Boeing Business Jets has designated the DeCrane Aircraft Systems Integration Group (PATS) in Georgetown, Del., as an authorized warranty repair facility and factory authorized service center. The service center also will provide other maintenance, repair and overhaul services as required. The facility had already been supplying green BBJs with auxiliary fuel tanks necessary for the BBJ to fly missions in excess of 6,000 nm and also installs winglets on the BBJ to further increase the range of the aircraft.
The Bush Administration will ask Congress for $15 million to fund the next stage of NASA's Small Aircraft Trans- portation System (SATS), an effort to develop the next generation of light civil aircraft. In NASA's fiscal 2001 budget, Congress awarded the space agency $9 million in ``seed money'' for the program, and directed it to seek more funding in the coming years. NASA expects SATS to cost around $69 million over the next five years.
The Boeing Co. plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to the Chicago, Dallas or Denver area later this year as part of a strategic plan to spur growth in the company's non-core businesses and more centrally locate the company's top executives. Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit told reporters he had been thinking about the move for about a year and gained board of directors approval to proceed early this year. The move will affect about one-half of the roughly 1,000 people who now constitute Boeing's corporate headquarters staff in Seattle.
Pentar Avionics, Bothell, Wash., is expanding its test equipment business with the opening of its Shawnee, Kan., office. The office will provide customer support for Pentar's test system business, formerly known as Pentar Avionics Systems Group, and will feature program management, systems and software engineering, production, sales and repair. Mike Reed, vice president and general manager, will head the new Shawnee facility, and John Fortino, director of engineering, will assist Reed.
Gulfstream sold two G-VSP aircraft to Gulfstream GATX Leasing (GGLC), a joint venture between the manufacturer and GATX Capital. GGLC now has firm orders for 10 Gulfstreams of various types; three have been delivered.
Enforcement of the Stage 2 ban at Naples, Fla., Municipal Airport has been deferred until July 21. The Naples Airport Authority action follows an earlier agreement to delay enforcement of the ban that took effect January 1, pending the outcome of an FAR Part 161 study that the FAA called on the authority to complete. The agency also has told Naples officials that even with a successful Part 161 environmental review, the Stage 2 ban likely violates the authority's grant assurances to provide reasonable access to the airport.
Galaxy Aerospace is offering free maintenance to new purchasers of Galaxy business jets for five years or 2,500 flight hours, whichever comes first. The Galaxy No Charge Maintenance Program will apply to new aircraft orders received for a limited time. The program covers all maintenance, as well as the cost of parts, including typical high-wear items such as tires and brakes, as well as routine inspections and scheduled maintenance.
Gulfstream finally has found a ``clear path'' for European certification of its Gulfstream V business jet and hopes to win Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) approval by early 2002, company President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Boisture said. If accomplished on that schedule, the European approval would come five years after the FAA certified the G-V.
The new Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) at Spata, Greece finally opened for business on March 28, but 46 flights were cancelled and dozens more delayed on the facility's first day of operations. Baggage claim delays played a part, officials said, as did the airport staff's apparent lack of familiarity with the airport's computer systems. With the new airport online, the old Athens/Hellenikon airport ceases commercial operations and becomes a general aviation airport.
AHS International, Alexandria, Va., has announced the recipients of its 2001 awards. Bell Helicopter Textron Chairman and CEO Terry Stinson has received an AHS Fellow Award. The Sikorsky/ Honeywell S-76 EGPWS Team is the recipient of the society's Howard Hughes Award, the Bell/Agusta 609 Wing Torque Box Integrated Product Team is the recipient of the Robert L. Pinckney Award and the Purdy Corp. has received the AHS Supplier Excellence Award.
Landing fees for foreign-registered aircraft in Uganda's National Parks range from $25 for private aircraft with four seats to $150 for commercial aircraft with 12 seats or more.
Manufacturer and Model This block includes the manufacturer's name and the aircraft's model name and technical designation. For more information on manufacturers, see the full company name and address in the ``Airframe Suppliers Directory,'' on page 132. B/CA Equipped Price This is the current price of the aircraft with the equipment stipulated in the ``B/CA Helicopter Minimum Equipment List,'' and is shown for comparison purposes only. In most cases, the price is provided by the manufacturer; exceptions are so noted.
Copenhagen Airport has been selected as the preferred bidder for a partnership with Newcastle Airport in the northeast of England. If all goes well Copenhagen Airport will buy a minority stake in the airport, and sign a technical services agreement. Local airport interests will maintain majority control. The other bidder in the short list of two was a consortium of Altera Partners, Singapore Changi Airport Enterprises (SCAE) and Flughafen Zurich Airport Group.
SimuFlite, Dallas, has named Leslie W. Carlisle as its 2001 Women in Aviation International scholarship recipient for Citation initial pilot training and Denise A. Waters as its Citation initial maintenance training scholarship winner. Five additional pilot training scholarships will be awarded this month: four through the University Aviation Association and one through the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Museum.
Construction of a new air traffic control tower is complete at John G. Diefenbaker Airport (YXE) in Saskatoon, Canada. YXE is the first small Canadian airport to receive a Nav Canada-technology de-signed tower and is only the fifth nationwide. The C$5.5 million facility replaces a tower built in 1953.
The Reason Public Policy Institute (RPPI) has released a report that suggests the FAA reform the air traffic control system to reflect a commercialized version of Nav Canada. Titled ``How to Commer-cialize Air Traffic Control,'' the Los Angeles-based think tank's report suggests creating a non-profit organization and setting it up in a corporate form. Robert Poole, RPPI director of transport studies, says the ATC system needs
All the numbers for March are not in; however, 2001 doesn't seem to be starting appreciably different than prior years. Usually the first quarter of a new year is down because activity in the last couple months of the previous year is brisk.
The National Air Transportation Association has honored aviation facilities and personnel in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Fargo, N.D. The Fargo Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) received the NATA's FAA Customer Service Excellence Award for its ``superior communications, consistent enforcement and . . . willingness to educate the public. The award is designed to encourage FAA facilities to ``elevate the quality of interaction'' with various airport entities, with the winner chosen from facilities nominated by NATA member companies.
Executive Jet Aviation has taken delivery of the first Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) and Gulfstream V aircraft ordered for its NetJets fractional ownership program. Executive Jet International (EJI), EJA's ``big aircraft'' unit based near Hilton Head on the South Carolina/Georgia border, will manage the two new types. EJI now operates all of EJA's G-IVSPs. EJA Chairman Richard Santulli said the BBJ and G-V will be used mainly for trans-oceanic flights, while ``broadening'' NetJets' fleet with a full range of aircraft sizes.
