All Three New Members of the National Transportation Safety Board were sworn in last month (BA, March 24/129). Chairman Ellen Engleman and members Mark Rosenker and Richard F. Healing join John Goglia and Carol Carmody, bringing the safety board to its full complement of five members.
General aviation leaders, angered and alarmed that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley could bulldoze Meigs Field's runway without warning and frustrated by their lack of recourse to get Meigs restored, late last week urged President Bush to ensure that other mayors do not follow suit and tear up their own airports in the name of homeland security.
Thunder Avionics of St. Louis, Mo. was named a full service center for business aviation products built by Honeywell International, including TCAS, EGPWS, multi-function displays and radar packages. Thunder Avionics, a division of Thunder Aviation NA, is based at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Mo.
GULFSTREAM ACQUIRES BBA AVIATION BASE AT LONDON LUTON - Gulfstream Aerospace acquired BBA Aviation's aircraft maintenance service business at London Luton Airport in the United Kingdom to establish its first service center outside the United States.
NBAA PLEASED WITH RESPONSE TO REGIONAL FORUMS - National Business Aviation Association officials are pleased with the response they are receiving from people who attended NBAA's recent series of Business Aviation Forums and Static Displays, and plan to keep scheduling the events.
US AIRWAYS NEARING RJ ORDER, CEO PRAISES EMBRAER 170 RJ - US Airways is close to placing a large order for 50- and 70-seat regional jets as part of its recovery strategy, and CEO Dave Siegel reported Thursday he is very fond of the Embraer product line and believes the company's aircraft would give him a competitive advantage.
Goodrich Corporation received an $8.5 million contract to supply its Integrated Mechanical Diagnostics-Health & Usage Management System (IMD-HUMS) for U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. The company's Fuel & Utility Systems division in Vergennes, Vt., will supply and support the IMD-HUMS system in 22 helicopters operated by the 101st Airborne Division, in addition to eight systems previously ordered. The IMD-HUMS gathers information on the usage and condition of aircraft systems throughout each flight.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association is developing a "12-point plan" of legal, legislative and public relations actions to pressure Chicago into restoring Meigs Field and protecting other airports from being shut down.
Embraer's revised delivery schedule for 86 ERJ 145XR regional jets to ExpressJet calls for 36 aircraft this year instead of 48 and 21 instead of 36 in 2004. The manufacturer said the revisions will increase the number of aircraft delivered in 2005 to 21 instead of two, with the remaining eight units to be delivered in 2006 (BA, March 31/145).
CESSNA SELECTS GARMIN AVIONICS FOR MUSTANG - Cessna Aircraft selected Garmin International last week to supply avionics for its new entry-level business jet. Garmin's new, integrated glass cockpit, the G1000, will outfit the Cessna Mustang with three glass displays and two 10-inch primary function displays. In addition, a 15-inch multifunction display will be placed at the heart of the panel.
Singapore, South Africa And Chile were elected to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization last week. The number of seats on the Council was increased from 33 to 36 in November 2002 to reflect "the growth in the number of member states of the organization, which has increased from 146 in 1980 to 188."
SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE IN DANGER AS FEES INCREASE - Regional and charter operations are suffering because they are shouldering an unfair burden of security and other fees, said Debbie McElroy, president of the Regional Airline Association, at an FAA reauthorization hearing before the House aviation subcommittee this month. McElroy testified that security costs and fees would be added to "already colossal taxes levied on airfares" and the taxes "most disproportionately" affect routes served by turboprop aircraft.
BAE SYSTEMS LTD. Model BAe 146 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-271-AD) - proposes to require modification of the flight annunciator box. This action is necessary to prevent traffic collision avoidance system aural messages and resolution advisories of the TCAS from being inhibited following a ground proximity warning system alert or test message, which could prevent the TCAS from providing attention-getting alerts, and could result in the possibility of a mid-air collision or near mid-air collision.
March 28 - NBAA Business Aviation Forum and Static Display, Long Beach, Calif. International Airport. For more information, contact Benjamin Jones at (202) 783-9000 April 8-11 - National Aircraft Finance Association Annual Meeting, Westin Resort, Savannah, Ga., (301) 349-2070 or [email protected] April 22-24 - Flight Safety Foundation/NBAA 48th Annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Fla., (703) 739-6700
A March 19 hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Rep. Jim Saxton's (R-N.J.) bill to block the U.S. Defense Department from participating in the Paris Air Show was postponed indefinitely (BA, March 17/117).
EADS CO-CHAIRMAN LAGARDERE DIES OF RARE DISEASE - Jean-Luc Lagardere, the co-chairman of the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space (EADS) company, died of a rare neurological disease a week ago at age 75. Lagardere had been hospitalized with a viral infection following hip surgery.
EADS Socata received FAA certification for its TBM 700C2 freighter version of the TBM 700 single-turboprop aircraft. The 700C2 includes a strengthened airframe, which enables a maximum takeoff weight of 7,394 pounds, compared with 6,578 pounds for the original TBM 700. The aircraft has a 1,565-nautical-mile range with 45 minutes of fuel reserves and an 805-pound payload. EADS Socata also is selling a C1 variant, which does not have the 20g seats and sturdier wheels and tires, for markets outside the U.S.
CARGO CARRIER AIR NOW ACQUIRES TELFORD AVIATION'S CARGO BUSINESS - Two scheduled cargo carriers in the Northeast have joined forces as Air Now acquired the scheduled cargo business of Telford Aviation of Bangor, Maine. David Corey, president of Air Now, said the acquisition "is a great fit" because the two carriers serve many of the same customers in different locations.
BAE STARTS DESIGNING FREIGHTER CONVERSION FOR ATP TURBOPROPS - BAE Systems Regional Aircraft and British European Aviation Services are partnering to design an E-class freight interior for the BAE ATP turboprop. The design is about 60 percent complete and will incorporate a new 9G forward net and 3G vertical nets along the length of the fuselage. The main undercarriage emergency release handle is being relocated from under the mid-cabin fuselage floor to the flight deck.
STEPHEN P. ANSLEY was named vice president, congressional affairs at DRS Technologies. Based at the company's Arlington, Va. division, Ansley will serve as a key Congressional liaison. He has eight years of experience as a professional staff member with the House Armed Services subcommittee. Ansley was most recently lead professional staff member on the research and development subcommittee.
BAE SYSTEMS CUTS 1,000 AIRCRAFT JOBS - The demise of its regional aircraft unit and the reduced workload in its Aerostructures and military aircraft programs are leading United Kingdom-based BAE Systems to eliminate 1,000 jobs by yearend, the company announced last week. BAE restructured its Nimrod MRA4 military program, halting production on certain aircraft slated to be modified from the MR2 version to the MRA4 configuration. The company also said that the soft civil aircraft market is forcing cuts in its Aerostructures business.
