CESSNA FINANCE CORP. named Ralph Sanders branch manager of its Raleigh, N.C. office and promoted Andy Joran to credit manager of the Ontario, Calif. branch. Sanders, a Raleigh native and commercial pilot with an instrument rating who joined CFC in 1989, will oversee all operations throughout the Southeast. Joran will oversee both retail and wholesale financing for the Western U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. He holds a master's in business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is an air transport pilot and has flown more than 3,500 hours.
ALLEN NOEL was promoted to director of maintenance for Mayo Aviation, Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo. Noel has been chief inspector at Mayo since 1991 when he joined the company. In his new post he will be responsible for maintaining aircraft airworthiness and compliance with FAA regulations at Mayo's charter management headquarters in the Denver area and its Flagstaff, Ariz. aeromedical transport base.
"A SMUGGLER who knows that his plane, and his life, could be lost in the delivery of drugs may think again before making the run," according to House transportation appropriations subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.). Wolf, continuing his pursuit of a "shoot down" policy for aircraft suspected of drug smuggling (BA, March 9/105), inserted a two and one-half-page statement in the fiscal 1999 transportation appropriations report outlining arguments for such a policy. "If we are going to place a priority on interdiction...there is more we can do," he said.
IVOR THOMAS, a 35-year Boeing veteran who has worked on programs ranging from the 707 to the 777, was named FAA's national resource specialist for fuel systems. Thomas will serve as a technical liaison to industry and other government and international authorities working on fuel system designs. At Boeing Thomas was the chief engineer of propulsion safety, fuel and auxiliary power unit systems.
THE NEW HONG KONG AIRPORT has had its share of teething problems since the July 6 opening, but things are operating smoothly at the new airport's Business Aviation Center, according to officials of AMR Combs who won the contract to operate the FBO there. Corporate arrivals at the old airport were limited to two per day, but the new airport operates around the clock. This has resulted in spreading out airline passenger and cargo flights and making more slots available for corporate operators.
Federal Aviation Administration last week continued to come under fire from nearly all segments of the industry for its controversial "ticket program," but remained undecided on how or whether to proceed. The agency met Tuesday with representatives from general aviation, the airlines, and machinists and pilots unions, all of whom uniformly opposed the Streamlined Administrative Action Program, which allows inspectors to issue administrative actions on the spot (BA, June 8/247).
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42 and ATR 72 airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-149-AD) - adopts a new AD applicable to certain airplanes that requires a one-time inspection of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter capacitors and electronic cards of the cabin air recirculation fans to detect damage. The AD also requires replacement of damaged components with new or serviceable parts, and modification of the cabin air assembly fans.
DASSAULT Model Mystere Falcon 50 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-230-AD) - adopts a new AD that requires installation of a reinforcement fitting at the junction of the baggage floor and Frame 35 on both the left- and right-hand sides of the airplane. The actions specified are intended to prevent fatigue cracking in the subject area, which could reduce structural integrity of the airplane. FAA said 26 aircraft on the U.S. Registry are subject to the provisions of the AD, but added that the work already has been accomplished on eight of the 26.
PAT NEARY is the new manager of member services for the National Air Transportation Association, responsible for member recruitment, retention, marketing and market development. Neary has seven years marketing and sales experience as a small business owner, outside sales representative with Stanley Tools and marketing director for a national construction trade association.
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION is conducting a study of optimal airport development in Eastern Virginia. Over the next several months, the department plans to identify which of four options represents the preferred airport system for the region - status quo, commercial operations at Richmond and Norfolk, commercial operations at Richmond and Newport News, or construction of a major regional airport with redefined roles for the three existing airports.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 90, 100, 200 and 300 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-92-AD) - adopts a new AD applicable to nearly 5,000 Beech Aircraft/Raytheon Aircraft turboprops. The AD requires checking the airplane's maintenance records from Jan. 1, 1994 up to and including the Aug.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model BAe 146 and Model 146-RJ Avro series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-02-AD) - adopts a new AD requiring repetitive detailed visual inspections of the top wing skins for stress corrosion cracks, damage or missing surface protective finish of the metallic surfaces; and repair, if necessary. FAA said the AD was prompted by reports of stress corrosion cracks found on the top wing skin during routine inspections on three airplanes. The agency said the problem is due to aluminum from a discrepant production lot.
BFGOODRICH added a 12-foot by 40-foot autoclave at its facility in Prestwick, Scotland. The new autoclave, the largest in Scotland, is part of the company's 60,000-square-foot facility that specializes in the repair and overhaul of aircraft engine nacelles and thrust reversers. The $1.7 million autoclave uses a gas radiant system that has a maximum temperature of 450 degrees and operates at 75 pounds per square inch. It is used for pressure bonding of composite materials.
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF. reissued a Request for Qualifications last week for a Base Asset Management Team that would be responsible for most aspects of property management at the former U.S. Marine Corps base at El Toro. Statements of Qualifications are due by 1700 on Aug. 14. The county said it "anticipates that a ranked slate of firms will be presented to the board of supervisors in mid- to late September and that a proposed contract with the selected firm will be considered by the board no later than Oct. 6."
BOMBARDIER won a contract from the Department of Civil Protection of the Government of Italy for two Canadair 415 amphibious aircraft with options for two more. The aircraft will enter service this month. The firm order will increase the Italian 415 waterbomber fleet to 10 aircraft. The Department of Civil Protection began operating the Canadair 415 in spring 1995 and since has logged 6,575 hours and completed more than 22,200 drops with the aircraft.
HOUSE LEADERS Friday introduced their version of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 1998, the companion bill to legislation approved Tuesday by the Senate Commerce Committee.The bill, which closely resembles the Senate legislation, has strong support in the House - initial co-sponsors include the chairmen of the House Transportation, Resources and Agriculture Committees as well as the aviation and national parks subcommittee leadership.
Shipments of new general aviation aircraft rose sharply in the second quarter and first half and billings have been running in excess of $1 billion per quarter for more than a year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said Friday.
Senate Commerce Committee last week approved a comprehensive aviation package that would set the parameters for regulating the air tour industry, reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration programs for four years and require the agency to revoke airman or airframe and powerplant certificates from individuals convicted of violating bogus parts laws.
SEAPLANE PILOTS ASSOCIATION tapped Mike Volk to be its new executive director, succeeding Robert Richardson who is retiring. Volk, a commercial pilot with instrument and SES ratings, has been a member of SPA since 1996 and spent three years with the Kenmore Air Harbor seaplane fixed-base operation. Richardson headed the Helicopter Association of America, now Helicopter Association International, for a number of years before joining SPA.
JENNIFER A. BANKS, a recent graduate of Auburn University's Aviation Management program, joined the staff of the National Air Transportation Association as a government and industry affairs specialist.
A SENATE PROVISION to increase the number of airline slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National and Chicago O'Hare airports concerns industry leaders, who fear it would further limit access for general aviation. The provision specifies only the conversion of unused military slots to commercial use. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), the architect of the slots language, however, mentioned the transfer of both military and general aviation slots in his arguments for the provision.
BRITISH AEROSPACE H.P. 137 Mk1 Jetstream Series 200 and Jetstream Model 3101 airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-53-AD; Amdt. 39-10591; AD 98-13-03) - supersedes AD 82-20-04 R1, which requires repetitively inspecting the main landing gear hinge fitting, support angles, and attachment bolts and repairing or replacing any part cracked beyond certain limits. This AD requires installing improved fittings as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. It also incorporates the Jetstream 3101 airplane into the applicability section of the AD.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. said both revenues and earnings rose in the second quarter and first half and sales of both the company's business jet models remained strong.
COMSAT CORP. won a five-year, $57 million satellite communications contract with FAA to provide satellite and ground communications services that will be used to support FAA's new Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The contract has options that could extend the agreement for an additional five years and boost the total value to $120 million.
