SAFIRE CHANGES FUSELAGE, PICKS AVIDYNE AVIONICS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL JET - Florida-based Safire Aircraft is making major changes to its entry-level jet program, scrapping original plans for the S-26 and changing the fuselage material from composite to aluminum. The company's February decision to go with Williams' FJ33-4 engines to power the Safire Jet, as the aircraft has now been renamed, compelled the Florida-based manufacturer to adjust the aircraft design (BA, Feb. 24/87).
A memorial service for J. Sheldon (Torch) Lewis will be held May 17 at 11 a.m. at St. Mark's Church in New Canaan, Conn., where he had been a member of the congregation since 1967. Lewis, the popular "Greenhouse Patter" columnist for Business & Commercial Aviation magazine for nearly 40 years, died last month after a four-month battle with liver cancer (BA, April 28/191). His final column appears in this month's Purchase Planning Handbook issue of B/CA.
HONEYWELL PREDICTS INDUSTRY RECOVERY IN LATE 2004 - Despite the dismal first quarter results from many OEMs, Honeywell Aerospace President Bob Johnson suggested that the worst of the industry downturn has passed and predicted a recovery in late 2004 into early 2005.
Lancair named aviation veteran Tom Bowen vice president of strategic products. Bowen has 20 years of general aviation experience acquired at several aviation firms as chief operating officer, president, vice president, director, manager and senior engineer. Most recently he was vice president of engineering at Mooney. He has played a role in 15 certification programs for companies including Learfan, OMAC, Swearingen, Sierra Industries and Mooney.
Aviation organizations were perplexed and perturbed Friday about a Department of Homeland Security Advisory that warned of "THE CONTINUING THREAT TO AVIATION" posed by terrorists connected to Al-Qaida.
GULFSTREAM TO FURLOUGH 1,000-PLUS EMPLOYEES IN JULY - Gulfstream Aerospace plans to furlough some 1,000 production workers during July as the company tries to bring manufacturing levels into balance with customer demand for its products.
JEFF CROPPER, senior vice president of charter services for Executive Jet Management, is assuming responsibility for client services in addition to his charter services duties. ROBERT GARRYMORE, senior vice president of client services for Executive Jet Management, will oversee client relations and sales staff, the aircraft management and charter company said. SHAWN JAMES was appointed vice president of business development for BAE Systems North America's Technology Solutions Sector. James joined BAE Systems in 2000 as director, future programs.
European officials still are pondering ways to restrict extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) beyond the 120-minute limit for commercial business jet operations. After a long-fought battle, the European Joint Aviation Authorities settled on a 120-minute threshold that would be expandable to 180 minutes for operators that follow best industry practices, including having a minimum level of equipment on board the airplane (BA, Nov. 20, 2000/231).
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will be the keynote speaker at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exposition Opening General Session this week at the Geneva Palexpo Conference Center in Geneva, Switzerland. Hosted jointly by the European Business Aviation Association and the National Business Aviation Association, EBACE2003 also will cover updates on the Joint Aviation Authorities, European Aviation Safety Authority and European Commission air transport activities. Issues discussed will include the operating environment, security, capacity and access.
National Air Transportation Association is pressing OMB to move quickly on the fractional rule. The association last week wrote John Graham, OMB administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, stressing the overwhelming support for the new rule and that it will enhance safety while saving the industry money.
CAAC CREATES NEW AIRPORT GROUP - The Civil Aviation Administration of China is consolidating several major airport management, development and construction groups into one large consortium called the Capital Airport Group.
May 7-9 - European Business Aviation Association/NBAA 3rd Annual European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (EBACE2003), Geneva, Switzerland, (202) 783-9000 May 13-15 - AS 3/GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers Supershow, National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 845-9000 or (202) 730-0260 May 17-21 - NBAA Maintenance Management Conference, Charlotte, N.C., (202) 783-9000
REWRITE OF PARTS 135/125 WILL ADDRESS WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES - The Federal Aviation Administration's planned rewrite of Parts 135 and 125 of the Federal Aviation regulations will be one of the most complex and comprehensive rulemaking efforts in the agency's history, with hundreds of issues on the table for consideration.
The rules developed by the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration for revoking certificates of individuals deemed to be security threats have drawn fire from scores of aviation organizations and individuals, who called the revocation process unnecessary, unconstitutional and "deeply troubling." TSA and FAA released rules in January that would establish a process under which the TSA identifies suspected threats and FAA revokes certificates of those suspects (BA, Jan. 27/37).
DAVID COPELAND was named vice president, worldwide piston sales at Raytheon Aircraft. He will be responsible for managing worldwide Beech Baron and Bonanza sales and domestic dealers for the aircraft. Copeland joined Raytheon in 2000 and was most recently regional sales director and regional vice president for Latin America.
PrivatAir took delivery of the first of four Airbus A319 jets that it will lease from CIT Aerospace. The order includes two A319 airliners and two A319LR (Long Range) aircraft. PrivatAir will operate the A319 airliners primarily for Airbus internal services between Toulouse, France, Bristol/Filton, United Kingdom and Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft will have a single-class layout with 126 seats. PrivatAir will place the A319LRs in service for Lufthansa's new business-class operations between Dusseldorf and Chicago.
Federal Aviation Administration officials contemplate a slight increase in the membership of the Steering Committee that will oversee the planned Part 135/125 rewrite. FAA announced a 28-member Steering Committee earlier this month (BA, April 14/165), but officials have tentatively agreed to boost the total number a bit in response to requests from interested parties.
Salina Airport Authority won FAA clearance and has begun work on a new 4,300-foot runway at the Salina, Kan. airport. The runway, designed for general aviation, will relieve primary runway congestion for military, government, corporate, transient and flight training flights, SAA officials said. Salina officials expect the runway, 17R-35L, to be operational by summer. Salina hosted more than 96,000 operations in 2002, and the airport's two fixed-base operations, Flower Aviation and Midway Aviation, pumped 4.7 million gallons of fuel last year.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-300, AT-400, AT-400A, AT-401, AT-401B, AT-402, AT-402A, AT-402B, AT-501, AT-502, and AT-502B airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-59-AD; Amendment 39-13100; AD 2003-07-04) - requires repetitively inspecting the vertical fin front spar fitting for cracks and replacement of any cracked fitting found. This AD also requires installation of a steel doubler as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD is the result of a report of failure of a 1/4-inch-thick vertical fin front spar fitting.
LIABILITY INSURANCE FEARS PUSH TELEDYNE TO PONDER FUTURE OF CONTINENTAL - Eying skyrocketing insurance costs and sluggish aftermarket sales, Teledyne Technologies plans to continue to explore "strategic alternatives" for its Aerospace Engines and Components segments, including piston-manufacturer Teledyne Continental, the company said last week.
