Engine makers AlliedSignal and Allison both anticipate continued growth in the civil helicopter market, but AlliedSignal's five-year outlook is more bullish than the 10-year view provided by Allison, both of which were unveiled at last week's 50th anniversary Helicopter Association International convention in Anaheim, Calif.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT named Larry Jorash general manager of its Hartford, Conn. base. Jorash, who has 12 years of fixed-base operation experience, formerly was general manager for the Smyrna Air Center near Nashville, Tenn. He also has served as turbine aircraft maintenance manager for Priester Aviation in Wheeling, Ill. Jorash will report to Brent Russell, Signature's Northeast area manager.
Ametek Inc., named G. Richard Patterson vice president and general manager of its Aerospace Division, effective immediately. Patterson had been divisional vice president-marketing and had been acting general manager since June 1997. He will continue to report to Robert W. Chlebek, president of Ametek's Electronic Instrument Group.
SHARYL STEIN joined Elliott Aviation as marketing administrator. Stein formerly served with a Dallas-based consumer advertising agency, most recently as manager of advertising services.
GE Capital Services, which began negotiations last year to buy SimuFlite Training International, completed the acquisition Feb. 13 and officials are now concentrating on assimilating employees of the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas-based simulator training company into GE.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL provided its maintenance training software, "The Principles of Troubleshooting," to Mesaba Airlines. Mesaba technicians will use the interactive troubleshooting program for initial and recurrent training at the Northwest Airlink carrier's bases in Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
At the request of FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, RTCA, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit technical group, is forming a task force to address concerns about the FAA certification process as the agency focuses on modernizing the national airspace system.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT delivered a fourth Grand Caravan to Tropic Air of San Pedro, Belize. Tropic Air, the first airline in Central America to provide Caravan service, accepted its first Grand Caravan in 1991 as part of a Twin Otter fleet replacement program. The airline, which began in 1979 as a charter company with a Cessna 172, makes 80 departures daily to cities in Belize as well as 14 flights to Guatemala.
CLAY FOX joined King Aerospace as cabinetry department lead technician. Fox previously was a cabinet builder and parts manufacturer approval coordinator for HeliDyne Systems in Hurst, Texas.
Commander Aircraft Corp. introduced a long-range version of its single-engine Commander 114B that will have a maximum range of just over 1,000 nautical miles. The long-range 114B will incorporate the wing of the Commander 114TC, carrying a total of 90 gallons of fuel - 88 usable.
EMBRAER EMB-110P1 and EMB-110P2 airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-66-AD; Amdt. 39-10273; AD 98-01-10) - supersedes AD 87-03-10, which requires repetitive inspection of the fillet area of both the left and right main landing gear wheel axle/piston tube support junction area for cracks and replacement of any main landing gear wheel axle/piston tube assembly where a crack is found. AD 87-03-10 also provided the option of reworking this area when no cracks are found as terminating action for the repetitive inspections.
MICHAEL MOORE was appointed director of marketing for Extex, Ltd. Moore previously held marketing, sales and service positions with Pratt&Whitney, Eagle Services, AVATAR Alliance, Airwork, Learjet and FlightSafety International.
FOKKER Model F27 Mark 050 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-255-AD; Amdt. 39-10267; AD 98-01-03) - requires modification of the air outlet opening of the engine air bypass duct. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent accumulation of ice in the engine air intake duct and subsequent ingestion of ice into the engine, which could result in engine power fluctuations and reduced controllability of the airplane.
EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT appointed Kathy Tyler vice president, business development, Elisha Bizzaro manager, business development, and David Sadelfeld marketing manager, business development. Tyler joined EJM in 1988, serving in customer service and flight operations. Last year she opened the business development department, which has increased the group's fleet of managed aircraft by 14. Bizzaro joined EJM six months ago and previously served with XRE, a medical imaging manufacturer. Sadelfeld previously was a flight coordinator for EJM flight operations.
Rockwell Collins will provide a complete package of navigation and communication equipment for the new Boeing Business Jet under terms of an agreement announced Wednesday. The BBJ, a derivative of the 737-700 designed for the corporate and head-of-state market, will be delivered with a new GLU-920 multi-mode receiver (MMR), TCAS II traffic alert and collision avoidance system and forward looking windshear weather radar.
The Federal Aviation Administration prohibited operators of new Cessna 172s and 182s from flying under instrument flight rules until they inspect the alternate static air source valve for an improperly placed identification placard. The airworthiness directive, published late last month after individual owners and operators were notified by priority letter, stems from the discovery that placards were installed on the valve body in an area that blocks the inlet for the static air reference into the valve on certain 172s and 182s.
MOST OF THE GROWTH in helicopter sales will be fueled by demand for light single-engine models. Current operators surveyed about their purchase expectations over the next five years named that class of aircraft 58 percent of the time. See article below.
RICHARD WOOTEN was named upholstery lead technician for King Aerospace. Wooten, who has 15 years of aviation experience, previously was upholstery lead technician for International Aviation Services.
BOMBARDIER set a company sales record in 1997 "with firm orders for 204 regional aircraft and a 42 percent share of the 20- to 90-seat world regional aircraft market." The orders came from 23 customers in 14 countries, the Canadian manufacturer said, for 160 Regional Jets and 44 de Havilland Dash 8Q turboprops, an increase of 75 units or 58 percent over 1996. Bombardier said its regional aircraft market share has grown steadily from the 27 percent posted in 1995.
COUNTY OF OCEAN, N.J. requests proposals until 5 p.m. March 23 for full fixed-base operator services at RJ Miller County Airport. For more information or to receive copies of the RFP, contact David McKeon, Ocean County Planning Department, P.O. Box 2191, Toms River, N.J. 08754; telephone: (732) 929-2054.
ALLIEDSIGNAL said continuing tests of new core engine technology are meeting or exceeding expectations. The company conducted the first run of the core demonstrator in December (BA, Dec. 22/265). Since then, AlliedSignal has completed combustor testing with three rig builds and one core test at low power. A high-pressure turbine rig test also has been successfully completed with "efficiencies exceeding expectations," according to the company.
A NEW POLICY by the European Joint Aviation Authorities would require U.S.- based flight training schools to establish an office in a JAA-member country in order for JAA to recognize pilot certificates earned by students who trained in the U.S.The policy takes effect in June 1999, but individual member countries could begin implementing it this June.
THE NUMBER of accidents involving U.S. business jets and turboprops increased last year to 51, including 15 fatal accidents that resulted in 46 fatalities, according to information compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla. That compares with 39 accidents, including 11 fatal accidents, that claimed 49 lives in 1996. A listing of worldwide accidents involving business jets is shown on Pages 91-92 of the hard copy of this issue. Robert E.
AMERICAN EAGLE confirmed an agreement with Bombardier that includes firm orders for 25 Canadair Regional Jet Series 700 aircraft and options for 25 more. The deal, valued at $1.4 billion (U.S.), was announced at last spring's Paris Air Show, but was not finalized until late last month when the parties reached definitive aircraft purchase and financing agreements (BA, June 23/275).
