Illegally shipping or transporting chemical oxygen generators on passenger aircraft would result in a minimum civil and criminal penalty of $1 million, under a bill introduced last week by Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.), the ranking member of the House aviation subcommittee.
The Boeing Company last week completed its $1.5 billion cash acquisition of Jeppesen Sanderson, winning regulatory approval a little more than a month after announcing the deal (BA, Aug. 21/83). Boeing will preserve the Jeppesen name and expects to run the company under its Commercial Aviation Services division, but as a "stand-alone" business.
Model A109E helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-07-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires inspections of the exhaust ejector locking system, clamp, and dampers for each engine. The existing AD also requires verifying the torque of the metallic clamps and installing safety wire on the metallic clamps; inspecting and modifying the ejector saddles and the locking metallic clamps; and inspecting the metallic clamps, locking mechanisms, and dampers. This action would require modifying the engine exhaust ejectors.
ROCKWELL COLLINS FLIGHT DYNAMICS received a contract to supply its Head-up Guidance System (HGS) on Crossair's fleet of Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft and Air Dolomiti's fleet of Canadair CRJ 200s. Crossair, a regional carrier based in Switzerland, has flown with the HGS system on its Saab 2000 aircraft for three years. Air Dolomiti, a Lufthansa Partner, is based in Trieste, Italy. The HGS will enable Crossair and Air Dolomiti to operate their regional jets in Category III low-visibility conditions.
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, which just won a major order from American Eagle for 44-seat ERJ-140 regional jets, also won orders and options for 42 aircraft from seven other carriers. The firm orders include nine 50-seat ERJ-145s, five 37-seat ERJ-135s and two ERJ-135LRs. Options were signed for four ERJ-145s, five ERJ-135s and two ERJ-135LRs.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER than the current year for business jet deliveries, according to Honeywell's latest market forecast.The engine and avionics manufacturer said business jet deliveries will peak at more than 700 units in 2000, but added that the number of bizjet deliveries is expected to remain well above historical levels over the next decade. See article below.
Manufacturers will deliver 6,800 new business jets valued at $90 billion from 2001 through 2011, according to the annual Business Aviation Market Outlook forecast pioneered by AlliedSignal and now updated under the Honeywell banner following the merger of those two companies last year (BA, Dec. 6/256). The ninth annual forecast, which is being officially unveiled at this week's NBAA convention in New Orleans, mirrors the year-earlier version, which called for delivery of 6,800 aircraft with a value of $89 billion from 2000 through 2010.
Model MD-900 helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-03-AD; Amdt. 39-11893; AD 2000-18-08) - requires modifying the non-rotating swashplate assembly and re-identifying it and the swashplate assembly with new part numbers. This AD also requires creating a component history card or equivalent record to track the life of the newly identified non-rotating swashplate assembly and establishing a life limit of 1,800 hours time-in-service (TIS). Additionally, this AD requires inspecting and modifying, if necessary, the longitudinal drive link assembly.
Model A109E helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-41-AD; Amdt. 39-1898; AD 2000-17-52) - publishes an AD, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Agusta Model A109E helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires, before further flight, visually inspecting any main rotor rotating scissors assembly for correct installation and replacing any unairworthy part.
PETER SAMSONOV was appointed program manager in the U.S. western region for Bearing Inspection Inc. A former customer support manager for passenger systems at Rockwell Collins, Samsonov has 15 years of management experience.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AVIATION OFFICIALS elected John Eagerton, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation, chairman of the association. Eagerton, whose one-year term as chairman began Oct. 1, has directed Alabama's aeronautics program for six years. He succeeds Kenneth Wiegand, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation.
DUNCAN AVIATION next month will open its new 123,000-square-foot modifications, service and completions center at its Lincoln, Neb. headquarters. The center includes 60,000 square feet of hangar space and a three-level shop facility to house sheet metal completions, installation, upholstery, finish/cabinet shops and engineering design. Construction on the project began in September 1999.
DAVID TRAYNHAM, FAA assistant administrator for policy, planning and international aviation, will leave the agency this month to join The Boeing Company. Traynham will become Boeing director of commercial regulatory affairs, starting Oct. 23. He has worked at FAA since June 1998, following a 19-year career as a staff member of the House aviation subcommittee.
A LATIN AMERICA/U.S. AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE and Safety/Security Workshop and Trade Show, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce, will be held Dec. 3-5 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The trade show is designed to provide U.S. corporate aviation representatives with an opportunity to expand their markets in Latin America by meeting key aviation officials and airport decision-makers in the region.
Aviation businesses are reporting insurance rate increases of up to 300 percent in 2000, a trend driven in part by the shrinking number of aviation insurance providers, according to a report the National Air Transportation Association released last week (BA, Aug. 7/59). The report, The Realities of the Aviation Insurance Market, finds that flight schools and smaller operators in particular have faced a difficult time securing reasonable rates in the past year.
AVFUEL CORPORATION said its branded dealer, Lancaster Municipal Airport in Lancaster, Texas, has come under new management. Tom and Clinton Pye, a father-and-son team, assumed ownership of the facility, which includes a newly remodeled terminal with a 2,500-gallon jet refueler that has single-point and over-wing refueling capability. The City of Lancaster owns the airport grounds and a city-appointed advisory board will oversee airport budget allocations. The Pyes will oversee the airport's growth and development.
Congress Friday passed a $12 billion funding package for the Federal Aviation Administration, honoring earlier legislation that calls for dramatic spending increases for aviation. The fiscal 2001 transportation appropriations bill, H.R.4475, was closely watched by Washington observers because it was the first DOT funding package to move forward since passage of the $40 billion FAA reauthorization legislation, AIR-21, last year. The House cleared the appropriations bill 344 to 50 Friday morning followed by a Senate vote of 78 to 10.
BOMBARDIER has begun assembly of the first 86-seat CRJ900 series regional jet, which is expected to make its first flight in the first quarter of 2001. The 900 will incorporate two plugs measuring 90 and 62 inches in the CRJ700 fuselage, giving the new aircraft an overall length of 118.75 feet.
The business aviation community lauded last week's Senate approval of legislation that would make permanent the Visa Waiver program and expand it to corporate and charter operators (BA, Oct. 2/153). The Senate finally adopted the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act, H.R.3767, by voice vote after it languished in the Senate for six months. The legislation makes permanent a pilot program that allowed aircraft passengers to enter the U.S. from 29 specified countries without visas. The pilot program expired April 30.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which staged a three-day Runway Safety National Summit three months ago to highlight the problem of runway incursions (BA, July 3/1), failed to renew a contract with the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) under which state aeronautic agencies conducted runway safety inspections at thousands of smaller airports around the country.
FRACTIONAL AIRCRAFT PROGRAMS will continue to be a big factor in keeping business jet deliveries high, the Honeywell forecast said. Within a decade, aircraft operated by fractional providers are expected to account for approximately 10 percent of the worldwide active business jet fleet. And within 10 years, aircraft going to fractional operators may account for up to one-quarter of annual business jet deliveries. A snapshot of the current fractional fleet is captured in charts by AvData, Inc.
PRATT&WHITNEY CANADA'S European affiliate, P&WC CSC Europe GmbH, signed a three-year repair and overhaul agreement with Wideroes Flyveselskap of Norway. The European firm will provide engine overhaul services for Pratt&Whitney engines on the carrier's fleet of 24 de Havilland Dash 8 turboprops. The agreement is valued at $18.5 million (U.S.). P&WC CSC Europe GmbH is a joint venture of P&WC and MTU of Germany and operates service centers in Ludwigsfelde, Germany and Southampton, England.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION filled two key positions - Andrew Broom was named manager of operations and Bridgette Bailey was promoted to director of administration. Broom will oversee GAMA's safety activities, statistical analysis and work on airport and operations issues. He most recently served as director, career services for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he obtained a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical science in April 1997 and a master's of business administration in April 2000.
THE PILOT of an experimental helicopter was killed Oct. 3 when his helicopter crashed while on approach to the Tuscaloosa, Ala. Municipal Airport. National Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft was a University of Alabama Mini-500 experimental helicopter, N6165T. Witnesses said the pilot had been conducting stop-and-go landings on an airport taxiway. While on the downwind leg of the third approach "it appeared to witnesses that the rotor blades stopped turning.
