NAV CANADA'S board of directors named John Crichton acting president and chief executive. Crichton, who will continue to serve as chairman of the company, will replace Kenneth Copeland in the other posts. Cope-land resigned to "pursue entrepreneurial opportunities." NAV CANADA is that country's provider of civil air navigation services.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL plans to add another Gulfstream IV-SP/EP full flight simulator to its Gulfstream training facilities. The simulator, expected to be delivered within a year, will be certified to Level D standards and include a VITAL ChromaView visual system and panoramic MultiView display.
GARY BOONE was named director of special projects for King Aerospace. Boone previously served as interior manager and estimator for Associated Air Center and also has served with Falcon Jet Corp., Aviall Aircraft Services and Cessna Aircraft.
TAG Group, the Luxembourg-based holding company that has been involved in business aviation for more than 20 years, was selected by the British Ministry of Defense to operate the Farnborough Aerodrome as a civilian business aviation facility under long-term lease. Farnborough, located southwest of London between Heathrow and Gatwick airports, is the site of the biennial Farnborough Air Show that attracts thousands of visitors to view static exhibits and flight demonstrations of a wide range of military and civil aircraft.
Model UH-12A, UH-12B, UH-12C, UH-12D, and UH-12E helicopters (Docket No. 96-SW-32-AD; Amdt. 39-10151; AD 97-20-15) - supersedes an existing AD that requires a dye penetrant inspection of the head of the main rotor outboard tension-torsion (T-T) bar pin for cracks; a visual inspection of the outboard T-T bar pin for proper alignment and adjustment, if necessary; and, installation of shims at the inboard end of the drag strut.
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION awarded a contract valued at more than $920,000 to Aeromet Inc. of Tulsa, Okla. for modification and engineering services on the agency's Gulfstream IV jet. NOAA primarily operates the jet in developing weather forecasts. Aeromet was a subcontractor to E-Systems during the initial outfitting of the jet, responsible for the pressure, temperature and humidity sensors; the dropwindsonde launcher; and the instrument racks.
A boom in executive charters in Europe has been reported by Air London, the international corporate charter broker. The company has seen turnover increase by 50 per cent and in the month of September sales reached one and one-half million pounds - the highest single monthly total in the company's 30-year history.
Model Hawker 1000 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-140-AD) - proposes to require modification of the aft core cowl nozzles of the engine nacelles. This proposal is prompted by a report indicating that the sealant on the core cowl nozzles may extend higher than the forward flange of the core cowl nozzles, which could result in contact between the cowl sealant surface and the lever of the engine mechanical overspeed control system.
TOP AIRBUS EXECUTIVES Edzard Reuter and Jean Pierson will be stepping down early next year. Reuter will give up presidency of Airbus Industrie's supervisory board "at the beginning of 1998 at the latest," while Pierson's mandate as chief executive will expire at the end of March, leaving direction of the aircraft-building consortium in new hands during the last, delicate phase of its planned corporatization.
DAC INTERNATIONAL and Universal Avionics Systems Corp. reached agreement with Norwegian Air Shuttle AS to retrofit its fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft with the UNS-1K flight management system. DAC, a subsidiary of Banner Aerospace, markets Universal Avionics products worldwide to airlines, governments and military programs. DAC also has agreements to provide the UNS-1K for American Eagle, TNT, Skyways, Crossair, Cayman Air and Arrow Air.
Double-digit increases in revenues and income by the company's Aircraft segment helped drive Textron's third-quarter financial results, the Providence, R.I.-based conglomerate reported last week.
GLENN GRAHAM was appointed manager of technical services for King Aerospace. Graham has 24 years of aviation experience and served with the U.S. Air Force.
BOMBARDIER BUSINESS AIRCRAFT sold a Learjet and two Challenger 604 business jets to customers in the Asia-Pacific Region. Chunichi Press of Nagoya, Japan, ordered a new Learjet 31A/ER, marking the first private-sector Learjet sale in Japan. The Learjet, which will have an extended range of 1,621 nautical miles, will be fitted with a larger cockpit glass window. The aircraft is scheduled to enter service by the end of 1998. Global Aviation Group of Singapore ordered the two Challenger 604s for its charter operations. Those aircraft will be delivered next summer.
Models PA-31, PA-31-300, PA-31-325, and PA-31-350 (Docket No. 97-CE-48-AD) - proposes to require replacement of the lower wing splice plate and reworking of the lower spar caps. The proposed AD stems from numerous reports of fretting and cracking of the lower wing splice plates on PA-31 series airplanes in Australia and a report of one incident in the U.S. The actions specified by the proposal are intended to prevent failure of the lower wing splice plate caused by fretting and cracking, which could result in loss of control of the airplane.
PW100 series turboprops (Docket No. 97-ANE-32- AD; Amdt. 39-10107; AD 97-17-05) - requires a visual inspection of the two gas generator case drain ports to ensure that they are connected to drain lines or capped in accordance with the applicable aircraft installation configuration. This amendment is prompted by a report of a nacelle fire. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent a nacelle fire caused by fluid leaking from the gas generator case drain ports.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION'S new security proposals have raised concerns about how new the Part 107 regulations would be interpreted if they are adopted. While generally supportive of the intent of the FAA rulemaking, the National Air Transportation Association said regarding individual accountability and weapons restrictions in the NPRM, "many of these concepts are simply impossible to apply to general aviation areas" of airports "because aircraft operators and owners must access their aircraft."
SPORTY'S PILOT SHOP is offering composite hub caps that are supplemental type certificated and fit Cleveland 6.00 series wheels. The hub caps, which measure seven and one-quarter inches in diameter, were designed by Roy LoPresti. Sporty's has priced the hub caps at $99.95. For more information, contact Sporty's at (800) LIFTOFF or (513) 735-9000.
THE AIRPORT CONSULTANTS COUNCIL listed 19 separate concerns with the proposal, including the fact that "we found at least seven places in the NPRM which promise future guidance or future explanatory details. We find it difficult to understand that in a rule which has been under development for six years, FAA now asks the industry to analyze and, in effect, approve of an approach which is still incomplete. We cannot comment on what is not there," ACC said.
SABRELINER CORP. plans to open a new 30,000-square-foot addition to its Perryville, Mo. facility next month. The addition, which will enlarge the Perryville site by nearly 25 percent, will provide hangar and maintenance space. Sabreliner-Perryville also plans to open a 5,225-square-foot sheet metal fabrication facility at St. Mary Industrial Park in St. Mary, Mo. That site will be used to manufacture parts the Perryville plant cannot accommodate because of space limitations.
An H2X production prototype gyroplane being tested by Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc., was damaged Oct. 15 when the aircraft rolled to the right just as the test pilot was attempting to lift off. The pilot was not injured, but the aircraft's rotor blades were damaged, as was the right side of the fuselage.
Models S-1S, S-1T, S-2S, S-2A, S-2S and S-2B airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-23-AD; Amdt. 39-10109; AD 97-17-07) - revises AD 96-12-03, which applies to models equipped with aft lower fuselage wing attach fittings incorporating either Part Number 76090, 2-2107-1, or 1-210-102. That AD requires repetitive inspection of the aft lower fuselage wing attach fittings on both wings for cracks and modification of any cracked fitting. Modification of both aft lower fuselage wing attach fittings eliminates the repetitive inspections required by AD 96-12-03.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL said it made arrangements with a number of airlines for special airfare discounts for FSI customers traveling to or from one of the company's training centers. For more information, customers who have training dates reserved should contact FSI's Corporate Travel Office at (800) 205-6748 to get fare information and make reservations.
