Pratt&Whitney will host this year's Society of Automotive Engineers International Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Conference and Exhibition June 3-7 in Hartford, Conn. Astronaut Sally Ride and Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans are slated to speak. "Building it Faster, Stronger, Better - Worldwide" will be the theme of the conference, which will have nearly 100 presentations and panel sessions. For more information, contact SAE Aerospace Meetings at (724) 772-7131.
Honeywell and Thales Avionics Ltd. received approval from Inmarsat for their Swift64 speed data-capable airborne satellite communications systems. The companies said the new system increases data rate delivery nearly 25 times, from the present 2.4 kilobits per second (kbps) to as much as 64 kbps. The speed improvement is accomplished by adding a new HS-600 high-speed data unit to a Honeywell/Thales MCS satellite communications system. The manufacturers are accepting orders and plan to begin deliveries in June, about one year earlier than originally anticipated.
THE BAD NEWS kept coming last week for German aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier as another customer said it is thinking about dropping orders for more than 30 aircraft and U.S. employees of the company filed suit against it. See article on Page 200. Atlantic Coast Airlines, which had ordered a total of 65 328JETS and taken delivery of 33, said it is in discussions with Fairchild Dornier regarding the status of the remaining regional jets on firm order.
Meggitt Avionics/S-TEC launched a new MAGIC 2100 digital flight control system designed for twin turboprop aircraft. The 2100 DFCS is a three-axis, fully digital, attitude-based flight control system that the manufacturer said "brings jet functionality to the twin turboprop market."
HONEYWELL SAYS OUTLOOK REMAINS STRONG FOR BUSINESS JET DELIVERIES - 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.
Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3R and CL-604) series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-211-AD; Amendment 39-12716; AD 2002-08-08) - requires a one-time inspection to detect chafing and other damage of the integrated drive generator (IDG) cables on both left and right engines between the service pylon connections to the IDG, corrective action if necessary, and installation of protective Teflon tubing and additional clamps on the IDG cable harnesses.
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.
France Model SA341G, SA342J, and SA-360C helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-72-AD; Amendment 39-12725; AD 2002-08-16) - supersedes an existing AD for the specified Eurocopter model helicopters. That AD currently requires replacing each affected unairworthy main rotor head torsion tie bar with an airworthy tie bar and revising the limitations section of the maintenance manual by adding a life limit for certain tie bars. This amendment requires additional revisions to the limitations section of the maintenance manual by further reducing the life limit for certain tie bars.
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.
New Orleans Lakefront Airport moved one step closer to entering the FAA pilot privatization program, a move some say could save the city as much as $34 million over the term of the 50-year lease to a private operator. Only one airport, Newburgh, N.Y., Stewart International, has privatized under the program.
The de facto ban on flight training of new foreign-national students in U.S. schools could drag on for months as the Department of Justice goes through a formal rulemaking process to set up an approval procedure for flight students, according to industry officials. U.S. schools stopped training foreign nationals in November after Congress included a measure in the Aviation Transportation and Security Act that requires up to a 45-day DOJ review of prospective non-U.S. students who seek training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more.
The Transportation Security Administration's attempt at regulating the charter industry was rushed to meet a deadline and the net result is a rule that is vague, unsubstantiated and full of pitfalls, industry officials told the newly formed agency in comments last week. TSA issued the "Twelve-Five" rule - one of the first to come out of the agency - in February to comply with a mandate from the Aviation Transportation and Security Act. The measure called for security programs for charter air carriers that operate aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more.
Avfuel added BizJet International Sales&Support of Tulsa, Okla. and Diamond Air Jet Center of Yuma, Ariz. to its dealer network. BizJet specializes in aircraft maintenance, painting and interior services. Diamond Air offers fueling, flight instruction and charter services.
Sikorsky Aircraft, which had offered a military version of its S-92 helicopter to Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, has withdrawn from the competition. That leaves EH Industries' EH-101 as the only entry to replace the Japanese Navy's MH-53E minesweeper/transport helicopters. Sikorsky withdrew from the competition because work on the military version of the S-92 wouldn't be done in time for the Navy's deadline, according to Mitsubishi Training Corp., a Sikorsky sales agent in Japan.
FlightSafety won FAA certification to install the Enhanced Vision System on the Gulfstream V full flight simulator at its Savannah, Ga. learning center.
The Transportation Research Board recommended that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shelve its plans for the $69 million Small Aircraft Transportation System and "recommit the program to other, more achievable goals."
The de facto ban on flight training of new foreign-national students in U.S. schools could drag on for months as the Department of Justice goes through a formal rulemaking process to set up an approval procedure for flight students, according to industry officials. U.S. schools stopped training foreign nationals in November after Congress included a measure in the Aviation Transportation and Security Act that requires up to a 45-day DOJ review of prospective non-U.S. students who seek training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more.
Honeywell and Thales Avionics Ltd. received approval from Inmarsat for their Swift64 speed data-capable airborne satellite communications systems. The companies said the new system increases data rate delivery nearly 25 times, from the present 2.4 kilobits per second (kbps) to as much as 64 kbps. The speed improvement is accomplished by adding a new HS-600 high-speed data unit to a Honeywell/Thales MCS satellite communications system. The manufacturers are accepting orders and plan to begin deliveries in June, about one year earlier than originally anticipated.
Bryan Moss, vice chairman of Gulfstream Aerospace, has decided to "indefinitely postpone" his previously announced plans to retire from the company (BA, Jan. 14/26). "Gulfstream is pleased that it will continue to benefit from Bryan's vast industry knowledge, plus his extensive contacts and experience selling business jets," said President Bill Boisture. "Gulfstream has a significant number of worldwide opportunities and Bryan will make invaluable contributions to our continuing growth and success," he said.
Meggitt Avionics/S-TEC launched a new MAGIC 2100 digital flight control system designed for twin turboprop aircraft. The 2100 DFCS is a three-axis, fully digital, attitude-based flight control system that the manufacturer said "brings jet functionality to the twin turboprop market."
U.S. EMPLOYEES OF FAIRCHILD DORNIER PETITION COURT - U.S.-based former employees of aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier filed a petition in federal court in Virginia that asks for an involuntary bankruptcy declaration against the German manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiaries.
General Aviation manufacturers hope a measure in the recently enacted Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 will give them another tool to close sales that may be held up by buyers' concerns about the uncertain economy. The measure provides businesses with an additional 30 percent depreciation allowance in the first year for transportation assets acquired between Sept. 10, 2001 and Sept. 11, 2004.
Pentar Avionics of Seattle, Wash. sold its test equipment division to Minnesota-based Ideal Aerosmith, Inc., a company that specializes in motion control systems and custom engineering for the aerospace, automotive and petroleum industries. The deal transfers all of PENTAR's test equipment, technologies and customer base to Ideal's existing automated test equipment business. Ideal will keep PENTAR's key test equipment division employees and their facilities in Seattle and Shawnee, Kan. PENTAR will maintain a sales and support office in Kansas.
REP. JOHN MICA'S (R-Fla.) $5.5 billion general aviation relief bill has cleared some crucial behind-the-scenes hurdles and supporters are hoping that it will reach the House floor in coming weeks. The bill, which passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in late February (BA, March 4/106), has received a nod of approval from the leadership of both the Banking and Budget Committees. Budget Committee blessing was particularly important since the bill's direct compensation had not already been set aside in the overall federal budget.
Raytheon Aircraft Company won a contract for seven additional T-6A Texan II primary trainers for the U.S. Navy, the latest installment in a program that is expected to stretch over more than two decades.
