With the onslaught of winter and the price of Jet-A hovering around $2.00 to $3.50 per gallon, the Energy Information Agency (EIA), a subgroup of the Department of Energy, said that future price changes for jet fuel remain uncertain. Factors such as home heating oil value on the commodities market, seasonal temperatures and the supply/distribution of crude oil all have an effect on jet fuel cost.
GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) President and CEO W. James McNerney has left the company after being passed over for the top spot at parent company General Electric. GEAE Executive Vice President and COO David Calhoun will replace McNerney, who has been named chairman and CEO of St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M. Calhoun's first major challenge will be working closely with outgoing GE Chairman Jack Welch on the $45 billion absorption of Honeywell. McNerney was one of three top GE executives vying for Welch's job.
Dee Howard Aircraft Maintenance is expanding operations at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) with a $14 million project that will add a 100,000-square-foot completions hangar. The new facility is designed to house two widebody aircraft, four narrow-body aircraft and can accommodate a Boeing 747SP-size aircraft's higher tail. The company expects to increase production by an estimated two- to three-million man-hours annually and the hangar will be dedicated to outfitting and servicing executive/VIP/head-of-state aircraft.
It was approximately 11:30 p.m. when the King Air B200 touched down and taxied to the company hangar. It had been a long day and despite the late hour, the August heat lingered in the Carolina air as the weary flight crew went upstairs to prepare the post-flight paperwork. Meanwhile, the two flight department technicians prepared the engines for a required compressor wash. By the time the two techs pulled off the cowlings, rinsed the engines and towed the aircraft into the hangar, the pilots had signed off the logbooks and departed for home.
Edited By Paul RichfieldMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
Metro Business Aviation, a subsidiary of Harrods group, has become the latest owners of Battersea Heliport. London's only commercial helicopter landing site, Battersea provides full airport services to business and commercial helicopter operators and to emergency services. Air Harrods is a frequent user of the facility. Metro said it will retain the staff of eight currently employed at the heliport, but declined comment on any future plans including the building of a new terminal, a proposal already submitted to London's Wandsworth Council for approval.
Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill., has made the following appointments: Ron Jennings is director of business development; Jerry Keizer is technical services sales manager at the company's Omaha location; Dan Clark is technical services sales manager at the Minneapolis facility.
The Schreiner Aviation Group of the Netherlands ordered two MD Explorer helicopters. The light-twin helicopters will be used for aeromedical transportation.
This is in response to David Collogan's invitation to comment on John King's views on flight training (Washington, November 2000, page 126). I don't know what part of the aviation community has been ``telling the big lie.'' Surely not us ``old ducks.''
Apparently NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace has some well-heeled fans. A racing or business jet aficionado recently paid $10,105 to fly with Wallace in a business jet from Charlotte, N.C., to the Chicago Grand Prix. The ``Fly with Rusty Wallace'' package on eBay also featured hotel accommodations, pit passes and other amenities for two people. There were four bids in the 10-day auction, which required a minimum $10,000 bid.
As expected, Bombardier's new 70-seat CRJ700 regional jet has received a common type rating with the smaller CRJ100 and 200 series from Transport Canada. The FAA is expected to follow suit shortly. The common type rating will result in reduced costs for operators, since crews can be assigned to the 100, 200 and 700 series aircraft with minimal additional training and no simulator sessions required. Bombardier says it has 182 firm orders for the CRJ700 and that customer deliveries will begin this quarter.
Raytheon has joined the 69-foot composite fuselage and tail section of the first Hawker Horizon business jet, now under construction in Wichita. The next milestone in the Horizon program will be the mating of fuselage and wing, and first flight of the 10/12-passenger twinjet is slated for this year. Two Pratt&Whitney PW308A engines will power the aircraft. Raytheon is guaranteeing the super-midsize jet will have an NBAA IFR range of 3,100 nm at 0.82 Mach with six passengers, plus the ability to cross the United States nonstop regardless of wind conditions.
Rockwell International plans to divide itself into two units -- Rockwell Collins and Rockwell Automation -- in a bid to increase its stock price while making both entities more attractive to potential buyers. Some see the move as a competitive response to General Electric's proposed acquisition of Honeywell International, Rockwell Collins' main rival in the aircraft avionics field. The split is likely to occur by May or June, pending regulatory approval.
Many operators edit (or in some cases, rewrite) their checklists to incorporate company SOPs and adjust the flow of cockpit tasks. In order to train the way you fly and fly the way you train, these modified checklists and SOPs should be handed over to the training center long before your scheduled session so instructors can review them and get them into the syllabus for your session.
The Logbook Organizer Internet system is designed to allow manufacturers, corporations, individuals and other users to follow aircraft (fixed wing and rotary wing), engines, APUs, propellers, spares, parts and subparts anywhere in the world. The system has combined maintenance tracking and logbook functions so that new data are entered only once. Each logbook automatically adds hours, cycles and landings, thereby eliminating redundant entries.
Fuel State: OK Craig Sincock is president and CEO of AvFuel, a 27-year-old company that distributes avgas and Jet-A to some 700 FBOs around the United States, representing about 20-percent of the civilian aviation market. B/CA: How's the short-term fuel outlook? Sincock: It's good. There are adequate supplies of crude oil out there. Adequate supplies of Jet-A and avgas. B/CA: What about price?
British Regional Airlines Group is said to be in talks with an unidentified bidder. A British Airways code-share partner, British Regional Airlines also operates as Manx Airlines. Rob Hearn, the carrier's chief operating officer, says BRAL anticipates delivery of four additional Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets this year, to be used on new routes and as a replacement for turboprops. Sir Michael Bishop is BRAL's chairman as well as its largest individual shareholder; Bishop also is the chairman and major shareholder of British Midland Airways.
RFD is offering a four-person Aerolite 4F life raft for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. The multi-seat raft holds FAA TSO C70 and UK CAA approval, and meets the -22F to +150F requirements. The raft also incorporates an inflatable boarding ramp that is required by the U.S. Coast Guard for marine life rafts under the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) international treaty. Fitted with a special furlable canopy, the Aerolite 4F provides not only a snag-free area for boarding, but also better access for airborne or surface personnel in the final stages of rescue.
Banyan Air Service, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has named Paul Baran as service manager of its maintenance team and Mike Schooley as its avionics installation manager.
French electronics manufacturer Thomson-CSF has renamed itself Thales with Thomson-CSF Sextant becoming Thales Avionics and the Thomson-CSF Sextant In-Flight Systems division now Thales Avionics In-Flight Systems. The manufacturer also cited copyright issues involving the Thomson name, brand confusion, the perception of the company as conservative and the desire to be thought of as more than ``simply a French defense company'' as reasons contributing to the change.
Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have agreed to allow business jet-size aircraft with two engines to operate within 120 minutes of an alternate airport, plus an additional hour if common-sense ``best practices'' are followed. For now, the change affects only commercial charter operators based in European Union member states, but could eventually lead to the creation of Extended Twin-engine Operations (ETOPS) restrictions for U.S.-based on-demand charter operators.
