RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT SERVICES - DALLAS completed its move from Addison Airport to Dallas Love Field. The facility, which has expanded weekday business hours from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., covers 33,000 square feet of hangar and office space.
THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION keeps calling for adoption of performance-based user fees, presumably including Eurocontrol-like charges for air traffic services. What impact would such a system have on the operating costs of U.S.-based business aircraft? Well, a survey in the April issue of Business&Commercial Aviation says U.S. operators of Falcon 2000 business jets reported average direct operating costs ranging from $1,000 to $1,150 per hour.
Noel Forgeard, 51, the former top executive of two Matra divisions, was named managing director of Airbus Industrie, replacing Jean Pierson, who will retire after 13 years in the post. Forgeard was formerly chief executive of Matra High Technology and Matra BAe Dynamics, its joint venture with British Aerospace. He becomes the first head of Airbus to come from the private sector. Aerospatiale had been the source of Airbus leaders.
The Interagency GPS Executive Board has agreed to provide a second civil Global Positioning System frequency free to the international aviation community, Vice President Al Gore announced last week, but the providers of the civil signals - the Transportation Department instead of the Defense Department - can be expected to pay for them. The Defense Department will not have to pick up the expense for civil users, sources said.
CITY OF KEENE, N.H., requests proposals until 10 a.m. May 1 for the development of aviation-related facilities and/or services at Dillant- Hopkins Airport. Facilities and services may include corporate hangars/maintenance facilities, full-service fixed-base operations, basic and advanced flight schools, airframe and powerplant maintenance shops, avionics repair shops, aircraft sales and on-demand charter operations. To obtain proposal documents, contact Robert Wyman, city purchasing agent, at (603) 357-9800.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL won certification for a second CitationJet full flight simulator at the Citation learning center in Wichita, Kan. FlightSafety Simulation Systems designed and built the simulator, which includes a high-definition ChromaView visual system and a MultiView panoramic display. FlightSafety operates 20 Citation simulators at six of its centers, with half of those based in Wichita.
Cessna Finance Corp. is offering buyers of the company's new Model 172 single-engine aircraft terms of up to 25 years and monthly payments of less than $1,000 in return for substantial down payments. The new program, dubbed LTS (Long Term Security) by Cessna, is applicable to the purchase of new Model 172R Skyhawks and Model 172S Skyhawk SPs by U.S. and Canadian customers.
SOCATA Model TBM-700 airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-76-AD) - proposes to require inspecting the elevator trim tab for cracks and replacing any cracked elevator trim tab part. The proposal is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent cracks in the elevator trim tab fitting, which could result in separation of the elevator trim cable and loss of control of the airplane.
CHC Helicopter Corp., St. John's, Newfoundland, announced the resignation of Rudy Palladina, the company's president and chief executive officer, because of differences with the chairman.
KEN MERCIER joined AAR Cooper Aviation as vice president-sales and marketing. Mercier will direct growth of business markets. He has served with AAR for three years, most recently as vice president-worldwide customer support for the AAR Allen Group.
KEN COOPER joined AAR Corporation as manager-marketing services. Cooper, who has 27 years of marketing experience, will support marketing efforts of the corporation.
LINDA YOUNG was named vice president of operations for MedAire. Young will direct operations associated with MedAire's MedLink emergency telemedicine center, as well as many different medical-related programs and services MedAire offers corporate travelers, corporate flight departments and commercial airlines. She previously was manager of quality assurance for Petroleum Helicopter's AirEvac.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., which announced earlier it planned to establish a fractional ownership program in the Middle East using Gulfstream IV-SP business jets (BA, Nov. 24/223), said last week it had executed a contract with "a group of Middle East investors to purchase 12 Gulfstream IV-SP aircraft which will be used to expand the highly successful Gulfstream Shares fractional ownership concept to the Middle East."
I.M.P. GROUP INTERNATIONAL named David Miller executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Innotech-Execaire Aviation group of companies. Miller, who will report to I.M.P. President Stephen Plummer, will oversee day-to-day operations at the Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver facilities. He formerly served as vice president and general manager of I.M.P. Aerospace Components Limited, which manufactures components for Boeing, Bombardier, Bell and Lockheed Martin. Miller also has held positions with Spar Aerospace.
While there is much work remaining, FAA officials told reporters Friday they have made considerable progress in addressing the Year 2000 (Y2K) situation with the agency's air traffic computers and have developed a detailed schedule to accomplish remaining tasks.
SOCATA Model TBM-700 airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-43-AD; Amdt. 39- 10317; AD 98-04-04) - requires replacing the starter generator mounting adapter with an improved part. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent loss of the starter generator mounting adapter, which could result in loss of electrical power.
BOMBARDIER sold two Challenger 604 business jets to two operators in Argentina and Venezuela. Operators in Latin America - mostly in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela - account for 21 Challenger aircraft, including five of the new 604 model. Target Aviation Ltda. of Sao Paulo, Brazil provides service for the Latin American fleet.
PIPER Model PA 38-112 airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-43-AD; Amdt. 39- 10308; AD 98-03-16) - requires repetitively replacing the upper rudder hinge bracket. This action is prompted by reports of fatigue cracks on the upper rudder hinge bracket, and the manufacture of an improved upper rudder hinge bracket. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent cracks in the upper rudder hinge bracket, which could result in separation of the rudder from the airplane and loss of control of the airplane.
Israel Aircraft Industries recorded its first profit in five years, earning $24.3 million in 1997, the first year of operations following completion of a four-year recovery plan. Sales of $1.7 billion were up 15 percent over 1996 sales of $1.5 million. Profit before taxes and special expenses was $30 million, compared with a loss of $41.1 billion in 1996.
Mercury Air Group acquired the assets of Intermodal Services, a division of a subsidiary of Corporate Express Delivery Systems, Inc. Intermodal Services is an air cargo handling business based at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. It will operate as a division of Mercury Air Cargo.
1997 ANNUAL TURBINE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REVIEW is off the presses and available for purchase by business aircraft operators, prospective aircraft purchasers and others who want to assess the safety record of business jets and turboprops. Published by Robert E. Breiling Associates, the 1997 review contains more than 500 pages of detailed narrative accident report summaries involving some 300 turbine-powered aircraft/helicopter accidents and incidents that occurred last year.
A Flight Safety Foundation task force focusing on Approach-and-Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) concluded that "the single most common ALA causal factor was the flight crew continuing the approach descent below minimum descent altitude or decision height without adequate visual cues," and developed recommendations designed to address the problem. FSF's ALAR Task Force was formed in 1997. The foundation said early data resulted in several hypotheses about causes and avoidance of ALAs. These include:
PARK EXPRESS, a startup airline in Turkey, ordered five Avro RJ100s valued at $150 million from AI(R). The first two will be delivered in November and December, with the remaining three to follow in the second half of 1999. Atilla Celebl, former chairman and chief executive of Turkish Airlines, is in charge of setting up the new airline and getting it operational. He called the Avro RJ100s "the ideal vehicle for the establishment of the first dedicated private regional airline in Turkey."
DALLAS AIRMOTIVE INC. was named a designated overhaul facility for Pratt&Whitney Canada PW100 engines. Dallas Airmotive has been an authorized P&WC PT6 distributor since 1967 and JT15D distributor since 1974.
AERO INTERNATIONAL (REGIONAL) late last month delivered the 200th ATR 72 to China Xinjiang Airlines, a Chinese carrier based in Urumqi. The aircraft was the third of five ATR 72-210A aircraft China Xinjiang Airlines ordered. The ATR 72 has garnered 221 orders since the program was launched in 1986.
