Model 1900, 1900C and 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-60- AD; Amdt. 39-10087; AD 97-15-13) - requires installation of lubrication fittings in the airstair door handle and latch housing mechanisms. The AD results from reports of the airstair door not opening because it was frozen shut. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent moisture from accumulating and freezing in the airstair door handle and latch housing, which could result in the door freezing shut and passengers not being able to evacuate the airplane in an emergency.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE and AlliedSignal Engines are implementing top-level executive changes. Fred Breidenbach is stepping down as president and chief operating officer of Gulfstream, while Greg Summe of AlliedSignal's Phoenix, Ariz., division was promoted to a new post in the company's automotive business. See articles in this issue.
AAR ALLEN GROUP named Harry Gregory president and general manager of AAR Allen Aircraft, AAR's airframe parts supply, overhaul and inventory management operation. Gregory will report to AAR Allen Group President Terry MacManus and oversee the development of the customer base and new inventory management programs, and the integration of AAR Allen Aircraft capabilities with other AAR operations. Gregory previously was vice president, component maintenance operations for Northwest Airlines.
GALAXY AEROSPACE is expected to announce the relocation of the company's headquarters to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area this week. Since its formation late last year, Galaxy has been operating out of the offices of the former Astra Jet Corp. in Princeton, N.J., while conducting an extensive search for a new home for the company's administrative offices and new aircraft assembly and completion operations (BA, March 3/93).
The National Business Aviation Association will host the first annual NBAA Chairman's Charity Classic Golf Tournament Sept. 21 at the Hyatt Bear Creek Golf Club near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The fee to participate is $135 per golfer, which includes a continental breakfast beginning at 7 a.m., a round of golf beginning with an 8 a.m. shotgun start and a best-ball format, and an awards luncheon. Part of the entry fee will be tax deductible, as net proceeds after expenses will be donated to a local charity.
The Senate Appropriations Committee, which last week rejected the Clinton Administration's request for $300 million in additional aviation user fees, assailed the Federal Aviation Administration for its handling of the international overflight fees and said it was "skeptical of FAA's ability to administer a more comprehensive user fee system." The committee, which criticized FAA's international overflight fee plan in the report to the fiscal 1998 transportation appropriations budget, followed the House Appropriations Committee, which earlier this month also denied the
FRANKLIN PRAY joined CIT/Capital Finance as a vice president in the aerospace division where he will be responsible for marketing the company's financial services to aircraft owners and operators in the Asia/Pacific region. Pray formerly was with AVITAS Aviation, Inc., where he provided planning services to airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, leasing companies and banks. Before that he had been with Fokker Aircraft as a regional sales director. He resides in Great Falls, Va.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. issued a glowing financial report Wednesday, with sharply higher earnings and revenues for both the second quarter and first half of 1997. Net income for the second quarter was $39.5 million, "over a four-fold increase from $9.3 million in the second quarter of 1996," the company said. Earnings per share were 50 cents, compared with 12 cents in the 1996 second quarter. Revenues more than doubled to $523 million, compared with $244 million a year earlier.
GENERAL DYNAMICS Convair Model 240, 340 and 440 turboprop series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-69-AD) - proposes to require revising the airplane flight manual to modify the limitation that prohibits positioning the power levers below the flight idle stop during flight, and to provide a statement of the consequences of positioning the power levers below the flight idle stop during flight. This proposal is prompted by incidents and accidents involving airplanes equipped with turboprop engines in which the ground propeller beta range was used improperly during flight.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE completed the acquisition of Grimes Aerospace from an affiliate of Forstmann Little&Co., the New York investment firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Grimes has annual sales of approximately $230 million and AlliedSignal said the lighting manufacturer's sales are growing "at a double-digit rate," (BA, June 23/278).
SPAN AVIATION took delivery of two Beech 1900C aircraft this month, bringing the total number of Raytheon aircraft the Pune, India carrier has acquired this year to six. Span placed four used Beech King Air B200s into service earlier this year. The value of the contracts, including the six aircraft, training, spares and technical publications, is about $15 million. Span Aviation, the largest private feeder air tax operator in India, serves passengers in the Central Region, including the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh.
JAMES P. (JAY) SMITH was named manager of the Hercules Flight Training Center for SimuFlite Training International. Formerly the lead instructor pilot at the Hercules center, he now is responsible for all operations of the Marietta, Ga. training facility. During 17 years as a pilot, he has logged more than 8,000 hours flight time, including 5,200 hours in C-130 Hercules transports.
JET AVIATION BUSINESS JETS added a new Challenger 604 to its European charter fleet. Reservation and planning functions for the new aircraft and the rest of the Jet Aviation Business Jets fleet is handled in Zurich, Switzerland and Teterboro, N.J.
ASTM is offering a course on Aviation Fuels: Specifications and Test Methods Sept. 23-25 in West Conshohocken, Pa. and Oct. 8-10 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The course discusses how specifications are used to control aviation fuel quality and how they affect product performance and availability. The course also will cover methods of testing and manufacturing aviation fuels. Course costs $795 including referenced ASTM standards and manuals, course notes, inspection tour of fuel systems, and 2.0 continuing education units.
CLIFFORD L. (CLIFF) REAVIS is the new manager of the Learjet program at SimuFlite Training International Inc., Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. A 20-year aviation professional, Reavis joined SimuFlite as a Learjet instructor last year. He has more than 6,100 hours total flight time, including 4,000 hours in Learjets. He was previously chief pilot for Million Air, Addison, Texas, and was a pilot for Jet East in Dallas.
House and Senate budget negotiators last week tentatively agreed to renew the aviation excise taxes, but lower the passenger ticket tax eventually to 7.5 percent, add up to a $3 per passenger levy, increase the international departure tax to $12 and add a $12 international arrivals tax. The net result would be a $3 billion to $4 billion tax increase, primarily on the major airlines. The proposal, which would be included in the broad-based budget reconciliation bill, follows the House's aviation tax proposal more closely than the Senate's plan.
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SERVICES completed a head-of-state Boeing B737-300 for the Peoples Republic of China. IASI also is completing a second B737 for China, with delivery expected next month.
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT promoted Michael Slingluff to president. Slingluff, who has 20 years of general aviation industry experience, has served as executive vice president for the London, Ontario manufacturer for the past seven months. Diamond Chief Executive Christian Dries said Slingluff's "extensive business operational and management skills and his shared goal of making Diamond Aircraft an undisputed leader in the industry, make Mr. Slingluff an excellent choice for the position."
DE HAVILLAND Model DHC-8-100, -200 and -300 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-63-AD) - proposes to require modification of the attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS). This proposal is prompted by a report of loss of power to both AHRSs during flight due to a faulty terminal block to which the signal ground for the AHRSs are connected. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent simultaneous power loss to both AHRSs, which could reduce controllability of the airplane.
In a move that appears to pave the way for a new majority stockholder at Mooney Aircraft Corp., Michel Seydoux, the current chairman and majority shareholder announced the appointment of Paul S. Dopp as acting chief executive of the Kerrville, Texas aircraft manufacturer (BA, July 21/25).
THE HOUSE last week adopted the fiscal 1998 transportation appropriations bill, H.R.2169, which recommends $9.06 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration. The Senate is expected to consider its version of the appropriations bill, S.1048, this week. The Senate bill would provide $9.18 billion for FAA in fiscal 1998.
The Senate included $75 million in its 1998 defense appropriations bill for procurement of flight safety equipment for U.S. Air Force transport aircraft. The money was added through an initiative of Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) The Air Force already is adding flight safety equipment to its VIP planes, part of an effort that began after the crash of an Air Force CT-43 (Boeing 737) in April 1996 in Croatia. That accident, which occurred during an approach in inclement weather, killed all aboard including Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
THE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORTS AUTHORITY was scheduled to open "The New National" July 27 with the inauguration of service in the new passenger terminal at Washington National Airport (DCA). MWAA said 25 airline gates will be occupied by airlines that were formerly using the interim and historic terminals at DCA, with 10 additional gates scheduled to go into service in 1998. The interim terminal will close and the USAirways and Delta operations that were there will move into the new facility.
