ED STIMPSON, vice chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and chairman of the industry-sponsored GA Team 2000, last week was awarded the Experimental Aircraft Association's Freedom of Flight Award. Past winners of the award include Chuck Yeager, Cliff Robertson and Neil Armstrong.
EUROCOPTER Model AS-350B, BA, B1, B2 and D and Model AS-355E, F, F1, F2, and N helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-25-AD; Amdt. 39-10635; AD 98-14-01) - requires inspections of the main gearbox suspension bi-directional cross-
PROFESSIONAL FLIGHT MANAGEMENT (PFM) and Advanced Aviation Services International, Inc. (AASII) formed a teaming agreement to jointly promote their products. PFM, which produces flight operations software, will interface its programs with AASII's maintenance management software. The program will provide a comprehensive maintenance planning service tailored for corporate aircraft.
Raytheon Systems Co. finished installing all 25 reference stations for Phase One of a three-phase Wide Area Augmentation System, the company said last month. Francis Marchilena, executive vice president of Raytheon's command, control and communications systems unit, said master stations in Virginia and California and four radio frequency uplinks - one in Maryland, two in California and one in Washington state - have been installed and accepted by FAA. The 25 reference stations are placed throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Citing a strong economy and a boom in the fractional ownership market, The CIT Group/Equipment Financing predicted a market for 5,310 new and used business aircraft valued at a record $18.2 billion for 1998 and 1999. CIT, which last week released its Third Annual Corporate Aircraft Outlook, said, "In this environment of favorable interest rates, rising investment and healthy consumer confidence, it is no surprise that corporate profits soared once again, marking the sixth consecutive year of positive growth.
CESSNA delivered five Skyhawks to Le Tourneau University in Longview, Texas. Le Tourneau, which has more than 200 students in its flight training program, estimates that the Skyhawks will fly more than 1,300 hours annually.
THE FIRST BOEING BUSINESS JET, the long-range business version of the Next- Generation 737-700, rolled off the production line July 26 and is expected to complete its first flight in late August or early September. Boeing Business Jets has orders for 29 of the aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fall.
GALAXY AEROSPACE'S first Galaxy flight test aircraft has achieved speeds of up to .93 Mach, .01 Mach above the maximum speed required for certification, the company said last week. The flight test program, which now includes two aircraft, has accumulated more than 300 hours in 100 flights. The second flight test aircraft is being used for performance testing and certification work. Recent tests include simulation of various control system malfunctions, such as jammed ailerons and elevators.
THE MERGER last month of Piedmont, Hawthorne Aviation and American Beechcraft creates the second largest chain of fixed-base operations in terms of the number of locations. The new entity, however, is not expected to compete directly with the largest chain, Signature Flight Support, since the Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation bases are mostly regional and the company has a larger interest in the airline overhaul business. See article below.
FOKKER Model F27 Mark 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-102-AD; Amdt. 39-10607; AD 98-13-19) - requires a one-time detailed visual inspection of the forward fuel feed lines in the left- and right-hand engine nacelles for chafing, replacement of damaged parts and modification of the supports and improved routing for the high-
Signature Flight Support promoted two executives in the finance department following the departure of Elizabeth Haskins, senior vice president and chief financial officer, to a senior post in a sister company. Haskins, who has served with Signature since 1994, moved to BBA Group's Nonwoven Textile Division. BBA Group, Signature's parent company, comprises three units - Nonwoven Textiles, Friction Materials and Aviation.
ATR won an order valued at $50 million from Tel Aviv, Israel-based ARKIA for three ATR 72-500 aircraft. Delivery of the first aircraft is slated for December with subsequent aircraft following in February and March. ARKIA also operates a fleet of 12 Dash 7s.
Orenda Recip won a manufacturing certificate from Transport Canada for the OE-600A liquid-cooled V-8 aero engine, allowing the Toronto-based engine manufacturer to begin full production. The engine won Type Approvals from Transport Canada in March and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in May, and Orenda began delivery of the initial units to Stevens Aviation for retrofit on King Air C90B turboprop aircraft (BA, May 18/220). Orenda plans this fall to open its manufacturing facility for the 600-
THE BOEING BUSINESS JET would appear to be hardest hit by Gulfstream's pending acquisition of K-C Aviation. K-C announced a year ago it had acquired a 54,000-square-foot hangar in Dallas specifically to do BBJ completions (BA, July 21, 1997/31), but last week Forstmann said "we will not" do BBJ completions at K-C after it becomes part of Gulfstream. Industry sources say they have "never seen it like this" in terms of completion center demand that cannot be met, particularly for large aircraft.
FLIGHT VISIONS expanded its production space by 6,000 square feet to accommodate new contract demands. The space, which will allow the Sugar Grove, Ill. company to triple production, follows the award of a $9 million contract from Northrop Grumman to retrofit the U.S. Navy's F-14B Tomcat fighter with its Sparrow Hawk Head-Up Display. The contract calls for 82 units to be delivered beginning in second quarter 1999.
Gulfstream Aerospace doubled its aircraft production rate in less than two years, but the glut of "green" airplanes swamped the company's completion facilities, forcing Gulfstream to acquire additional completion capacity by buying K-C Aviation from Kimberly-Clark (BA, July 27/38).
ANN THICKEY joined NationAir Insurance to manage new and existing accounts in the Southwest. Thickey previously was with CIGNA Aerospace for 16 years as an account executive.
MARK EBANKS joined CIT Group/Capital Finance as assistant vice president/aerospace. Ebanks, who will be based in CIT's Fort Lauderdale office, will develop new business in Latin America and the Caribbean. He spent 10 years with United Airlines, where he was responsible for aircraft sales in Latin America.
CESSNA Model 172R airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-96-AD; Amdt. 39-10641; AD 98-14-07) - requires modifying the lower forward doorpost bulkhead by installing rivets. This AD is the result of a report from the manufacturer that these rivets were erroneously omitted during manufacture of some of the new production airplanes. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent reduced structural integrity of the forward doorpost bulkhead, which could result in structural cracking and possible loss of control of the airplane.
A veteran employee and a private investor have acquired The Servicenter in Bethany, Okla., which has been a service facility for Twin Commander aircraft for many years. The new owners are Dr. Charles Howard and David Hobza, who has been general manager of the facility since 1987.
SAAB Model 340B airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-176-AD) - proposes a new AD that would require: a one-time inspection for moisture or other contamination of a certain wiring harness, electrical relay and relay socket; a one-time inspection for electrical damage of the same electrical relay and socket; corrective actions, if necessary; and replacement of certain nut plates with new, improved parts.
RICK SCARBROUGH was named a sales associate for Professional Aviation Associates' Learjet Division. Scarbrough, who has been with the Atlanta, Ga.-based company for four years, has been training in the Learjet program for the past year. PAA is a subsidiary of Banner Aerospace, Inc.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT SERVICES expanded the hours of its Tampa, Fla. location, providing 24-hour service Monday through Friday and from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
GENERAL AVIATION INDUSTRY AWARDS PROGRAM, the cooperative effort between FAA and several GA associations, is accepting nominations for its Aviation Maintenance Technician, Avionics Technician and Certified Flight Instructor of the Year awards for 1999. Applications must be submitted to the applicant's safety program manager at the local FAA Flight Standards District Office by Dec. 31, 1998. The recipients, selected from regional award winners, will be notified by Aug. 2, 1999 and presented the awards during the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo Oct.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE Chairman Ted Forstmann, asked about Warren Buffett's planned acquisition of fractional ownership pioneer Executive Jet, Inc. (BA, July 27/35), responded: "Warren Buffett's a very smart guy. He's been right a whole lot more than he's been wrong. He's made a significant bet on a part of this business. It pleases me that Warren Buffett thinks that demand for private aircraft will continue in a strong way," he told BA at Gulfstream headquarters in Savannah, Ga. Tuesday.
