In a move that could provide the financing necessary for a major expansion of its aviation simulation training business, SimuFlite Training International will be acquired by General Electric Capital Services Corp. Spokeswomen for SimuFlite, which is headquartered at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, and GE Capital Credit confirmed that GE had signed an agreement in principle with SATGroup, formerly Southern Air Transport, to acquire the simulator training provider.
OXFORD AIR TRAINING SCHOOL, part of the CSE Aviation Group, won a pilot training contract with British Airways. Beginning in April, the school will train some 80 British Airways cadet pilots annually for two years. "British Airways and its predecessors have been coming to Oxford for more than 30 years," said Peter Moxham, vice president-marketing for the school. "Oxford graduates are now both Concorde and Boeing 747 captains...
ATLANTIC COAST AIRLINES took delivery of a new 29-passenger Jetstream 41 from Aero International (Regional). ACA, the launch customer for the J41 with its initial order in 1991, operates 31 of the regional turboprops.
HARRIS CORPORATION began shipment of the first orders of its new 50-watt digital multimode transmitter, the VDR-2135 VHF, to the Iceland Civil Aviation Administration. The transmitter provides ground-to-air voice and data communications.
HOAC AUSTRIA Model DV-20 Katana airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-84-AD) - proposes to require replacing the nose wheel leg of the nose landing gear with an improved part. The proposal is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Austria. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent nose landing gear collapse caused by cracks in the welding of the nose wheel tappet of the nose landing gear.
MSAS AMERICAS won a contract from Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. to transport helicopters from the U.S. to the Philippines and Taiwan. MSAS also has provided logistics for transporting Bell 430s from Athens, Greece to a repair center in Dubai as well as from Dallas to Delhi, India. MSAS provides management services for companies engaged in international trade.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-109-AD) - proposes to require replacement of the main landing gear uplocks with new or modified main landing gear uplocks. This proposal is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
World Fuel Services Corp., a major provider of aviation and marine fueling services, signed a definitive agreement to buy Baseops International, Inc. and its subsidiaries for approximately $3.6 million in cash and common stock. Baseops provides a variety of services to corporate, government and private aircraft operators worldwide, including generating flight plans, providing charter and meteorological information, obtaining landing and overflight permits, and procuring ground handling and fuel.
Bombardier Services purchased Specialist Aviation Services, an emergency support organization based at Staverton Airport in Gloucestershire, the United Kingdom. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Specialist Aviation Services comprises Police Aviation Services and Medical Aviation Services, which provide aircraft, pilot and maintenance support to police authorities as well as air ambulance services. The two units currently have 23 contracts throughout the U.K. with annual sales of more than 7 million pounds. The company employs 130.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-115-AD; Amdt. 39-10198; AD 97-23-10) - requires modification of the cable tension regulator on both the left and right elevators by installing certain parts on the lever arm of the regulator. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that design testing and analysis have shown applied loads could cause the regulator's lever arm to break. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the regulator and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.
ROBERT TURICH joined Hartford Financial Corp. as regional manager of the Dallas office, which serves the Central U.S. Turich, most recently manager-aircraft finance at GreenTree Financial, has more than 36 years of experience in banking and finance, including 24 years in aircraft lending.
CIRRUS DESIGN CORPORATION appointed Patrick Waddick vice president of engineering. Waddick succeeds James Griswold, who retired in August. Waddick joined Cirrus in 1988 as engineering manager for the VK-30 program. In his new position, he will be responsible for completing FAA certification of the Cirrus SR20 and managing future programs.
ED JEZIORNY was named program administrator for the Experimental Aircraft Association's Flying Start program. Jeziorny, a long-time EAA member and volunteer, has been involved with EAA's Young Eagles program since 1992. In his new role, Jeziorny will oversee the Flying Start program, aimed at generating interest in flying.
Aviation industry leaders were jubilant as President Clinton signed into law legislation to provide relief to on-demand operators from provisions of the Pilot Record Improvement Act (PRIA). Congress last month passed the legislation, H.R.2626, which allows air charter operators to hire pilots and permit them to operate in passenger service for up to 90 days while collecting background information required under PRIA. Clinton signed the bill Dec. 5 (BA, Dec. 8/239).
UNITED STATES AIR TOUR ASSOCIATION board of directors held separate meetings last week in Washington, D.C. with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and Bob Stanton, the newly named director of the National Park Service to express their concerns about proposed restrictions on commercial air tour overflights of national parks (BA, Dec. 8/239), discuss the relationship between the two agencies and establish a dialogue with the government officials. A USATA official said board members were very pleased with the content and tenor of the sessions.
AERO INTERNATIONAL (REGIONAL) sold two ATR 42-500 aircraft to Aeromar based in Mexico City, Mexico. Aeromar, which also placed options for up to four more of ATR 42-500s, operates the largest ATR fleet in Latin America with two ATR 42-500s, four ATR 42-320s and two ATR 42-300s. Aeromar operates 84 daily flights to 20 national and two international destinations.
BRITISH AEROSPACE HS 748 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-225-AD; Amdt. 39-10191; AD 97-23-03) - requires a one-time visual inspection of the retraction jack mounting brackets in the nose landing gear bay to determine the type of attachment bolts installed on the bracket bearing caps, and replacement of any incorrect bolt with a serviceable bolt of the correct type. This amendment is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
SOCATA Models TB-9, TB-10, TB-20, TB-21 and TB-200 airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-77-AD) - proposes to require inspecting the bolts and spacers of the upper attachments of the front belts for cracks, dents and other damage ; replacing any damaged bolts or spacers; incorporating a front belts' upper attachment reinforcement kit; and, reconditioning the belts. The proposed AD stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France.
LEARJET postponed the first delivery ceremony for the Model 45 Learjet that had been set for Dec. 19. The company said holiday scheduling conflicts and "less than ideal weather conditions for flight testing" in the Wichita area "made it apparent that proceeding with the event would not be practical." Delivery of the first Model 45 to businessman Bruce McCaw is still expected before yearend.
AVIALL elected Eric Anderson chairman succeeding Robert Lambert, who will continue as a director on Aviall's board. In addition to his new role, Anderson will retain his responsibilities as president and chief executive officer. He joined Aviall subsidiary ILS in 1988 as director of marketing and has since been promoted into positions of increasing responsibility. Before joining ILS, Anderson served with Land O'Lakes, AAR Corp. and Tiger International.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-115-AD; Amdt. 39-10198; AD 97-23-10) - requires modification of the cable tenison regulator on both the left and right elevators by installing certain parts on the lever arm of the regulator. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that design testing and analysis have shown applied loads could cause the regulator's lever arm to break. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the regulator and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-113-AD) - proposes to require replacement of certain electrical terminals with new electrical terminals. This proposal is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent loose electrical connections from causing an increase in electrical resistance, which could result in overheating at the electrical terminals and consequent smoke/fire in the airplane passenger cabin.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT, in what is becoming an annual December tradition, announced new titles for several top executives, including the appointment of a new president. See article below.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is seeking volunteers to monitor local airport affairs and alert the organization to problems that may threaten the viability of hundreds of the nation's most important general aviation facilities.
CHC Helicopter Corp., St. John's, Newfoundland, reported slightly lower earnings and revenues for the three- and six-month periods ended Oct. 31. The company earned $4.9 million on revenues of $96.9 million, compared with $5.5 million on revenues of $98.4 million in the same period a year ago. For the six month period, earnings fell from $12 million a year ago to $11.1 million in the most recent period, while revenues slipped less than one percent to $195.9 million. All figures are in Canadian dollars.
