ARINC Incorporated added a new TWX1200 Thunder Storm Warning System to its ForeWarn lightning warning product line. Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Buffalo, N.Y. will be the first airport to incorporate that system, which uses data from the National Lightning Detection Network and on-airport Electric Field Mills to evaluate threat levels and issue warnings. Vaisala Inc. developed the system. TWX1200 includes high-resolution screen detail for lightning maps and a simple Internet interface for real-time lightning data.
FORMER CLARK AIR BASE TO BE CONVERTED TO CIVIL AIRPORT - The Philippines plans to develop and upgrade the now-defunct Clark Air Base into an international airport, some 13 years after the U.S. government transferred control of the base to the Philippines.
CAE LOOKING FOR NEW CFO - Simulator manufacturer CAE has launched a search for a new chief financial officer. Paul Renaud, who has held that post for 13 years, is leaving CAE at the end of October to take a similar position with the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Chief Executive Officer Robert Brown credited Renaud with having made "a significant contribution towards CAE's transformation and growth" during his tenure with the company.
Carmanah Technologies Corp., Victoria, British Columbia, won a contract from FAA to provide 90 units of the company's solar-powered LED taxiway edge lights for field trial testing. FAA wants to determine if the lights are a cost-effective means of increasing safety and preventing runway incursions at general aviation airports. The tests will begin this year and run through next spring. The field trial is a follow-up to a test carried out by FAA and the Illuminating Engineering Society Airport Lighting Committee at the Shelton, Wash.
FORMER FAA CHIEF COUNSEL ACCEPTS POST WITH NBAA - New National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen continued to reshape the organization's staff last week, announcing the hiring of veteran aviation attorney J.E. (Sandy) Murdock as senior vice president of administration and general counsel. "I have known and worked closely with Sandy for nearly a decade," Bolen said in a statement last week. "He's a top-notch aviation lawyer and is highly respected in policy circles. I think he will be a great addition to our staff."
More than 100 Gulfstream business jets are now equipped with the Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System (EVS), which improves the pilot's situational awareness. The system, developed in conjunction with Kollsman, Inc., incorporates a specially designed forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera that projects an image on the pilot's head-up display in conditions of reduced visibility and minimal light. It enables pilots to identify runway markings, taxiways, adjacent roads and surrounding landscape that would not otherwise be visible.
Seacor Holdings Inc. of Houston, Texas ordered three Agusta Grand helicopters from Agusta Aerospace Corp. of Philadelphia. Deliveries of the light twin-turbine helicopter are to begin in 2005. "The Agusta Grand's spacious cabin, high cruise speed and payload/range capability are important considerations for our helicopter operations. We are excited about the potential of the Agusta Grand," said Ed Washecka, vice president of Seacor Holdings, which provides marine transportation services to the offshore oil and gas industry.
FlightSafety International won European Joint Aviation Authorities approval for its Gulfstream G550 full-flight simulator. The simulator previously earned FAA Level D acceptance. The simulator includes a VITAL 9 visual system, surrounding the cockpit, which presents day, night and various weather conditions. The simulator also has the G550's avionics package, including the Honeywell Primus 2000XP suite, a head-up display and enhanced vision system. The simulator is based at FlightSafety's learning center in Savannah, Ga.
Marquis Jet, a private jet card membership company that sells blocks of time through an alliance with NetJets, has teamed with cigar specialist Zino Platinum to jointly market their programs. Under the agreement, Marquis Jet Card owners will receive certain gifts, such as Zino Platinum Crown Series cigars, and receive an invitation for enrollment in the Zino Platinum Crown Club. Zino Platinum Crown Club members will receive special offers to join the Marquis Jet Card program and additional Zino Platinum benefits if they join Marquis Jet.
Eagle Creek Aviation Services opened a Learjet service center at its facilities in Indianapolis, Ind. The center will provide scheduled maintenance, repairs, structural modifications, TFE731 turbofan service and refurbishment for Learjet aircraft. Eagle Creek also maintains and refurbishes Cessna Citation aircraft.
Air Transport Association President and CEO Jim May last week continued the airlines' call for changes in the aviation tax system. Speaking before the Aero Club of Washington Wednesday, May said "there should be a searching and complete overhaul of tax policies and the elimination of many of the taxes and fees that have been heaped upon our industry." May was specifically speaking about airline taxes, reiterating earlier claims that he and ATA members have made about the industry subsidizing general aviation. See article below.
October 10-11 - National Business Aviation Association 13th Annual Tax Conference, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 October 12-14 - National Business Aviation Association 57th Annual Meeting and Convention, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 October 21-23 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2004, Long Beach, Calif., (301) 695-2000
ARINC and its partner AeroMech have teamed up to develop two comprehensive reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) packages for Hawker 700 business jets. The packages cover Hawkers equipped with Collins ADC-80 air data computers as well as those with dual Collins 590A air data sensors installed. ARINC and AeroMech will offer installation service for the RVSM package in the U.S. at ARINC's FAA/JAA-certified repair stations in Colorado Springs, Colo. or at the operators' home base.
FAA PROPOSES TO FINE CITY OF CHICAGO, INVESTIGATES VIOLATIONS OVER MEIGS - Nearly 18 months after Mayor Richard Daley ordered the midnight bulldozing of Chicago Meigs Field, the Federal Aviation Administration Friday proposed assessing a $33,000 civil penalty against the city and said it was beginning an investigation into whether the city violated its federal grant assurances and airport-sponsor obligations in the demolition (BA, April 7, 2003/153).
FAA, EUROCONTROL SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT - FAA inked a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Eurocontrol to increase cooperation on air traffic management and research efforts between the two agencies. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and Eurocontrol Director General Victor Aguado signed the agreement.
Northwest Airlines CEO Richard H. Anderson, who has persistently claimed that general aviation does not pay its fair share of costs to support the National Airspace System, is leaving the Minneapolis-based airline. Anderson, 49, who has been CEO at Northwest since 2001, is leaving to become executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, a major provider of health insurance, Nov. 1. Douglas M. Steenland, 53, president of Northwest, was named to the additional post of CEO.
Eurocopter Malaysia, which serves as EADS Socata's distributor for the Southeast Asia region, sold four TB 10 Tobago GT training aircraft to the Langkawi Aerospace Training Center. The aircraft will be used for basic and advanced training for Langkawi's aerospace engineer and airline pilot students.
Congress last week guaranteed it will have to return for a "lame duck" session after the November election. Members were unable to agree on appropriations bills for most government agencies - including Transportation/FAA - for the fiscal year that began Friday (Oct. 1). Instead, the House and Senate passed a "continuing resolution" (CR) that continues funding at fiscal 2004 levels. The CR will keep FAA and other federal agencies operating through Nov. 20.
While automakers have been buying two-page advertising spreads in major publications to promote the safety of their vehicles, one airline analyst believes the aviation industry should not follow suit. Raymond Neidl, an analyst with Calyon Securities, said the investment community already assumes that the aviation industry is safe. To advertise the safety records only points out the potential for problems, he said, adding that aviation businesses could better spend their money elsewhere.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association is working with the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and several of IBAC's participating associations to develop a white paper on the future of communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) for business aviation. Representatives from several international business aviation associations recently held an organizational meeting to discuss the project and plan to outline their vision for the future of business aviation CNS.
FAA'S CHEW BACKS LAAS, BUT SAYS QUESTIONS LINGER ABOUT FUTURE - Despite its decision to cut fiscal 2005 funding for the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) program, the Federal Aviation Administration remains committed to pursuing the program as a component of the agency's vision for the future of navigation, FAA Chief Operating Officer Russell Chew said (BA, Feb. 9/57).
CESSNA BEGINS SOVEREIGN DELIVERIES - Cessna Aircraft last week delivered the first two Citation Sovereigns to customers in Mexico City, Mexico and Green Bay, Wis. The Wichita, Kan. manufacturer earned full type certification for the midsize jet in June (BA, June 7/258), almost six years after the aircraft was introduced to the public. Cessna has firm orders for more than 100 Sovereigns valued at $1.5 billion.
