Model PC-12 airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-08-AD) - proposes to require replacing and re-routing the power return cables on the starter generator and generator 2, inserting a temporary revision to the pilot operating handbook, and installing a placard near the standby magnetic compass. The proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Switzerland.
DEBORAH ROCHE LEE was named vice president-international operations and marketing for United Technologies Corp. Lee, 39, joins UTC's Washington, D.C. office from the Department of Defense, where she served as assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs. She previously was a member of the staff of the House Armed Services Committee from 1983 to 1993. She will report to Ruth Harkin, UTC's senior vice president for international affairs and government relations.
THE BOYD GROUP/ASRC named Brian W. Simpson vice president-strategic consulting for the Evergreen, Colo. aviation consulting firm. Simpson will direct the Airport Programs department at The Boyd Group. Before joining the consulting firm, Simpson had held posts in strategic planning, international route development and operation reliability control at Delta Air Lines.
FAA isn't alone when it comes to dealing with Year 2000 computer problems (BA, April 6/155). The General Accounting Office told a House Government Reform and Oversight subcommittee that the Defense Department lacks key management and oversight controls to enforce good management practices, direct resources and establish a picture of overall progress in fixing the Y2K problem.
IN RESPONSE, Transportation Department officials said regional differences in FAA's enforcement actions "were broadly attributable to variations in workload, the entities overseen, and community standards and laws.
Model 1329-23 and -25 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-93- AD) - adopts a new airworthiness directive applicable to certain Lockheed Model 1329-23 and -25 airplanes, including the JetStar II and 731 Jetstar, which requires replacement of a certain tailpipe V-band coupling with a new tailpipe V-band coupling. This amendment is prompted by reports indicating that the flight crew received a fire/overheat warning as a result of displacement of engine tailpipes, which allowed hot exhaust gases into the engine bypass duct.
THREE NEW MEMBERS were elected to the board of the National Air Transportation Association at the group's convention this month in Kansas City. New board members are Linda Barker, vice president of Business Aviation, the fixed-base operator at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Charles Johnson, president of Era Aviation, an FBO at the Anchorage, Alaska International Airport; and, John C. Willis, president of Raytheon Aircraft Services, a nationwide chain of 14 domestic FBOs, plus another in Chester, England.
VANCE&ENGLES, the Annapolis, Md. aircraft brokerage business, opened a Canadian office in Ottawa, Ontario headed by Barney McGale, former head of Irving Oil's flight department. The Canadian business will be known as V&E Canadian Aircraft Sales. "This move into the Canadian market is very significant and will substantially expand our market base," said Jim Vance, one of the principals in the brokerage business. McGale flew for Irving Oil for 25 years, the last decade as flight department manager.
Model SA 330F, G, and J, and AS 332C, L, L1, and L2 helicopters (Docket No. 9-SW-27-AD) - requires daily inspections of the root of each tail rotor head pitch change spider arm for cracks, and an inspection of the tail rotor head pitch change spider for cracks and fretting corrosion. A terminating action for the requirements of this AD is the installation of an airworthy modified spider, an airworthy replacement spider, or an airworthy repaired spider. This amendment is prompted by one in-service report of fatigue cracking on a Model AS 332 helicopter.
Model SAAB 340B and SAAB 2000 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM- 134-AD) - proposes to require modification of the check valves of the airfoil de-icing system, or replacement of the check valves with improved valves. This proposal is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
S.p.A. S.205 series and Models S.208 and S.208A airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-144-AD) - requires inspecting all flight control cables (elevator, aileron, rudder, flaps, nose gear steering, parking brake, safety belts, and autopilot systems) for cracks in the eye end, and replacing any control cable with any crack in the eye end. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Italy.
ROBERT K. MOORE was promoted to general manager of PPG Industries aircraft products business in Huntsville, Ala. A 33-year veteran of PPG, Moore has general, sales and plant management experience. He had been general manager of the company's automotive glass original equipment products business in Troy, Mich. since 1992. He began his career with PPG in 1965 at the former Mount Vernon, Ohio glass plant and held positions in employee relations there and at several other plants before moving into management.
Japan's Ministry of Transport, the Defense Agency and the local Ibaragi government agreed this month to construct a 2,700-meter second runway at Hyakuri air force base that eventually will relieve congestion at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. Hyakuri is 42 miles northeast of Tokyo and 27 miles north of Narita.
JET AVIATION added a Gulfstream IV-SP, a Challenger 604 and two Gulfstream IIs to its stable of managed aircraft, and said the Challenger and the two Gulfstream IIs will be available for charter. Jet Aviation also added three G-IIs and one Learjet 55 to its charter fleet through the company's Partnership Program, under which flight departments can generate revenue by making their company's aircraft available for charter when not being used by the owner.
WAYFARER AVIATION added a second Model 35A Learjet to its charter fleet. The new addition is based at the company's headquarters at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y.
SIMCOM TRAINING CENTERS, Orlando, Fla., completed and activated its first Pilatus PC-12 simulator this month. The unit, built by Simcom in conjunction with Pilatus, includes a full Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) and a KLN-90B Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. The simulator also has a 180-degree day/night visual motion cueing system.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION will host its Eighth Annual Fly-In and Open House at AOPA headquarters at the Frederick, Md. Municipal Airport on Saturday, June 6. Last year's open house attracted more than 400 aircraft and more than 4,000 participants. Admission is free to all seminars, presentations and exhibits, including two scheduled talks by Rod Machado, the AOPA Project Pilot national flight instructor. For more information, call AOPA at (301) 695-2000.
CFE COMPANY said its CFE738 engine has accumulated more than 100,000 hours of operation since entering service in 1995. More than 100 of the 5,940- pound-thrust engines are powering Falcon 2000 aircraft, with the engine fleet accumulating more than 4,000 hours of operation a month.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION is holding events for corporate pilots in the New Jersey/New York area May 13 and 14. The sessions will include an air traffic users dialogue featuring local FAA air traffic service managers, followed by briefings on operational, technical and legislative issues by NBAA President Jack Olcott and other NBAA staff members. The May 13 sessions will be held at the Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. Holiday Inn near Teterboro Airport, while the May 14 meetings will be at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in White Plains, N.Y.
THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the "development and operation of first-class fixed-base operator facilities at Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia Airport." Copies of the RFP are available from the Office of the Director, City of Philadelphia, Department of Commerce, Division of Aviation, Philadelphia International Airport, 8800 Essington Ave., Terminal E, Philadelphia, Pa. 19153, or by calling (215) 937-5450. Responses are due by noon June 12.
Major runway reconstruction and navaid replacement projects scheduled at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y. and at Bradley International (BDL) in Windsor Locks, Conn. will disrupt airline and business aviation flight activity for several months this spring and summer.
Model SA 365N, N1, and AS 365N2 helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-21-AD) - requires inspections of the main gearbox suspension diagonal cross-member for cracks, and removal of the diagonal cross-member and replacement with an airworthy diagonal cross-member if any crack is found. This amendment is prompted by several reports of the discovery of cracks in diagonal cross-members.
WHAT YOU PAY depends on which region of the Federal Aviation Administration you're dealing with when it comes to enforcement actions and civil penalties. According to a recent General Accounting Office report, "the extent to which penalties were reduced varied substantially from region to region. In fiscal 1996, for example, the New England region settled for the lowest median penalty (13 cents on the dollar), while five other regions settled for the highest median penalty (50 cents on the dollar)."
T. WAKELEE (WAKE) SMITH is the new executive vice president of FlightSafety Boeing Training International, which is headquartered in Seattle, Wash. Smith also will serve as chief financial officer of the company and will report to FlightSafety Boeing President David Smukowski. Smith joins the Seattle company from Simat, Helliesen&Eichner's New York office, where he was a vice president and a principal of the aviation consulting firm.
Cessna Aircraft won FAA certification Wednesday for its Excel business jet, one of the most successful programs in the long history of the Citation business jet family even before deliveries begin later this quarter. Since announcing the program at the NBAA convention in 1994, Cessna has logged orders for more than 200 of the aircraft, resulting in a backlog in excess of $1.6 billion.
