Jack Pelton is the new president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft. Pelton, 45, an aerospace engineer who spent 20 years at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, was appointed just three years after he joined the company as senior vice president of product engineering. He was acting president while former president Charlie Johnson was on medical leave before deciding to retire for health reasons. Industry sources say that Pelton's appointment may resolve the ongoing search for a successor to Russ Meyer, Cessna's longtime chairman.
This comedy of errors is reminiscent of Abbott & Costello's ``Who's on First?'' routine and is claimed to be true. But even if it's fudged, it's illustrative of how a simple assumption can snowball into a chain of errors. Our tale involves a flight department dispatcher, two helicopter charter companies and two unrelated parties of French nationals with similar names. You can probably see where this is going.
AFTER YEARS OF RHETORIC about turning the FAA into a ``performance-based organization,'' most of the agency is now in the process of attempting to accomplish that transformation. Russell Chew, a former American Airlines operations executive and line pilot for the carrier, took over on Aug. 1, 2003, as chief operating officer of the FAA's newly named Air Traffic Organization (ATO). The job puts him in immediate charge of 38,000 of the FAA's approximately 48,000 employees.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced in December 2003 that it is providing a $69 million loan guarantee to support a $75-plus million sale by Gulfstream Aerospace of three Gulfstream G300 aircraft to National Air Services (NAS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This transaction is Ex-Im Bank's first financing to support the sale of U.S.-manufactured aircraft for use by a company providing executive jet services to third parties.
Austrian Airlines has ordered two additional Bombardier Q400 turboprop airliners to expand its 70-seat fleet. The transaction was valued at an estimated $42.2 million. Deliveries are scheduled for first and second quarter 2005. The carrier retains options on two Q400s. The aircraft will fly under the new Austrian arrows banner operated by Tyrolean Airways, a wholly owned unit of Austrian Airlines Group. The arrows fleet currently includes eight Q400s, 12 50-seat Q300s, 13 50-seat CRJ 200s, and six Fokker 70 jets.
Alternative Avionics, located at the Oakland/Pontiac Airport (PTK) in Waterford, Mich., has received an RVSM STC for Falcon 20Fs. For more information, call Dave Boehne at (248) 666-3310 or e-mail [email protected].
Alteon Training, a Boeing subsidiary, will offer FAA- and JAA-approved BBJ flight training at its Palma Training Center in Spain beginning in the first quarter of this year. The BBJ training will use the JAA Level ``D'' approved Boeing 737-700/800 full-flight simulator with head-up display (HUD) to conduct initial, recurrent, refresher and progressive checks. Boeing says the program will serve the growing flight training needs of the BBJ operators in the region.
CHC Helicopters will acquire Schreiner Aviation Group of Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, for a cash payment of E83 million (US$100.3 million). ``This is a perfect fit for CHC,'' said Canadian Helicopter Co. Chairman and CEO Craig L. Dobbin, asserting that the acquisition will make CHC ``the undisputed world leader in offshore oil and gas helicopter support services'' and increase the international diversity of operations.
Don Baldwin remains NBAA chairman. There was some uncertainty about his status after he announced his Dec. 30, 2003, resignation as flight department manager at the Coca-Cola Co. in Atlanta, but he subsequently accepted a position on the board of the Whitewind Co., which is an NBAA member company. So, in accordance with the association's bylaws, Baldwin retained his chairmanship with no interruption in the association's leadership.
Comments are due by March 1 on the new, more-stringent FAA Stage 4 noise standards for new jet airplanes applying for type certification starting in 2006. The new noise limits are intended to be consistent with ICAO rules. The FAA says that adopting the Stage 4 standards ``is not intended to signal the start of any rulemaking or other proceeding aimed at phasing out the production or operation of current aircraft models.''
AvQuotes.com, Greer, S.C., an online aviation maintenance and refurbishment quote system, has appointed Christa Rice to the position of director of sales and marketing.
Three major aviation regulating authorities -- ICAO, the FAA and the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) -- have differing criteria for wake vortex separation distances. The United States' criteria was modified in 1994 after a series of upset incidents involving aircraft trailing Boeing 757s. The CAA established a voluntary reporting system in 1972, shortly after the introduction of widebody air carrier aircraft.
Safire Aircraft announced that Kollsman, Inc. has been selected to supply the cabin pressurization system for the new Safire Jet. The Kollsman Autoschedule Cabin Pressurization Control System (KAPS II) eliminates numerous pneumatic components used in previous systems, reducing weight and minimizing installation and maintenance costs. Autoscheduling algorithms are used to determine optimal cabin altitude and minimum descent/ ascent rates. The pilot sets the landing field altitude prior to takeoff or any time during cruise.
The parent company of Canadian aircraft manufacturer OMF Aircraft filed for bankruptcy in Germany, but officials of OMF Aircraft of Three Rivers, Quebec, say they hope to secure necessary financing and resume aircraft production by May. OMF GmbH of Trollenhagen, Germany, had developed the two-place, single-engine Symphony 160 and was shipping the components to the Quebec facility for final assembly. In addition to seeking new financing, OMF Aircraft also must build up a North American supply chain to provide the components it needs to continue building the 160.
The FAA and Transport Canada have approved technical and pilot training courses for the Bombardier Challenger 300. With the certifications, both pilot and technical training have commenced at the Bombardier Aerospace Training Center at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, Texas.
Alteon Training, the Boeing training subsidiary, is offering a cabin safety and service training program for business jet flight attendants. The five-day course includes training in evacuation, firefighting, first aid, ditching, and aviation operations subjects such as security, hazardous materials and crew resource management. Flight attendants also receive training in food handling and services. The course is FAR Part 142 approved. For more information, contact [email protected]. The Web site is www.alteontraining.com.
Cessna awarded Aerosonic Corp. a multiyear contract to design and manufacture electronic standby instruments for the Citation Mustang. The instruments will incorporate a microprocessor-based design to meet Cessna's accuracy and reliability requirements.
Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill., has increased its outside sales staff by two: Douglas Leis and Scott Cheairs have been hired as regional sales managers. Leis will cover the Midwest, and Cheairs will manage the Southwest region.
Atlantic Coast pilots maintain their opposition to a Mesa takeover. In a letter to the Mesa Air Group board, Stephen Hunt, chairman of the ACA unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, said his members strongly support ACA's plan to create a new low-cost carrier called Independence Air rather than be swallowed up by Mesa and remain a feeder carrier for United Airlines.
IT IS EARLY DECEMBER. The morning snow outside has transformed the dispiriting grays and browns of yesterday into a world dressed prettily in whipped white. The dirt mound in the back yard, the peeling boards on the deck, even the busted-down shed next door -- all have disappeared under a pure white cover. Meanwhile, the kids are getting more and more jazzed, counting down the calendar and expounding on the wonders of the thingamajigs they've just got to have. The missus has begun composing lists. And that same old, bad feeling is creeping in.
Nominations are due Feb. 15 for the NBAA Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation. It is given to those individuals who, ``by virtue of a lifetime of personal dedication, have made significant identifiable contributions that have materially advanced aviation interests.'' The NBAA has presented the Meritorious Service Award almost every year since 1950. For more information about both awards and how to submit a nominations package, visit: www.nbaa.org/awards.
Comair took delivery of the 1,000th Bombardier CRJ regional jet off the assembly line at a ceremony Dec. 9, 2003, in Dorval, Quebec. The aircraft, a 70-seat CRJ700, will operate under Comair's Delta Connection colors. Delta Connection operates the world's largest CRJ fleet with 259 CRJ200 and CRJ700s. Comair was the first customer to launch regional jet service in North America.
Our company's Gulfstream IV departed Teterboro on a routine night trip to Fort Myers with two passengers and a crew of three. The trip was CAVU with smooth air. At approximately FL 250 south of Sarasota on the SID, Miami Center advised us we might see traffic crossing from right to left, 757 traffic en route to Miami. We spotted the 757 cross so far ahead, we did not bother to acknowledge visual contact. ``Suddenly at about 15,000 feet and 300 knots, we hit what I thought was another aircraft, or we had an explosion onboard the aircraft.
Eurocopter announced that the DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authority) has just awarded Level D Certification to the Helisim Dauphin AS 365 N2 full-flight simulator, a certification that meets the European JAA (Joint Aviation Authorities) standards. According to the company, Helisim is the only pilot training academy in the world to possess three Level D certifications for helicopters. In March 2003, Helisim received Level D certification for its Super Puma AS 332 L1 FFS, and in July of the same year for its Super Puma AS 332 L2 FFS.
