ALENIA MARCONI SYSTEMS completed the acquisition of Airport Systems International from Elecsys Corp. "The completion of the sale of Airport Systems allows Elecsys to solely focus on electronic contract manufacturing services and the outstanding opportunities for growth in that sector," said Keith S. Cowan, president and chief executive officer. At closing, Cowan said the company had paid Kansas City Equity Partners, a holder of Elecsys subordinated debt, fully paid down revolving and term bank loans and had approximately $2 million in cash.
Aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier signed an agreement with Harbin Aircraft Industrial Group of China to produce components for the 328JET regional airliner. The agreement, announced at the Aviation Expo 2001 in Beijing, calls for Harbin to produce wing fairings for the 328JET, which is assembled in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
COST AND AVAILABILITY of aviation insurance is a growing concern throughout the business aviation community in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Major insurance carriers are cancelling war risk insurance and premiums for all types of aviation coverage, which had been climbing, are expected to go up even faster. The Regional Airline Association warned last week that "aviation underwriters may begin imposing significant surcharges on existing coverages within a week." Increases of 10 to 50 percent in existing liability premiums are possible, RAA warned.
UNITED BIZJET HOLDINGS (UBH) maintained Friday that "our business plan is unchanged" despite the events of the past two weeks and the decision by parent UAL Corp. to sharply reduce airline operations and lay off 20,000 employees. UBH previously announced plans to launch a multi-tiered program of fractional aircraft, aircraft management and charter using a fleet of Gulfstream and Falcon business jets (BA, June 18/281). An announcement on marketing details had been anticipated at last week's NBAA convention, which was postponed until December (see article below).
FRANCIS X. SHEA was named executive vice president of finance at World Fuel Services. Shea was most recently a global corporate finance director at Arthur Andersen in Indonesia. "Frank's corporate finance experience is global in scope and will complement that of our senior management team as we continue to explore strategic growth opportunities for the company worldwide," the company said.
GULFSTREAM is extending a benefits package to buyers of previously owned Gulfstream 100 (Astra) and Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) business jet aircraft. "The package includes a limited warranty, pilot training for two pilots, maintenance training for one maintenance technician and repainting the aircraft at no cost after delivery" if the aircraft is purchased through Gulfstream's pre-owned aircraft sales division, said Jeff Cole, division vice president.
TRIRIGA INC., Las Vegas, Nev., said Aerospace Concepts, Inc. has deployed the TRIRIGA Intelligent Business System software to support their aircraft interior design oprations in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The IBS system is designed to streamline communications, collaboration and reporting between project teams, vendors and customers, TRIRIGA said.
GOODRICH will provide a potable water system as standard equipment for the Gulfstream GV-SP. The pressurized system uses aircraft ECS bleed air and an air compressor to provide water to various areas in the aircraft. Crew members can control and monitor the water as a part of the cabin management system located in the aircraft galley with all servicing available from one external service panel. The system also has a modular design, which allows size adjustments for specific airplane configurations.
BREEZE-EASTERN won a contract to supply its HS-29900 high-performance, electric personnel rescue hoist system for a Eurocopter Super Puma helicopter that Norsk Helicopters will use for offshore oil operations. Breeze-Eastern expects to deliver the hoist to Eurocopter in France in November.
AMETEK secured a $300 million, five-year revolving credit facility, replacing a $195 million credit line due to expire next year. JPMorganChase helped arrange the credit line for Ametek, a supplier of electronic instruments and electric motors.
THIS MONTH'S terrorist attacks on U.S. aviation will be at the top of the agenda when the International Civil Aviation Organization convenes its General Assembly meeting Tuesday in Montreal. Ed Stimpson, the U.S. ambassador to ICAO, told BA there are "lots of ideas" being discussed, including expanding ICAO safety audits to include security matters. ICAO's General Assembly, whose membership comprises 187 nations, meets every three years. The session beginning this week had been scheduled months before the Sept. 11 attacks.
HONEYWELL received certification approval for its N1 Digital Electronic Engine Control (N1 DEEC) for the Raytheon Hawker XP, Dassault Falcon 900 and Falcon 20 aircraft. More than 2,000 TFE731 engines worldwide now operate with an N1 DEEC, said Ralph Alberto, director of TFE aftermarket engine support. N1 DEEC improves power management and engine temperature limiting, eliminating control trimming, said Alberto. It also has diagnostic capabilities for maintenance and can be installed in place of existing electronic engine control without wiring harness changes.
DAVE HUNTZINGER was named director of safety at TAG Aviation. Operating out of the company's San Francisco headquarters, he will be responsible for all safety issues including flight, ground, maintenance, OSHA, emergency planning and response. Huntzinger most recently worked as an aviation safety consultant.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. said one of its senior executives, and a son of the company's founder, was among those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Donald F. Greene, 52, was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, the Boeing 757 that was scheduled to fly from Newark to San Francisco, but which was diverted near Cleveland and crashed in south central Pennsylvania. Donald Greene was executive vice president of the White Plains, N.Y. company founded by his father, Leonard M. Greene.
DORNIER Model 328-300 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-174-AD) - proposes to require, 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 proposal would prohibit installation of an attachment bolt on the forward engine mount vibration isolators, unless the attachment bolt is torqued within certain limits.
HONEYWELL'S AS900 engine program has completed more than 8,000 hours of tests, including 600 hours of flight testing on Honeywell's Boeing 720 flying test bed and close to 20 hours on Bombardier's Continental business jet, the company reported, adding that the engine line continues to meet performance and dependability expectations. Honeywell delivered eight fully podded "block two" AS907 flight test engines to Bombardier for the Continental, and the first aircraft has completed 10 flight tests. AS907 certification is expected in the second quarter of next year.
Eclipse Aviation said the first metal has been cut for the Eclipse 500 business jet and also announced a deal to sell up to 1,000 of the entry-level aircraft to a Florida company that plans to launch an air taxi fleet in North and South America.
LOGANAIR leased two Saab 340Bs from Saab Aircraft Leasing, increasing its Saab 340 fleet to five. One aircraft entered service at the end of August while the second is scheduled to start commercial flights this month. Loganair is a British Airways' franchise partner based in Glasgow, Scotland.
PRESIDENT BUSH announced his intention Wednesday to nominate Jeffrey Shane as associate deputy secretary of transportation (BA, July 30/55). Shane, a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hogan&Hartson, formerly served as assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at DOT and deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs at the State Department.
Fixed-base operator Mercury Air Centers is launching a new online aircraft charter reservation system. "Mercury Easy Charter by UltraJet" will be a joint effort between Mercury Air Centers and UltraJet, an Avbase Aviation companion company based in Cleveland, Ohio, to provide on-demand charter service. Customers will be able to make reservations through a website, a toll-free number, or by calling or visiting any of 19 Mercury Air Center locations.
JET AVIATION BEDFORD recently was designated a Beechjet authorized service center by Raytheon Aircraft Company. The Bedford, Mass. facility continues as an authorized service center for Raytheon King Air, Baron and Bonanza aircraft. aircraft
COMMANDER AIRCRAFT COMPANY introduced a new recurrent flight training program for Commander owners. The program will provide owners with "recurrent training at the factory level, regardless of where they purchased their aircraft or how long they have owned it," the manufacturer said. Commander Aircraft is working with the FAA to incorporate the Wings program into the training package. Commander owners interested in the program should contact Robert Canan at (405) 495-8080.
MORE THAN 60 INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES attended a meeting Friday in Washington, D.C. and developed a tentative list of industry "best practices" regarding security. The group, which received a detailed briefing from the deputy director of the FBI's Washington office and Transportation Department officials, plans to circulate its list of best practices to other industry groups and then distribute it to flight departments, fixed-base operators and air taxis (BA, Sept. 17/133).
EMS TECHNOLOGIES developed an aeronautical data terminal (ADT-1000) that will support high-speed data access for e-mail, Internet and voice and fax services, from the air. The dual-channel terminal provides data through the Inmarsat Global Area Network. The ADT-1000 is more than 50 times faster than existing SATCOM systems, according to EMS. The new system will be available for aircraft beginning in November.
