and April, strong and swift Northern Pacific cold fronts typically sweep across the Rockies, rushing into the Midwest at 600-plus miles per day. Ahead of the cold fronts, warm and wet air masses from the Gulf of Mexico move northward on a collision course. When the powerful wedge of the cold front rams under the warm, humid air, the big three ingredients -- lifting, moisture and instability -- come together in a violent mix.
In the March B&CA we stated that Marquis Jet is ``offering cards for either a Citation Excel/Hawker 800XP or Citation X/Citation Excel combination'' (Intelligence, page18 ). That information is incorrect. It should have read ``The company is offering cards for either a Citation Excel/Hawker 400XP or Citation X/Citation Excel combination.
The flight training department of fractional provider Flight Options, and the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, are collaborating on an aircraft deicing training video focused on business aircraft. The training video will feature Flight Options crewmembers deicing their aircraft at the company's headquarters in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Airport and will stress the importance of proper aircraft deicing training.
Lufthansa launched a partnership with NetJets to provide executive jet connections to and from the airline's hub at Munich, Germany. The deal was signed in March by Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber and NetJets Chairman and CEO Richard Santulli. Lufthansa Private Jet will start up with six months of flight market tests, targeting a select group of Lufthansa first- and business-class passengers.
Despite the dramatic downturn in 50-seat regional jet orders, Bombardier and Embraer have hit new delivery milestones. The Canadian manufacturer delivered its 1,000th CRJ while its Brazilian rival delivered the 900th aircraft from its ERJ 135/145 family.
The Civil Air Patrol recently unveiled a hyperspectral imaging system that it said will help aircraft identify objects as small as one meter in size from half a mile in the air. It said the system, called ARCHER -- for Airborne Real-Time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance -- will increase CAP's effectiveness in search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security missions. CAP, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, said the system is the first fully operational large-scale hyperspectral imager in the United States.
