Spar Aerospace of Toronto will acquire CAE Inc.'s wholly-owned subsidiary, CAE Aviation of Edmonton, Alberta for $62 million (Canadian), the companies announced. The cash transaction, which includes substantially all of CAE Aviation's assets and operations, is expected to close by the end of December.
SAAB Model SF340A and 340B series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-236-AD) - proposes to require inspections to detect discrepancies of the support straps of the flaps and adjacent areas and corrective action, if necessary. The proposal also would require replacement of the support straps with new, steel straps. This proposal is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
A General Accounting Office report criticizing the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of repair stations has raised concerns about the direction new regulations governing repair stations may take. The GAO report, released late last month, states FAA's oversight of maintenance facilities is "relatively limited" and calls for speeding up efforts to update regulations governing repair stations. FAA has been rewriting Part 145 - which regulates repair stations - for a number of years, but that project had been on a back burner.
UNISON INDUSTRIES won certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China to repair and overhaul ignition system components. The approval covers Unison-manufactured ignition exciters and leaders for a number of engine models.
GA TEAM 2000 officials last week reported that student pilot starts continue to head upward at an 8.1 percent improvement through October. Top level contributors to the learn-to-fly campaign in 1997 all have committed donations for the upcoming year at the same level or higher. Meanwhile, organizers plan to intensify fund-raising efforts in an effort to broaden industry support.
Fairchild Dornier Dec. 6 unofficially rolled out its new 32- to 34- seat 328JET near Munich with a projection that the company's business will double through 1999. The aircraft - a turbofan derivative of the 328 high- speed turboprop - is scheduled to make its first flight Jan. 20. Marketplace for the aircraft is "as good or better than we said in March" when the airplane was first detailed, said Jim Robinson, president of parent company Fairchild Aerospace.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION will hold its Corporate Aviation Management Conference Jan. 15-16 at the Sheraton Astrodome in Houston, Texas. In conjunction with the conference, NBAA will hold a Communicating with Your Corporation seminar and an Operation REACHBAC briefing and reception with NBAA Board members Jan. 14 also at the Sheraton Astrodome. For more information, contact Sandy Wirtz at (202) 783-9366.
FOKKER F28 Mark 0100 and 0070 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-165- AD; Amdt. 39-10200; AD 97-23-12) - requires replacement of the fusible torque pin in the upper torque link of the main landing gear with an improved pin. 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 reduced structural integrity and potential collapse of the main landing gear.
AlliedSignal Aerospace reached agreement to acquire the Hardware Group and PacAero unit of Banner Aerospace. AlliedSignal said the operations to be acquired from Banner will have sales of approximately $250 million, principally to commercial air transport and general aviation customers. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 1998 following regulatory approval.
DON FUQUA, the former congressman who led the Aerospace Industries Association through the industry's post-Cold War downsizing and restructuring, intends to retire next year, AIA said last week. Fuqua became president of AIA in 1987 when he left Congress, where he represented Florida's Second District for 12 terms and became chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee. He plans to return to Florida, AIA said. A search committee of AIA Board of Governors members will seek a successor.
Larry L. Risley, the guiding force behind the dramatic growth of Mesa Airlines, plans to retire as chief executive officer of Mesa Air Group by April 30, the company said Friday. Risley, 53, who recently had hip surgery, will retire April 30 or upon the hiring of his replacement, whichever comes first. He will continue to serve as the non-executive chairman of the board of Mesa Air Group. A committee of outside board members was formed and will begin the search for a new chief executive.
TIM MOORE was named program manager for Unison Industries' General Aviation Marketing Group. Moore, who previously served in customer service and engineering positions for General Electric Aircraft Engines Division, will be responsible for managing the development of advanced electronic propulsion controls for general aviation aircraft as well as overseeing OEM customer relations.
DASSAULT FALCON JET and Executive Jet plan to announce the details of their agreement on a fractional aircraft ownership program Dec. 19 at Dassault headquarters at the Teterboro, N.J. Airport.Dassault officials said earlier they were developing a fractional ownership plan with a company already in the business. It is expected the new agreement will involve Executive Jet's purchase of a number of Falcon 2000 business jets.
Rohr, Inc., Chula Vista, Calif., reported earnings of $14.9 million, or 55 cents per share, for the first quarter of fiscal 1998 ended Nov. 2, 1997, more than double the $6.8 million, or 29 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Sales for the first quarter were $277.7 million, up 38 percent from $201.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 1997. Rohr, which designs and manufactures engine nacelle systems and other components for large commercial aircraft, said its firm backlog decreased slightly to $1.4 billion on Nov.
PIAGGIO Model P-180 airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-25-AD; Amdt. 39-1018; AD 97-22-11) - 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. This amendment will include a statement of consequences if the limitation is not followed. This AD results from several incidents and five documented accidents involving airplanes equipped with turboprop engines where the propeller beta was used improperly during flight.
HNTB AVIATION, Kansas City, Mo., leads a team selected to provide architectural and engineering services for a new terminal, parking garage, control tower and aircraft rescue and firefighting building at Wilkes- Barre/Scranton, Pa. International Airport. Other team members, all from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, are Acker Associates, Michael J. Pasonick Jr. Inc. and Highland Associates.
AIRCRAFT ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION said booth space at its 41st Annual Convention and Trade Show is already 60 percent sold with more than 120 exhibitors expected. The convention, scheduled April 7-10 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., will include sessions addressing the Part 145 rewrite, training, over-head costs, GPS training, tracking parts and closing sales. In addition, Linda Finch will be a featured speaker.
FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION published a special report, Protection Against Icing: A Comprehensive Overview. The 235-page document lists a wide variety of information on ground deicing and anti-icing programs, several reports on in-flight icing, various U.S. and foreign advisory circulars on the subject, and, a listing of icing-related aviation accidents from 1946- 1996. To obtain a copy of the report, contact FSF at (703) 739-6700.
PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN delivered the first of two BN2T-4S Islander aircraft to Malaysian operator Sabah Air. Sabah Air, which ordered the two aircraft and placed an option for a third, will use the Islander for aerial survey and photography as well as charter flights. Sabah Air provides a variety of air services including passenger and cargo transport, search and rescue, oil support, powerline work, air medical, and flightseeing.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT is staging a grand opening celebration this month at the company's newest base at the West Palm Beach, Fla. International Airport. The FBO chain has been on the airport for years, but as part of its purchase earlier this year of International Aviation Services, it was required to sell its former facility at PBI. Signature is now operating out of the former International Aviation base next to Jet Aviation at the end of Runway 27R.
WOODLAND AVIATION added two King Air turboprops to its charter fleet. The company, which operates a Beech Starship 2000, added a King Air 200 and F90. Woodland Aviation is an authorized Raytheon/Beechcraft dealer.
DASSAULT FALCON JET named H.M. (Mike) Strange vice president of industrial operations at its Little Rock, Ark. completion center. Strange succeeds Roy Pickens, who was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of the center (BA, Nov. 10/202). Strange will oversee new Falcon completions and the operations of the Jet Center, a company-owned maintenance facility. He previously was manager of corporate completions for Raytheon Aircraft Co. in Little Rock and before that, served as vice president of manufacturing operations for Arkansas Aerospace.
DAVID ONN, president of Israel Aircraft Industries International (IAII), also was named to the post of chairman. IAII is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries. Onn has been IAII's president since 1994. Previously he was vice president of marketing for IAI Ltd.
After months of often contentious negotiations between air tour interests and representatives of the environmental community on how to control commercial air tour flights over national parks, the two sides have generally agreed on a series of recommendations they believe, "if properly implemented, will provide a workable process whereby the agencies and the public can decide whether commercial flightseeing is appropriate over a particular park and if so, under what conditions flightseeing may or may not take place."
AVIATION INTERESTS expressed disappointment at recent suggestions by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley that he would support closing Meigs Field earlier than the 2002 date he agreed upon in a deal early this year with Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar (BA, Jan. 13/14). Daley reportedly told students at the University of Chicago Law School that once Gov. Edgar retires in 14 months, he hopes that "very shortly" the new governor will understand the need for turning the Meigs Field site into parkland and "it will be done very quickly."
