HONEYWELL ADDS CABIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS WITH BAKER ACQUISITION - Honeywell acquired the aviation assets of Baker Electronics, Inc. of Sarasota, Fla., a move designed to permit Honeywell to offer integrated cabin management systems to business jet original equipment manufacturers and operators.
Raytheon declined comment on the status of discussions with Flight Options last week. Kenn Ricci, chairman and CEO of Flight Options, told BA Friday he could not discuss details because of a confidentiality agreement, but said the situation is in "the final stages of what's going to transpire." Ricci believes an agreement can be finalized within a couple of weeks, although he said the lawyers involved believe it could take three or four weeks to complete a deal.
JANE GARVEY, the former FAA Administrator, joined APCO Worldwide as executive vice president and chairman of the company's transportation practice. APCO Worldwide is a global public affairs and strategic communications firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in 23 major cities throughout the world. In addition to her new responsibilities with APCO, Garvey will serve as a lecturer and research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Transportation and Logistics.
Dassault Falcon named aviation veteran John Rahilly vice president of national sales and marketing for its aircraft service network organization. Rahilly has more than 25 years of corporate aviation experience, most recently as vice president of operations for Mercury Air Centers. Rahilly spent most of his career with K-C Aviation where he held a series of management posts and served as president of the Kimberly-Clark subsidiary that provided business aircraft modification, completion and overhaul services.
NTSB FOCUSES ON ELEVATOR IN BEECH 1900 CRASH - The National Transportation Safety Board is closely examining the operation of the elevator of a Beech 1900D that crashed Wednesday morning in Charlotte, N.C., killing all 21 aboard. The aircraft, operated by Mesa Air Group carrier Air Midwest as US Airways Express Flight 5481, crashed about 37 seconds after it began its takeoff roll from Runway 18R at Charlotte en route to Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. The aircraft took off and climbed, pitching up to an angle of 52 degrees before it rolled and dropped.
Vic Petty was named account manager for the Americas at Cordiem. Formerly Midwest sales manager for Inventory Locator Service, Petty has more than 18 years of sales and managerial experience in commercial, military and corporate aviation. Based in Arlington, Va., Cordiem provides online tools for aviation business.
General Dynamics Decision Systems won a contract to supply up to 20,000 UHF CM-300 series air traffic control radios to FAA over the next 10 years. The contract, which has a potential value of $119 million, calls for the delivery of a minimum of 1,000 radios with the possibility for more. GD had previously delivered more than 20,000 CM-200 radios to FAA over the past 10 years. The CM-300, an enhanced version of the CM-200, provides more efficient use of the radio spectrum and improved protection from interference from other radios, GD said.
LANCAIR COMPLETES SHAREHOLDER BUYOUT - Lancair completed a buyout of its smaller shareholders as part of a new deal in the works to bring back the Oregon-based company from five months of dormancy.
BUSINESS TURBINE FLEET POSTS IMPROVED SAFETY NUMBERS FOR 2002 - Operators of the U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet posted significantly improved safety numbers for 2002, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. The fleet was involved in 60 accidents, including 19 fatal accidents, that claimed 47 passenger and crew lives. That compares with 2001, when there were 68 accidents, including 24 fatal accidents and a total of 80 fatalities.
Honeywell named William Birtcil vice president of communications for its Aerospace business unit. Birtcil replaces Dennis Signorovitch, who retired from Honeywell after 25 years with the company. Birtcil will report directly to Bob Johnson, president and chief executive of the Aerospace unit. He also will have a functional reporting relationship to Tom Buckmaster, Honeywell's vice president for corporate communications.
FAA gave Guyana a Category 2 rating after finding that the South American country does not comply with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The agency said it will continue to work with the civil aviation authority of Guyana and periodically review the situation. The determination follows a reassessment of Guyana's civil aviation authority as part of the agency's International Aviation Safety Assessment program.
Goodrich appointed Lisa Bottle vice president of corporate communications. Bottle joins Goodrich from TRW Aeronautical Systems, following its recent acquisition by Goodrich. Bottle has served with TRW Aeronautical Systems since 2001, and before that spent six years with Thales.
Todd McGahey was named vice president and general manager of Dassault Falcon Jet's facility in Wilmington, Del. He will be responsible for managing 200 employees at Wilmington and overseeing future development and expansion programs. McGahey most recently worked for General Electric Services, where he was responsible for Garrett Aviation Services in Springfield, Ill., and three satellite facilities, managing 475 employees in four states.
GERMAN MAN ARRESTED AFTER STEALING AIRCRAFT - An armed man who stole a small aircraft from an airfield near Frankfurt last week was arrested by German police after the plane landed safely. Franz-Stephan Strambach, a 32-year-old student, signed up for a sightseeing tour at Babenhausen airfield. Before take-off he used a gun to force the pilot out and stole the aircraft.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-502, AT-502A, AT-502B, and AT-503A airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-54-AD; Amendment 39-12991; AD 2002-26-05) - supersedes AD 2002-11-03, which applies to certain Air Tractor Models AT-502, AT-502A, AT-502B, and AT-503A airplanes. AD 2002-11-03 lowered the safe life for the wing lower spar cap and further reduced the safe life for airplanes that incorporate or have incorporated Marburger Enterprises, Inc. winglets.
Keystone Helicopter completed the acquisition of 15 acres bordering Chester County Airport in Coatesville, Pa., as part of Phase One of its plans for a Heliplex complex. The acquisition included a 52,000-square-foot industrial building that will be refurbished to house Keystone's shop operations. The company is negotiating further for more acreage to accommodate additional hangar facilities.
Cessna Aircraft, which has logged orders for more than 160 of its CJ3 business jets, boosted the price by $100,000 to $5.895 million and doubled the initial deposit requirement to $150,000, effective Jan. 1. The Wichita manufacturer now has a backlog of nearly 500 orders for the two aircraft it introduced at the NBAA convention in Orlando, Fla. in September, a remarkable performance during a period when other manufacturers were complaining that the business jet market was in the dumper. See article below.
February 9-11, 2003 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2003, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646 March 27, 2003 - 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, 2003 - National Aircraft Finance Association Annual Meeting, Westin Resort, Savannah, Ga., (301) 349-2070 or [email protected] April 23-27, 2003 - National Aircraft Resale Association Annual Meeting, Westin Regina Resort, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Jet Aviation's completions facility in Basel, Switzerland, refurbished a DC-8-72 VIP aircraft for use in the company's charter fleet. The aircraft is configured for 36 passengers and is fitted with a master bedroom, master bath with shower, sitting lounge, mid-cabin bar, dining lounge, conference lounge, full galley and two passenger lavatories. The refurbishment includes new carpeting and flooring, recovered valance panels and new communications and entertainment equipment.
TSA RELEASES FINAL '12-5' PROGRAM GUIDANCE - The Transportation Security Administration this month began mailing final program guidance for complying with the "Twelve-Five" security rule, giving the affected Part 135 operators a little less than a month to make sure their security programs are in place. TSA hoped to notify all affected operators of the availability of the Twelve-Five Standard Security Programs (TFSSPs) by Friday. Deadline for implementation is Feb. 1.
The 108th Congress convened last week, putting in motion some significant leadership changes for the aviation community, including the reshuffling of senior positions on both the Senate and the House aviation subcommittees. The reshuffling comes during a year when FAA funding and the ailing airline industry will be at the forefront of their agendas.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce is bullish about the outlook for the economy this year. Thomas Donohue, president and CEO, said Chamber economists anticipate the economy will grow 2.5 percent during the first half of the year, accelerating to 3.5 percent during the second half. Donohue labeled that a conservative forecast. "We can do better" if government and business "make the right decisions this year to really fire up this economy and set us on a course of sustained growth for the future," he said.
LYCOMING WINS FAA APPROVAL TO BUILD REPLACEMENT CRANKSHAFTS - Textron's Lycoming Engine Co., won certification from FAA last week to produce new crankshafts to replace hundreds of suspect units, some of which have broken in flight. FAA has issued a series of airworthiness directives to address the problem (BA, Nov. 4/206). In a statement Tuesday, Lycoming said a number of improvements have been made in the production process to improve quality and reliability. All crankshafts are now being manufactured using the press forging process and automated induction heating.
