FORMER KANSAS GOV. Bill Graves was one of those talked about for the top DOT job, but he said Wednesday he is happy being a trade association executive. Graves, the tax-cutting, two-term governor, has been president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations since 2003. While saying he was "flattered to be included in any list the White House may be considering for this important position, I want to assure you that I am very pleased and happy serving as your president and CEO," Graves said in a message to ATA's board of directors.
Model AS350B, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350BA, AS350C, AS350D, AS350D1, and AS355E helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2006-25085; Directorate Identifier 2006-SW-02-AD] - Proposes to require replacing a certain hydraulic drive belt. Also proposed is reducing the lubrication time interval for a certain hydraulic pump drive shaft. This proposal is prompted by in-flight failures of the drive belt and the drive shaft.
An analysis of air travel by a Washington, D.C. consulting group says the number of best-paying passengers on U.S. airlines "has dropped by almost half during the past five years, often to the benefit of business aviation."
MANDARIN AIRLINES selected the Embraer E-190 and E-195 as core aircraft for its fleet expansion. Mandarin is leasing three 190s and five 195s from GE Commercial Aviation Services. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2007. The Embraer aircraft will replace Mandarin's Fokker 50s and 100s.
AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., has acquired Aerosonde Pty Ltd. and Aerosonde North America, Inc. in a stock purchase transaction for $6.5 million. AAI, a subsidiary of United Industrial Corp., designs, builds and provides systems integration for tactical unmanned aircraft systems. Aerosonde Pty. is based in Victoria, Australia. It develops and builds unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for civil and military customers in Australia, Asia and North America. Its U.S.
THE COST of air traffic services in Central Europe is going up. German air traffic control provider DFS plans to raise its charges by 13 percent next year. The increase is supposed to cover a pension shortfall of nearly 800 million euros. A group of airlines is planning to buy a majority stake in DFS, which is to be privatized before the end of the year. The airlines hope to dampen increases in the charges.
July 22- Airline Pilot Job Fair hosted by AIR, Inc., Dallas, Texas, 800-538-5627, www.jet-jobs.com, email [email protected] July 24-30 - Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh 2006, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-4800 July 26-27 - Air Line Pilots Association, International 2006 Air Safety Forum, Capital Hilton, Washington D.C., 703-481-4445 or register online at www.alpa.org under "Events." October 17-19 - National Business Aviation Association 59th Annual Meeting & Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000
THE RENTON, WASH. MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (RNT) seeks companies or individuals interested in developing a fixed-base operation on a six-acre site at the airport, which is near downtown Seattle. RNT has more than 250 based aircraft and handled more than 86,000 aircraft operations last year. A briefing and site tour are scheduled for Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. Attendance must be confirmed in writing no later than July 26. For more information, send a fax to (425) 430-7472 or e-mail [email protected]
An explosion in the wing fuel tank of a Transmile Airlines Boeing 727 two and one-half months ago prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to reiterate a recommendation that aircraft fuel tank systems be designed to prevent such events.
Viking Air Ltd., a company that has been building components for de Havilland Canada airplanes for three decades, is nearing a decision on producing new models of the DHC-6 Twin Otter, the versatile twin-turboprop that has been out of production for more than 15 years.
MOST BUSINESS JET OPERATORS would not need much persuading to avoid flying their aircraft through a hurricane, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is different. A federal administrative law judge recently told the agency it could not fly its Gulfstream IV-SP near the center of hurricanes until it resolves some issues raised by its employees union.
Gulfstream Aerospace delivered the 100th G550 business jet last week to NetJets, its largest customer. The handover ceremony happened at Gulfstream's Brunswick, Ga. completion facility on Wednesday. The first G550, Gulfstream's top-end airplane, entered service less than three years ago.
Was named outdoor, aviation and government sales manager for North America for ACR Electronics, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Swanby brings a "lifetime" of experience to the job, according to Ron Crowder, ACR Electronics executive director of sales. The Fort Lauderdale firm, a Cobham plc company, makes a line of safety and survival products and accessories, including the TerraFix and AeroFix 406 GPS personal locator beacons, emergency strobes and signal lights, signaling mirrors and whistles and survival gear bags and blankets.
Norman Y. Mineta, the longest serving Secretary of Transportation, stepped down from that post July 7 and accepted a job July 10 as vice chairman of Hill & Knowlton, the global communications consulting company headquartered in New York.
As of July 1, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. has realigned its senior management team, with Oscar J. Schwenk, the former president and CEO, taking over as chairman of the board of directors from Peter Kuepfer, who has stepped down after eight years. Schwenk, who has been a manager at Pilatus for 25 years, has served as managing director since 1994.
OPERATORS of some 200 Garrett/Honeywell TPE331 turboprop and turboshaft engines will be looking at increased costs of more than $9 million under the terms of an airworthiness directive FAA plans to implement next month. The AD adopts a new flight-cycle counting method for turbine rotors used in aircraft engines that make multiple takeoffs and landings without shutting down those engines. See item on Page 29.
AIRBUS opened a "corporate jetliner center" at its training facility in Miami, Fla. where customers for corporate versions of its aircraft can visualize a range of different cabin interior components. The new center has a fully equipped cabin section that displays the cabin size of Airbus A318 Elite and A319 ACJ aircraft. In addition to the cabin mockup, the new center has offices for customers to meet with cabin design specialists. The Miami facility houses five Airbus simulators.
A veteran public affairs and marketing executive, joined the management team at the Greater Fredericton Airport Authority, Inc. in New Brunswick, Canada. David Innes, president and CEO of the airport authority, appointed Fisher manager of public relations and marketing. He will be responsible for communications planning, community relations, marketing and business development support. Fisher has more than 30 years of public relations and marketing communications experience.
Baton Rouge, La., Metro Airport has received the green light from FAA to update its 20-year master plan after Hurricane Katrina caused the facility to hit its forecast needs much earlier than expected.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION believes U.S. aerospace industry sales will exceed its previous forecast by about 10 percent in 2010, but government spending plans make up more of the current forecast than the old one. The new forecast amounts to a five-year update of a 10-year projection the AIA made in 2001. The group foresees $220 billion in military, space and commercial aerospace sales in 2010, compared with the earlier projection of $201 billion. The earlier forecast was released just weeks before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The National Transportation Safety Board continues to pressure FAA to reduce the risk of icing on aircraft surfaces after the crew of a Saab turboprop flown by American Eagle briefly lost control of the plane after takeoff from San Luis Obispo, Calif. in January. Last year, former NTSB Chair Ellen Engleman Conners sent a warning letter to pilots identifying the risks of ice buildup on wings, noting at the time that board staff believed FAA wasn't listening to its concerns (BA, Jan. 10, 2005).
Officials at Aviation Partners Boeing--the Seattle-based joint venture that has sold more than 2,000 sets of blended winglets and recently installed its 1,000th system on a Boeing airliner (an American Airlines 757-200)--predict that the company will deliver an additional 1,500 of the patented, fuel-saving aerodynamic enhancements over the next two years.
