Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University won a $2.7 million, three-year contract to provide flight safety management and mishap investigation instruction to the United States Air Force, Air National Guard and international flight safety officers. Under the contract, 700 flight safety officers will be trained annually at the Air Force Safety Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M.
Model A119 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-46-AD; Amendment 39-12910; AD 2002-21-04) - supersedes an existing emergency airworthiness directive for Agusta Model A119 helicopters. EAD 2002-17-52 issued on August 21, 2002 and sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of Agusta Model A119 helicopters by individual letters.
The TSA Chief was much more enthusiastic about the National Business Aviation Association's proposed Transportation Security Administration Access Protocol (TSSAP) idea, however. Loy reiterated earlier comments that TSSAP procedures - under which pilots who met certain requirements could be pre-cleared - seems like a reasonable approach for permitting flights into airports covered by a TFR or instead of the current waiver process for international flights (BA, Oct. 7/159).
The First Annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference&Exhibition (LABACE) was rescheduled from the originally planned January date to March 13-15, 2003. "The new dates for LABACE2003, which resulted when space became available at Sao Paulo's Transamerica Expo Center in March, will provide enhanced opportunities to interface with officials from the new Brazilian government that will be in place from January 1st on," said Jack Olcott, president of the National Business Aviation Association.
HPN HANDS OUT NOISE-ABATEMENT AWARDS, DISTRIBUTES CURFEW COMPLIANCE BROCHURE - Westchester County Airport officials last week presented their annual noise-abatement awards to based operators and unveiled a new brochure designed to encourage transient-operator compliance with the midnight to 6:30 a.m. voluntary curfew at HPN.
HONEYWELL PLANS DEEPER CUTS AS CIVIL AVIATION REMAINS SLOW - Honeywell posted a $560 million before-tax profit in the third quarter, turning around the $498 million loss reported in the third quarter of 2001, but the ailing airline industry and sluggish economy are spurring Honeywell to cut up to 5,000 more positions, Honeywell Chairman and CEO Dave Cote said last week. Honeywell already has reduced its work force by about seven percent, a move that helped the company show a profit despite a four percent decline in sales in the third quarter that ended Sept. 30.
FAA signed a letter of intent to exercise options for 21 Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X) systems and associated equipment and services from Sensis Corp. in a deal potentially valued at about $100 million. ASDE-X provides traffic management for the airport surface environment using a combination of surface movement radar, transponder multilateration and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast sensors to display aircraft position.
Jet Aviation London Biggin Hill was recently named an approved repair station by the Presidency of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia. The approval will allow the facility to perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, airframe and engine repairs, avionics modification, inspections, defect rectifications and painting on Falcon, Hawker and Gulfstream aircraft registered in Saudi Arabia.
ROLLS-ROYCE NAMES SCHLUMBERGER EXEC TO HEAD ENGINE MAKER - Dugald Euan Baird, the chairman and chief executive officer of global technology services company Schlumberger Ltd., was named last week to succeed Sir Ralph Robins as head of British engine maker Rolls-Royce plc when Robins retires early next year.
Air Canada Jazz selected Rockwell Collins to upgrade avionics in its fleet of 10 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft. The upgrades will include installing the HGS 2100 Head-up Guidance System, the addition of datalink capability and dual Collins flight management systems. Air Canada Jazz is the 12th airline to buy the HGS for its Bombardier CRJ fleet.
FAA OPENS INVESTIGATION OF SANTA MONICA AIRCRAFT RESTRICTIONS - The Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation into a Santa Monica, Calif. "Aircraft Conformance Plan" designed to keep large business jets off Santa Monica Airport (SMO) and advised local authorities to suspend action on the plan until the issue is resolved.
Robert Myers was named chancellor of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Extended Campus. He will be responsible for overall planning, resource allocation and program evaluation with a special emphasis on noncredit education. Myers was previously the executive vice president and chief operating officer of University of Maryland University College, where he co-founded UMUC Online, Inc.
GEAE PLANS TO SHRINK WORK FORCE BY UP TO 2,800 - A sluggish airline industry is spurring GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) to cut its work force by 1,000 positions this fall and consider eliminating up to 1,800 more jobs next year, David Calhoun, GEAE president and chief executive, told employees last week. Calhoun predicted that the industry is just a year into what the company believes will be at least a three-year slowdown and said, "All across GE we see signs of recession...mostly as it relates to declining or already depressed levels of investment."
Pratt & Whitney selected Engineous Software's process integration and design optimization software, iSIGHT, for use in its design exploration and optimization efforts. The agreement continues a relationship that began in 1996 when Pratt & Whitney first used iSIGHT to develop software that could decrease design cycle time and assist with engine design. Pratt & Whitney has used iSIGHT in the development of more than 40 production applications.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta last week noted the concerns about the stadium restrictions, which have been in place for more than a year under a series of notices to airmen. He pointed to recent changes that DOT made to the restrictions, including a clarification that they cover only large sporting events and a waiver process to allow pre-cleared traffic to operate under certain conditions.
CSI Aviation Services, noting business has jumped some 40 percent in the smaller sports travel niche, said it has secured agreements with a number college basketball programs to provide air charter to and from games during the 2002-2003 basketball season. CSI won contracts from the University of Kentucky, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama. Founded in 1979, CSI provides charter management services through a network of airlines and Part 135 operators.
House Transportation Committee ranking member James Oberstar (D-Minn.) is authoring a bill giving relief to laid-off aviation workers industry-wide, including those in the manufacturing sector. Oberstar's plan was to offer the legislation as a freestanding bill "to call attention to the fact that it's unfinished business of the 107th Congress...that these folks affected by the Sept. 11 attacks have not gotten the relief that Congress promised."
Eastern Michigan University teamed with Eagle Flight Center, a flight training school based at Willow Run Airport, to create a new four-year, accredited aviation degree program. The new Aviation Flight Technology program is designed to prepare students for entry-level professional pilot positions. Eagle Flight Center will provide the flight training for the program. The curriculum also includes a number of specialized courses that incorporate aviation business and management skills, safety, crew resource management, and aviation law and regulations.
A Texas pilot partially lost control of his Cirrus SR-22 four-seat single-engine aircraft but landed uninjured after he deployed the airframe parachute. Lionel Morrison, 53, of Dallas, was flying the aircraft Oct. 3 back to its base at Dallas Executive Airport (RBD) from Addison Airport (ADS) after maintenance work, including the replacement of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) activation cable, when he began to experience control problems.
Secretary Mineta acknowledged the frustrations of the general aviation community about ongoing airspace restrictions and said, "When it comes to general aviation, the department is trying to work as hard as it can to make sure that airports are open across the country." Speaking at an Aviation Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Mineta reiterated that some of the remaining restrictions, particularly the ones involving the closure of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), are "something that is sort of beyond the control" of the department.
Ascent Technologies, a Phillips 66 fuel distributor based in Parish, N.Y., will expand its marketing to nine states in the South and Southwest. The added states are Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Ascent already supports fixed-base operators in 16 states, mostly on the East Coast.
The Marquis Private Jet Card was picked to be a special featured gift in this year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. The card, offered by Marquis Jet Partners, is a one-year, pre-paid lease of a fractional interest in a specific aircraft, in 25-hour increments of flight time. The cost ranges from $109,000 to $299,000, depending on the type of aircraft. Marquis' fleet includes the Citation V Ultra, Citation Excel, Hawker 800 XP, Hawker 1000, Citation X, Falcon 2000 and Gulfstream IV-SP.
Jet Aviation Saudi Arabia expanded its line maintenance support and aircraft-on-ground services to provide round-the-clock coverage in the region. The company's team of eight engineers has received factory training on Gulfstream, Citation, Falcon, Hawker, Global Express and Challenger business jets. Jet Aviation opened its first facility in Saudi Arabia in 1979 in Jeddah. It added a second facility in Riyadh in 1981.
Bombardier delivered the first 74-seat Q400 aircraft to Japan Air Commuter. JAC, based in Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, placed a firm order for five aircraft with one option in August 2001 and is the Japanese launch customer for the aircraft. The airline has a fleet of 12 YS-11A and 11 Saab 340B turboprops. The Q400 will replace YS-11A services on some routes.
Boeing signed a deal to acquire all of FlightSafety International's interests in their joint venture, FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI). The transaction is subject to U.S. and German government regulatory approvals. Boeing and FlightSafety formed FSBTI in 1997, which now employs 800 in 21 locations with 70 full flight simulators. Boeing will call its new subsidiary "Boeing Training International" and its headquarters will stay in Seattle.
