AIR ROUTING INTERNATIONAL said Tokyo's Haneda Airport is now open to general aviation, with the Japan Civil Aviation Board allowing four GA operations per day, but the company said several restrictions are still in place. Presently only select international commercial flights receive customs services at Haneda, which means foreign-registered private flights must first land at an international airport in Japan, clear customs and then pro-ceed to Haneda.
A Pilatus PC-12 with 10 people en route from St. John's, Newfoundland to Goose Bay, Labrador suffered a complete engine failure May 18, but the 30-year-old pilot managed to keep the aircraft aloft for another 20 minutes and made a controlled crash landing in a bog. All aboard survived, but the pilot and at least two passengers suffered serious injuries.
Model ATR42 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-44-AD) - proposes a new AD that would require modification of the electrical power supply for the standby horizon indicator. The Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC), the French airworthiness authority, advised FAA that an operator experienced an aborted takeoff attributed to loss of power at the direct current (DC) emergency bus, which disabled the standby horizon indicator.
GROWTH CAPITAL ASSOCIATES, a financial advisory company located in Santa Monica, Calif. said it completed financing approximately $6 million for Applied Aerospace Structures Corp., an aerospace component manufacturer in Stockton, Calif. The firm will use the $6.1 million in funds to construct two new manufacturing facilities, thus creating more than 200 new jobs.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL added a special feature to its Gulfstream IV initial maintenance course, offering instruction on the installation and repair of hydraulic lines. The training is conducted by representatives of Deutsch Metal Components, which will provide Permaswage training cards to technicians who successfully complete the course.
Bombardier Aerospace selected North Bay, Ontario as the new site for final assembly of its Canadair CL-415 firefighting aircraft. The company announced in April that it planned to move final assembly of the large CL- 415 from Montreal to Ontario to make room for construction and assembly of the company's 70-passenger Canadair Regional Jet. North Bay is about 200 miles north of Toronto and about 30 miles west of the Quebec border.
BTR PLC sold its two Australian aerospace companies, Hawker Pacific and Hawker de Havilland, for $102 million. Hawker Pacific, which overhauls airframes, sells aircraft and distributes parts, was purchased by a division of Sweden's Celsius AB. Hawker de Havilland, which makes airframe structures and develops software, was acquired by the Tenix Group of Australia.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION established an interactive Internet website to make human factors information accessible to the public. The Human Factors Program Management System includes a suggestion box, which will be reviewed periodically, as well as a user-friendly search engine to help FAA human factors research. The address of the site is http://www.hf.faa.gov/database/welcome.html.
Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-123-AD) - proposes a new AD that would require a one-time visual inspection to detect cracking in the axle adapter of the shock absorber of the nose landing gear (NLG), and corrective actions, if necessary. The German airworthiness authority, the LBA, notified FAA that one operator found a crack in the axle adapter of the shock absorber during a maintenance check.
JET AVIATION of Switzerland and Lufthansa Technik of Germany were selected by Airbus as approved cabin outfitters for the Airbus Corporate jetliner (A319CJ). Airbus said both companies have outfitted other Airbus aircraft for private customers. The manufacturer said the endorsement of the two outfitters follows extensive discussions between the parties that resulted in specification of six different cabin layouts, plus 17 standard modules from which others can be created.
ELLIOTT AVIATION added a seven-passenger Cessna Citation II to its Part 135 certificate and is basing the jet at its Eppley Airfield facility in Omaha, Neb., where, the company said, it is "the first charter jet based in the Omaha metropolitan area." Elliott Aviation operates a fleet of 25 jet, turboprop and piston aircraft from its FBO facilities in Moline, Ill., Des Moines, Iowa, Minneapolis, Minn. and Omaha.
The Federal Aviation Administration approved Type III(a) certification last week for the Flight Dynamics HGS-2850 Head-Up Guidance System available as an option on the Dassault Falcon Jet 2000. FAA certification follows similar action in February by the European Joint Airworthiness Authorities. Dassault said the JAA and FAA certifications make the Falcon 2000 "the first business jet" to win III(a) approval from those airworthiness authorities.
INTERNATIONAL WATER-GUARD, which makes water purification systems for aircraft, said the Canadian government will provide a $235,845 (Canadian) investment to help fund the company's development of the NPS-A3 potable water treatment system. The NPS-A3 program, designed for the new generation of very long range aircraft, was launched in August.
TOBY SMITH was named manager of the new Dallas office of JB&A Aviation. Before joining the Houston-based aircraft brokerage and consulting firm, Smith had been with the Commercial Lending Division of Comerica Bank. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with majors in finance and accounting. He also is a private pilot. JB&A also has offices in Chicago, Tucson and Denver.
CADE INDUSTRIES, an aerospace and air transport supplier, told shareholders at its annual meeting that the company expects 1998 earnings to rise 60 percent, on a 50 percent gain in revenues. The company's president, Richard Lund, said he was "encouraged by first quarter results" and a strong order intake that boosted backlog to $84 million. The company designs and manufactures jet engine test facilities and related ground testing equipment.
CRAIG FAHNING was named vice president-corporate aircraft sales for Fairchild Dornier and will be based at corporate headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. Before joining Fairchild Dornier, Fahning spent five years as regional sales manager of Gulfstream Aerospace covering the central U.S. Before that, he was responsible for the aircraft sales division of Midcoast Aviation in St. Louis, Mo.
THE 10TH ANNUAL International Women in Aviation conference will be held March 18-20, 1999, at the Radisson Twin Towers Hotel in Orlando, Fla. For more information, call (937) 839-4647.
MEDAIRE, INC., Phoenix, Ariz., expanded its base of operations into Europe, signing an agreement with Norwegian Air Ambulance, Inc. (NLA). NLA will operate a MedAire sales and marketing office from its base in Oslo, Norway, and MedAire will open an emergency telemedicine center there by the end of the year.
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY announced an agreement with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to assess public interest in obtaining digital photographic prints from NASA missions. The trial agreement makes Kodak the supplier of digital photographic prints of Earth available for online purchase. Kodak will establish an online Service Fulfillment site as well as a customer service number to handle orders.
Aviation Methods, Inc. (AMI) the San Francisco-based aircraft management company, announced new titles and duties for a number of its top executives. Duncan C. Higgins, a 20-year veteran of the company who has been president and chief operating officer for the past decade, was named vice chairman, reporting directly to Roger N. McMullin, AMI's chairman and chief executive. AMI was recently acquired by the TAG Group of Geneva, Switzerland (BA, Jan.
FLIGHTSAFETY BOEING's training center in Miami was awarded an FAA Training Center Certificate under FAR Part 142. The new regulation permits increased use of flight simulators and training devices during pilot certification.
Crossair and Lufthansa CityLine, Lufthansa's regional subsidiary, are expected to be launch customers and are considering a total initial order of 120 aircraft and options, with first deliveries scheduled in mid-2001. Their tentative decision enabled Fairchild Dornier to launch its new family formally last week's at the International Aerospace Exhibition '98 (ILA '98) in Berlin, even though firm orders have not been signed.
FIRST Galaxy business jet was flown to Mach .90 during recent flight tests, one of the milestones necessary to achieve certification of the aircraft for its Mach .85 maximum cruise speed.
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOT ASSOCIATIONS will hold its 19th World Assembly in Palm Springs, Calif., Oct. 18-22. The meeting will include discussions on regulatory issues and certification actions, as well as user fee policies. Following the meeting, the delegates will attend the AOPA Expo '98, the AOPA's annual convention and trade show, which begins Oct. 23.
JUST 10 DAYS after FAA took final action approving use of single-engine aircraft in Part 135 passenger-carrying operations under instrument flight rules (BA, May 11/207), a Canadian-registered Pilatus PC-12 with 10 people on board had an engine failure and crashed in Newfoundland. See article below.
