HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) will hold a hearing on the state of competition in the airline industry May 19 at 1 p.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses will include DOT General Counsel Nancy McFadden.
Models PA-31, PA-31-300, PA-31-325, PA- 31-350 and PA-31P airplanes (Docket No. 90-CE-65-AD) - supersedes AD 79-01- 04 that requires repetitively inspecting the elevator bungee spring for cracks or surface deformation on certain Piper PA-31-350 airplanes, and replacing any elevator bungee spring with cracks or surface deformities.
Model SA-365N1, AS-365N2 and SA-366G1 helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-49-AD) - adopts a new AD that requires initial and repetitive inspections of the tail rotor blade Kevlar tie-bar for cracks or delaminations. This amendment is prompted by a report of delamination of a Kevlar tie-bar. The actions specified are intended to detect cracks that could lead to delamination of the tie-bar, loss of tail rotor control and subsequent loss of the helicopter. Inspections are required within 10 hours time-in-service after the June 11 effective date.
THERMOMECHANICAL STRESSES on airframe leading edges cruising at Mach 2.4 may be too much for an economically viable passenger aircraft to handle, so the materials community at Boeing wants management and NASA to throttle back to Mach 2 for the prospective High Speed Civil Transport, according to a top Boeing titanium expert. Rodney R.
The Australian government, now that it has leased 17 airports, is transferring its remaining airport holdings from the Federal Airport Corp. to a new government-owned structure, the Sydney Airports Corp. Ltd. The airports affected - Sydney Kingsford Smith, Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park - will be corporatized, and Essendon Airport, which was not leased in Phase 2, will be set up as a subsidiary. All existing FAC staff and assets of these airports will transfer to the Sydney Airport Corp. Ltd.
Standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will require installation of ticket printers on all vehicle tank-mounted metering systems by Jan. 1, 1999, a mandate that will entail substantial expense by fixed-base operators and fuel companies with no increase in aviation safety, according to the National Air Transportation Association.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE said it is on schedule to win certification of a full flight simulator and a flight training device (FTD) for the Global Express business jet before the plane's scheduled certification in June. The simulator and the FTD are operational in the company's Montreal training center.
GERARD WALSH was named president and chief operating officer of Norton Performance Plastics Corp., Wayne, N.J., a subsidiary of the Saint-Gobain Corp. He joins Norton from 3M where he was the business unit director for the Masking and Packaging Systems Division. Walsh spent nearly 30 years with 3M in a variety of management and senior manufacturing positions.
Regional carrier Continental Express ordered 25 Embraer ERJ-135 regional jets, part of the carrier's plan for an all-jet fleet within five years. The transaction, at a list price of $12.6 million per aircraft, is valued at $315 million. Continental Express, which also took options on 50 ERJ-135s, said the deal, added to the 50 orders and 150 options in its earlier acquisition of the 50-seat ERJ-145, brings its total commitment to Embraer regional jets to 75 firm and 200 options over 10 years.
THE 100TH Pilatus PC-12 was delivered last month to R.G. (Bob) Edwards of Unionville, Ontario. The PC-12, built by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, is the largest single-engine turboprop in current production. The 100th delivery came less than three and one-half years after the delivery of the first PC-12.
ED CHAIRVOLOTTI is rejoining Signature Flight Support's marketing department after a nine-month departure from the company. Chairvolotti, 35, established Signature's point-of-sale customer tracking and information system. He is rejoining the company as manager-marketing research. He will be responsible for developing, maintaining and distributing market trend information, new location analysis and business forecasts. "No one knows Signature's market penetration and growth potential as well as Ed," said Bruce Van Allen, Signature's president and chief executive.
RANDY SHELTON was named regional sales manager for K-C Aviation, covering Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, as well as Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario. Shelton, who previously held a regional sales manager post with K-C, is rejoining the company.
PRATT&WHITNEY inaugurated a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Chengdu Aerotech Manufacturing, Ltd., which manufactures sheet metal and other components for the worldwide aerospace market, including P&W. The Chinese company is now operating from a new 100,000-square-foot, air- conditioned plant that will eventually house 200 workers. The joint venture, Chengdu Aerotech, was formed by P&W, the Chengdu Engine Group and Aviation Industries of China.
TOM WYMAN was named regional sales manager for the Northeast, New England and North Eastern Canada for K-C Aviation. Wyman, a five-year K-C veteran, most recently had been Midwest regional sales manager.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT named Eric Hietala operations manager at the fixed-base chain's Washington National Airport facility. Hietala, 31, was an operations supervisor at Signature-San Francisco from 1987 until December 1995 and put himself through law school while working at the SFO base. He subsequently was a consultant to the new AMR Combs FBO facility at SFO. Hietala replaces Wayne Pennell, who became assistant general manager at Signature-BWI last month.
STEVE FUSHELBERGER joined Allison Engine Company in Indianapolis, Ind. as director of public relations, advertising and communications. He had most recently been involved in Part 135/FBO management and operations and before that had been director of marketing services for Agusta Helicopter. Fushelberger has both fixed- and rotary-wing experience.
PAUL W. GAY was appointed regional PT6 sales manager for Airwork in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina by Fenton Appleby, director of turboprop engines for the company. Gay will be based in Madison, N.C. Before joining Airwork he was with Piedmont Aviation, Stevens Aviation in Nashville, Tenn. and Beech Aircraft in Wichita.
THE HOUSE SCIENCE COMMITTEE will mark up several pieces of legislation Wednesday including the Anti-Duplicative Regulations Act, which would amend the previously adopted Faster Quality Act. Rep. Connie Morella (R-Md.) held hearings last week at which aviation industry representatives complained that rule interpretations by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would subject aircraft and component manufacturers to an entirely new set of standards in addition to FAA requirements.
AMY B. KORANDA was named to the new position of manager, education and training, for the National Air Transportation Association, Alexandria, Va. She will be responsible for developing the association's educational offerings and coordinating its scholarship activities. Most recently she had been at the National Association of State Aviation Officials Center for Aviation Research and Education in Silver Spring, Md., where she was responsible for planning and implementing various education seminars and designing training curricula for state aviation inspectors.
British Aerospace will acquire a 35 percent stake in Sweden's Saab AB from Investor Group, a move that BAe said is consistent with its stated objective of increasing shareholder value through aerospace industry consolidation. The move envisions a substantial role for British Aerospace Asset Management (BAeAM) in the management of more than 300 Saab 340s and Saab 2000s as they come off their original leases.
THE BMW ROLLS-ROYCE BR715 engine completed its 150-hour endurance run on a test platform in Dahlewitz, Germany, the latest milestone in development of the engine selected to power the Boeing 717, known as the MD-95 before Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas. First flight of a BR715-powered 717 is planned for late this year, with entry into service with AirTran Airlines scheduled for 1999.
ROLLS-ROYCE plc Viper series turbojet engines (Docket No. 98-ANE-06- AD) - proposes a one-time visual inspection of the barometric flow control unit (BFCU) augmentor and bypass valve joint washer for joint washer integrity, and replacement, if necessary, with serviceable parts. This proposal is prompted by a report of a high-pressure fuel leak at the BFCU augmentor and bypass valve assembly joint, washer interface. The actions proposed are intended to prevent such high-pressure fuel leaks, which could result in an engine nacelle fire and damage to the aircraft.
HARTZELL PROPELLER INC., Piqua, Ohio, increased its overhaul interval for the four-bladed Hartzell/Raisbeck Quiet turbofan propellers from 3,000 hours/five years to 4,000 hours/six years. The increase applies to all propellers produced since 1991 and to units produced earlier that have been overhauled to Hartzell specifications. The propellers are installed on more than 1,000 King Airs and Super King Airs, as well as de Havilland DHC- 6 Twin Otters.
WILLIAM S. (BILL) KOCH, who had been vice president-marketing and development for AMR Combs, was named senior vice president and general manager with responsibility for six of the company's fixed-base operations. Koch, now based at Love Field in Dallas, also has oversight for AMR Combs bases in Ft.
