Soft sales and a drop in deliveries of its more lucrative turbine products drove Raytheon Aircraft Company (RAC) to operating losses in excess of three-quarters of a billion dollars last year - and the company predicts that revenues will continue to slide this year. RAC, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., posted net sales of $2.57 billion in 2001, 20 percent below the $3.22 billion brought in a year earlier.
FAA issued a record of decision approving construction of a new cargo hub for FedEx at Piedmont Triad International Airport, a project that includes creation of a large sorting facility and a 9,000-foot runway to which some groups remain bitterly opposed. A number of permits still must be secured before the way is clear, and anti-hub groups say they will keep fighting.
NIMBUS GROUP, a start-up jet taxi service, named General Charles Horner (ret.) vice chairman of its board of directors. Horner retired after 36 years with the Air Force, having served as commander-in-chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Space Command and commander of Air Force Space Command. He also served as the commander-in-chief of all allied air forces during the Gulf War.
DORNIER Model 328-300 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-174-AD; Amendment 39-12584; AD 2001-26-18) - requires, for certain airplanes, a one-time torque test (inspection) of the attachment bolts of the forward engine mount vibration isolators to determine if the bolts are adequately torqued, and corrective action, if necessary. For all airplanes, this amendment prohibits installation of an attachment bolt on the forward engine mount vibration isolators, unless the attachment bolt is torqued within certain limits.
TURBOMECA S.A. Arrius 1A turboshaft engines (Docket No. 2001-NE-41-AD; Amendment 39-12593; AD 2002-01-02) - requires replacement of the 10 main fuel injectors in Arrius 1A engines with new or overhauled injectors. This amendment is prompted by routine inspections conducted in the repair workshop demonstrating that some main fuel injectors were partially or totally blocked.
Two years after she stepped into the position of FAA's acting associate administrator for airports, Woodie Woodward finally was given the job on a permanent basis. FAA last week formally announced the appointment of Woodward as associate administrator for airports with responsibility for the airport grant program and national airport planning.
GKN Westland, an Anglo-Italian helicopter joint venture, announced it will lay off 950 of its 5,250 workers and close its Weston Super-Mare factory. The cutbacks come even though the company has a $6.5 billion order backlog and got recent contracts for 26 EH101s from Denmark and Portugal and eight Super Lynx anti-submarine warfare helicopters from Malaysia and Thailand.
VOUGHT AIRCRAFT appointed Tom Risley president and chief executive officer as well as a director of the corporation. Risley succeeds Gordon Williams, who will take over as chairman for Allan Holt, a managing director of The Carlyle Group. A 33-year Vought veteran, Risley most recently was chief operating officer. Williams said the move is part of a planned succession.
GREELEY-WELD COUNTY, COLO. AIRPORT (GXY) said fuel sales were up for 2001, despite the effect of national airspace restrictions on general aviation in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fuel volume rose 14.6 percent last year to nearly 585,000 gallons, compared with just under 500,000 gallons in 2000 and just under 350,000 gallons in 1997. The airport estimates that post-9/11 restrictions cost it about 25,000 gallons of lost fuel volume sales.
Federal Aviation Administration is setting up a 45-nautical-mile "Olympic ring" around Salt Lake City, Utah during the Winter Olympic Games next month that will essentially close all but six airports, block off airspace corridors, and require approved Part 91 operators to funnel through one of four gateway airports outside the area to undergo detailed security checks.
HAWKER PACIFIC AEROSPACE hired an AAR executive to run the company. Richard Fortner was named president and chief executive officer of Hawker Pacific, succeeding Dave Lokken, who is leaving to pursue other business interests. Fortner had been president of AAR Landing Gear Services. "We are very excited about Dick joining Hawker," said August Henningsen, chairman of the Hawker Pacific board. "His vast experience in the aerospace industry will clearly have a positive impact on Hawker's growth opportunities."
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ADAM AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES completed the first fuselage for the CarbonAero. The CarbonAero is a six-seat, single-engine aircraft with a 230-gallon fuel capacity that will be able to cruise up to 1,500 nautical miles. The fuselage, mounted on a wheeled frame, will serve as a portable display model and will debut in April at the 2002 Sun 'N Fly-In at Lakeland, Fla.
AVIATION AUTHORITIES in Ecuador were searching last week for an FH-227 that went missing on a flight from Quito to Lago Agrao. The 1966 model aircraft, operated by Ecuador's state oil company, Petroecuador, was carrying five crew members and 21 passengers on what should have been a 37-minute flight to an oil field site. The aircraft, S/N 511, is believed to have gone down in the Amazon jungle.
Avionics and communications manufacturer Rockwell Collins Inc. said net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 dropped 20 percent compared with earnings for the same period last year. In a Jan. 16 conference call with investors and analysts, Rockwell Collins' Chief Financial Officer Larry Erickson said the company recorded sales of $563 million for the fiscal 2002 first quarter, compared with $587 million for the same period last year. The company plans to continue with previously announced job cuts, he said.
HARTZELL PROPELLER received an FAA supplemental type certificate for its new Top Prop three-blade propeller conversion for the Piper PA28-236 Dakota. The 78-inch-diameter propeller replaces the original 80-inch propeller for "smoother, quieter operation," said Hartzell. The new propeller kit for the Dakota is priced at $7,995.
GROB-WERKE KG Models G102 Club Astir III, G102 Club Astir IIIb, and G102 Standard Astir III sailplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-48-AD; Amendment 39-12591; AD 2001-26-25) - requires application of a red mark and installation of a placard on the airspeed indicator to restrict the Vne airspeed. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent elevator flutter, which could cause structural damage. Such damage could result in loss of control of the sailplane. The AD becomes effective Jan. 31, but FAA will accept comments until Feb. 11.
DORNIER Model 328 series airplanes equipped with Honeywell GP-300 guidance and display controller (Docket No. 97-NM-187-AD; Amendment 39-12580; AD 2001-26-14) - supersedes an existing AD, applicable to certain Dornier Model 328 series airplanes, that currently requires modification of certain Honeywell GP-300 guidance and display controllers. That AD was prompted by reports of smoke and fumes emitting from the Honeywell GP-300 guidance and display controller due to a defective light bulb; and a report of failure of the autopilot to disconnect manually.
HONEYWELL completed a demonstration series of global positioning system-guided autoland flight procedures at Moses Lake Airfield in central Washington using a single Honeywell/Pelorus local area augmentation system station. Honeywell said the demonstration, which used each of the four runways at the airfield, met or exceeded all expectations. "All landings were extremely steady and stable, accurate and fully consistent with preflight expectations," said Ed Wheeler, vice president of Honeywell Airport Systems.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. hired a senior executive from Bell Helicopter Textron to head its marketing programs and also announced assignment changes for a number of its executives.
BRITISH AUTHORITIES continue to be tight-lipped about the progress of their investigation into the crash of a U.S.-registered Challenger 604 in Birmingham, England earlier this month. The wreckage was recently removed to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board's headquarters at Farnborough International Airport for further examination. All five persons aboard the Challenger were killed when the aircraft crashed while attempting to take off (BA, Jan. 7/15).
Raytheon Co. continued to strip away business units with a $1.13 billion agreement to sell its Aircraft Integration Systems unit to L-3 Communications. Greenville, Texas-based AIS, formerly headed by Raytheon Aircraft CEO James Schuster (BA, June 4/261), makes communications, intelligence systems and sensors as well as modernizes a host of aircraft.
BAE SYSTEMS LTD. Model Avro 146-RJ series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-90-AD; Amendment 39-12588; AD 2001-26-22) - requires a one-time inspection of the S4 and S5 static pipes of the pitot static system for discrepancies, and follow-on corrective actions, if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent failure of the S4 and S5 static pipes and consequent failure of the maximum differential pressure protection for the airplane, which could lead to the fuselage of the airplane being overstressed and result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.
A 2001 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-900 helicopter in Aurora, Colo. sustained substantial damage when it "landed hard" during a training exercise Jan. 11. No injuries were reported.
National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the fatal crash of a medevac helicopter in Cleveland shortly after midnight Jan. 18. The BK-117 was taking off from the 12-story helipad of University Hospitals in Cleveland when one of the rotors apparently struck part of the building. The helicopter crashed onto an unoccupied car on the ground, killing the pilot and a flight nurse. A medical technician was injured.
