CAE, Montreal, Canada, appointed Marc Parent to the position of group president, simulation products. Parent was formerly vice president and general manager of Bombardier Aerospace.
On Nov. 22, 2004, about 0615 CST, a Gulfstream III crashed on the ILS Runway 04 approach to Houston Hobby Airport (HOU). The three crewmembers -- 67-year-old pilot Milford Dickson of Terrell, Texas, 62-year-old first officer Michael DeSalvo of Roanoke, Texas, and 54-year-old flight attendant Kristi Dunn of Addison, Texas -- were killed. The aircraft, operated by Business Jet Services, was en route to HOU from Dallas Love Field to pick up former President George H. W. Bush for a South American trip.
Museum of Flight, Seattle -- Jet engine pioneer Dr. Sam B. Williams was inducted into the museum's Pathfinder Hall of Fame on Oct. 16, 2004. First presented in 1982, the annual Pathfinder Award recognized individuals ``with ties to the Pacific Northwest who have made signal contributions to the development of aviation or aerospace.'' Williams was recognized in the ``manufacturing'' category for his achievements as an inventor, entrepreneur and businessman.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany say that it is necessary to lower mandatory carriage of 8.33 kHz radios down to FL 195 by March 2007 across the entire ICAO EUR region. Currently FL 245 is the mandatory base for 8.33 kHz operations across most of Europe and operators are worried about the extra fuel burn incurred at lower flight levels.
Cessna expects to add hundreds of employees as it ``grows into'' its new service center. The manufacturer built about 104,000 square feet of office space into the center to house most of the company's Citation aftermarket customer service team. The company expects that the center will be fully operational by the beginning of 2006, initially employing 600 and using about 70 percent of the available space.
Raytheon Aircraft Services launched a program to provide Beechjet 400A operators with a new interior with only eight days of downtime. The quick-change interior program is available for aircraft with serial numbers 110 or higher.
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report notes that ``the small size, lack of fuel capacity and minimal destructive power of most general aviation aircraft make them unattractive to terrorists and thereby, reduce the possibility of threat associated with their misuse.'' The report concludes that continued partnerships between the general aviation industry and the government -- such as the AOPA's Airport Watch program -- are vital to the long-term success of efforts to enhance security at the nation's nearly 19,000 general aviation landing facilities.
Four firms have joined forces to train Bell 412 helicopter pilots in the Middle East. Officials of Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) CAE Simuflite, Bell Helicopter and Hawker Pacific signed an agreement under which Bell Helicopter will begin sending students to ECFT as soon as the training center's Bell 412 full-flight simulator has been approved by the FAA and the European Joint Aviation Authorities. The simulator is slated for installation at ECFT's facility in Dubai by the end of this year.
GLN Compliance Group will offer online RVSM compliance training to its clients. GLN, which provides compliance solutions to FAR Part 121, 125 and 135 operators, announced it has entered an agreement with DigiFlite to offer DigiFlite's ``Affirm RVSM'' online RVSM pilot certification course to its clients nationwide and will feature it in their portfolio of compliance solutions. DigiFlite created the Web-based RVSM course to prepare pilots for RSVM rules that take effect on Jan. 20.
Bombardier Flexjet, Dallas, appointed Dave Armstrong senior director of sales. Armstrong was previously at Cessna Aircraft Co. In addition, four sales directors have been newly appointed: Bob Osvold, Spencer Bain, Eli Flint and Scott Shatzer.
Chantilly Air, Manassas, Va., an aircraft charter and management service, added five new crewmembers: Luis Berrios, Kevin Alday, Adam Vidoni, Jeff Rash and Jim Musick.
Mooney Airplane Co. received FAA certification for the Garmin G1000 avionics suite on the GX versions of the Ovation and Bravo models. ``The Mooney Bravo and Ovation GX models will be the first high-performance, single-engine aircraft to enter service with the G1000 avionics suite,'' said David Copeland, vice president of sales and marketing.
Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y., presented its 10th annual ``Spirit of Noise Abatement Awards'' to based corporate operators that had achieved 100-percent compliance with the airport's voluntary noise-abatement programs during 2003. A total of 29 aircraft operators in three different categories -- helicopter, turboprop and jet -- were honored by Westchester County, which owns the field. Two special noise-abatement awards also were given at the mid-November 2004 ceremony.
The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) offers a one-day training course to familiarize civilian pilots and flight crews with the physiological and psychological stresses of flight, including loss of cabin pressure, hypoxia, spatial disorientation, trapped gas problems, decompression sickness, acceleration forces, and noise, vibration, thermal and self-imposed stresses.
Lycoming Engines, Williamsport, Pa., made several sales and marketing appointments recently. Todd Stoner was named vice president of sales and marketing; Mike Everhart was named director of distribution and channel management; and Dennis Racine was named director of marketing and customer leadership. Lycoming is an operating division of Textron's Avco Corp. subsidiary and is a unit of Textron Systems.
Jet Aviation Dallas, Texas, appointed Jim McDonough to the position of Southeast regional maintenance sales manager and Allen Walton to the position of Midwest regional maintenance sales manager.
Executive Jet Management, Cincinnati, recently made several personnel changes. Robert E. Mayo, formerly senior vice president, client transition, has become senior vice president, operations. Glenna Edwards was named vice president, owner standards. Larry Lee, formerly director of the company's shuttle operation, was selected as assistant director of operations. Ty Dubay, formerly shuttle program director, was named director, Flight Operations Center. In addition, Fred Robinson and Pete Djordjevic are now assistant chief pilots with the company.
Aviation Technical Solutions of Keller, Texas, has devised an anti-skid testing system for the Dassault Falcon Jet family of aircraft. Designed for one-person operation, the AS-100 uses individual tach/generators to selectively monitor the speed of each drive unit. Cables are long enough to allow the operator control box to be positioned in the cockpit or on the hangar floor.
Tim Travis, 46, media relations manager for Raytheon Aircraft Co. in Wichita, died on Dec. 9, 2004, of a heart attack, just two months after he was married. The editor/managing editor of the Wichita Business Journal from 1986 until mid-1994, Travis joined RAC's Communications Department in January 1997. In addition to two children from his first marriage, Travis is survived by his wife, Nancy, and two stepchildren.
LasVegasConventionTravel.com, an online travel and charter agency handling corporate and individual arrangements, promoted Jack Maxwell to sales director for air charter services.
Unfortunately, aviation often suffers from a tombstone mentality, which finds motivation to solve a critical safety problem only after it causes a particularly nasty airline accident (or two or three). The catastrophic crash of American Eagle 4184 on Oct. 31, 1994, near Roselawn, Ind., is an example; that accident focused attention on the inflight hazard posed by freezing drizzle.
Perhaps the slowest business aircraft in the United Kingdom, this Antonov An-2 ``Baltic Bear'' features four reclining leather seats, a cocktail bar (vodka of course), a rest room, glass cockpit door, concealed cabin lighting, and two small TV monitors that show the aircraft's leisurely progress from two external cameras. Owners John Calverley and David Holland plan to entertain friends and family aboard the ``Bear'' and fly them to out-of-the-way places. The conversion and completion was undertaken by Russian aircraft specialist Termikas Ltd.
Northrop Grumman appointed Carol Zierhoffer vice president and chief information officer for the company's information technology sector. Zierhoffer joined Northrop Grumman in 1988 and most recently was vice president and chief information officer for the company's electronic systems sector.
Although the Jan. 1 deadline in Europe for the implementation of ACAS II Phase II has passed, temporary exemptions for those operators experiencing genuine equipment and installation delays is available until March 31, 2006. Operators who are experiencing delays caused by ACAS II Service Bulletins, STC non-availability, or who intend to combine ACAS II installation with that of Mode S transponder certification/installation can apply for a short-term exemption from their state regulatory authorities.
