CHESTER M. LEWIS, an engine specialist with Boeing for more than 35 years, was named to FAA's National Resource Specialist team. Lewis will advise the agency on engine system dynamics and safety relating to certification requirements, policy and research into improving engine reliability and safety.
AIRBUS predicts a worldwide fleet demand of 16,700 airliners valued at $1.2 trillion, or $60 billion per year, during the 1998-2018 period, according to John Leahy, senior vice president for commercial affairs. The new estimate is 5.7 percent higher than the 15,800 aircraft in the Airbus 20- year forecast released a year ago. Leahy said he expects 26 percent of the total fleet demand to be for large-size aircraft with 400 or more seats.
HERB LANESE, the former president of McDonnell Aircraft Company and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, was named to the Advisory Board of C-S Aviation Services, Inc. (CSAS), a lease management provider of used commercial aircraft. CSAS, based in New York, has a portfolio of more than 70 commercial aircraft, including 28 A300B4 airliners.
A NEW EXHIBIT focusing on business aviation will open next week at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The "Business Wings" exhibit, made possible through support by the National Business Aviation Association, will feature a Beech King Air Model 90 and a Cessna Citation 500. The exhibit will trace the history of business aviation from its origins in the years following World War I to the present day.
Aero-Dienst of Nuremberg, Germany placed an order for a 609 civil tiltrotor, bringing to 67 the number of orders for the aircraft, according to manufacturer Bell Helicopter Textron. The German firm plans to use the tiltrotor for charter services and medical transport. The 67 tiltrotors sold to date are scheduled to go to 40 customers in 16 countries, including 15 ordered by European operators.
DASSAULT FALCON JET, which has been assessing the feasibility of a supersonic business jet, unveiled a scale model of a three-engine, Mach 1.8 airplane during a Falcon Maintenance and Operations seminar in Nice, France last month. The company is still seeking partners and customer input before deciding to launch the program. See article below.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT picked up another West Coast fixed-base operation last week, putting it into direct competition with an AMR-Combs facility on the same airport, and also added a new international base. See articles below.
Cessna Finance Corp. (CFC), Wichita, Kan., announced a number of promotions and assignment changes for its senior executives. Peter Redman was named chairman of CFC and Leon Metzinger is the new president.
AirNet Systems reported slightly lower net income on higher revenues for the quarter ended March 31, but officials anticipate improved operating margins for the remainder of the year. The Columbus, Ohio-based check and express document delivery company said revenues were up 19.5 percent to a record $26.5 million, but net income was off 7.7 percent - from $3.1 million a year ago to $2.85 million in the quarter just ended.
BILL FANNING, an 18-year veteran of the National Business Aircraft Association, is being honored by the association with a scholarship in his name. NBAA said it will annually award two $2,500 William M. Fanning Maintenance Scholarships to applicants who are pursuing careers as maintenance technicians. One award will go to a student currently enrolled in an accredited airframe and powerplant (A&P) program at an approved Part 147 school.
CONSTRUCCIONES AERONAUTICAS, S.A. Model C-212 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-297-AD) - adopts a new AD to require a one-time inspection of the lower shaft and support structure of the rudder for corrosion, repair of any discrepancy found, and modification of the structure. These actions were prompted by reports that corrosion could develop in the lower shaft and the support structure of the rudder, a condition which could result in the failure of the rudder lower shaft and reduced controllability of the airplane.
PARKER AEROSPACE formed the Servo Controls Division in Dublin, Ga. The Servo unit will design and manufacture electrohydraulic servo valves, control actuation system and electronic components for the aerospace and power-generation markets. The 78,000-square-foot Dublin factory was formerly part of Parker's Abex NWL Division. Joel Benkie, former plant manager, was named the new division's general manager.
Signature Flight Support acquired the assets of the Million Air-Palm Springs, Calif. (PSP) fixed-base operation last week, the company's seventh new base since early 1997 and a move that puts Signature in direct competition with AMR-Combs at the desert resort airport.
MICHAEL SAVILO, 52, was named president of the Walbar Engine Components division of Coltec Industries. Savilo had been president of Walbar Canada since January 1995. Coltec recently combined its Walbar Arizona and Walbar Canada units in the new Walbar Engine Components division. Before joining Coltec, Savilo spent 11 years in a variety of engineering and management posts with Rockwell International.
BRITISH AEROSPACE won a contract to train all of Australia's military pilots for the next 10 years. Recruit pilots will undergo basic flight training at the BAe facility at Tamworth in northern New South Wales, which has 47 aircraft, plus accommodations and classrooms for more than 200 trainees. BAe said the contract is valued at approximately 40 million pounds over the next decade.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION anticipates more than 400 exhibitors at its annual convention this fall in Palm Springs, Calif. This year's AOPA Expo, set for Oct. 23-25, is expected to attract more than 10,000 registrants. The association said 65 percent of the available exhibit space was sold during the first six weeks it was offered, even though the show is months away.
IN A LETTER to FAA Regulation and Certification officials Friday, NATA officials said they are anxious about the FAA's action contained in the referenced handbook bulletin that will "dramatically affect the country's banking system and overnight transportation of vital documents and components." The association requested a meeting between senior FAA officials and representatives of NATA member companies to discuss the issue and attempt to resolve the dispute.
BMW Rolls-Royce expects to generate an operating profit after 2000, in the first half of the next decade, says Chairman Klaus Nittinger. Launched in 1990, BMW Rolls is projecting an operating loss this year of DM400 million to DM500 million (US$240 million to US$300 million) on revenues of DM800 million (US$480 million). The pace of losses is slowing, with the red ink last year coming to DM662 million (US$397 million).
AIR WISCONSIN is scheduled to begin service this month with the last of 10 Dornier 328-120 turboprops the company acquired from Fairchild Dornier. The aircraft, painted in United livery and operating as part of the United Express network, will connect Denver International Airport with destinations in a several other Rocky Mountain states.
A joint industry/government task force that began work more than two years ago has developed a list of 99 recommendations designed to improve the safety of Canada's more than 1,000 commercial air taxi operators.
ALLISON ENGINE COMPANY Model 250-C47B turboshaft engines (Docket No. 97-ANE-40-AD) - supersedes existing AD 97-21-09, which requires replacing the engine main electrical harness assembly with an improved assembly, the installation of a new hydromechanical unit (HMU) and electronic control unit (ECU), removing the placard notifying the pilot that the overspeed protection system is disabled and revising the Bell Helicopter Textron Model 407 Rotorcraft Flight Manual.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT said its West Palm Beach, Fla. maintenance shop was approved by AlliedSignal as a TFE731 engine line service center and by Bell Helicopter Textron as a service center for Bell 206 and 407 series helicopters.
Dassault Aviation Chairman Serge Dassault unveiled a three-engine version of a supersonic business jet last month that the company said would cruise at Mach 1.8 and have a nonstop range of 4,000 nautical miles.
VISIONAIRE CORPORATION dedicated its new 116,000-square-foot assembly facility and flight test operation in Ames, Iowa Tuesday and officials said they will begin production of the first two Vantage test articles in September. The company claims a backlog of more than 125 orders for the $1.8 million, composite-construction business jet that will be powered by a single Pratt&Whitney JT15D-5 engine producing 2,965 pounds of thrust.
