Tag Aviation opened a charter sales office in the Chicago area. Barry T. Gray, Vernon Hill, Ill., was named to head the new office. He has more than 15 years experience in the corporate aviation industry, having served as national sales and marketing director of DB Aviation and regional vice president of Vance & Engles Aircraft Brokers, Inc.
WHILE THE GENERAL AVIATION industry is struggling to convince key government officials of the need for compensation for losses stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the airline community, which already has secured nearly $15 billion in compensation and guaranteed loans, is approaching Capitol Hill for more money.
DAVE NAKATA was named vice president, consulting services group, at Sinex Aviation Technologies. He has 35 years of aviation experience with TWA and Northwest Airlines. Nakata also has served as a member and chairman of several subcommittees of the Air Transport Association of America.
FRED SNOW was appointed to the newly created position of Chicago Rapid Response Sales Manager for Duncan Aviation. He will establish a new mobile engine line service team that will provide on-call support in the Chicago metro area. Snow previously worked at Garrett Aviation for 19 years in engine customer service.
ALDON COLBY was named director of maintenance at Schubach Aviation. He will be responsible for all maintenance records and updates. Colby has 26 years of aircraft maintenance experience and was most recently a technician for General Dynamics in San Diego. DAVE NAKATA was named vice president, consulting services group, at Sinex Aviation Technologies. He has 35 years of aviation experience with TWA and Northwest Airlines. Nakata also has served as a member and chairman of several subcommittees of the Air Transport Association of America.
The U.S. Navy declared it will sell the former El Toro Marine air base for mixed-land use instead of releasing it for use as a commercial airport as some Orange County, Calif. officials had planned. The decision follows a series of reversals for airport supporters during elections March 5, when voters passed a referendum to alter El Toro's zoning requiring non-airport uses. Airport supporters also lost an essential swing vote on the county board.
GA BILLINGS, SHIPMENTS DROP IN FIRST QUARTER - General aviation billings dropped 20 percent as shipments fell 18.8 percent in the first three months of 2002, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported last week, calling the decline predictable in the post-Sept. 11 economy. General aviation plane-makers shipped 521 airplanes worldwide in the first three months of 2002, down from the 642 shipped during the same period in 2001. U.S. manufacturers alone reported a 23.2 percent drop in deliveries, GAMA said.
EUROPE's Joint Aviation Authorities recently approved Learjet training for European pilots at FlightSafety International's Tucson, Atlanta, Wichita and West Palm Beach learning centers, but the approval isn't going to help new European students who want to begin training there. Foreign students seeking initial training in aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more are still barred from training in the U.S. and may be for some time. See article below.
Cirrus Design Corp. raised prices for its two single-engine models. Base price of the 200-horsepower SR20 went from $197,600 to $207,800, while the base price for the 310-horsepower SR22 rose from $276,600 to $289,400.
Jet Aviation's Biggin Hill facility near London won approval from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority to operate as a JAR-145 approved maintenance facility. The new status permits the Biggin Hill operation to perform maintenance, repairs, defect rectifications, inspections and avionics modification on Citation, Challenger, Falcon, Gulfstream and Hawker business jets. The Biggin Hill operation includes two hangars totaling more than 55,000 square feet.
Million Air Teterboro won two Diamond Awards for Excellence from FAA last month. The awards, presented to the FBO's repair station and charter department, are presented to companies that train at least 25 percent of their mechanics. Million Air sent 75 percent of its mechanics for training in 2000.
Jet Aviation's Biggin Hill facility near London won approval from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority to operate as a JAR-145 approved maintenance facility. The new status permits the Biggin Hill operation to perform maintenance, repairs, defect rectifications, inspections and avionics modification on Citation, Challenger, Falcon, Gulfstream and Hawker business jets. The Biggin Hill operation includes two hangars totaling more than 55,000 square feet.
Hartzell Propeller will provide China's Hafei Aviation Industry with a four-bladed lightweight series turbine propeller system. The 96-inch propellers will be installed on the Y12E aircraft, the newest in Hafei's line. The aircraft, a high-wing twin turboprop designed for commuter and utility operations, is an update of the Y12. Hafei received a Chinese type certificate for the aircraft last December and is seeking FAA certification.
Although the order intake for new business jets "has fallen sharply since the tragic events" of Sept. 11, Honeywell forecasters say the outlook remains strong for business jet manufacturers. Jim Wojciehowski, who heads the Honeywell forecast unit, told FAA's General Aviation Forecast Conference this month in Wichita that OEMs still have a backlog of approximately 2,000 aircraft, up to 50 percent of which represent orders from fractional aircraft providers.
FlightSafety International's Houston training center received FAA's Level D certification for two Embraer Regional Jet ERJ 145/135 full flight simulators located at the Houston/Hobby Airport Center. The company also received Level D certification for the VITAL-9 visual system, which is installed on an ERJ 145 simulator at the St. Louis training center at Lambert International Airport. The VITAL visual system "provides sharper, more textured and detailed scenes" in the simulator, FlightSafety said.
Rockwell Collins appointed two industry veterans to new communications jobs last week. Pat Zerbe, who joined Collins four years ago, was named director, corporate communications. She will be responsible for business and financial media activities, as well as advertising, internet and international trade shows. Zerbe, who spent 13 years at Raytheon Aircraft, was most recently director of strategic communications at Collins. She is a licensed pilot.
SCOTT TIDWELL was named assistant center manager at FlightSafety's Dallas/Fort Worth Center. He joined FlightSafety in 1997 as a senior instructor and was most recently the center's Gulfstream 200 program manager. Type-rated in the Boeing 707, 720 and Gulfstream 200, Tidwell has experience as an Air Force command pilot, instructor and airline flightcrew member.
Mercury Air Group's Maytag Aircraft Corp., Colorado Springs, Colo., won a Defense Energy Support Center contract to provide fuel services for the U.S. Marine Corps at seven sites on the island of Okinawa. The one-year contract is valued at $1.3 million.
After ironing out the concerns of some key legislators, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week approved by voice vote a bill designed to streamline the environmental review process to help reduce the time it takes to complete an airport expansion project. The bill, the Airport Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2002, was one of three that the Committee passed Wednesday and the House aviation subcommittee cleared April 17.
Rockwell Collins received FAA certification for its Pro Line 21 Continuum avionics system to be installed on the Falcon 20 family of aircraft. Garrett Aviation completed the system installation and supplemental type certification. The Pro Line consolidates flightdeck features such as autopilot, a flight management system, a heading reference system and a traffic alert avoidance system. The system is now FAA certified on a total of eight types of aircraft including the Challenger 601 and the Falcon 50.
CMC Electronics will provide its Global Positioning System-based CMA-900 Flight Management System and its CMA-2102 High Gain Satellite Communications Antenna to Japan Airlines. CMC's products will support the airline's flight deck avionics upgrade program for up to 34 B747-200/-200F/-300 aircraft, 18 firm orders and 16 options. Deliveries will start in early 2003 and continue through 2004.
Raytheon Aircraft Company introduced a new web site that offers customers immediate, one-source access to the company's entire parts inventory, as well as supplier parts. The company said www.raytheonaircraftparts.com contains an inventory of more than 12 million parts from the manufacturer, plus suppliers such as Dunlop, Goodrich and Champion Aerospace. The new site is part of RAC's attempt to upgrade its product support network.
