CESSNA VICE CHAIRMAN Gary Hay says keys to the company's success in the business jet market include migrating successful systems from one aircraft model to another and not chasing unproven technologies, an approach he likened to "going up to the cutting edge of technology and taking one step backwards." Asked whether Cessna plans to build a composite aircraft, Hay responded that "we know metal, we like metal," because the stress and fatigue characteristics are known and predictable.
INNOTECH-EXECAIRE AVIATION GROUP, the Canadian aviation services chain, is adding 135 technical jobs to its Montreal facility in addition to the 130 employees already hired this year. The staff additions will bring the company's employment in Montreal to 450. Innotech-Execaire employs another 160 at its bases in Toronto and Vancouver and fixed-base operation centers in Eastern Canada.
BALL AEROSPACE&TECHNOLOGIES CORP. last month launched its jeTVision Direct Broadcast Satellite system, which allows airplane passengers to view real-time television programming. The satellite system provides audio and video to any in-flight entertainment system or cabin management system. The system includes an antenna assembly and receiver decoder unit integrated into the aircraft audio-visual equipment. The antenna assemblies include a radome, positioner, control unit electronics, low noise block converter and a parabolic antenna dish.
MERCURY AIR GROUP recently began construction of its 16-acre fixed-base operation at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena (BUR) Airport in Burbank, Calif. The new facility, described as a "Hollywood Oasis," will feature a 9,500-square-foot art deco style terminal building with a wide range of amenities for pilots and their passengers (BA, Oct. 13, 1997/159).
FLIGHTSAFETY BOEING TRAINING INTERNATIONAL will open a $100 million Latin American Training Hub in Miami, Fla. Scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2000, the new complex "will be the world's largest non-airline owned flight training facility," the company said. The training center will be adjacent to the northwest corner of Miami International Airport.
AIR ROUTING INTERNATIONAL developed new software, Air Routing Flight Manager, to allow flight department personnel to improve trip management. The software allows users to plan trips real-time, checking on status of permits, ground handling, fuel, slots and flight plans. The software includes graphic interface to show weather and routes for trips and stores all flight data allowing for generation of historical reports.
Dow Chemical Company and United Technologies reached an agreement to sell their joint venture, Dow-United Technologies Composite Products, to GKN Westland Aerospace of the United Kingdom. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by yearend, were not disclosed. Dow-UT, formed in 1989, is a 50-50 venture between Dow and United Technologies that manufactures polymer-based composite parts for aerospace applications, including complex aircraft structures and engines.
Sino Swearingen signed up three more distributors for its SJ30-2 entry-level business jet, boosting its backlog to 135 units. The distributors, Bell Aviation of Columbia, S.C., Business Aircraft Group of Cleveland, Ohio, and Vinci Aviation of San Diego, Calif., each put down non-refundable deposits for 10 SJ30-2s. Bell will be responsible for North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Eastern Tennessee. Business Aircraft Group will distribute in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
THE SECOND Boeing 717-200 made its first flight Tuesday, taking off from the Long Beach, Calif. Municipal Airport. The No. 1 717-200 first flew Sept. 2 and is engaged in certification flight testing in Yuma, Ariz.
The Ogden Corp. reported higher income for its Aviation Group for the three- and nine-month periods ended Sept. 30, despite significant decreases in revenues.
DORNIER MODEL 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-305) - adopts a new AD that requires revising the Airplane Flight Manual to provide the flightcrew with additional information regarding procedures to ensure complete pressurization of the hydraulic lines for the flaps. This amendment was prompted by an advisory from the German airworthiness authority, which told FAA that during the takeoff of a flight test airplane, an uncommanded retraction of the flaps occurred, which resulted in an aborted takeoff.
ROBERT BRESETTE was appointed vice president and general manager of VisionAire Corporation's assembly plant in Ames, Iowa. Bresette has more than 30 years of aerospace experience, working on programs including the Lockheed L-1011 and McDonnell Douglas C-17 Airlifter. He previously was director of manufacturing operations for Boeing Company's Macon, Ga., plant.
Universal Propulsion Systems, which manufactures a variety of aircraft escape systems, was acquired from Carpenter Technology Corp. by BFGoodrich for an undisclosed price. UPCo, based in Phoenix, Ariz., makes energetic materials systems used to activate ejection seats, airplane evacuation slides and related products. The company reported 1997 revenues of $24.2 million and employs about 200 people.
THURSDAY'S Wall Street Journal report about the fact that movements of corporate aircraft can be tracked on the Internet resulted in a rash of telephone calls to the National Business Aviation Association, whose officials were less than thrilled with the tenor of the article. NBAA had been lobbying Congress to include language in the FAA reauthorization bill to block aircraft registration numbers at the aircraft owner's/operator's request or face loss of the flight information from FAA (BA, Sept.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE and FlightSafety International launched a Total Technical Training program (Triple T), a comprehensive, personalized, hands-on training curriculum for Gulfstream aircraft technicians. The program is designed to use the best training resources from both companies to support technician training for the Gulfstream IV-SP and the Gulfstream V. The first G-V class began last week and will run for four weeks at the manufacturer's Savannah, Ga. headquarters.
DORNIER MODEL 328-100 series airplanes - proposes a new AD that would require a one-time inspection to verify correct installation of the lockplates of the roll spoiler actuators, and corrective actions if necessary. FAA said the German LBA notified the agency that the Airplane Maintenance Manual (AMM) for the Dornier 328-100 did not contain the correct procedures for installation of the lockplates of the roll spoiler actuators. Although the AMM has been revised to correct the procedures, lockplates may have been incorrectly installed during regular maintenance.
TOM SPONSLER, 53, a veteran business and airline pilot, died of an apparent heart attack Oct. 24 at his home in Tucson, Ariz. Sponsler began his corporate aviation career as a Learjet and Citation instructor at Jet Fleet Corp. before moving to Frontier Airlines, where he flew Convair 440s and Boeing 737s.
STRONG ORDER BACKLOGS for business aircraft are being manifested in sharply increased deliveries.Manufacturers delivered 1,700 aircraft in the first nine months of the year, a 42 percent increase over the same period last year according to BA's worldwide compilation of aircraft deliveries. U.S. manufacturers alone reported a 55.7 percent increase in general aviation shipments through September. See article and chart below
Lancair, the single-engine piston aircraft kit manufacturer from Bend, Ore., last month won type certification for its first factory-built, high-performance Columbia 300 single-engine airplane. Lancair received type certificate approval earlier last month, but was presented the type certificate in a ceremony with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey Oct. 23 during the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo '98 in Palm Springs, Calif.
A NEW INSTRUMENT APPROACH at Chicago's Meigs Field became operational last month, according to Friends of Meigs Field (FOMG), the organization that led efforts to keep the lakefront airport open when city officials planned to close the facility. FOMG said the VOR/DME-A instrument approach permits properly equipped aircraft to use Meigs when visibility is as low as two and one-quarter miles and 587-foot ceilings. The approach relies on radio signals from existing ground stations at O'Hare International Airport.
A FULL-SCALE MOCKUP of the Boeing Business Jet passenger cabin that debuted at last month's NBAA convention will make a 12-city tour of the U.S. over the next six months. The mockup is 84 feet long and has a lounge area with divans and seats, a 42-inch plasma monitor, a conference/dining room, a private office suite that can be converted into a bedroom, a master stateroom and three bathrooms, two of which have showers. The mockup will be split at the center for transport and carried on two flatbed trailers.
HARBOR AIR last month became the first scheduled airline in the continental U.S. to take advantage of regulations permitting Part 135 operations to use single-engine aircraft under instrument flight rules conditions. Harbor Air added the Cessna Grand Caravan to its Pacific Northwest operation. The airline, which plans to add a second Caravan by yearend, put the aircraft into passenger service Oct. 22 with a flight from Seattle to Friday Harbor, Wash. The Caravan will replace Harbor Air's Piper Chieftain aircraft.
