Alenia Aeronautica and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics sold the first five of what is expected to be a total of 12 C-27J Spartan airlifters to the Italian government. Alenia and Lockheed jointly developed the C-27J, and the contract is valued at more than $200 million. The first C-27 will be delivered to the Italian Air Force by mid-2005, with the final aircraft to be delivered by late 2006. Powered by Rolls Royce AE21002 engines, the C-27J Spartan is based on the twin-engine C-27A/G.
The collision warning system on the Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev TU-154 jet involved in the July 1 midair collision over Germany instructed the plane to pull up to avoid a fast-closing DHL 757 at the same altitude, but the crew heeded a nearly simultaneous ATC instruction to descend, putting the planes back on a collision course, investigators said.
The Federal Aviation Administration installed new equipment at a flight service station in Anderson, S.C., that the agency says is part of a program to improve efficiency and capacity "for hundreds of thousands of general aviation users." The Anderson FSS is the first of 61 automated stations to receive a fully deployed Operational and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS) upgrade.
FAIRCHILD DORNIER ENTERS INSOLVENCY, FURLOUGHS 1,836 - A local court declared regional aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier permanently insolvent last week. As a result, the company immediately cut 1,836 of 3,600 employees from its active staff and put them into a training program funded by the company and the state. Under the program, furloughed employees will continue to receive about 80 percent of their salary for three months. About 1,770 workers were retained, among them 150 in the 728/928 regional jet program.
The U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) plans to begin testing controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC) for transatlantic flights using Nav Canada-developed software, and is considering adapting other Nav Canada technologies. NATS reached an agreement with Nav Canada to begin operational testing this summer of CPDLC, using a satellite-based e-mail system rather than high-frequency voice communications. A contract is being finalized and tests should begin in late summer, said NATS Chief Operating Officer Colin Chisholm.
July 23-29 - Experimental Aircraft Association 50th Annual Gathering, AirVenture Oshkosh 2002, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 235-3007 September 10-12 - National Business Aviation Association 55th Annual Meeting and Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000 September 22-24 - National Association of State Aviation Officials, 71sth Annual Convention and Trade Show, Sheraton Burlington, Burlington, Vt., (301) 588-0587 Oct 24-26 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2002, Palm Springs, Calif., (301) 695-2000
TSA, meanwhile, is warning all the aviation associations that it plans to respond to restricted airspace infringements differently than FAA, which has generally employed administrative sanctions. A number of temporary flight restrictions remain in place over national landmarks, and the general aviation community was awaiting more possible restrictions over the Fourth of July holiday.
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE ADDS NEW STAFF - The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee added several new members to its professional staff. Charles Ziegler was named the committee's deputy chief counsel and parliamentarian. He was most recently senior investigations counsel for the Investigations and Oversight subcommittee.
FAA last week issued guidelines under which the agency would partially reimburse operators for costs associated with complying with new mandates to reinforce cockpit doors. Under the notice printed in the July 2 Federal Register, FAA said it would reimburse up to $13,200 of the estimated $17,000 cost for cockpit door reinforcement. Amount of reimbursement would depend on the extent of the required modification.
ALTHOUGH Administrator Garvey has long stated her intent to leave FAA when her five-year term ends in August, the Bush Administration has yet to nominate a successor. Even if the Administration were to announce a nominee immediately after Garvey's departure, Congress would have less than a month's worth of legislative days scheduled for the remainder of the year, dimming the possibility that a candidate could be reviewed by the Senate Commerce Committee and confirmed by the Senate before the legislative session ends.
Honeywell President and CEO David Cote, added the title of chairman of the board with the planned retirement of Lawrence Bossidy. Cote, 49, became president and CEO of Honeywell in February, after serving as chairman, president and CEO of TRW. He also spent 25 years in various roles with General Electric.
Glenn Tynan was named chief financial officer and vice president, finance at Curtiss-Wright. He was previously the company's corporate controller. Before joining Curtiss-Wright, Tynan was vice president and corporate controller for Movado Group.
TRW AGREES TO SALE AFTER NORTHROP GRUMMAN BOOSTS BID - A stormy four-month courtship between Northrop Grumman and TRW, Inc. ended with both sides smiling last week after Northrop Grumman upped its bid by more than $2 billion and TRW executives agreed to the takeover.
Robert Stangarone, the veteran public relations executive, joined Broadgate Consultants, Inc., a New York-based capital markets and corporate positioning firm. Stangarone was most recently vice president of corporate communications for Fairchild Dornier, with responsibilities in the U.S. and Germany, before the company encountered financial difficulty and filed for insolvency. Prior to that, Stangarone held senior communications positions with Litton, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky.
FAA last week issued guidelines under which the agency would partially reimburse operators for costs associated with complying with new mandates to reinforce cockpit doors. Under the notice printed in the July 2 Federal Register, FAA said it would reimburse up to $13,200 of the estimated $17,000 cost for cockpit door reinforcement. Amount of reimbursement would depend on the extent of the required modification.
BELL HELICOPTER FILES TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT SUITS - Bell Helicopter filed a lawsuit June 17 against two companies specializing in aircraft maintenance and repair as part of its ongoing effort to stop what it calls the "counterfeiting" of its registered trademark parts. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Seattle, charges the companies with supplying parts that have been "substantially reconstructed" but which retain the Bell trademark. The suit alleges that H-S Tool and Parts Inc., of Richmond, British Columbia, a U.S.
HONEYWELL BUYS HELICOPTER VIBRATION MONITORING SPECIALIST - Honeywell expanded its vibration monitoring expertise with the acquisition of Chadwick-Helmuth, the El Monte, Calf., supplier of Helicopter Rotor Track and Balance (RTB) equipment. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 1954, Chadwick-Helmuth posted annual sales of $16 million selling RTB systems, Health and Usage Monitor Systems, and other helicopter safety systems.
The National Air Transportation Association plans to take its concerns about TSA and other post-Sept. 11 problems to Capitol Hill this month. The association July 17 is hosting representatives from nearly 60 of its member companies for a lobbying day on Capitol Hill, where the association expects to meet with up to 200 different legislators. NATA plans to seek help on issues including the TSA's "Twelve-Five" security program, general aviation compensation, and new flight training background check rules.
NetJets, the fractional aircraft provider, got another big public relations boost this month in the latest issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine, which has a multi-page spread praising NetJets. A companion article in the same issue details why more and more people hate to travel on the scheduled airlines.
The National Business Aviation Association will host its next briefing on the status of general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Monday, July 15 at the airport. Officials from the Transportation Security Administration will not attend the meeting, said NBAA, but the association emphasized the importance of the session "to remind aviation and security officials that access to this airport is important both to general aviation and to our nation's economic well being." To RSVP or for more information, contact Marie Wilkins at [email protected].
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee added several new members to its professional staff. Charles Ziegler was named the committee's deputy chief counsel and parliamentarian. He was most recently senior investigations counsel for the Investigations and Oversight subcommittee.
The House has passed legislation allowing Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant money to be spent on building air traffic control (ATC) towers at smaller airports (BA, July 1/6). FAA currently takes responsibility for building control towers, but budget limits prevent construction of towers at smaller airports, which many complain forces smaller airports to operate at a different level of safety. Tower operations at smaller airports are aided, however, by the Contract Tower Program, in which FAA contracts out ATC staff at 217 U.S. airports.
