Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for May 2001 (see related graphs on Pages 291 and 292 of the hard copy of this issue.) Used Retail Deliveries May 1998 May 1999 May 2000 May 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 51 40 14 54 19 15 50 31 27 41 15 13 America
Model 737, 757, and 767 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-298-AD; Amendment 39-12249; AD 2001-11-07) - requires repetitive operational checks of certain motor-operated hydraulic shutoff valves to detect malfunctioning; replacement with new valves, if necessary; and eventual replacement of certain existing valves with new valves, which terminates the repetitive inspections. This amendment is prompted by reports that various intermittent limit-switch problems have caused valve failures.
A LEARJET being operated by a NASA flight crew was damaged during a training mission June 7. The Model 24A, N805NA, made a hard landing at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident said each pilot had successfully made a touch-and-go landing at the airport. On the third approach, flown by the co-pilot, the aircraft bounced twice and the co-pilot added power. The right wing dropped, so the crew reduced power and attempted to abort the takeoff.
THE RHETORIC is heating up between pilots and the airlines over flight and duty time limits. The Air Transport Association's attempts to halt an FAA rule on pilot fatigue is based on a "blatantly hypocritical collection of distortions and half-truths attempting to camouflage naked greed," Air Line Pilots Association President Duane Woerth charged Thursday. He was responding to ATA's June 12 filing asking for a stay of the rule that limits pilot work hours to 16 in any 24-hour period.
Three U.S. airports plan to install an aircraft arresting system of crushable concrete blocks designed to prevent runway overruns. The runway safety area extensions, made by Engineered Arresting Systems Corp. (ESCO), are built of cellular cement blocks and added to the ends of existing runways; they stop aircraft by decelerating them without inflicting life-endangering damage.
NICOLE CHARLAND was promoted to marketing manager for Flight Services Group. Charland will coordinate all marketing, promotions, customer service and advertising in the U.S. and work with marketing of the parent company, PrivatAir, to develop new branding and positioning in the U.S. Charland joined FSG in 1998 as a training coordinator.
Honeywell said a Falcon 50 engine retrofit program that substitutes TFE731-40 turbofans for the original TFE731-3 powerplants has won certification from U.S. and European officials (BA, Oct. 18, 1999/181). Anheuser Busch is the first company to commit to doing the Falcon 50-40 conversion. Honeywell claims the -40 engine will give Falcon 50 operators faster time-to-climb and cruise speeds, improved engine reliability and reduced cost of ownership.
Lockheed Martin won a $125 million contract to develop the En Route Communications Gateway (ECG) and field it at 21 air route traffic control centers and the FAA Academy and Technical Center. ECG will provide a gateway for processing radar data and will increase safety margins by reducing system outages, the agency said. It will replace the current Peripheral Adapter Module Replacement item with modern communications protocols and modular, expandable hardware.
HONEYWELL'S SECAN facility in France won a contract from Fairchild Dornier to provide auxiliary fuel tanks for the Envoy 7 Corporate Jet. The contract has a potential value of $50 million, based on sales of between 100 and 125 aircraft, Honeywell said. Deliveries of production fuel tanks are scheduled to begin in 2003. The tanks, which use Honeywell's new ISOCELL technology, will extend the range of the standard 70-passenger 728JET from 1,400 nautical miles to more than 4,000 nautical miles in the Envoy 7 corporate configuration.
BOTH PEOPLE aboard a Mitsubishi MU-2F were killed June 10 when their 1969 aircraft, N187AF, crashed about four miles south-southeast of the Santa Fe, N.M. airport. The aircraft was registered to Air 1st Aviation Companies, Inc. of Aiken, S.C.
Responding to concerns about potential safety problems with broken or cracked wiring in older aircraft, Honeywell is developing and marketing the Nova Wire Integrity Program (NWIP), "an integrated, and portable system to proactively test and identify faulty wiring and connections in older aircraft."
Models 99, 99A, 99A (FACH), A99, A99A, B99, and C99 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-27-AD; Amendment 39-12245; AD 2001-11-04) - requires inspection of all main landing gear (MLG) hydraulic actuators to determine the end cap part number that is installed, and replacement of any actuator that has a Part Number 4A125C32 end cap. This AD is the result of the potential for fatigue cracks to develop on the MLG hydraulic actuator end caps. The actions specified by this AD are intended to eliminate existing and prevent future fatigue cracks in the MLG hydraulic actuator end caps.
General Electric and Honeywell gave the European Commission a final package of actions they are willing to take to get approval for their proposed $40 billion merger, although company officials said the package is short of the EC's demands and they don't expect it to be approved. The package proposes divestitures in Honeywell's aerospace business, including a new business and regional jet engine program, air turbine starters and some avionics products. The divestitures would be worth $2.2 billion in revenue, according to the companies.
The 2000 Annual Business Turbine Aircraft Accident Review has been published, and is available from, Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc., the Boca Raton, Fla. firm that has been compiling and analyzing business aircraft accidents for decades.
Mark Donegan, president of Wyman-Gordon Company, was named president and chief operating officer of parent company Precision Castparts Corp., effective July 1. "This is an exciting time for Mark, me and PCC," said William C. McCormick, chairman and chief executive of PCC. "I have been in manufacturing for 50 years, and Mark Donegan is one of the best operational managers I have ever encountered. I have personally worked with Mark for nearly 20 years, and I am confident that he is ready to undertake these new responsibilities."
BOUNDARY LAYER RESEARCH won a supplemental type certificate from FAA for the BLR tailboom strake modification for the Bell 412 series helicopter. The modification is designed to improve handling qualities, reduce the cost of operation and improve safety of single-rotor helicopters by manipulating wind from the main rotor. The price of the modification kit is $12,250. BLR is based in Everett, Wash. For information, contact Dave George at (425) 353-6591.
A congressional panel last week questioned whether the Federal Aviation Administration's recently announced Operational Evolution Plan will go far enough to solve growing congestion problems in the U.S. and whether FAA will be able to deliver on the promises made in the plan. FAA this month outlined its 10-year OEP, which packages a host of programs designed to increase capacity in the airspace and at airports and bring online an array of new technology (BA, June 11/269).
JET AVIATION won German LBA approval to maintain Challenger 604 and Falcon 900EX aircraft at its Dusseldorf facility and Galaxy business jets at its Hannover site. The Hannover base is the first in the Jet Aviation network to win Galaxy approval.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION Friday asked the Senate Commerce Committee to allow the Department of Transportation to withhold funds from states and airport sponsors that propose closing an airport that serves as a reliever to one of the nation's most congested airports.
RIO GRANDE AIR, the only New Mexico-based regional airline, will add scheduled passenger service to Santa Fe and Ruidoso effective July 1. The carrier, which operates a fleet of Cessna Caravan turboprops, currently provides service to Albuquerque, Farmington and Taos, N.M., and to Durango, Colo.
GOODRICH CORPORATION said Bombardier Aerospace selected it to provide a potable water system as standard equipment on the CRJ900 series regional jet. The CRJ900 system is pressurized and uses bleed air from the ECS/APU, plus an air compressor to supplement or replace the supply of bleed air if necessary. Water temperature at the various outlet interfaces is controlled with localized heaters. The control panel for the system, located in the aircraft galley, contains all switches and circuit breakers for the system, as well as water level indication and warning lamps.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION appointed Christopher Bertram, a senior staff member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as assistant administrator for financial services/chief financial officer, replacing Donna McLean, who recently was confirmed by the Senate as the Transportation Department assistant secretary for budget and programs. FAA also named David Leitch, a partner in the law firm of Hogan&Hartson, as chief counsel.
Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-82-AD; Amendment 39-12243; AD 2001-11-02) - supersedes AD 99-17-08, which currently requires modifying the generator 2 excitation by removing certain diodes and installing a new 5-amp circuit breaker and suppression filter on certain Pilatus PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes. This AD is the result of FAA's determination that the A250 voltage spike suppression filter in the modification kit can cause the circuit breaker 235 to trip because of overload. In extreme circumstances, this can lead to overheating of wiring.
ASKED ABOUT the prospect of United Airlines jumping into the fractional aircraft market, Executive Jet's Richard Santulli responded, "We're not worried." The chairman and CEO of Executive Jet added that when United officials enter the fractional business they will be "playing in a different league than the league they're in now." Santulli made his remarks while traveling from Newark, N.J. to Columbus, Ohio aboard the first of his company's new Boeing Business Jets.
PREMIER TURBINES expanded its TFE731 response team to cover an area within a 500-mile radius of its St. Louis Downtown Airport operation. The field support team is a mobile unit on 24-hour call that travels to off-site locations with a specially outfitted van. Premier has ordered a trailer that will be customized for its 731 work, and the company said the combination could shuttle two complete 731 engines and all necessary tools and equipment to make repairs.
