THE TROUBLED MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft program got more bad news last week - charges that the head of the Osprey training division in New River, N.C. told the Marines under his command to lie about the status of nonoperational aircraft to enhance reliability figures. Those charges, reportedly backed by clandestine tape recordings, caused the Navy to launch an investigation and remove the accused officer from his post, but that situation is not believed to involve safety-of-flight issues. Separately, the Marine Corps said Friday that the Dec.
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION scheduled a meeting with FAA next week on an airworthiness directive that the association said has effectively grounded most Bell 47 helicopters in the U.S. The meeting, Jan. 29-30 at FAA's Rotorcraft Directorate in Fort Worth, Texas, will include representatives from EAA, HAI and Bell. The AD, released late in August, called for inspections and replacement of rotor blade grips.
The U.S. Air Force Monday ruled that 700 acres of surplus land at the former Homestead Air Force Base in Florida should be transferred to Miami-Dade County for mixed-use development, but prohibited development of the site as a commercial airport. The Second Supplemental Record of Decision comes after the Department of the Interior "strongly urged" the Air Force to transfer the land to DOI to prevent the airfield from being used as a commercial airport (BA, Jan. 15/29).
JUDY WINNER was appointed sales manager for BEI Duncan Electronics. Winner spent 22 years with Spectrol Electronics Corp., most recently as sales manager for North American distribution and OEM accounts. In her new position she will manage BEI Duncan Electronics' existing customer base as well as oversee representatives, distributors and original equipment manufacturer accounts throughout North America.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION named Jon Ellis, director of Sprint flight operations in Kansas City, to fill the position on the board of directors vacated by former board member Al Lane. Ellis will serve through this year and stand for election to the board by the NBAA membership at the association's annual meeting and convention in September in New Orleans.
Airbus Industrie will become a traditional company by the end of February, retroactively effective as of Jan. 1, 2001, shareholders of the consortium announced in London and Amsterdam this month. Until now the shareholders - the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), with 80 percent and BAE Systems, with 20 percent - have organized their Airbus activities through a "European Interest Grouping" established under French law in 1967. The body had no centralized decision-making structure, hindering its competition with Boeing.
FAA OFFICIALS had hoped for quick publication of the Part 145 rule - the DOT took little more than two weeks to review it - but the rule's fate was unclear Friday. It could get held up during the presidential transition. President Bush is expected to immediately issue a moratorium on rulemaking efforts while key positions - including those in the Office of the Chief Counsel, where major rules are reviewed - are filled.
THE FUTURE of the Wide Area Augmentation System for GPS signals may become clearer at the end of this month when FAA Administrator Jane Garvey is scheduled to receive the report of an independent review board (IRB). Steve Zaidman, FAA's associate administrator for research and acquisitions, told an Air Traffic Control Association seminar last week that be believes "this is going to be a telltale year for WAAS."Zaidman said, "Technically, I think we can do it," but he said we'll see what the IRB report says.
Models A36, B36TC, and 58 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-79-AD; Amendment 39-12066; AD 2000-26-16) - requires an inspection for missing rivets on the right hand side of the fuselage and, if necessary, installation of rivets. Raytheon has identified several instances of missing rivets on these airplanes. The actions specified by this AD are intended to install missing rivets in the right hand fuselage panel assembly in the area above the right wing and below the cabin door threshold.
ELLIOTT AVIATION won supplemental type certificate approval to install Honeywell's Mark VII enhanced ground proximity warning system in Falcon 10 aircraft. The installation, initially completed on a Falcon 10 based in Omaha, Neb., included a Collins TCAS-94 TCAS II system, a Collins MFD-85D multi-function display, dual RTU-4210 radio tuning units, a Collins WXR-8450 Doppler radar system and new Collins Pro Line II nav/coms.
GKN completed its acquisition of Boeing's structural fabrication operation in St. Louis, Mo., and renamed the business GKN Aerospace Services-St. Louis. GKN also made the facility the corporate headquarters of its GKN Aerospace Services operations in the U.S. Some 1,200 former Boeing employees will remain at the St. Louis facility under GKN ownership, and the facility will continue to produce parts and subassemblies for Boeing military jets.
FAA completed rewriting Part 145, governing aeronautical repair stations, and the rule was sent for review at the Office of Management and Budget Wednesday. The revised rulemaking is expected to be narrower in scope than the original proposal published in June 1999, and it also is expected to address many of the concerns that general aviation repair stations had with the notice of proposed rulemaking.
John Doman was named director of worldwide sales for Cessna Aircraft's Caravan Division. Doman's name was misspelled in an earlier article (BA, Jan. 8/19).
SPAR AEROSPACE LTD., Toronto, Canada, won authorization to proceed with an avionics upgrade of 32 CC-130 Hercules transports for the Canadian Department of National Defense. Spar will install an airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS) and radar altimeter system in the aircraft that will be integrated into the new cockpit designed and installed by Spar under the five-year avionics upgrade program, which is scheduled to be completed in March.
THE SIMULATION TRAINING BUSINESS reflects the health of the aviation industry, posting strong growth and increasing numbers of simulators. "There just is a tremendous amount of activity all around," says a spokesman for FlightSafety International.
HARTZELL PROPELLER won a supplemental type certificate for installation of its two-blade, 82-inch-diameter propeller on Cessna 182 through 182P aircraft powered by Teledyne Continental O-470-L, O-470-R and O-470-S engines. Hartzell noted that more than 10,000 Cessna 182s were produced between 1956 and 1976, and "many of the propellers on these aircraft are reaching the end of their service lives." The Top Prop kit includes a six-year, 2,400-hour time between overhaul and a Hartzell Plus Three warranty covering parts and service for three years or 1,000 hours.
PILOT HIRING by fractional aircraft providers soared last year, according to AIR, Inc., the Atlanta, Ga.-based firm that monitors pilot hiring. AIR said fractionals hired 1,363 pilots last year, a 134 percent increase over the 581 pilots hired by fractional providers in 1999. Overall, the industry hired a record 19,027 pilots last year, an increase of nearly 21 percent over 1999.
DOWNCASTERS PLC named Eric Lewis, 53, chief executive officer, effective Jan. 15. He will be based at the company's corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom. Downcasters manufactures engineered components for tolerance-critical applications in the aerospace, industrial gas turbine and petrochemical industries.
RUNWAY INCURSIONS at Westchester County Airport will be the subject of a Jan. 23 meeting at the White Plains, N.Y. (HPN) airport. Hosted by FAA and Westchester air traffic control tower personnel, the meeting will include a review of local operations, details on recent incursions and development of an incursion action plan. Airport officials said there have been six runway incursion incidents at HPN in the past year. For more information, call (914) 948-6520. The meeting will begin at 0900 and is scheduled to conclude at 1500.
Model 150B airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-22-AD) - proposes to require an inspection of the rudder cables for fraying, cracks, nicks, etc. and replacement of any damaged cables. The proposed AD would also require replacement of the rudder cable pulleys with larger diameter pulleys to eliminate the possibility of further damage. The proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Australia.
U.S. AVIATION UNDERWRITERS, INC., which manages the United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG), tapped Michael Sweeney as president and chief operating officer. Sweeney, a 26-year company veteran, assumes the role of president formerly held by Harold Clark. Clark will continue in his capacities as chairman and chief executive. Sweeney joined the company in 1974 as a general aviation underwriter and since has held positions of increasing responsibility. He was named executive vice president in January 1996 and elected to the board of directors in 1999.
Fairchild Dornier named Dean Rush, president of Signature Combs, president of the manufacturer's new Corporate Aircraft Division, effective Jan. 14. Reporting to Lou Harrington, Fairchild Dornier's chief executive officer, Rush will be based at the company's new sales and marketing center in Herndon, Va.
HONEYWELL shareholders voted Wednesday in favor of the company's merger with General Electric. The company said approximately 74 percent of Honeywell's outstanding shares were voted in favor of the merger, adding that the shares voted in favor represented approximately 98 percent of the votes cast. The companies say they still expect to conclude the merger in the first quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
