Safe Flight Instrument Company, White Plains, N.Y., said an Exceedance Warning System it developed for helicopters will be installed on a Bell 206B JetRanger. Safe Flight said Aeronautical Accessories, Inc., an affiliate of Bell Helicopter Textron, will engineer and obtain an FAA supplemental type certificate for the unit. Installation and certification of the first helicopter is scheduled for April.
National Business Aviation Association selected Daniel J. Berdan and Steven J. LaMourea to receive the 2002 NBAA William M. Fanning Maintenance Scholarship. Each student was awarded $2,500 to pursue careers as aviation maintenance technicians. Berdan is enrolled in the aviation airframe and powerplant program at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls, Minn. and expects to graduate in May. LaMourea, a graduate of St.
MEAD URGES FAA TO CUT COSTS AND INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY - DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead called on FAA last week to put the brakes on its rapidly rising budget, and singled out the agency's operations costs and expensive modernization programs as areas of particular concern.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT REPORTS IMPROVED RESULTS - Raytheon Aircraft Corp. reported sharply improved results for 2002, turning a huge operating loss in 2001 into a tiny one last year. A year ago the Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer posted an operating loss of $760 million for 2001 as the company wrote off millions of dollars in commuter airline aircraft. In the 12 months just ended, however, RAC had an operating loss of just $4 million. Aircraft sales fell from $2.57 billion in 2001 to $2.15 billion last year.
Woodward Governor Company is closing its facility in Buffalo, N.Y. and consolidating its operations at its Rockford, Ill. facility, the company announced last week. "This consolidation will help rebalance our total production capacity to better match anticipated customer demands over the next few years," said Phil Turner, Woodward vice president. The Buffalo plant employs about 145 people and manufactures servovalve components for the aerospace and medical markets.
Aerosonic Corporation of Clearwater, Fla., appointed Gary E. Colbert chief financial officer. He has more than 23 years of experience in domestic and international corporate finance and has worked at PPG Industries, Inc. United Technologies Corporation and Wellcraft Marine.
FAA RELEASES NEW RULE FOR CRJ700 CENTER FUEL TANKS - FAA ordered airframer Bombardier to set new quantity limits for center fuel tanks on CRJ700/701 jets. "Discrepancies in the fuel distribution system, if not detected and corrected, could cause the center tank to overfill and fuel to leak from the center tank vent system or to become inaccessible, and could result in engine fuel starvation," FAA said.
Federal Aviation Administration last week came a step closer to receiving its fiscal 2003 funding after the Senate late Thursday approved an omnibus appropriations bill for 2003. The bill provides budgets for most of the federal government, including DOT, FAA, TSA and a host of other agencies, for the current fiscal year, which began four months ago. The bill heads to a House-Senate conference, where members will hash out differences. The majority of government is operating under a continuing resolution of the fiscal 2002 budget.
Triumph Group, Wayne, Pa., said Wednesday its results for the third quarter ended Dec. 31 "will be lower than expected. During the past month, we have experienced significant reductions in shipments to our commercial OEM customers," said Richard C. Ill, president and CEO. "Adding to the negative effect of this reduction is the weak demand we have experienced from the commercial airline industry."
As far as the program itself is concerned, Rosser said the guidance has addressed some of industry's concerns but left unanswered "a number of policy interpretations" that the association had requested, Rosser said. NATA believes that the programs will be manageable for operators once all the components of the security programs are implemented. Some of those components, however, such as required fingerprinting for criminal history background checks, have yet to be ironed out, she added.
Cessna Aircraft, which announced earlier it was cutting business jet production by nearly 20 percent this year, now plans to throttle back its production schedule by almost 30 percent because of soft near-term demand. See article below.
Lisa Bottle was named vice president-corporate communications at Goodrich. She most recently worked at TRW Aeronautical Systems, which was recently acquired by Goodrich. Before joining TRW in 2001, Bottle held communications positions at Thales.
General Dynamics said its Aerospace unit, primarily Gulfstream Aerospace, had lower operating earnings last year, but the parent company said its business jet manufacturing enterprise still managed to outperform its competition.
New Piper Aircraft expanded its exclusive dealership agreement with the Florida-based FlightLine Group to cover Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. FlightLine already was New Piper's dealer in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Florida. FlightLine's Aircraft Sales Division, recently named SouthEast Piper, will represent New Piper products from its sales offices in Tallahassee and Vero Beach, Fla. and Atlanta, Ga.
President Bush sent the nomination of Robert A. Sturgell to be deputy administrator of FAA to the Senate this month. Sturgell, 43, a former Navy and United Airlines pilot, was a top aide to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey when she chaired the National Transportation Safety Board and he remained on her staff when she moved to FAA (BA, Dec. 2/251).
National Business Aviation Association rescheduled its Southern California Business Aviation Forum and Static Display for March 28 at Long Beach Airport in Long Beach, Calif. The daylong event will include briefings on key issues as well as a static display and indoor vendor exhibits at AirFlite's fixed-base operation in Long Beach. NBAA officials said response to the forum has been "exceptional" with a number of vendors, sponsors and attendees already registered.
TEXTRON REDUCES CESSNA JET OUTPUT FOR 2003 - Textron officials said Cessna Aircraft's planned production of business jets for this year has been reduced again because the Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer wasn't able to sell enough planes for delivery this year.
SEN. HUTCHISON RENEWS EFFORT TO TIGHTEN CARGO SECURITY - Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) this month introduced legislation calling for inspections of cargo transported on air carriers and cargo aircraft. The legislation, S.165, renews Hutchison's efforts to tighten cargo security. The Senate late last year approved legislation strengthening cargo security, but that bill died when the House failed to pass a similar measure.
Senate Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Trent Lott (R-Miss.) expressed concern to new Border and Transportation Security chief Asa Hutchinson that he work to make sure that the costs of regulation do not overtake the needs of the regulation. He cited a Customs proposal that would require manifests eight hours in advance for express cargo, which would "effectively eliminate overnight express shipping." He also noted that his subcommittee would take a look at the costs imposed on the aviation industry.
NEW PIPER CITES ENGINE PROBLEMS IN LATEST ROUND OF LAYOFFS - New Piper Aircraft this month began another round of layoffs and lowered its production estimates, moves the Vero Beach, Fla. plane-maker said stem from the ongoing problems with Textron Lycoming piston engines that power some of its aircraft. New Piper is cutting employment by 150 and lowering its planned production from just over 300 aircraft to 252. New Piper spokesman Mark Miller said the layoffs are "directly attributable" to the Textron Lycoming situation.
National Air Transportation Association has been inundated with calls from Part 135 operators who face an early February deadline for setting up mandatory security programs but have not yet seen the final guidance on implementing those programs. TSA this month began distributing letters to covered operators - those with aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more - advising that the programs were available via the Internet (BA, Jan. 13/15). A typographical error in the web address, however, has kept many operators searching fruitlessly for the guidance.
Hooters Of America, which recently acquired Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Pace Airlines from Piedmont Hawthorne (BA, Jan. 6/3), rolled out the first 737 painted in the new Hooters Air livery Friday in Atlanta. The aircraft has an orange and white paint scheme, Hooters Air graphics and a large owl - symbol of the Hooters restaurant chain - on the tail.
Rockwell Collins named Kent Statler senior vice president of operations, replacing Herm Reininga, who will hold the position of senior vice president of special projects until he retires later this year. Statler has served with Rockwell Collins for 16 years, most recently as vice president of manufacturing operations. He also has served as vice president of maintenance operations for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa communications and electronics manufacturer. A 37-year Rockwell Collins veteran, Reininga was appointed senior vice president of operations in January 2001.
Harris Corp. tapped former NCR Corp. President Howard Lance as its new president and chief executive, succeeding Phillip Farmer. Farmer, who has worked for Harris for more than 21 years, will remain chairman until he retires at the end of June.
Mineta San Jose International is using MegaData Corporation's AirportMonitor, an Internet-based flight tracking and information system with near-real-time data. Others using the system include Boston Logan, Los Angeles International and Boca Raton. AirportMonitor permits local residents and anyone with access to the Internet to view flight traffic patterns either in near real-time or in replays up to three months back. One goal is to help residents and airport officials monitor and agree on noise issues.
