DeCrane Aircraft has announced that it will phase out production at its Stuart, Fla., plant that manufactures the Dettmers brand of aircraft seating, tables and hinge products, and move production to its Peshtigo, Wis., facility, which currently makes DeCrane's Omniglide seating models and other products. DeCrane Aircraft claims its executive and specialty-seating products are on 75 percent of the world's business aircraft.
Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
A question being asked in the United Kingdom is, ``Is it a good idea to have a group of seven airlines running the country's national air traffic control system?'' The answer is, ``maybe not.'' The Airline Group, which paid the U.K. government more than $1 billion for 46 percent of National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in 2001, is now asking the same government department (the Department of Transport Local Government and the Regions) for an estimated $85 million ``bridging loan,'' less than 10 months after their operations began.
The Iowa legislature is considering eliminating all funding for state aviation programs in the 2003 budget. After hearing of the budget cuts, Michelle McEnany, director of the Iowa DOT Office of Aviation said, ``I put on my battle gear and we stormed the capital, demanding that they add in funding for our programs.'' In fiscal year 2000, aviation in Iowa generated more than $8 million for the general fund through sales/fuel taxes and registration fees. Out of that, the state paid $2.5 million for aviation programs.
Now looking to the long-term future after its failed merger with General Electric, Honeywell has named TRW chief David M. Cote to serve as president, CEO and member of the company's board of directors. Cote succeeds Lawrence A. Bossidy, who will remain chairman and a board member until June 30, when he will relinquish both positions and Cote will become chairman.
The FAA extended airport slot-usage requirement waivers have been extended until Oct. 26, to help carriers that are still running on reduced schedules. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, the FAA provided air carriers a waiver until April 7 from requirements that they use at least 80 percent of the takeoffs and landing slots they are allocated into airports that are slot-controlled.
The Aircraft Electronics Association sold out the exhibit space for its upcoming convention and trade show, despite expanding the exhibit area twice. The 45th annual convention will be held April 25 to 27 in Palm Springs, Calif. Looks like avionics are in again.
Spirent Systems, Inc. of Wichita has been selected by Qantas Airways to develop an EFB system for the airline's new A330s. The Qantas-tailored EFB will integrate storage, retrieval and display of charts and approach plates, an onboard performance calculation system and access to flight operations manuals. According to Spirent, it and Qantas will work closely with Australian regulators and certification authorities, specifically CASA, to address certification concerns, and avoid false starts and dead ends. The Web site is www.spirent-systems.com.
Bombardier is now a major Indy Racing League (IRL) sponsor after inking a major five-year agreement with Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) that includes naming rights to the landmark Pagoda control tower at the historic speedway. Bombardier will also sponsor the IRL Rookie of the Year Award and one additional major IRL event each year. This year started off with the Bombardier ATV Copper World Indy 200 race at Phoenix International Raceway.
-- February 7 -- A Cessna CJ2 sustained substantial damage after a runway overrun at Gnoss Field Airport (DVO) in Novato, Calif. The pilot -- sole occupant of the aircraft -- was uninjured after the aircraft impacted a ravine some 200 feet from the departure end of the runway. In an interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot called the en route weather from Sacramento ``pretty miserable,'' with ``hard IFR'' conditions throughout.
The FAA is providing partial funding for demonstration airborne components of a future VHF Digital Link Mode-3 (VDL-3), which integrates voice and data and could replace the current ground radio system with digital technology. Rockwell Collins and Honeywell will apply VDL-3 technology to extend existing VHF digital radio multimode (VDL-2) capabilities for commercial air carriers. Avidyne Corp. will develop VDL-3 avionics for general aviation. The FAA says it will establish an agreement for the development of VDL-3 avionics for business jets within the next few months.
Lufthansa Technik proposes to buy the remainder of the Hawker Pacific Aerospace shares it does not already hold and merge it into itself. Hawker Pacific provides a broad range of landing gear maintenance services including repair and overhaul of virtually every landing gear, wheel and brake system component. Lufthansa Technik created a new subsidiary to purchase the 27.3 percent of Hawker Pacific shares it doesn't already hold. The deal is contingent on the tender of enough Hawker shares to bring Lufthansa's holdings up to at least 90 percent.
Jeppesen demonstrated a functional EFB prototype in Singapore at the Asian Aerospace show. In addition to chart and aircraft performance modules, Jeppesen included an electronic logbook plus cabin video surveillance and high-resolution airport maps for taxi situational awareness. Jeppesen is addressing certification issues by developing at least one system with Boeing and Astronautics Corp. of America designed from the start to be fully certified under RTCA DO-178B specifications.
FBOs/Fractionals/ Aircraft Management -- BBA Aviation, Orlando, has appointed Keith Ryan as president and CEO of its Aircraft Service International Group. -- Executive Jet Management, Inc., Cincinnati, has named Jeffrey Tomei as vice president of charter services. Prior to EJM, Tomei served as director of vendor relations for Flighttime.com. -- Million Air New Orleans, New Orleans, has promoted Addie Fanguy to regional vice president.
On Feb. 27, Cessna's Model 680 Citation Sovereign prototype made its first flight from Wichita-Mid Continent Airport, marking the start of a 2,000-flight-hour, 19-month flight-test program. This is to culminate in certification in late 2003 and initial customer deliveries in early 2004. The first prototype aircraft, CE680 Serial Number 000P, will be used primarily as an aerodynamic certification flight-test article. It also will be used for ice shape trials.
The Sovereign's PW306 engines may be new to the Citation line, but this is a mature design, having logged thousands of hours aboard Fairchild Dornier 328JET airliners and Gulfstream G200 (nee Galaxy) business aircraft. The PW306 has a wide-chord, damperless fan, a four-stage axial and one-stage centrifugal compressor, two-stage high-pressure turbine powering the compressor and three-stage low-pressure turbine powering the fan.
Look what's missing from this cockpit photo. The Sovereign's new Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite has lost dozens of annunciators and redundant control devices. The Sovereign's four large-format flat-panel displays offer the most display area of any Citation EFIS system. A fully integrated EICAS system eliminates the need for annunciators and engine gauges.
The debate over proper rudder technique continued at this writing in the wake of an NTSB recommendation that the FAA and airframe manufacturers warn pilots that too much rudder can be too much of a good thing. The warning came in the middle of the Safety Board's investigation into the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 -- an Airbus A300-600 that lost its vertical fin and rudder shortly after takeoff from JFK on Nov. 12, 2001. Pilots greeted the recommendation with alarm and bunches of questions: How much rudder is too much? How can I find out? Doesn't VA protect me?
On most days, flying in the Hawaiian Islands is a joy and a pleasure, but even a routine flight in paradise can turn ugly. The crew of the Shorts SD-330 had just departed and leveled off at 9,000 feet when their troubles began. What smelled like toxic fumes wafted through the cockpit. As they diverted for an immediate landing, the crew donned their oxygen masks, but every time they talked on the radio, they needed to remove them.
Although little HAZMAT information is found in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) and many company operating manuals, a number of sources are available to help pilots and other personnel identify which items and substances are considered HAZMAT. The most obvious is the identification placards printed on or applied to packages containing hazardous materials. But not all HAZMAT will be in properly marked and placarded containers, and pilots must be on the lookout for such materials. These include:
Dealing with a HAZMAT situation in flight can be a truly abnormal procedure, and flight crews without previous training may find it difficult to sort out the proper course of action, or the proper emergency checklist to follow in such an event. If the situation involves smoke or a fire, the emergency procedures for smoke or fire are the obvious checklists to consult. If the situation involves unusual odors or fumes, the proper procedures may not be quite so obvious.
With new financing and a new management team, Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures, Inc. (AASI) of Long Beach, Calif., will acquire the assets of Mooney Aircraft Corp. of Kerrville, Texas, and return the Mooney product line to full production. AASI President and CEO Roy H. Norris made the announcement at a press conference on February 8.
Fractional ownership operators -- which enjoy a safety record superior to all other forms of air transportation -- experienced their first two events of the year in February. According to the FAA, a Flight Options Beechjet 400A overran the runway on landing at Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Airport (CGF) on February 10. There were no injuries and only minor damage reported in that incident. Weather at the time was overcast skies with 12-knot winds from the northwest, gusting to 22 knots.
Cessna Aircraft Co.'s 2001 deliveries totaled 1,210 units: 313 Citations, 76 Caravans and 821 single-engine piston aircraft. Sales revenues totaled $3.0 billion, and the order backlog at year-end stood at $5.2 billion. ``We were able to meet and in most cases exceed our 2001 goals,'' Cessna Chairman and CEO Gary Hay said. ``We delivered a record number of Citations, continued development of the Sovereign, successfully launched four Process-Based Management design teams, and substantially expanded Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing.
PrivateSky Aviation Services plans to triple the size of its Gulfstream maintenance service center at SW Florida Inter-national Airport (RSW) in Fort Meyers. PrivateSky is believed to be the only maintenance service facility specializing exclusively in Gulfstream II, III, IV and V aircraft. The new expanded facility will be able to accommodate up to 12 Gulf-streams simultaneously. The construction, part of a strategic alliance with Exxon-Mobil, is expected to be completed by mid-year, and the facility is scheduled to open this summer or early fall.
Pennsylvania State Police are adding a helicopter unit at Altoona-Blair County Airport to cover a nine-county, 6,900-square-mile area in the south-central part of the state. The state will buy a new helicopter and train three more pilots to staff the new facility. Officials expressed their thanks to the Maryland State Police, which had provided some coverage of the area as a courtesy.
