A delay in the opening of the rail link between the new Chek Lap Kok airport and the Hong Kong business district may lead the Airport Authority of Hong Kong to postpone the airport's opening until June, rather than April as previously planned. Officials of the Mass Transit Railway Corp. have said that the 34-kilometer railway will not be operational by April, so airport authority officials now are considering a delay in the airport's opening to make for a smoother transition from the existing Kai Tak Airport.
CARL PLUMLEY was named director of process improvement for BFGoordich Aerospace's Component Services Division. Plumley most recently was senior project manager for operations improvement for Precor.
DESPITE A DEADLINE of December 1998 to meet new Environmental Protection Agency fuel tank upgrade requirements, more than one-third of U.S. fuel tanks are not in compliance with the stricter standards, a Phillips 66 aviation executive estimates. See article on Page 231.
The Federal Aviation Administration selected Lockheed Martin for its 10-year, $1 billion National Airspace System Implementation Support Contract (NISC II). The contract, which has a four-year base period valued at $350 million and three two-year options, contains a maximum 22.5 million hours of technical and professional services, making it one of the agency's largest support programs.
Ray Fitzgerald, a veteran of the AMR Combs chain of fixed-base operations, was named president and chief executive officer of Atlantic Aviation, replacing Ben E. Waide, III. The announcement of Waide's departure comes two years after he was named to run Atlantic (BA, Nov. 20, 1995/221) and three months after the du Pont family agreed to sell its 70- year stake in the FBO chain to Legg Mason Merchant Banking Inc. (LMMB) (BA, Aug. 18/71).
MILLION AIR CHARTER TETERBORO added a Gulfstream IISP and Citation II to its charter fleet. The Gulf-stream is configured for 11 passengers plus a flight attendant and has a range of 2,800 nautical miles. The Citation can accommodate seven passengers.
THE EIGHTH ANNUAL FAA GENERAL AVIATION FORECAST CONFERENCE is scheduled March 23-25 at the DoubleTree Hotel-Post Oak in Houston, Texas. This year's event is co-sponsored by the National Business Aviation Association. For more information, contact Helen Kish at FAA at (202) 267-9943 or Amy Carter at NBAA at (202) 783-9369. Also during the same week at the DoubleTree Hotel-Post Oak, the Transportation Research Board and the Texas Department of Transportation will co-host the Fourth National Aviation Symposium. The planning symposium is scheduled March 25-27.
NORTHSTAR AVIONICS was selected to provide its global positioning system receivers as recommended equipment in the list of avionics options for Aviat aircraft. Aviat is offering the Northstar M3 GPS Approach, a 12- channel IFR GPS receiver.
HEATHER LUSH joined Million Air Charter Teterboro as charter sales/marketing assistant. Lush, who received a master's of business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has six years of experience in marketing and quality assurance.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, who previously told the Aero Club of Washington, D.C. that an improving safety record would require industry cooperation (BA, Nov. 3/187), last month continued her outreach to the aviation community, saying the agency needs to find the balance between that of a partner and an enforcer. Garvey, the keynote luncheon speaker during the Regional Airline Association's Fall Meeting, said finding the balance between partner and enforcer is "one of the most challenging issues" facing the agency.
Model F28 Mark 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-246-AD; Amdt. 39-10169; AD 97-19-16) - publishes AD 97-19-16 that was previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of Fokker F28 Mark 0100 series airplanes equipped with Rolls-Royce Tay 650-15 engines. The AD requires a revision to the FAA-approved airplane flight manual to include procedures to prohibit use of reverse engine thrust power settings between idle and emergency maximum; and submission of a report to the airplane manufacturer.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, criticized for its handling of aircraft maintenance programs (BA, Nov. 17/211), was expected to issue a memo late last week to warn Flight Standards District Offices of inconsistencies in approving maintenance programs. National Air Transportation Association appealed to FAA after a Central Region FSDO deemed manufacturers' instructions for maintenance programs inadequate for Part 23 turbine aircraft. The FSDO issued warnings to operators to develop an approved maintenance program within 30 days.
Models PA-31, PA-31-300, PA-31-325, PA-31-350, PA-31P, PA- 31T and PA-31T1 airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-69-AD) - proposes to supersede AD 80-26-05, which requires repetitively inspecting the main landing gear inboard door hinges and attachment angles for cracks and replacing any cracked hinge or attachment angle.
HARTZELL PROPELLER, INC. received a supplemental type certificate for installation of its two-bladed aluminum hub propellers on 150- and 160- horsepower Piper Apache PA-23s. Hartzell said the propellers, which will replace older steel hub propeller systems, will eliminate inspection requirements of Airworthiness Directive 97-18-02. The propellers will have a 2,000-hour time between overhaul. The propeller system, including two props, two new polished spinners and STC paperwork, has a list price of $12,900.
TRW, Inc. and BDM International, Inc., said both companies' boards of directors voted to approve a definitive agreement under which TRW will acquire BDM in a transaction valued at nearly $1 billion. Under the executed agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary, Systems Acquisition Inc., was scheduled to commence a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of BDM at $29.50 per share. In conjunction with that agreement, The Carlyle Group and its affiliates, that own approximately 26 percent of BDM's stock, have agreed to tender their shares at the $29.50 price.
Federal Aviation Administration last week raised the maximum weight limit for a seaplane to be considered under primary category certification. The primary category was established in 1992 for certification of personal and recreational-use aircraft to simplify procedures for production and certification. FAA said when it established the 2,700-pound maximum weight for primary category aircraft, it did not consider seaplanes.
VAN NUYS AIRPORT ASSOCIATION late last month asked the City of Los Angeles to withdraw its proposal to curtail Stage II aircraft activity at Van Nuys, Calif. Airport. The association warned that the proposal does not "in a meaningful and non-discriminatory way regulate" noise and would "unduly burden interstate commerce." The association is joined by a number of aviation associations in Washington, D.C. that also have opposed the proposal (BA, Nov. 3/190). The Los Angeles City Council is expected to consider the proposal once again Dec. 9.
ARINC named a former Hughes Aircraft executive to head the Annapolis, Md.- based communications and information processing company. John M. Belcher was appointed president and chief operating officer of ARINC, according to James L. Pierce, chairman and chief executive officer. Belcher has held a number of senior executive positions in the aviation and defense industries.
Canadian manufacturer Bombardier reported slightly higher earnings and revenues for the three- and nine-month periods ended Oct. 31. The company posted net income of $98.3 million, or 27 cents per share, on revenues of $2.1 billion for the most recent quarter. That compares with earnings of $91.8 million, or 27 cents per share, on revenues of $2 billion a year ago. All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars.
BN2A Mk. 111 series airplanes (Docket No. 86- CE-23-AD; Amdt. 39-10171; AD 86-07-02 R1) - revises AD 86-07-02, which requires repetitive inspections of the junction of the torque link lug and upper case of the main landing gear torque link assemblies for cracks on BN-2A, BN-2B, BN-2T and BN2A MK.111 series airplanes and replacement of any cracked part. This AD removes the applicability of the BN-2A, BN-2B and BN-2T series airplanes and retains the repetitive inspection and replacement requirements of AD 86-07-02 for the BN2A Mk.111 series airplanes.
One of the three remaining farmers owning land in the middle of what is planned as the second runway at Tokyo Narita Airport has agreed to move, but the two remaining holdouts still refuse even to discuss the sale of their land. The Ministry of Transport and the New Tokyo International Airport Public Corporation intend to complete the second runway, 2,500 meters long and parallel to the current one, before March 2001.
JIM ANNESSER was appointed vice president of sales and marketing for Barfield. Annesser will be based at the company's headquarters in Miami, Fla. Before joining Barfield, Annesser was manager of marketing and resources for Aviall Accessory Services.
CAMP SYSTEMS INC. expects to release a new Charter Quote module for its Andromeda aviation management software system that will enable operators to easily generate fast, accurate trip quotations. CSI said five major air charter operations have been using a pre-release version of Andromeda CQ for evaluation purposes and many of their suggestions are being incorporated into the final product.
K-C AVIATION ordered 10 Gulfstream II auxiliary power unit kits from PATS, Inc. of Columbia, Md. The new PATS APU kits will replace the original and now out-of-production GTCP 36-6 with a unit based on the AlliedSignal GTCP- 36-100 engine that features considerably lower maintenance costs and improved performance. K-C Aviation President John Rahilly said the 10-unit purchase allows K-C to install the units in customer aircraft during scheduled periodic maintenance.
AVIATION RULEMAKING ADVISORY COMMITTEE will meet Dec. 5 to discuss air carrier and general aviation maintenance issues. The meeting will be held at the Helicopter Association International, 1635 Prince St., Alexandria, Va. 22314. For information, contact Caroline Forrester in the FAA Office of Rulemaking at (202) 267-9690.
