PETER MUENZEN was appointed director of managed fleet sales for Garrett Aviation in Long Island, N.Y. Muenzen had served as acting general manager of the Long Island facility since April 2000 and, before that, was sales and support manager. He joined Garrett in 1981.
DONNA MCLEAN, the Federal Aviation Administration's chief financial officer who is spearheading development of the agency's cost accounting system, was named assistant secretary for budget and programs and chief financial officer for the Department of Transportation. McLean joined FAA in 1999 as assistant administrator for financial services. Before that, she was a long-time staff member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Aviation businesses last week praised House and Senate legislators for tossing out the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's massive Ergonomics Protection Standard. But employees' unions vowed to continue fighting for workplace protections. The Senate Tuesday voted 56-44 to overturn the ergonomics rule. The House followed suit Wednesday in a 223-206 vote, and President Bush is expected to sign the bill overturning the OSHA regulations.
Bombardier Aerospace won FAA type certification approval last week for the company's 70-seat CRJ900 series regional jet, the latest addition to the company's line of regional aircraft. The U.S. certification follows Transport Canada type certification late last year (BA, Jan. 1/7), and European Joint Aviation Authorities type recommendation earlier this year. Brit Air, an Air France affiliate and the launch customer for the 70-seat jet, inaugurated CRJ700 service Feb. 18.
HOUSE Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders began their fight to preserve the federal government's contribution to FAA operations in fiscal 2002. The committee warned colleagues in its fiscal 2002 transportation "Views and Estimates" that it would "strongly oppose any proposal to eliminate the general fund payment to the FAA." Congress has increasingly relied upon the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to pay for FAA operations even though the trust fund was created to pay for capital expenses, the committee said.
TRACY BEHNKE joined The Air Group as an air charter travel manager for its Chicago base. Behnke previously held charter sales and dispatch positions with Priester Aviation and, before that, was a customer service representative for Vanguard Airlines at Midway Airport.
Boeing Business Jets this month flew its first two customer-bound BBJ 2 aircraft to PATS Inc. in Georgetown, Del., using only 4,700 feet of available runway at earthquake-damaged Boeing Field (BFI) with enough fuel to make the cross-country trip. The company delivered the first BBJ 2 to a customer and the customer climbed aboard the new aircraft just minutes before the Feb. 28 earthquake hit the Seattle area.
British conglomerate BBA Group said revenues and operating profit in its Aviation Service business unit were significantly higher last year. Turnover, or revenues, totaled $1.14 billion for the segment, an increase of 35 percent, while operating profits were up 25 percent to $144.4 million. Those increases were primarily due to continued organic growth of eight percent and the acquisitions made during 2000, the company said.
FAA, which earlier this year issued a sole-source proposal to Lockheed Martin to update the Host computer system in a contract valued at "hundreds of millions" of dollars, backtracked and said it will now consider challenges to that selection. Steve Zaidman, associate administrator for research and development, said that "this is not the typical way we do business. We generally compete our projects."
A Horizon Air crew safely landed their de Havilland DHC-8 at the Portland, Ore. International Airport (PDX) Tuesday despite a developing fire in the No. 2 engine.
Three system integrators are participating in a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) concept study aimed at developing breakthrough technologies for sustained, long-range supersonic flight with substantially diminished sonic booms.
HONEYWELL delivered the fourth fully podded AS977 engine system to BAE Systems, completing the first shipset of AS977 engines for the Avro RJX regional jet. Honeywell plans to deliver the second shipset of Avro RJX engines to the United Kingdom by the end of the month.
KAMAN CORP. said Founder and Chairman Charles Kaman will not be a candidate for re-election at the company's annual meeting. Kaman is leaving the board because of a continuing medical condition. He founded the Bloomfield, Conn. company more than 55 years ago.
TRIUMPH GROUP announced a public offering of 3.65 million shares at a price of $37.50 per share. The company is selling about three million shares - the remainder are being sold by a stockholder - and said it expects to use the proceeds of approximately $106 million to reduce indebtedness under its revolving credit agreement.
CAROLYN RIEDEL was named air charter travel manager for The Air Group in Chicago. Riedel formerly was with Priester Aviation, as a dispatcher and customer service representative and, before that, was with Signature Flight Support in Nashville, Tenn.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION is offering an online Runway Safety Program to help show its members how to avoid runway incursion situations. Using active motion and three-dimensional graphics, the real-life situations involve operations with high potential for causing runway incursions. The program also uses audio of ATIS and ATC communications.
SMITH GROUP PLC agreed to buy Barringer Technologies, Inc. for $87 million. Barringer, headquartered in Warren, N.J., is a leading provider of trace drug and explosives detection equipment.
Model EMB-145 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-256-AD; Amendment 39-12121; AD 2001-04-03) - requires inspection of the bolts on the hinge fittings that attach the spring tab and the servo tab to the rear spar of the elevators for evidence of loosening; inspection of the region of the hinge fittings on the spring tab for interference of the bonding jumpers attached to the hinge fittings with the leading edge of the spring tab; and corrective action, if necessary.
VENEZUELA'S MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE is drafting legislation to create an Autonomous Civil Aviation Institute as a first step to upgrade the country to Category 1 from Category 2 in the FAA's safety oversight assessment program. The new agency would set guidelines for air carriers to follow and would have the authority to impose fines and other penalties against rule-breakers. Those drafting the new provisions are consulting all civil aviation sectors.
JET AVIATION opened a fixed-base operation at London Biggin Hill Airport. The facility, which includes two hangars covering 55,830 square feet, will maintain and refurbish several business jet models, including Gulfstreams, Falcons, Hawkers and Citations. Elie Zelouf, formerly general manager of Jet Aviation Basel, will manage the new location and report to Heinz Kohli, president and chief operating officer of Jet Aviation Europe, Middle and Far East. The facility will offer FBO services beginning in the third quarter.
BALLISTIC RECOVERY SYSTEMS reported sales of $794,470 for the first quarter 2001, ended Dec. 31, a 72.9 percent increase over first quarter 2000. The increased sales position the company to post a record $3.5 million to $4 million in sales for fiscal 2001, compared with $2.5 million in fiscal 2000, said President and CEO Mark Thomas. The increase in sales comes as BRS's largest customer, Cirrus Design Corp., spools up deliveries of its SR20 and SR22 single-engine aircraft, which use the BRS emergency parachute system.
Model CL-600-2B19 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-142-AD; Amendment 39-12112; AD 2001-03-08) - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires, among other actions, certain revisions to the Airplane Flight Manual; and removal of all elevator flutter dampers. That AD also requires installation of new elevator flutter dampers and replacement of shear pins and shear links with new improved shear pins and shear links.
STANDARD&POOR'S revised its outlook on Raytheon Company to negative from stable Friday, but reaffirmed the ratings on Raytheon's debt. The McGraw-Hill unit said Raytheon's internal cash generation remains materially subpar for current ratings "and the improvement in operations is weaker than anticipated.
Used Retail Jet Deliveries Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for January 2001 (see related graphs on Pages 129 and 130 of the hard copy of this issue.) Used Retail Deliveries Jan. 1998 Jan. 1999 Jan. 2000 Jan. 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 37 34 10 38 26 18 39 26 14 3 42 22 America
MIDWEST JET CENTER, based at Cincinnati Lunken Field, was designated a Phillips 66 Aviation Performance Center. Midwest Jet Center provides Phillips 66 pre-blended Jet A and aviation gasoline.
