AMERICAN EAGLE will introduce jet service May 15 between Chicago O'Hare and Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee. Eagle will use 50-seat Embraer RJ145s on six roundtrips to Cleveland, five to Cincinnati and one to Milwaukee.
Model 407 helicopters (Docket No. 97- SW-67-AD; Amdt. 39-10428; AD 97-24-17) - publishes an AD previously sent by priority mail to all known U.S. owners and operators requiring inspections of components in the tail rotor drive system for scratches, cracks, fretting, corrosion and proper torquing, lubrication of the oil cooler blower shaft hanger bearings and oil cooler hanger bearings (hanger bearings), and removal of corrosion inhibitive adhesive barrier tape (barrier tape) from the tail rotor gearbox and the tail rotor grearbox support assembly faying surfaces.
A new organization dedicated to addressing the needs of Michigan's airports has been formed and Tom Davis, president of Chrysler Pentastar Aviation, will serve as first president of the Michigan Business Aviation Association.
SCOTT R. KLAVON, an aerospace engineer, was named to the Aerospace Standards program of the Society of Automotive Engineers, which is headquartered in Warrendale, Pa. outside Pittsburgh. Klavon's appointment is part of a restructuring of SAE's Technical Standards and Research Group. As aerospace program manager, Klavon will head a team responsible for development of Aerospace Materials Standards (SAE AMS) and all aerospace standards and recommended practices.
The House Rules Committee, under heavy lobbying pressure by airport advocates, won back most of the $275 million in fiscal 1998 Airport Improvement Program spending cut earlier by the House Appropriations Committee. The House passed legislation by a 220-199 vote at the end of March that restores $243.6 million in AIP funding.
PETER J. PINTER was appointed director of sales/marketing for Aviation Systems International, Inc. A licensed professional engineer who has been employed in the aviation industry for more than 12 years, Pinter most recently was senior sales manager for AAR Allen Group.
Model SA 330F, G and J helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-06-AD) - proposes to require verifying the torque on the nut that secures the two transformer-rectifiers' common ground and subsequently installing a modification to separate the grounds of the two transformer-rectifiers. This proposal is prompted by a report from the airworthiness authority of France about an unsafe condition resulting from the loss of common ground of the two transformer-rectifiers.
ADMINISTRATOR GARVEY is optimistic about the prospects for progress with European Joint Airworthiness Authority officials regarding their recently adopted restrictions on flight training. The rules, scheduled to take effect in June 1999, would require flight training schools to locate their principal place of business in a JAA-member country for that country to recognize the training as valid.
The Transportation Department's proposed guidelines on unfair pricing and capacity practices against new-entrant airlines, announced Monday for a 60-day comment period, is an effort "to ensure that deregulation works for another 20 years," not an attempt to reregulate, Secretary Rodney Slater told reporters in Washington. DOT, the Justice Department, Congress and the General Accounting Office are examining major carriers' responses to the entry of startup or low-cost carriers in a market.
TFE731 series turbofan engines (Docket No. 97-ANE-51-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires installation of a clamp assembly to support the rigid fuel tube. This action would require installation of an improved flexible fuel tube. This proposal is prompted by reports of fuel leaks from a cracked fuel tube in engines that already have a clamp assembly installed in accordance with the current AD.
A special supplemental appropriation of $35 million for airport expansion projects in Georgia was signed into law March 30 by Gov. Zell Miller, a move that won the hearty endorsement of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Saab Aircraft of Stockholm, Sweden said it is strengthening its global customer support organization, and incorporating its used aircraft sales and marketing into the Saab Aircraft Finance Group. The company said Tuesday that Marlin (Marty) Schultz was named acting president of Saab Aircraft of America, Inc. (SAAI), responsible for customer support in the Americas.
JET AVIATION BUSINESS JETS AG of Zurich, Switzerland received the Air Operator Certificate from the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation. The company said the new certification means it "officially complies with the same requirements as commercial aircraft operators." Theo Staub, general manager of Jet Aviation Business Jets, termed receipt of the AOC "a major achievement. We were required to implement and maintain a Quality System corresponding to the ISO 9000 standards."
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL won six contracts to provide simulator and ground school training for FAA inspectors. Under contracts covering the next three years, SimuFlite will provide initial and recurrent training in Falcon 20/20/50, Gulfstream II, King Air 200 and Learjet 24/25 aircraft. All of the contracts are renewals, except for the Gulfstream II.
CEF INDUSTRIES, which makes products for a variety of airline, military and general aviation aircraft, named DRS, Inc. of Milwaukee, Wis. an authorized service facility to provide warranty and repair services for its entire product line. CEF makes components for aircraft manufactured by Gulfstream, Raytheon, Saab/Fairchild, CASA and Piper.
THE BIG NEWS in Washington, D.C. this week will be announcement of FAA's new safety agenda, which Administrator Jane Garvey has treated as one of her top priorities. Noting that FAA was swamped with more than 1,000 safety recommendations from various sources - a formidable 450 even after eliminating duplication - Garvey observed last year, "That is not a focused agenda." She said then that the safety agenda FAA is developing "ranks the recommendations based on hard data using established and tested methodologies" (BA, Nov. 3/187).
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA will hold a ceremony April 23 to celebrate the naming and dedication of the The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences and Odegard Hall. Odegard is the is the founder and longtime director of the university's aerospace education program (BA, Feb. 16/79).
CAMERON DUMAS was named general manager of Million Air at Aero Plex in Long Beach, Calif. Dumas joined the Million Air Long Beach fixed-base operation in 1993 and has served in various aircraft service capacities at the Daugherty Field operation.
IF YOU ACT FAST you may be able to get a copy of a new FAA information video on traffic patterns at the annual Sun 'N Fun Fly-In before this year's event. The information video "will help pilots follow special arrival and departure procedures that will be in effect April 17-25" in Lakeland, Fla. The video provides graphic presentations outlining traffic flow into Lakeland's Linder Airport; aerial footage to help pilots locate landmarks and busy routes; and, procedures for general aviation aircraft, warbirds and planes without radios.
FINDING AND KEEPING PILOTS continues to be a challenge for charter operators and regionals as the big airlines keep hiring. AIR, Inc. of Atlanta said Friday "airline pilot hiring was the best in history in March with 1,505 new jobs for the month," adding that at the current rate, the industry will add 13,750 new pilot jobs during 1998. During March, 193 of the 228 total airlines/operators reporting to AIR, Inc. hired pilots.
Dave McGowan has been involved in the aviation business since he was a pilot in Vietnam during the war, and he plans to keep running the aircraft brokerage business he's operated since 1990. But he may be hard to reach in the late afternoon and evening for the next six months because he's found a new part-time baseball vocation as the public address announcer for the American League's Baltimore Orioles home games at Camden Yards stadium.
Mercury Air Group, Inc. was issued a $19 million Airport Exempt Facility Bond through the California Economic Development Financing Authority and the company said bond proceeds will assist in two major expansion projects - construction of the largest cargo facility at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and of a new fixed-base operation facility on a 16-acre site at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (BUR) where Mercury currently provides FBO services. The new 180,000-square-foot cargo facility at LAX is scheduled to open April 13.
ANOTHER ITEM percolating to the top of the FAA agenda is what, if anything, to do about changing the way the agency regulates operation of aircraft used in fractional ownership programs. Currently, the fractional ownership programs are allowed to operate under the provisions of Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Some elements within FAA feel the fractionals should be required to meet the more restrictive regulations of Part 135, citing questions about who has operational control of aircraft operated under fractional ownership programs.
ALLIEDSIGNAL will expand its Lehigh Valley, Pa. wheel and brake repair and overhaul service center, creating 25 new jobs and retaining 65 existing positions. AlliedSignal will consolidate two smaller existing plants in the Allentown, Pa. area into a 37,000-square-foot leased facility in Airport Park near the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport.
