BARRY VALENTINE, who retired from the Federal Aviation Administration last month after serving as acting administrator and acting deputy (BA, Dec. 22/270), has joined the Experimental Aircraft Association board of directors. Valentine, a long-time EAA member, has more than 3,000 hours in more than two dozen aircraft, ranging from single-engine piston aircraft to multi-engine jets.
INTERNATIONAL WATER-GUARD INDUSTRIES, INC., Vancouver, B.C., received an order from PATS Inc. of Columbia, Md. for eight NPS-42 on-board sterilizers that will be installed on four Boeing 757s configured as executive transport aircraft. The 9.5 -pound systems are designed to protect passengers and crew from waterborne bacterial and viral disease. International Water-Guard said more than 200 of its NPS-A2 sterilizers are flying in business aircraft and privately registered airliner-type aircraft around the world.
EDMUND PINTO, Aviation Week Newsletters publisher, will leave The McGraw-Hill Companies to become a managing director of GKMG Consulting Services Inc., Washington, D.C., effective Feb. 4. Pinto wrote for the Hartford (Conn.) Times and the Associated Press early in his career and later was a senior Senate aide, an assistant administrator of FAA and a senior vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
The Department of Transportation, citing poor results of oversight inspections for handlers of hazardous materials, has increased surveillance of commercial air courier shipments and asked the Federal Aviation Administration and DOT Inspector General to make further recommendations on enhancing air security programs.
MERCURY AIR CARGO held a "topping off" ceremony this month for the 180,000- square-foot air cargo facility it is building at Los Angeles International Airport. The new facility, which Mercury plans to occupy in March, will boost the company's net space on the airport from 95,000 square feet to 245,000 square feet, about 70 percent of which already is allocated to customers, officials said.
DERLAN, INC. is offering a fully-powered "VIP-class" seat for the executive aircraft market. The seat features a powered swivel with up to 360 degrees of motion, can recline up to 70 degrees from vertical and can be equipped with a power legrest, lumbar adjustment and headrest. Derlan said the seat meets FAR 25.853c standards and can be supplied without exterior covering or fully upholstered. For more information, contact Derlan at Santa Ana, Calif. at (714) 250-3123.
DASSAULT sold 98 new Falcon business jets worth a record $2 billion last year, the French manufacturer announced last week, calling the sales performance "utterly unprecedented at the top end of the business jet market." The company said its sales were balanced among its four models with several fleet sales, including one for five Falcon 50EXs to a U.S. corporation and a deal for 24 Falcon 2000s to Executive Jet (BA, Dec. 22/265). Dassault, which delivered more than 50 aircraft last year, will maintain at least that pace in 1998, it said.
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE still has not scheduled hearings on confirmation of George Donohue as deputy FAA administrator. The White House announced its intention to nominate Donohue, FAA's associate administrator for research and acquisitions, in June when it tapped Jane Garvey for the top post at FAA (BA, June 16/263). Garvey, however, has been in office since early August. The deputy's position was vacated last month when acting deputy Barry Valentine resigned from the agency (BA, Dec. 22/270).
RAYTHEON B200, B200C and B200T airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-72-AD) - proposes to require replacing the wiring for the engine fire detector system with fire resistant wiring. The proposed AD is the result of the discovery during aircraft production of the potential for the existing engine fire detector system wiring to fail because of high heat and/or fire.
LOUISE SHOFFNER was named service center manager for Integrated Lodging Service Inc., which provides transaction management services to the airline and hospitality industries, including airline crew lodging coordination. Shoffner will be responsible for day-to-day operations and strategic planning for the center. Formerly director of operations for General Electric Travel Management Services, she has more than 20 years of aviation industry experience and six years of travel management experience.
AGUSTA Model 109K2 helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-54-AD; Amdt. 39- 10252; AD 97-26-09) - requires inspection of the Gleason crown on the main transmission for cracks and replacement of the crown if cracks are found. This amendment is prompted by reports of fatigue cracks found on the Gleason crown. The actions specified by the AD are intended to prevent failure of the Gleason crown and failure of the main transmission and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
ADVANCED AERODYNAMICS&STRUCTURES, INC. received 10 more orders for its Jetcruzer 500 turboprop aircraft, bringing the backlog to about $103 million and 86 aircraft. The six-place, single-turboprop aircraft first flew in late August with certification and deliveries expected by third quarter of this year (BA, Sept. 1/91). AASI broke ground on a manufacturing facility in November in Long Beach, Calif. and hopes to complete construction this summer.
DATRON SYSTEMS received FAA supplemental type certification for its DBS- 2100 satellite television antenna system for corporate aircraft. The system was installed on a Gulfstream III last month for a high-speed test flight that included severe rolls, banks and turns. Datron entered a teaming agreement with Airshow, Inc. and Racal Avionics Ltd. to develop and manufacture the equipment to allow reception of live direct broadcast satellite television on corporate aircraft.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION named Jerry L. Hooper of Corpus Christi, Texas as the association's regional representative for Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Hooper, a 2,500-hour pilot, was an Air Force fighter pilot, worked for former Sen. Vance Hartke (D-Ind.) and was elected to two terms as a county tax assessor in his native Indiana. Most recently he has been operating his own property tax consulting firm, Hooper Consulting.
National Air Transportation Association urged officials in Tennessee to provide relief from a new law that results in an additional 20 cents per gallon tax on aviation gasoline and 17 cents per gallon tax on jet fuel. NATA noted that the law, "aimed at deterring motor fuel tax evasion, ...attempted to carve out an exemption for the use of aviation fuel."
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-161-AD; Amdt. 39-10243; AD 97-25-18) - requires removal of certain landing gear attachment pins and replacement of the pins with serviceable pins. 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 wear of the attachment pins, which could result in the collapse of the main landing gear.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD was continuing its investigation last week of Tuesday's crash of a Model 25B Learjet while on approach to Bush Intercontinental Airport after a short flight from Houston's Hobby Airport. The crash claimed the lives of both pilots, who were reportedly to pick up several passengers for a charter flight to Fargo, N.D. There was fog and light rain in the area at the time. It took searchers more than two hours to locate the aircraft after it disappeared from radar near the airport.
EUROCOPTER Model EC135 P1 and T1 helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-46-AD; Amdt. 39-10240; AD 97-20-13) - publishes an AD that was previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of the affected aircraft. The AD requires daily repetitive inspections of the stator blades for cracks and a dye penetrant inspection if cracks are found or before 400 hours time in service. The AD also requires replacement of blades with cracks exceeding a certain length. This action is prompted by the discovery of cracks on the stator blades of the fenestron tail rotor.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
NATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION REVIEW COMMISSION recommendations will be high on the agenda when Congress returns to Washington later this month.The Senate Commerce Committee, led by Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), has scheduled a hearing on the NCARC recommendations March 11. The House aviation subcommittee has not yet scheduled hearings, but is expected to examine the commission report as it considers new authorization legislation for the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program in late February or early March.
THE METAL ARTS COMPANY, Rochester, N.Y., said it has developed the "Microsmooth formula," an activator for plating electroless nickel on aluminum. The company said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a Notice of Allowance on its patent application for the Microsmooth formula and process, which eliminates several toxic chemicals and reduces labor, waste treatment and energy costs by up to 50 percent.
RAYTHEON 65, 90, 99, 100, 200, 300, 1900 and 2000 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-20-AD; Amdt. 39-10226; AD 97-25-03) - requires amending the limitations section of the airplane flight manual to prohibit the positioning of the power levers below the flight idle stop while the airplane is in flight. The airplane flight manual amendment will include a statement of consequences if the limitation is not followed. This AD results from several incidents and five accidents involving turboprop airplanes where the propeller beta was improperly used during flight.
ROBINSON Model R22 helicopters with Lycoming O-360-J2A engines (Docket No. 97-SW-04-AD; Amdt. 39-10228; AD 97-25-05) - requires replacing the carburetor and carburetor air temperature gauge with an improved carburetor that does not require manual leaning of the fuel/air mixture during flight and a remarked carburetor air temperature gauge. The AD also calls for revising the rotorcraft flight manual to remove the reference to leaning the engine.
An item in the Jan. 5 issue regarding the Pilot's Guide To Flying In The Guard&Reserve failed to include all the information necessary for readers to obtain more information. The 343-page paperback can be ordered from AIR, Inc. in Atlanta, Ga. at (770) 996-5424; fax, (770) 996-5547.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-146-AD; Amdt. 39-10241; AD 97-25-16) - requires a one-time inspection of the tailplane (horizontal stabilizer) leading edges and surrounding area for discrepancies, and corrective action, if necessary. This action 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 separation of the horizontal stabilizer from the fin, which could reduce controllability of the airplane.
