Truman Arnold Companies Founder and Chairman Truman Arnold announced the appointment of his son, Greg Arnold, as president and chief execautive officer of the petroleum company. The younger Arnold has been serving as CEO of TAC's fixed-base operation chain, TAC Air. "Greg has committed his entire career to perpetuating the sacred values of our organization," said Truman Arnold.
FAA REAUTHORIZATION ON HOLD IN CONGRESS AS PRIVATIZATION DEBATE RAGES ON - The clock is ticking down on AIR-21, which expires at the end of the month, as the new FAA reauthorization bill is stuck in a holding pattern in Congress while House and Senate leaders struggle to secure enough votes to ensure its passage into law. The holdup, mainly due to a hot partisan debate over air traffic control privatization language in the bill, is causing much worry in the industry as well as at FAA and the Department of Transportation.
Rockwell Collins is upgrading Airshow Network customers with the latest version of P4 software, which improves connectivity with the news and information services and as well as adds support for AirCell's on-board telephone system. The upgrade is available for new installation as well as retrofit.
The Transportation Security Administration has begun conducting security inspections of Part 135 operators who hold approved Twelve-Five Standard Security Programs (TFSSP). The agency notified the National Air Transportation Association of its plans to conduct the inspections, saying the checks are intended to ensure compliance and to "correct minor deficiencies." TSA will look at training programs and criminal history record checks, among other areas. The agency said it would schedule the initial TFSSP inspection, but subsequent inspections would be unannounced.
FlightSafety International won FAA approval for its new Gulfstream G550 ultra-long-range business aircraft full flight simulator at its Savannah, Ga. learning center. The simulator includes an enhanced vision system presented through a head-up display like the actual flight deck of the G550.
Million Air Toronto opened a new 38,600-square-foot hangar at Toronto's Buttonville Municipal Airport. The new $3.5 million (Canadian) hangar includes two 17,000-square-foot bays that are large enough to accommodate aircraft the size of a Falcon 900 or Saab 340. Million Air is renting out half of the hangar to Flight Exec, an aircraft charter and management company that is relocating from Toronto City Centre Airport to Buttonville.
MEXICO'S FOX BOOSTS AEROSPACE INVESTMENT IN MONTERREY - Mexican President Vicente Fox's plan to boost support for the manufacture of aerospace products will concentrate development in and around the Mexican city of Monterrey and encourage a more aggressive approach to investments.
A small industry coalition will head to the United Kingdom for a meeting with aviation officials Sept. 23 to discuss the U.K.'s plans for treatment of fractional operators. The U.K. has indicated it plans to consider fractional aircraft operations as commercial operations, but has not yet ironed out the details of who would be included in that group or how enforcement would be handled. FAA is going ahead with plans to govern operators under a new Subpart K of Part 91, which could put U.S. operators using the new rule in conflict with U.K. requirements.
PAUL CLARK was appointed vice president, homeland security at BAE Systems. Clark will be responsible for business development opportunities in the homeland security market. A retired air vice-marshal of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom, Clark was most recently vice president of business development at BAE's information and electronics systems integration division in Washington, D.C.
Raytheon Aircraft named Nicholas Jones sales director for Australia and Southeast Asia. Jones will be responsible for all Beechcraft and Hawker commercial sales in the region. A 22-year aviation veteran, Jones previously was sales director for ExecuJet Australia Pty Ltd., where he sold Bombardier aircraft to customers in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. He also has served as sales director-Asia Pacific region for Bombardier Aerospace.
Air Transport Association named three individuals to executive positions last week. Lori Sharpe Day was named vice president and head of government affairs. From 1995 to 2001 she served as legal counsel and deputy chief of staff for Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.). She also served as a lobbyist for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association and since 2001 has been director of the Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison and adviser to Ashcroft in his capacity as Attorney General. Regina Sullivan also was named a vice president in public affairs.
BIRDS FORCE DOWN AMERICAN F-28 - An American Airlines F-28 was forced to make an emergency landing at New York's Kennedy Airport (JFK) Sept. 4 after it struck a flock of birds shortly after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The aircraft, N1450A, departed LGA at 0624 in visual meteorological conditions for a flight to Chicago's Midway Airport (MDW). Just after takeoff the crew reported flying through a flock of birds and then felt a vibration in the No. 2 engine. The crew was unable to shut down the engine using the fuel cutoff lever.
DENVER INTERNATIONAL FACES $2.5 MILLION NOISE FINE - Denver International is facing $2.5 million in noise violation fines accrued last year, according to airport neighbor Adams County. The fines - or noise mitigation payments, as Adams County lead counsel Mark Davis referred to them - are for five instances of "grid point noise violations" in 2002, each with a $500,000 penalty.
National Business Aviation Association is offering "Train-the-Trainer" seminars based upon the proof-of-concept security training it conducted in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration for Part 91 operators based at Teterboro, Westchester County and Morristown airports. The seminars provide companies with materials necessary to train their employees to meet required standards for obtaining a TSA Access Certificate (TSAAC), which NBAA hopes will eventually provide access to restricted airspace on the same basis as scheduled air carriers.
Maxine Greenwood, 86, died Aug. 27 in Tucson, Ariz. She was the wife of Jim Greenwood, of Green Valley, Ariz., the veteran aviation public relations executive. Jim Greenwood headed public affairs during the first six years Learjet Corp. was in business and then served as head of public affairs at FAA when Jack Shaffer was FAA Administrator. He later returned to Gates Learjet. Maxine was stricken with Alzheimer's Disease a number of years ago and for the past several years had lived at The Place at Tucson, an assisted living facility where Jim was a daily visitor.
TSA ALERTS GA PILOTS/AIRPORTS TO KEEP UP SECURITY EFFORTS - Wary of continued unspecified potential terrorist threats, the Transportation Security Administration last week released another advisory warning aircraft and airport operators to remain vigilant about their security efforts. The alert, which carries a Dec. 5 expiration date, notes that "based on a recent interagency review of available information, we remain concerned about Al-Qaeda's continued efforts to plan multiple attacks against the U.S."
U.S.-based Model 45 Learjets slowly began returning to the air late last week after FAA finally approved a fix to the horizontal stabilizer actuator assembly (HSSA). A Learjet spokesman said FAA issued the final approvals at 4 p.m. Sept. 10 and the manufacturer began shipping replacement parts to operators that evening. However, it could take until Sept. 21 before all affected aircraft are back in service.
BNDES CLOSE TO COMMITTING $1 BILLION FOR EMBRAER AIRCRAFT EXPORTS - Embraer is holding advanced talks about a $1 billion financing package for aircraft exports with Brazil's development bank BNDES, after a hiatus in financing to settle disputes with the Canadian government. In 2000, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ordered Embraer to stop using BNDES credits after complaints from the Canadian government on behalf of Bombardier, but those disputes were resolved within WTO.
SEC FORMALIZES INVESTIGATION OF RAYTHEON ACCOUNTING - The Securities and Exchange Commission stepped up its inquiry of Raytheon last week when it announced that it would start a formal investigation into the accounting practices of the Wichita, Kan.-manufacturer's commercial aircraft unit. The SEC first started an informal probe in January, which according to Raytheon was "regarding accounting practices primarily related to the commuter aircraft business and the timing of revenue recognition at its Raytheon Aircraft subsidiary in the period 1997-2001."
TXI AVIATION PROMOTES, WELCOMES NEW STAFF - TXI Aviation of Dallas, Texas has made several personnel changes this month. Ed Negron was promoted to director of operations and Stacy Lay was promoted to maintenance sales. Darrell H. Miller was appointed the new chief pilot. Nelson Bivins will be the new maintenance department inspection manager and Bruce Parker was named as the new avionics department supervisor. TXI is a fixed-base operator and aviation service company based at Dallas Love Field.
3M AEROSPACE BUSINESS UNIT BECOMES COMPANY DIVISION - The Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance unit of 3M became a division this month, largely due to the amount of business being generated by the company, 3M officials said. Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance previously was designated as a department, a smaller unit in 3M's organizational hierarchy.
LANCAIR REGROUPS AFTER COLUMBIA 400 ACCIDENT - Scrambling to get back on track after an accident destroyed the only flying prototype of the Columbia 400 on Aug. 27, Lancair announced last week that it could resume flight testing as early as October.
Raytheon Aircraft recently delivered its 200th T-6A training aircraft to the U.S. Navy. The aircraft, which is used to train Navy and U.S. Air Force pilots, is the Navy's 21st T-6A. Representatives from the two military branches as well as from the Hellenic Air Force of Greece were on hand at the delivery ceremony in Wichita, Kan. Raytheon has delivered 108 T-6As to the Air Force; 45 to the Hellenic Air Force and 26 to the NATO flying training program in Canada. Raytheon won the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System contract in 1995.
Concerns over the potential for changes in weight restrictions at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey have captured the attention of Congress. The House Appropriations Committee agreed to include a provision in the fiscal 2004 transportation appropriations bill prohibiting FAA from using any money to change weight restrictions or "prior permission" rules at Teterboro Airport. See related article below.
