THE BOEING COMPANY won a $112 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide upgrade and subscription support for the C-32A mission communications system. The upgrades will include installation of Connexion By Boeing airborne broadband communication service, with work scheduled to be completed by September 2003. The C-32A is a specially configured Boeing 757-200 operated by the U.S. Air Force to carry the Vice President, cabinet members and other government officials. The Air Force currently operates four C-32As.
SHORT BROTHERS Model SD3 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-229-AD; Amendment 39-12616; AD 2002-01-22) - requires a one-time inspection of the installation of the bearing housings of the elevator torque shaft assembly, and corrective action if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent failure of the elevator torque shaft, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 75 Model SD3 series airplanes on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $9,000, or $120 per airplane. The rule is effective March 7.
MARTIN ROSE was appointed military spares manager at A J Walter Aviation in West Sussex, U.K. He will be responsible for the company's inventory and customer service.
ARTHUR LUCAS was appointed senior vice president-engineering at Pratt&Whitney. He was most recently senior vice president of research and engineering at Bell Helicopter.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION named Jeff Sural, an attorney and congressional staffer, to serve as general counsel and lobbyist. Sural had been legislative counsel for Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.), a senior member of the House aviation subcommittee. Sural handled aviation matters as part of his duties for Ehlers. Sural is a North Carolina native and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He studied and practiced law in Michigan before joining Ehlers's staff. Sural succeeds Darby M.R.
The Boeing Company has formed a technical team to determine which suppliers should assist the company in developing the necessary technology for its planned Sonic Cruiser airliner, and signed the first agreement with two Japanese organizations.
JUST WEEKS after insiders said the search for a chief operating officer to head FAA's aircraft traffic operations finally appeared to be nearing an end, the selection process has hit another bump. The word a couple of weeks ago was that the list of candidates for the ATC COO post had been narrowed to two, but Friday BA was told "the search is being broadened." The latest setback comes just six months before FAA Administrator Jane Garvey is expected to step down (BA, Jan. 14/23).
Illustration: Graph: Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for 1998-2001 Used Retail Deliveries 1998 1999 2000 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 658 418 210 657 383 230 604 376 269 547 307 192 America Jet Outside 98 33 36 82 45 27 59 26 22 55 33 27 N.
MD HELICOPTERS Model MD900 helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-25-AD) - proposes to require, for the lateral-mixer bellcrank assembly, establishing a life limit, creating a component history card or equivalent record, determining the hours time-in-service, and applying a serial number. This proposal is prompted by additional testing, which revealed that the original load test to establish the life limits of the bellcrank did not accurately represent the actual loading.
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT is offering Garmin International's integrated avionics suite as standard equipment in its DA40 Diamond Star and DA20-C1 Eclipse aircraft. The avionics package includes the Garmin GNS 430, GTX 327 digital transponder and GMA 340 audio panel.
PILATUS BN-2, BN-2A, BN-2B, BN-2T, BN-2T-4, and BN2A MK. III series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-47-AD; Amendment 39-12603; AD 2002-01-11) - requires repetitive inspection of the throttle friction-shaft and replacement of the shaft if damaged. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom. The actions specified by this AD are intended to detect and correct loosening of the throttle friction adjustment beyond its normal limits.
BELL HELICOPTER Model 407 helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-54-AD) - proposes to require visually inspecting the forward hanger bearing bracket. This proposal is prompted by reports of cracks in the bracket. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to detect a crack in the bracket, to prevent loss of tail rotor drive or tail rotor control and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 442 helicopters on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $6,630 assuming no crack is detected in a bracket.
"Certainly the market has slowed," said Boeing Business Jets President Lee Monson, talking about a decline in the sales of his company's corporate-configured 737s due to the overall economic downturn. Concerns about the state of the economy have made the decision process "significantly slower" for potential buyers, he said, an observation that many of his counterparts at other OEMs would agree with.
EADS SOCATA selected Goodrich's SkyWatch HP Collision Avoidance System as a factory option for its TBM 700. The customer will have two display options for the system: a separate Honeywell KMD display or a shared display with the Goodrich Stormscope Model WX-1000. The Socata TBM 700 is a single turboprop that can cruise at speeds of up to 243 knots.
WILLIAM MOREU was appointed director of flight operations at Sino Swearingen Aircraft Co. He will be responsible for all flight test certification on the SJ30-2 business jet. Moreu worked for 30 years in flight test operations at The New Piper Aircraft and Piper Aircraft Corp.
The initial report of a Challenger 604 crash in Birmingham, England early this month (BA, Jan. 7/15), included a statement from Pat Epps, the president of Epps Aviation, which was operating the aircraft under a management contract for Agco Corp. of Duluth, Ga. Referring to the three pilots who were killed in the accident, he said they were "good pilots who went to FlightSafety and did all the things they're supposed to." FlightSafety International officials complained that the pilots of the aircraft did not receive their Challenger 604 training at an FSI facility.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week expanded and clarified its general aviation flight restrictions over the City of Chicago in a compromise agreement between the city, the agency and industry officials. FAA Thursday released a new notice to airmen (NOTAM) that replaces an earlier NOTAM restricting visual flight rule flights in a three-mile arc around Chicago's Sears Tower.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350B, B1, B2, B3, BA, D, and AS355E Helicopters [Docket No. 2001-SW-70-AD; Amendment 39-12605; AD 2001-26-53] - publishes an amendment adopting AD 2001-26-53, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Eurocopter France (ECF) Model AS350B, B1, B2, B3, BA, D, and AS355E helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires, before further flight, removing certain serial-numbered servocontrols. This AD is prompted by a report of manufacturing defects in a batch of main servocontrol rods.
THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION has extended until April 22 the deadline for businesses to apply for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The loans, for up to $1.5 million, are available to business owners who suffered losses from the Sept. 11 attacks or the subsequent government restrictions on air travel (BA, Jan. 7/13). As of last week, SBA had approved more than 4,400 loans totaling nearly $370 million.
BAe Model HP.137 Jetstream Mk.1, Jetstream Series 200, Jetstream Series 3101, and Jetstream Model 3201 airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-34-AD; Amendment 39-12596; AD 2002-01-05) - requires inspection of the MLG radius rod cylinders for the required conductivity or hardness standard. This AD also requires replacement of any MLG radius rod cylinder that does not meet this standard. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom.
MD HELICOPTERS Model MD900 helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-56-AD; Amendment 39-12601; AD 2001-25-51) - publishes an amendment adopting AD 2001-25-51, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of MD Helicopters, Inc. Model MD900 helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires performing a dual power confirmation test on the Integrated Instrument Display System (IIDS) and inserting a revision to the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM), as applicable. If the IIDS fails the power test, replacing it is required before further flight.
Federal Aviation Administration has rejected the privatization of Niagara Falls International Airport, N.Y., after investors' revised, post-Sept. 11 projections showed the airport would not be profitable for years, sharply reducing or eliminating the investment and airport modernization for which the pilot privatization program was created.
AUBREY MAY was appointed avionics installation customer service representative at Banyan Air Service. He will oversee installations Banyan's avionics division. May has more than 26 years of aviation experience, starting his career as a radar technician in the U.S. Air Force. He was most recently the avionics supervisor at Bombardier Aerospace.
It's a pleasure to be here representing the men and women of the FAA - many of whom have worked almost nonstop since Sept. 11. I especially appreciate so many of you being here - I know this is an extraordinarily busy and hectic time for each of you. It is a far different world from the last time I spoke to the Aero Club - certainly a more dangerous world. On September 10, many Americans did not know just how dangerous. We were all harshly awakened to this reality the morning of September 11 - just as Americans awakened to war 60 years ago.
General Dynamics reported higher earnings and revenues for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31 and officials predicted continued strong growth in the current year. The company reported net sales of $3.5 billion, an increase of 30 percent over the same period last year. Net income was up 12.3 percent to $246 million. For the year, sales rose 17.4 percent to $12.1 billion and net earnings were up 4.6 percent to $943 million. Sales for the Aerospace division jumped 27.5 percent to $950 million and rose 7.8 percent to $3.2 billion for the year.
