TOM MAJOR was named director of maintenance and flight administration at Dassault Falcon Jet in Teterboro. Major will be responsible for the department's budget and the maintenance and dispatch of DFJ's demonstrator aircraft. He started at DFJ as a mechanic in 1977 and has more than 30 years' aviation experience.
Dassault Falcon Jet officials have letters of intent (LOIs) for 41 of the company's new 5,700-nautical-mile Falcon 7X business jets, the first of a new family of business jet aircraft the company plans to offer using the new 7X wing design. Dassault announced the new trijet, then designated as the FNX, this past summer at the Paris Air Show, and said at the time it had letters of intent for 20.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL won Level D certification for the Embraer ERJ-145/135 regional jet simulator located at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. The simulator previously won approval from the certification authorities.
ROCKWELL COLLINS anticipates receipt of more than $2 billion in contracts over the life of the Joint Strike Fighter program, with more than $130 million from the full-scale development portion of the program alone. Partnered with Lockheed Martin on the JSF, Collins will provide displays, both cockpit and helmet-mounted, and communication navigation integration systems.
Despite an economic slump, Boeing Business Jets has accumulated orders and commitments for 83 aircraft and business is going strong, said the company. In addition to individual orders, the BBJ program is benefitting from a partnership with Executive Jet's NetJets fractional ownership program, which was established early in the BBJ program (BAV, Oct. 27, 1997/178).
DERCO AEROSPACE won a one-year, $8.5 million contract from the Venezuelan Air Force for spare parts, repair services and maintenance kits for aircraft. The spares will include ground support equipment, consumables, major components from OEMs, special equipment for engines, propeller parts and hydraulic, propeller and avionics test equipment. "Our extensive inventory of C-130 spares and relationships with the world's premier OEMs helped make this contract possible," said Angel Flores, regional director of sales.
AMERICAN AMMUNITION filed a patent application for bullets that will not pierce an aircraft fuselage. The company has been assigned serial number 60/325,046 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its provisional patent application filed on Sept. 26. "The product has been specifically designed for use inside the cabin of a commercial aircraft, with additional applications such as nuclear power plants, hazardous materials storage facilities, and home defenses," said American Ammunition.
Longstanding problems in aviation security are evident even after Sept. 11, according to testimony from DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead, who spoke at a House Transportation aviation subcommittee hearing last month.
General aviation groups expressed relief that sweeping security legislation is headed toward a House/Senate showdown where certain controversial measures - including a provision calling for background checks on non-U.S. citizens who want to buy or charter aircraft - can be debated. The House late Thursday forced that showdown when it adopted the Airport Security Federalization Act, H.R.3150, by a 286 to 139 margin after an unsuccessful attempt by House Democrats to win approval of security legislation already passed by the Senate.
AMONG THE new restrictions issued last week was a temporary flight restriction banning visual flight rule operations below 3,000 feet in a semicircle extending 1.5 miles east of the Sears Tower. The restriction comes at the request of the City of Chicago, which is concerned about the vulnerability of the nation's tallest building. But, FAA's action did not assuage the city's concerns. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley reportedly had asked for a no-fly zone that extended at least five miles from the Sears building.
KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES rolled out its first T-50 Golden Eagle aircraft Oct. 31. The T-50 is a supersonic training aircraft to prepare pilots to fly fighters like the F-16, the F-22, and the Joint Strike Fighter. First flight for the first full-scale development aircraft is scheduled for mid-2002 with first production expected in late 2005. "This aircraft is expected to not only serve the advanced training needs of the Korean Air Force, but also a number of other major air forces around the world.
DASSAULT FALCON JET'S new Falcon 2000EX business jet made its first flight Oct. 25 from the company's production facility in Merignac, France. Powered by two Pratt&Whitney Canada Corp. PW308C powerplants, the aircraft flew for nearly two hours and reached an altitude of 35,000 feet and a top speed of Mach .82. The 2000EX, a larger, longer-legged version of the company's successful Falcon 2000 twin jet, will have a range of 3,800 nautical miles.
VOUGHT AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES will cut its work force by 1,200, with initial notices to be handed out at the end of this month. The cuts, which will affect all the company's locations, are expected to be completed by mid-2002. Dallas-based Vought employs 6,000 workers in its commercial aerostructures business, fabricating wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages, nacelles, thrust reversers and other parts for Boeing and a number of other original equipment manufacturers.
JOHN J. (JACK) SERRELL, 85, a long-time member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Board of Trustees, died in a Newton, Mass. nursing home Oct. 28. Serrell joined AOPA in 1957 and was elected to the Board of Trustees in May 1967. He became the association's treasurer in 1974, a position he held until retiring in 1998. He was elected Trustee Emeritus in May 2000.
The proposed Sonic Cruiser is likely to be of an all-composite structure, said Michael Garrett, vice president-marketing management, airplane programs at Boeing's Commercial Airplane Group during a visit to Munich.
MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY hired two aviation security experts and is studying the feasibility of installing a facial recognition program at Boston Logan Airport. Massport hired Rafi Ron, a top Israeli aviation security expert, and Len Limmer, former head of security at Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport, as consultants. The facial recognition program is in initial discussion stages with federal authorities and private companies and "could become a model for a national system to be installed at major commercial airports," it said.
RICH IUDICE was appointed director of flight operations at Dassault Falcon Jet's Teterboro, N.J. flight department. He will be responsible for all flight operations at DFJ. Iudice joined DFJ in 1989 and previously served as a U.S. Navy pilot.
UAL Corp., which last week posted unprecedented losses and is facing wrath from some its employee unions for its pacts with Gulfstream and Dassault, is seeking an outside partner to continue investment in its new fractional ownership venture, Avolar. "In light of our current cash needs, we're in active discussion with outside investors to take over future Avolar funding requirements," said Jake Brace, UAL chief financial officer, when announcing the company's third quarter results Thursday. UAL Corp.
DASSAULT FALCON JET'S 7X business jet was always planned as a three-engine aircraft instead of a twin jet, said Dassault Chairman Charles Edelstenne, because "we foresee you may have some ETOPS regulations" on business jets. The French manufacturer, which features other trijet models in its product line, has been a supporter of ETOPS restrictions on twin-engine business jets, restrictions that other segments of the business aviation community oppose.
FAIRCHILD AIRCRAFT, INC., Models SA226 and SA227 series airplanes [Docket No. 2000-CE-28-AD; Amendment 39-12462; AD 2001-20-14] - requires replacement of the brake shuttle valves with parts of improved design and installation of a shield over the hydraulic lines. This AD also requires replacing the rubber fuel hose with a metal device for certain SA226 series airplanes. This AD is the result of a report of a wheel brake system malfunction caused by a faulty brake shuttle valve.
Illustration: Graph: Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for September 2001 (see related graphs on Pages 219 and 220 of the hard copy of this issue.) Used Retail Deliveries Sept. 1998 Sept. 1999 Sept. 2000 Sept. 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 57 34 21 44 33 22 57 34 22 34 16 7 America Jet Outside 8 2 2 7 3 1 4 4 2 7 3 5 N.
DHL AIRWAYS reorganized management responsibilities to complete its senior management team. Vicki W. Bretthauer was named senior vice president of operations. Formerly senior vice president of administration, she will be responsible for all airline and flight operations. The cargo airline also expanded the role of Chuck Thomson, vice president of human resources and labor relations, to include responsibilities for ground safety, security, facilities, purchasing and interline ticketing.
FOKKER Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-122-AD; Amendment 39-12475; AD 2001-21-04) - requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations Section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness to incorporate life limits for certain items and inspections to detect fatigue cracking in certain structures. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
BAE SYSTEMS LIMITED Model BAe 146-200A series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-150-AD) - proposes to require replacement of the signal summing units (SSUs) for the stall identification system with new, improved parts. This action is necessary to prevent stall identification and stall warning signals from occurring at the same time, leading the flight crew to take action based on erroneous information, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.
