Illustration: Chart: Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for October 2001 Used Retail Deliveries Oct. 1998 Oct. 1999 Oct. 2000 Oct. 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 41 25 11 72 29 11 59 29 18 71 35 19 America Jet Outside 5 2 7 8 1 1 2 1 1 1 7 3 N.
CESSNA 172N, 172P, R172K, 172RG, F172N, F172P, FR172J, and FR172K airplanes - supersedes airworthiness directive 80-04-08, which requires inspecting (one-time) the fuel line and map light switch in the left hand forward door post for chafing or arcing on certain Cessna Aircraft Company Model 172N, R172K, F172N, and FR172K airplanes and repairing any damage found. AD 80-04-08 also requires providing at least a 0.50-inch clearance between the map light switch and the fuel line; and installing a switch cover (insulator) over the map light switch.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE is starting to see some modest improvement in parts of its marketplace, but business has not returned to normal in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Immediately after Sept. 11, Gulfstream's "maintenance business went real quiet for four weeks," Bill Boisture, president and COO, told BA. Maintenance work is gradually picking up, he said, but flying is down compared to last year. "People are very cautious," he said, particularly large, multi-national corporations that have been the heart of Gulfstream's market for decades.
JOHN DOMAN was named vice president, worldwide propeller aircraft sales, at Cessna. Formerly director of Caravan sales, Doman will lead Cessna's Caravan and Single Engine Piston aircraft sales teams. He also has served as the international sales manager and director of Worldwide Piston Aircraft Sales at Cessna.
Sporty's Pilot Shop, one of the earliest and most generous benefactors of the general aviation industry's Be A Pilot learn-to-fly program, is sharply reducing its funding participation because other segments of the industry are not providing financial support.
The Federal Aviation Administration declared the Arizona Cardinals' Tempe stadium site a hazard to air navigation, concluding a five-month study of the proposed stadium's effect on air traffic at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The site for the 73,000-seat, $334 million stadium is less than two miles from the airport on the extended centerline for Runway 26.
DERCO AEROSPACE signed a five-year, sole worldwide distribution agreement with Honeywell for all military fixed-wing aircraft. The agreement makes Derco the "only global supplier" of Honeywell's military products and allows Honeywell to focus on aftermarket support and meeting customer needs, Derco said. Honeywell and Derco began their business relationship in 1991. The deal is the latest of several between the two companies that include a 10-year licensing agreement signed in June for the repair and distribution of military aircraft cooling turbines.
EADS SOCATA delivered its first TBM 700B freighter to Quest Diagnostics. The manufacturer has a contract to deliver five more aircraft to Quest, a national laboratory network. The freighters will be used to transport perishable patient specimens between laboratory locations. "We are modernizing our fleet to improve patient care. We selected the TBM 700 Freighter after an extensive review process, based on its sturdiness and its low cost of operations," said Albert A. Murrer III, Quest Diagnostics director of flight operations.
PRATT&WHITNEY CANADA CORP. completed the first test flight of a UH-1 Huey helicopter equipped with a PT6C-67D engine. The flight originated from Global Helicopter Technology's facility at Arlington Airport in Arlington, Texas, part of a planned upgrade program for the Huey to replace the original powerplants with PT6C-67Ds equipped with electronic engine controls.
MATSUSHITA AVIONICS SYSTEMS, best known for its Panasonic brand name, is partnering with other Panasonic businesses to develop new products for enhanced aviation security. The company's near-term solution is the OnBoard Video Surveillance System, which will employ four Panasonic surveillance cameras, a monitor that can display up to four video inputs, and power supplies to allow the flight crew to see various sections of the aircraft.
AT LEAST TWO ASSOCIATIONS, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and National Business Aviation Association, have asked FAA to carefully consider security issues surrounding fractional operations in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but those associations differed in their approach.
BOMBARDIER sold three 50-seat Q300 airliners to Qantas Airways. The order from the Australian airline, which already has 26 Bombardier turboprop aircraft in its fleet, is valued at $61.4 million (C.) "The addition of these Bombardier Q300 aircraft gives us improved flexibility to increase capacity within our expanding regional network," said Narendra Kumar, Qantas executive general manager-subsidiary businesses. Qantas's regional airline unit QantasLink will operate the new aircraft.
Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, Inc. reported sharply lower earnings for the quarter and nine months ended Oct. 31. Revenues rose more than 30 percent to $5 billion (C.) for the quarter, but the manufacturer reported a net loss of $368 million. That compares with revenues of $3.9 billion a year earlier and net income of $226 million. For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Bombardier's revenues jumped 32 percent to $14 billion, compared with $10.5 million a year earlier.
ADDING INSULT TO INJURY, only one Grand Canyon tour provider, who operates under Part 121, has received any emergency funding from the Air Transportation Safety and Stabilization Act, Bassett said. The other Grand Canyon operators, who fly under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, have not received a dime, he said, while the Transportation Department continues to ponder how to divvy up the remaining funds available under the legislation (BA, Oct. 29/197).
DR. ASSAD KOTAITE was elected to a 10th consecutive term as president of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). His new term runs to 2004. His association with ICAO began in 1953 when he was named by Lebanon to serve as a member ICAO's Legal Committee. He represented Lebanon on the ICAO Council from 1956 to 1962 and from 1965 to 1970. Kotaite was first elected president of the ICAO Council in November 1975 and assumed office in August 1976.
COMAIR completed the reinforcement of cockpit doors in all 99 of its aircraft, the Delta Connection carrier said last week. The carrier operates a fleet of 92 Canadair Regional Jets and seven Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops. The design for installation of security bars was developed through a combined effort that included the engineering departments of regional carriers, FAA, manufacturers of regional aircraft and the Regional Airline Association.
ROLF SMITH was appointed regional vice president, sales and acquisitions, at Privatair's new sales office in Van Nuys, Calif. He has more than 14 years' experience in aviation sales in Southern California.
GOODRICH CORP. signed an agreement to serve as the exclusive worldwide distributor of Hi-Temp Insulation products. Hi-Temp Insulation, which has been in business for nearly 30 years, designs and manufactures thermal and acoustic products for commercial, military and space applications. The company has more than 450 employees and annual sales of $32 million. Goodrich will distribute more than 200 of Hi-Temp Insulation's products.
THE UNITED STATES AIR TOUR ASSOCIATION appealed to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey again last week, asking her to suspend operational caps and curfews on air tour flights at the Grand Canyon. USATA raised that issue with Garvey in a Sept. 5 letter, and again on Sept. 28, arguing that it made no sense to penalize operators who have upgraded their fleets with quiet technology aircraft and adopted other noise reduction strategies. Since the Sept.
An independent NASA panel concluded that there are "no known aeromechanics phenomena" that would prevent the safe development and deployment of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and recommended flight testing be resumed without delay. The 12-member panel, made up of experts from government, academia, and industry, was formed in response to a May 24 request by Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cook, vice commander of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), to assess tiltrotor aeromechanics phenomena that might adversely affect the safety or performance of the V-22.
THE AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION set a new East Coast attendance record at this year's AOPA Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with a crowd of 9,886. That figure beat the previous East Coast record set in 1999 in Atlantic City, N.J. and is 2,500 more than AOPA's last Florida Expo in Orlando in 1997.
THE BEST WAY for the airlines to stimulate business flying is a huge cut in structured business fares, according to UBS Warburg analyst Sam Buttrick. "We are unimpressed with airline executives sitting around waiting for the economy to recover to restore business travel," he said. "It's more than the economy, Stupid." While the cuts would hurt in the short term, the airlines could produce more revenue in 18 months than under the "current gouge and discount structure," Buttrick said.
RAYTHEON Beech Models 1900, 1900C (C-12J), and 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-04-AD; Amendment 39-12495; AD 2001-22-16) - supersedes AD 95-02-18, which requires repetitive inspection of the engine truss assemblies for cracks, repair or replacement of any cracked engine truss assembly, and installation of reinforcement doublers. This AD requires engine truss assembly replacement, periodic inspections and replacements, and the eventual incorporation of a cowling support installation kit as terminating action.
QUALCOMM introduced the latest take on enhancing aviation safety and security by demonstrating new applications for its MDSS Globalstar Satellite Communications System at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is investigating "an elevator control anomaly" that occurred Nov. 13 during the flight of an Aero Commander 200D. The aircraft, N28PC, was substantially damaged in flight. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, said five minutes after taking off from the West Houston, Texas Airport in visual meteorological conditions, the aircraft began to vibrate, accompanied by "stick shaking." The pilot reduced power and made an emergency landing at the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport near Spring, Texas.
