JEFFREY BUFF was appointed outside sales representative for the northeast region at Professional Aviation Associates, Atlanta, Ga. Buff, who has more than 10 years' aviation experience, was most recently a sales representative at Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation Services. PAA distributes aircraft parts worldwide, specializing in Beech, Learjet and Falcon aircraft.
FLIR SYSTEMS, INC. developed a new infrared imaging system, the Ultra 7500, for law enforcement use. The new airborne imager includes a laser illuminator option that provides 24-hour, higher altitude, long-range search and surveillance capability for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, Flir said.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD plans to issue factual reports Tuesday developed in its investigation of the Jan. 27 crash of a Raytheon (Beech) King Air 200 (N81PF) near Strasburg, Colo. that claimed all 10 aboard, including members of the Oklahoma State University basketball team (BA, Feb. 5/60).
The Senate last week approved a measure designed to protect Chicago-area reliever airports, including Meigs Field (BA, July 30/45). The measure, introduced by Sens. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), was included as an amendment to the fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations bill, which passed by voice vote Wednesday after a week-long, contentious debate over Mexican trucking.
Model ATR 42-200, -300, and -320 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-08-AD; Amendment 39-12341; AD 2001-15-07) - requires modifying the wiring of the starting rotary switch. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent the loss of electrical power supply of the direct current (DC) emergency and standby buses, which could result in the loss of some electrical loads and the consequent display of erroneous information to the flight crew. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 60 Model ATR 42-200, -300, and -320 series airplanes on the U.S.
ADVANCED AERODYNAMICS&STRUCTURES, INC. (AASI) received components for the first five landing gear shipsets from supplier Castle Precision Industries of Sylmar, Calif. The landing gear sets are in various quality check and assembly stages, AASI said, with the first landing gear slated for the static test area and the remaining four being prepared for flight test and customer aircraft.
SUPERIOR AIR PARTS INC. was appointed exclusive sales representative for TAE 110 and 125 Jet A Piston aircraft engines manufactured by Thielert Aircraft Engines for worldwide OEM sales and North American aftermarket sales. "The Thielert Aircraft Engines will complement Superior's existing engine programs and bring us closer to our goal of supplying superior power to general aviation," said Bernie Coleman, Superior Air Parts president and CEO.
INFORMATION collected by the Air Transport Association shows that U.S. cities have built nearly seven times as many sports stadiums in the past decade as they have new runways. See chart below.
David E. Berges, a veteran Honeywell executive, was named chairman and chief executive officer of Hexcel Corp. of Stamford, Conn. Berges succeeds John J. Lee, who died in May. Berges, 51, had been president of Honeywell's Automotive Products Group, and before that was vice president of the AlliedSignal Aerospace Engines and Accessories business. Berges previously served as president and chief operating officer of Barnes Aerospace and spent 15 years with General Electric early in his career.
Delta Airlines joined American Airlines in ruling out the possibility of entering the fractional aircraft market, but Delta Chairman Leo Mullin expressed a desire to slowly grow its business jet charter business, Comair Jet Express. Mullin told BA affiliate Aviation Daily that he has "zero intention" of seeking a niche in business aviation "in the way United is pursuing" the market.
BBA Group, continuing to add to its menu of engine support services, completed the acquisition of Barrett Turbine Engine Company (BTEC) of Augusta, Ga. BTEC, founded in 1994, specializes in supply and distribution of components for the Honeywell/ AlliedSignal/Garrett TFE731 turbine engine line that powers a wide range of business jets. The Augusta firm, with seven employees, maintains an extensive inventory of over-the-counter and exchange parts and accessories for most TFE731 engine applications.
FLIGHTSAFETY BOEING Training International won FAA certification for a Boeing 717-200 and a 737-700/-800 full-flight simulator at its Miami training center. The latest certification boosts FlightSafety Boeing's simulator fleet to four 717-200 and 11 737-700/-800 trainers.
KENNETH D. JAFFE was named international sales manager for Qualimetrics. Jaffe will be responsible for Pacific Rim and Africa sales. Jaffe has more than 20 years experience in meteorological marketing, forecasting and research. He previously directed the site evaluation team for FAA's Low Level Wind Shear Alert System.
THE LEADER of the Mexican Air Controllers Labor Union warned that his members will continue to strike at airports in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta unless the government agrees to its demand for a 10.5 percent salary increase, additional benefits and improved working conditions. Raul Campilla asked the Mexican Secretary of Transportation not to use desk workers as substitutes for controllers because this would be inviting a "tragedy."
MORE THAN A DOZEN Washington, D.C.-based organizations late last month urged President Bush to make aviation capacity enhancements a top national priority. In a July 26 letter, the organizations urged support for streamlining environmental review processes, expediting air traffic control modernization, and maintaining consistent investment in the aviation system.
NASA may be the next agency contemplating becoming a fractional aircraft owner. In the fiscal 2002 NASA budget, the House included an extra $550,000 "for an aircraft fractional ownership test program." The NASA budget, which cleared both the House and Senate last week, also included full funding for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program, which is designed to lower the cost of small aircraft and open access to airports in all weather conditions. See article below.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION, long a vociferous opponent of Mayor Richard Daley's plans to close Meigs Field in Chicago, is now battling to protect another lakefront airport in a major midwestern city.
Runways vs. Stadiums At U.S. Major Airports Rank Airport Delay Rate Runways 1 LGA New York - La Guardia 15.59% 0 2 EWR NewYork-Newark 8.12% 0 3 ORD ChicagoO'Hare 6.33% 0 4 SFO San Francisco 5.69% 0 5 BOS Boston 4.75% 0 6 PHL Philadelphia 4.45% 1
CLEVELAND AIRSPORTS bought its seventh Cessna aircraft at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. "We chose the Skyhawk SP because it is a great trainer [for students] and is easy to fly. We've also learned the students relate to it better," said Ken Gee, owner of Cleveland Airsports.
ROLLS-ROYCE appointed Ian Aitken president of corporate aircraft in addition to his duties as executive vice president of airlines for the Americas. Aitken will be based at Rolls-Royce North America in Chantilly, Va. and will direct the global corporate aircraft business in addition to the airline business in the Americas. Aitken joined Rolls-Royce in 1979 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, including senior vice president for airline customer business in Asia and the Pacific.
LAWYERS representing business aviation interests completed arguments against a Stage 2 non-addition rule at Van Nuys Airport in California that took effect last year. National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the National Air Transportation Association joined five businesses at VNY in filing a lawsuit in federal district court in an attempt to overturn the Stage 2 non-addition rule (BA, Sept. 4/105). The judge presiding over the lawsuit is expected to make a ruling this month.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS won a $130.8 million contract from the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program Office to build two conical microwave imager sounder weather instruments. The contract includes options for four more weather instruments with a total potential value of $298 million. NPOESS is the next-generation low-earth-orbit environmental satellite system with the first NPOESS satellite scheduled for launch in 2008. Boeing expects to deliver the first weather instrument by 2005 with the second in 2007.
SUPERIOR AIR PARTS now has SL360 engine kits available. The SL360 is an unassembled four-cylinder, 180-horsepower engine kit with new FAA-approved parts. The base price, starting at $16,490, includes technical support during the assembly process.
Israel Aircraft Industries reported sharply higher net income in the first half of the year, boosted by profits from the sale of its stake in Galaxy Aerospace (BA, May 7/213).
AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF HONG KONG posted its first profit for Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok since it began operations in 1998. AAHK posted a profit of HK$71 million (U.S. $9.1 million), compared with a net loss of HK$168 million the previous year.
