Efforts to rectify communications difficulties experienced by President Bush aboard Air Force One on Sept. 11, 2001, have required the obligation of about $58 million so far, and work is continuing, the Air Force said. The work is going into the Presidential Data System (PDS), "an 'office in the sky' environment for the president, staff, and other passengers aboard" Air Force One, a highly modified Boeing 747, the Air Force said Nov. 25 in response to a question from BA affiliate Aerospace Daily.
Northrop Grumman and TRW notified the Department of Justice last week that they intend to complete their merger Dec. 11. Northrop Grumman received a draft of the consent decree from DOJ clearing the way for the merger of the two aerospace giants. Shareholders will vote on the merger Dec. 11, Northrop Grumman said. The merger won European Union clearance in October. The DOJ consent decree draft did not require any divestitures, Northrop Grumman said.
Bombardier Aerospace signed a five-year contract with Air Wisconsin to provide heavy maintenance on the airline's fleet of Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets. The maintenance will include "C" checks every 4,000 flight hours and also structural inspections every two years. Air Wisconsin's fleet is expected to grow to 58 aircraft during the next five years. The maintenance will be performed at Bombardier's West Virginia Air Center in Bridgeport, W.Va. The contract could be extended to eight years if options are exercised.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association appealed to FAA to drop recent changes made to the field approval process. The new inspector guidance on field approvals was released Sept. 13 in an attempt to improve and standardize the process (BA, Sept. 30/147). But AOPA fears that the new guidance "has had the quite opposite effect." AOPA noted the changes have been particularly a problem in Alaska, and FAA already rescinded the changes there. AOPA, however, wants the changes revoked in all regions.
Triumph Group bought the assets of Boeing's Spokane Fabrication Operation in Spokane, Wash. The deal includes an eight-year, single-source supply agreement for products manufactured at the Spokane factory. Triumph projected that the acquisition will add $60 million in revenue during fiscal 2004. The Spokane facility, which employs about 400, produces composite and thermoplastic aircraft parts, such as floor panels, air control system ducts and non-structural composite flight deck components.
Medaire, Inc. won a contract to extend its medical assistance services for NetJets Europe. NetJets Europe, which has already subscribed to MedAire's MedLink 24-hour emergency physician consultation service, expanded the contract to include medical training for flight crew and emergency medical kits. Under the three-year deal, MedAire will equip NetJets Europe's fleet of aircraft with aviation-specific first-aid kits and provide a two-day training course on management of in-flight illness and injury.
A "trusted traveler" or similar program for identifying frequent flyers likely would improve security and reduce hassles for program participants, but it also raises a host of questions such as who should be eligible, what kinds of background checks should be involved, what kind of screening procedures should be used and who would pay for such a program, the General Accounting Office told Congress late last month. At the request of Sen.
February 9-11, 2003 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2003, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646 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
Some industry observers expressed relief at the delay because the notice provided such a broad overview of what the rewrite would entail that there was concern it would open the door to all sorts of changes not only to Parts 135 and 125, but also to Parts 121 and 91. Industry groups are hoping that the delay will provide the agency the opportunity to tighten the language so the ARC project is not so open-ended.
The Air Transportation Stabilization Board last week denied Medjet International's federal loan guarantee application, citing serious doubts that the airline would be able to repay the loan. Medjet applied for a $7.7 million federal guarantee on an $8.8 million loan. Birmingham, Ala.-based Medjet currently operates Learjet 35As and 36As configured to accommodate up to two patients and four medical personnel.
RAYTHEON 200, 300, and 1900 series, and models F90 and A100-1 airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-21-AD; Amendment 39-12955; AD 2002-23-11) - requires checking the airplane logbook to determine if the elevator(s) has/have been removed from the airplane. If the elevator(s) has/have been removed, this AD also requires inspection of the elevator balance weight attachment screws for correct length, and, if necessary, installation of new bolts that are of improved design to rebalance the elevator, depending on the results of the inspection.
EMBRAER PREDICTS DROP IN LARGE REGIONAL JETS FROM 2003-2022 - Embraer predicts rising demand for 61- to 90-seat jets, while interest in 91- to 120-seat aircraft will drop over the next 20 years. In its latest regional jet market forecast, the airframer revised earlier predictions of larger regional jet demand, dropping predictions by 270 aircraft to 2,510 from 2,780 in May 2002. Interest in aircraft sized in the 61- to 90-seat range should translate to an increase in 220 aircraft, from 2,370 to 2,590.
Raytheon Aircraft Company shifted five of its senior managers to new roles, the third reorganization since James Schuster took over the Wichita plane-maker as chairman in the spring of 2001. RAC named Tom Sarama to the newl y created position of vice president-strategic programs, in charge of spearheading new growth strategies. Sarama joined RAC in 2000 as vice president-engineering.
BUSH TAPS HUTCHINSON TO STEER TRANSPORTATION SECURITY - President Bush last week signed into law legislation to create a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and announced his intention to nominate Asa Hutchinson, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as under secretary for Border and Transportation Security (BA, Nov. 25/241). Bush also made the expected announcement that former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge will be nominated as secretary of the new DHS, and Gordon England, currently secretary of the Navy, will be tapped for deputy secretary.
John Borghese was named vice president and general manager of Kaiser Aerospace&Electronics, a Rockwell Collins company. He has more than 27 years of experience in the military aerospace industry and was most recently vice president of Kaiser Electronics.
Eclipse Aviation Corp., which had been counting on Williams International to provide the 770-pound thrust engines for its new entry-level business jet, said Wednesday it had terminated its agreement with Williams and is now in the final stages of reviewing bids from two other engine manufacturers.
Agusta/Westland delivered the last of 22 EH-101 Merlin HC Mk3 helicopters to the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, the company said. It also announced it has completed the last of 44 EH-101 HM Mk1s for the Royal Navy. The EH-101 was designed as a successor to the H-3 Sea King and entered service in 1998 with the Royal Navy.
Bombardier had more orders for its Q400 turboprop than regional jets during the third quarter. The airframer reported orders for four turboprops, a single CRJ200 and two CRJ700s.
Honeywell introduced an RVSM-compliant avionics retrofit package for early Cessna Citation 500 business jets. The retrofit package of Bendix/King avionics will be offered through Honeywell dealers and includes two AM-250 altimeter/air data computers, a KFC 325 autopilot, a two-display EFIS 50 Electronic Flight Instrument System and engineering data. Honeywell will obtain group certification, which the company says will save aircraft owners "five to 10 hours of test flights."
HONEYWELL MARKETS CITATION 500 RVSM RETROFIT KIT - Honeywell introduced an RVSM-compliant avionics retrofit package for early Cessna Citation 500 business jets. The retrofit package of Bendix/King avionics will be offered through Honeywell dealers and includes two AM-250 altimeter/air data computers, a KFC 325 autopilot, a two-display EFIS 50 Electronic Flight Instrument System and engineering data. Honeywell will obtain group certification, which the company says will save aircraft owners "five to 10 hours of test flights."
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT SHIFTS ROLES OF SENIOR MANAGERS - Raytheon Aircraft Company shifted five of its senior managers to new roles, the third reorganization since James Schuster took over the Wichita plane-maker as chairman in the spring of 2001. RAC named Tom Sarama to the newly created position of vice president-strategic programs, in charge of spearheading new growth strategies. Sarama joined RAC in 2000 as vice president-engineering.
