To ensure that Europe's catastrophic outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) does not spread to the United States, the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture has issued guidelines for passengers and crews using corporate aircraft on international flights. The USDA advises all travelers to: -- Avoid farms, stockyards, animal laboratories, packing houses, zoos, county fairs or other animal facilities for five days prior to travel.
SimuFlite, Dallas, has named Mike Luckey as senior manager of instructor development. An ATP with more than 9,000 flight hours, Luckey is responsible for the development and quality assurance of the training services department.
EBACE 2001, the first European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition, was held in Geneva, Switzerland from April 18-20 at the Palexpo Convention Center adjacent to Geneva International Airport. The event, the first European event to focus totally on business aviation, featured more than 175 exhibitors. Two Danish citizens, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Frederick Sorensen, were the first recipients of the European Business Aviation Awards, presented at the show. The CEO of LEGO Corp., Kristiansen was recognized for his support of business aviation.
A funding shortfall has led Sino Swearingen to lay off 100 of 375 workers employed at its San Antonio facility. Work on the company's SJ30-2 business jet is expected to continue, albeit at a reduced level until the manufacturer's ability to secure an additional $100 million is assured. Financial trouble has plagued the SJ30-2 program since its inception more than a decade ago, but the picture improved substantially in 1994 when Taiwan Aerospace and other investors acquired a controlling interest in the program.
The FAA's inspection designee program is ``spiraling out of control with more than 20,000 designees for FAA inspectors to oversee,'' charged Robert Kerner, an FAA principal maintenance inspector in the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office. Kerner, who testified before the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, said the FAA increasingly relies on designated mechanic examiners and airworthiness representatives as it grapples with tight budgets for the inspector work force.
The Safety Board has completed its review of the March 17, 2000 Falcon 900 overrun accident at Hyannis, Mass. The probable cause, said the Board, ``was the flight crew's inadequate coordination and improper weather evaluation. Also causal was the captain's improper decision to continue the approach to a runway with insufficient length and his failure to obtain the proper touchdown point on the runway.
With the explosive growth of air traffic worldwide becoming an issue, specialists met in London, England, to identify the dangers of human-induced errors due to the introduction of new European ATC systems. The new European airspace management systems have changed their focus on replacing the human-centered de-cision process with a computer-controlled system.
Fairchild Dornier gained Canadian type certification for the 328 turboprop, and delivered one to Shell Canada for use as a 32-seat corporate shuttle. The FAA and JAA certified the 328 in 1993; around 100 are in service.
Singapore Airlines has ordered two additional Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, bringing its total to six of the type. The Asian airline uses the light jets for pilot training and landing currency for long-haul crews, and transitioned from the Learjet 31A to the 45 in 1998. Captain Maurice de Vaz, senior vice president of flight operations, says 150 new pilots will enter the company's ab initio flight training program this year, to crew 15 new widebody aircraft.
The integrated avionics suites found in modern business aircraft come in a variety of sizes -- mostly industry-standard boxes. Deciding which to choose depends on the aircraft and the complexity of the avionics in-stalled. The large-format display tubes found in the integrated cockpit systems of high-end aircraft are replacing many electromechanical instruments. Standard-size cutouts for Collins Pro Line 4 display tubes are 7.0 by 6.0 inches or 7.25 by 7.25 inches.
Although the FAA is proclaiming its three-year-old Safer Skies accident reduction and prevention program a success, acting NTSB Chair Carol Carmody told a recent congressional hearing that the agency must take more far-reaching steps to protect against runway incursions and air traffic controller errors. The number of runway incursions this year is ahead of last year's number at the same point, with 81 incidents through March 19.
The year 2001 has finally arrived, and while we may not have a moon base or manned expeditions to the planets yet, some of the technology flying -- or soon to be -- in business aircraft would have delighted Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke when they were filming ``2001: A Space Odyssey'' in the 1960s. On a more down-to-earth level, strategic alliances and mergers continue to reshape the business aviation landscape.
During recent years, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has conducted investigations into the practice of certain industries in fixing and advertising list prices. It is the position of the FTC that it is deceptive to the public and against the law for list prices of any product to be specified or advertised in a trade area if the majority of sales are made at less than those prices.
The Garrett Aviation Division of General Electric and Honeywell are offering an engine upgrade for the Hawker 700 business jet to boost thrust around 10 percent while improving performance under ``hot and high'' conditions. The program upgrades the Hawker's original TFE731-3 engine to -4 configuration, raising its takeoff thrust rating from 3,700 to 4,080 pounds. Price of the conversion is around $1.37 million, though participants in Honeywell's Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) could pay less, based on the hours flown since their last maintenance event.
A Hawaii helicopter pilot experienced a tough checkride in late March. The FAA said the pilot of an Agusta A109A was performing an FAA checkride when the rotorcraft made a hard landing on the runway, bounced and rolled over on its right side. According to a preliminary NTSB report, the FAA inspector was simulating a ``stuck pedal'' scenario when the accident occurred. No injuries were reported.
British Airways (BA) plans to acquire British Regional Airlines (BRAL) and Manx Airlines in a $113 million deal that gives BA control of two thirds of the U.K.'s domestic airline market. BA plans to merge BRAL and Manx operations into those of Brymon Airways, another BA unit. The three respective route networks are complementary, BA says, and no services will be lost. Isle of Man services will continue to operate in Manx colors, according to BA.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) has introduced legislation designed to help ease airspace congestion by streamlining the environmental review process for airport ex-pansion, initiating a ``more thoughtful approach'' to airline scheduling and other initiatives. General aviation officials joined nearly every other segment of the aviation industry in supporting the legislation's attempt to expedite the review process that airports must endure before they can add runways, taxiways, new terminals and other capacity-enhancing infrastructure.
Scott Aviation, West Chicago, has named Julie Marrella as its charter director. A graduate of DePaul University, Marrella is a member of Women in Corporate Aviation and Women in Aviation, International.
The National Association of State Aviation Officials, Silver Spring, Md., says four U.S. students are among the winners of its worldwide aviation art contest.
