THE INDEPENDENT PILOTS ASSOCIATION said it reached agreement with United Parcel Service on a labor contract that will increase pilot compensation by 27 percent over seven years. Pilots will receive a 21 percent pay increase retroactive to Dec. 30, 1995, and pay will increase an additional six percent between 1999 and 2003. In addition to the pay increase, IPA said the new agreement reduces the total number of hours pilots are scheduled as "on duty," and provides protection to reduce the effects of circadian rhythm disruption.
HORIZON AIR phased out the last of its 18-seat turboprop Metroliners last week, completing the carrier's transition to a fleet of 37-seat de Havilland Dash 8 turboprops and Fokker F28 regional jets. Horizon, based in Seattle, Wash., serves 37 cities in western North America from California through the Northwest U.S. to British Columbia and Alberta in Canada.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-109-AD; Amdt. 39-10281; AD 98-01-19) - requires replacement of the main landing gear uplocks with new or modified main landing gear uplocks. This amendment is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the main landing gear to lock in the stowed position due to ice accumulation on the uplock hook and roller assembly.
Terry Graham, who had been chief operating officer at Allison Engine Company in Indianapolis, Ind., is leaving the engine manufacturer to pursue opportunities outside the company. John Ferrie, currently managing director of Military Aero Engines for Rolls-Royce plc in Bristol, England, will assume the position of executive vice president-business operations at Allison effective March 1. Ferrie will report to S. Michael Hudson, president and chief executive officer of Allison.
SINO SWEARINGEN AIRCRAFT signed the team of Flight Economy and CSE Aviation as distributor of the SJ30-2 business jet in the United Kingdom. Flight Economy, based in Stockholm, Sweden but holder of a distributorship in the U.K., selected CSE Aviation, based at Oxford Airport in England, to serve as its agent to perform all the distribution and service functions within the U.K. Flight Economy ordered six of the business jets for the U.K. territory. The aircraft are slated for delivery to CSE over a three-year period, beginning in the last quarter of 2000.
MESA AIR GROUP board of directors named Paul R. Madden chairman of the board, and James Swigart vice chairman. The election of Madden and Swigart follows the resignation last week of Mesa Airlines founder Larry Risley as board chairman. Madden, 71, is an attorney who had served as corporate and Securities and Exchange Commission counsel to Mesa Air Group from 1988 until last June, when he was named to the board.
F28 Mark 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-174-AD; Amdt. 39-10266; AD 98-01-02) - requires a one-time visual inspection of the rear cargo door and luggage auxiliary structure for corrosion, repetitive borescope inspections of the rear cargo door, and removal and repair of any corrosion found during the inspections.
INTERNATIONAL LORAN ASSOCIATION will hold its 27th Annual Convention and Technical Symposium Oct. 12-16 at Ferncroft Conference Resort in Danvers, Mass. and has issued a call for papers to be presented at the event. Submissions should be sent before March 15 to Robert Lilley, Illgen Simulation Technology, 130 Robin Hill Road, Suite 200, Goleta, Calif. 93117 ; fax: (805) 692-2334. For more information about the convention and technical symposium, contact the ILA at (805) 967-8649.
VISIONAIRE CORPORATION signed a contract with Pratt&Whitney Canada to purchase 2,965-pound-thrust JT15D-5 engines to power its new Vantage single-engine business jet. The five-year agreement covers engine deliveries through 2002, with a potential contract value of $175 million.
BRADLEY BROWNELL was appointed HS125 program manager for Atlantic Aviation's Aircraft Services Division. Brownell has 17 years of aviation experience, having held positions with Camp Systems, International Aircraft Tank and Trans World Airlines.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION this week is expected to announce record billings and business jet deliveries as well as dramatic increases in piston aircraft deliveries for U.S. GA manufacturers during 1997. Cessna already reported it delivered more new aircraft in 1997 than in any year since 1985 with nearly a third of the total comprising business jets (BA, Jan. 26/33). Raytheon Aircraft last week announced record sales of $2.446 billion in 1997 with a 27 percent increase in Hawker 800XP deliveries and a 48 percent increase in Beechjet deliveries.
CESSNA FINANCE CORPORATION appointed Laura Ice as assistant general counsel and Mitchel McKinlay regional sales manager for the Ontario, Calif. branch office. Before joining CFC, Ice was a shareholder in the Wichita law firm of Adams, Jones, Robinson&Malone. McKinlay formerly was director of marketing for Great Western Aviation in Ogden, Utah.
SimuFlite Training International is offering seven scholarships valued at more than $60,000 during 1998, including six Cessna Citation pilot training opportunities and one for a maintenance training course. Four pilot scholarships are available through the University Aviation Association, an alliance of more than 199 accredited colleges and universities. Application for deadlines is March 31. Another pilot scholarship is available through the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Museum in Detroit, Mich., with an April 30 deadline for applications.
Mercury Air Group, Inc. reported the best financial performance in company history in the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1997, but the Los Angeles- based firm posted a net loss for the first six months of its fiscal year due to a bankruptcy filing by a major customer.
WILLIAM LEWANDOWSKI was named vice president, supplier management, for Aerospace Industries Association. Lewandowski joined AIA in 1987 as director of materiel management, became director of operations in 1989, and was appointed assistant vice president of technical operations in 1990.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL added a Challenger 601-3A/3R integrated avionics systems trainer to supplement simulator and ground school instruction at the company's headquarters at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The trainer, manufactured by Xionix Simulation in Irving, Texas, includes Honeywell's SPZ-8000 automatic flight control system.
Model HS 748 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-224- AD; Amdt. 39-10269; AD 98-01-05) - requires installation of an aileron cable to support block under the crew compartment floor. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent jamming or restriction of the aileron cable, which could reduce airplane controllability.
Model DHC-8-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-269- AD) - proposes to require a one-time visual inspection to determine the presence of block seals on the upper portions of the cabin/baggage compartment bulkheads, and installation of a new or serviceable block seal for any missing block seal. This proposal is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
ROCKWELL COLLINS expanded its avionics service center capability in Brazil with a new facility adjacent to Sao Jose dos Campos Airport. Rockwell Collins will staff and equip the new facility to repair comm/nav radio and flight control systems. The avionics manufacturer already services business aircraft and regional airliners in Brazil. The new facility will expand that capability to include systems on Fokker 100 and Boeing airliners.
Administration concern with keeping the NASA budget in the $13.5 billion range resulted in proposed fiscal 1999 funding of $1.31 billion for aeronautics and space transportation technology, dropping $165.9 million, or 11.3 percent, from $1.47 billion in fiscal 1998. The budget for aeronautical research and technology took a big hit, dropping $120 million to $786 million from $906 million. The commercial technology program declined to $130.4 million from $146.7 million and the advanced space transportation program fell to $388.6 million from $417.1 million.
Noting that congressional leaders sent a "clear message to the Federal Aviation Administration that user fees are not necessary to augment the agency's budget," General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen last week asked House appropriators to continue its support for a fully funded FAA without user fees.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL appointed Rudy Toering regional sales manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Toering, based at the FlightSafety Paris learning center at Le Bourget Airport, has both business and commercial aircraft piloting and maintenance experience. He previously spent 11 years with Air Canada.
Model ATP airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-191-AD) - proposes to require revising the airplane flight manual to prohibit positioning the power levers below the flight idle stop during flight and to provide a statement of the consequences of positioning the power levers below the flight idle stop during flight. This proposal is prompted by incidents and accidents involving turboprop airplanes in which the ground propeller beta range was used improperly during flight.
BFGOODRICH AVIONICS SYSTEMS' GH-3000 electronic standby instrument system won a supplemental type certificate for installation on Gulfstream V aircraft. FAA issued the STC to Gulfstream facilities in Savannah, Ga. and Long Beach, Calif.
