Officials at the Chicagoland area airport in Gary, Ind. (GYY) lost no time in promoting their facility after Chicago Mayor Richard Daley destroyed the runway at Meigs Field (CGX) in Chicago. The Indiana facility issued a March 31 press release headlined "Meigs Closes. Gary/Chicago Airport Is The Place To Be." GYY officials note their airport has a 7,000-foot runway, an instrument landing system and "handling and fuel charges far below Meigs and easy 30-minute expressway access to McCormick Place."
Two Business Jets were damaged last week in gear-collapse mishaps. A Model 500 Citation I, N628BS, was damaged March 31 when the right main gear collapsed after the airplane landed at the Wilmington, N.C. Airport. A 1986 model Hawker, N160WC, suffered a nose-gear collapse April 1 while the airplane was taxiing out from a maintenance hangar in Seattle, Wash.
Lancair continues to ramp up its production and is on track to deliver more than 50 aircraft in 2003. The company, which suspended production last summer for more than seven months, has delivered six aircraft since Feb. 28, a rate of one a week. Lancair intends eventually to bring production back up to one aircraft per business day. "We're close to fully staffed at this point and our back shop operations are getting up to speed more rapidly than we had anticipated," said Lancair Vice President Ron Wright.
Cox & Company, Inc. won another significant contract from Raytheon Aircraft for de-icing equipment. Cox & Company, which is based in Manhattan in New York City, said RAC will use its Electro-Magnetic Expulsion Deicing (EMEDS) to keep the horizontal stabilizer of the new Hawker Horizon business jet ice-free. The new agreement marks the second application for EMEDS, which was certificated by FAA in May 2001 for use on the Beech Premier I. RAC has delivered more than 50 Premiers with the EMEDS system installed. Cox & Co.
AIR TRACTOR, INC. Models AT-300, AT-301, AT-302, AT-400, and AT-400A airplanes (Docket No. 2003-CE-09-AD; Amendment 39-13088; AD 2003-06-01) - supersedes AD 2002-13-02, which applies to all Air Tractor Models AT-300, AT-301, AT-302, and AT-400A airplanes that have aluminum spar caps; certain Air Tractor Models AT-400 airplanes that have aluminum spar caps; and all Models AT-300 and AT-301 airplanes that have aluminum spar caps and are or have been converted to turbine power.
Triumph Group named MaryLou Thomas president of Triumph Composite Systems, Inc. in Spokane, Wash. She had been director of operations at the facility - then known as Boeing's Spokane Fabrication Operations - when it was acquired by Triumph in January and has been serving as general manager of Triumph Composite Systems since the acquisition. The unit manufactures composite floor panels, flight control decks and air ducting systems. A U.S. Air Force veteran who previously worked for Lockheed Systems, Inc.
NEW PIPER EXPANDS SARATOGA II FAMILY WITH FIXED-GEAR VERSIONS - New Piper Aircraft is expanding its Saratoga II aircraft family with two fixed-gear versions, the Piper 6X and the Piper 6XT, the Vero Beach, Fla. plane-maker announced last week during the 2003 Sun 'n Fun Fly-in. The Piper 6X is a normally aspirated six-place aircraft, and the 6XT will be the turbocharged version. Both will be powered by 300-horsepower Lycoming IO-540 engine variants, which will provide a maximum speed of 153 knots for the 6X and 165 knots for the 6XT.
Years of insufficient attention to ensuring profits while management focused on boosting revenues came to a screeching halt at Bombardier last week as the company's new chief executive announced wide-ranging changes in the way the Canadian conglomerate does business.
While Not Aiming at a specific airport, other politicians are fighting to shut out general aviation over certain municipalities. Rep. Steven Rothman (D-N.J.) last week issued a "Dear Colleague" letter to members of Congress urging them to sign a letter that asks the Department of Homeland Security to immediately impose a 15-mile, flight-restricted area over New York City, similar to the one over Washington, D.C.
House And Senate negotiators this week will attempt to resolve differences in supplemental appropriations legislation that includes more than $3 billion in aid designed to assist airlines with increased security costs. While those provisions provide no relief to general aviation, they would apply to air charter aircraft under certain conditions. The relief package includes reimbursement for security costs, waivers from security fees, extended war risk insurance and assistance to some airports for installation of security equipment.
The friends of Meigs Field Friday announced plans to file suit in Cook County Circuit Court challenging the legality of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's decision to bulldoze Meigs Field's only runway and seeking a temporary restraining order against further demolition. Friends of Meigs said a wide variety of plaintiffs joined the organization in the filing against the City of Chicago, including individual taxpayers, aeromedical transport professionals, air traffic controllers and volunteers in the Young Eagles first flight program at Meigs Field.
Subpart K To Part 91, the new rules designed to regulate the operation of fractional aircraft providers, finally arrived at the White House Office of Management and Budget Thursday for review. Senior FAA officials signed off on the package last fall (BA, Sept. 23/135), but what was supposed to be a 90-day review at DOT ran on for more than six months.
TIMOTHY K. PISTELL was promoted to chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration at Parker Hannifin Corporation. He has worked at Parker for 15 years and was most recently treasurer. Pistell succeeds CFO Michael J. Hiemstra, who is retiring May 1.
The Holstein family of Indianapolis, Ind. now has two members selling airplanes for Raytheon Aircraft Corp. Jim Holstein, a 27-year aircraft sales veteran, was named regional sales director for Hawker aircraft in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and part of Pennsylvania. His son, Shawn, has taken over Jim's former position as regional sales director for Beechcraft products - including the B200 and Model 350 King Air turboprops and the Premier I business jet - in the same area of the country.
Universal Weather And Aviation, Inc. selected Air Chef, LLC as a preferred catering provider for Universal's customers. Air Chef will be the non-exclusive catering service provider initially in four markets - Dallas and Austin, Texas, South Florida and Washington, D.C. - effective immediately. Additional markets are expected to be announced soon.
TSA VETS FIRST APPLICANTS FOR TSAAC PROGRAM - The Transportation Security Administration has begun vetting the first applicants for a TSA Access Certificate (TSAAC), and business aviation officials expect that it should be a matter of "weeks, not months" before they receive approval for a certificate. National Business Aviation Association has worked with TSA on the pilot TSAAC program, in which qualified operators based at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey will be able to obtain a certificate allowing them to bypass the waiver process for international operations.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and her executive management team were meeting off-site Friday to conduct a strategic planning meeting where goals, measures and initiatives for the agency for the next five years will be discussed. Among the agenda items were more than 300 comments from agency employees who responded to the new Administrator's call for input to the new five-year plan.
None of Bombardier's aircraft manufacturing facilities were designated for sale or closing, but the company's Recreational Products Division is up for sale as part of a sweeping restructuring and refinancing plan aimed at restoring the Canadian conglomerate to profitability and boosting the price of its stock. See article below.
Star Aviation received a multiple supplemental type certificate for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) equipment on the Cessna Citation 550 business jet. The installation kit uses the innovative solutions analog interface unit and air data display units. Star said the kit is available for both single and dual flight director aircraft equipped with the Sperry SPZ-500 autopilot and encompasses the 500-series line of Cessna Citation jets, excluding S/Ns 001-274.
KING AIR CRASHES INTO BUILDING IN MASSACHUSETTS - A twin-engine turboprop crashed into a building in Leominster, Mass. Friday, killing five people on board and injuring two others, according to preliminary reports.
Cessna continues to expand its Cessna Pilot Center network, appointing 18 new flight schools since the beginning of the year. Cessna has appointed a total of 275 CPCs worldwide, 256 of which are domestic.
