ELIOT LEES was promoted to marketing director for Simat, Helliesen&Eichner. Lees has served in SH&E's Boston office and specializes in airport privatization, economic regulation, financial feasibility and airport pricing.
ALASKA AIR CARRIERS ASSOCIATION will hold its 32nd Annual Convention&Trade Show March 7-11, 1998 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska. For more information, contact AACA at (907) 277-0071.
GENE HARBULA was promoted to senior vice president-corporate marketing and communications for Sabreliner Corp. Harbula joined Sabreliner in 1989 and most recently served as vice president-government marketing and corporate communications. He also has served as vice president of marketing for Mitsubishi Aircraft International and spent 11 years with the U.S. Air Force.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY is targeting aviation gasoline (avgas) as a major source of lead pollution in the environment. The agency is claiming it has authority to "require vapor recovery equipment on fuel storage tanks and fueling trucks to prevent avgas vapors from escaping into the atmosphere," according to a statement by the National Air Transportation Association, which represents fixed-base operators and air taxis.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD will discuss the circumstances of the fatal Nov. 19, 1996 runway collision in Quincy, Ill., between a Great Lakes Aviation/United Express Beech 1900 and a privately operated Beech A90 at its public meeting tomorrow (BA, Nov. 25/246). The session will begin in NTSB's board room at 9:30 a.m.
LAURENCE MICHAELS was promoted to vice president for Simat, Helliesen&Eichner, Inc. Michaels has been responsible for SH&E's Aviation Decision Solutions Group, which provides software for airline commercial decisions such as scheduling, pricing and yield management.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued special conditions for certification of the LET Aeronautical Works Model L610G 40-passenger aircraft. The commuter aircraft will use the landing gear fairing as a means to assist emergency evacuation and the special conditions issued are intended to ensure the emergency exit meets a prescribed safety level. For information, contract Frank Tiangsing, Regulations Branch, ANM-114, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, FAA, 1601 Lind Ave., S.W., Renton, Wash. 98055-4056.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced Garvey to the Commerce Committee as someone who "brings great intellect, wonderful personal skills" as well as management capabilities and vision. He called Garvey, whose family resides in Massachusetts, one of the best administrators and public servants in Washington, D.C.
Over the objections of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, the House and Senate last week adopted a 10-year continuation of the aviation excise taxes in separate budget reconciliation bills. The House approved the House Ways and Means Committee proposal to continue the aviation fuel taxes at present levels and modify the passenger ticket and international departure taxes (BA, June 6/265). The proposal would reduce the passenger ticket tax from 10 percent to 7.5 percent and assess passengers up to a $3 per flight segment charge.
EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY will host the Second International Conference on Nonlinear Problems in Aviation and Aerospace April 29-May 1, 1998 at its campus in Daytona Beach, Fla. Sponsored by the International Federation of Nonlinear Analysts, the conference will cover a variety of theoretical, computational and experimental inquiries on aviation, aerospace, aeronautics and astronautics. Two-page proposals for sessions must be submitted by July 31, 1997. Deadline for submitting papers is Jan. 15, 1998.
Sharply criticizing the Clinton Administration for taking seven months to make its selection for the FAA administrator's position, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) indicated he would seek quick confirmation of nominee Jane Garvey. McCain, however, also questioned the acting Federal High-way Administrator's lack of aviation experience and appeared dissatisfied with her responses to inquiries about a Massachusetts transit project that swelled from an original estimated cost of $2.4 billion to $10.5 billion.
BOMBARDIER is counting on four new aircraft models to fuel a substantial portion of its growth. Beaudoin said Bombardier plans to begin delivery of one new aircraft model per year for the next four years. Learjet 45 deliveries are to begin this year, followed by the Global Express in 1998, the Dash 8 Series 400 in 1999 and the CRJ Series 700 in 2000.
THE INABILITY to land all of American Eagle's regional jet business still rankles top Bombardier executives. American Eagle ordered 25 Canadair RJ Series 700s and took options for 25, but also ordered 42 Embraer EMB-145s and took options for 25 more (BA, June 23/275).
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, which was unable to reach an agreement with Signature and Dallas Airmotive for establishment of new fixed-based facilities at the city's two airports, issued a new request for proposals "for the development and operation of first-class fixed-base operator facilities at Northeast Philadelphia Airport." Atlantic Aviation, the incumbent at Philadelphia International, will continue to provide FBO services there.
GRIMES AEROSPACE appointed British Airways Avionic Engineering an authorized commercial aftermarket repair station, clearing BAAE to make warranty determinations on Grimes' behalf and perform both warranty and non-warranty repair and service for Grimes' products in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Egypt, most of North Africa and the Middle East. BAAE is based in Llantrisant, South Wales.
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SERVICES, selected by Rohr, Inc. to participate in its VIP Super 27 program, entered into an agreement with a Middle Eastern customer to perform a VIP Super 27 modification on its B727-200. The modification will bring the aircraft into Stage 3 and ICAO Chapter 3 compliance and consists of two Pratt&Whitney JT8D-217C engines and a Rohr Super 27 kit. IAS, based in Fort Worth, Texas, specializes in custom completions and provides maintenance, modification, avionics upgrades, paint and other support functions.
The House transportation appropriations subcommittee last week approved a $9.06 billion budget for the Federal Aviation Administration in fiscal 1998, rejecting the Clinton Administration's request to slash the Airport Improvement Program to $1 billion and to collect up to $300 million in new, unspecified user fees. The subcommittee did not approve any of the Administration's request to assess an additional $300 million in user fees in fiscal 1998.
The New Piper Aircraft, Inc., will provide up to 18 aircraft over the next eight months for a German airline and a British flight training company under transactions announced this month. Piper reached an agreement with Lufthansa Flight Training GmbH (LFT) and Airline Training Center Arizona (ATCA), a wholly owned subsidiary of the German airline, for the sale of seven Seneca Vs. LFT and ATCA also took options on four additional aircraft. The Seneca V trainers, built to LFT and ATCA specifications, will be delivered in January and February.
DESPITE LAST WEEK'S disruptions, NBAA managed to conduct a special membership meeting (via mail-in proxies) to consider a name change. NBAA President Jack Olcott said some 43 percent of members responded, with more than 96 percent of those voting in favor of changing the name of the organization to the National Business Aviation Association (BA, May 19/221).
FAIRCHILD Model SA226-TC, SA226-T and SA226-T(B) and SA226-AT airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-58-AD) - proposes to require inspecting the center flap hinge and wing trailing edge ribs at the flap actuator attach brackets for cracks and, if no cracks are found, installing a doubler on the rib, or replacing a cracked rib with a new rib assembly that is reinforced with a doubler. This proposal is prompted by fatigue cracks discovered at the center flap hinge and the support link that resulted in concentrated stress on the wing tailing edge ribs.
AlliedSignal, which has undertaken a $30 million-plus program to boost the reliability of its LF507 engines, reported its Engine Enhancement Program has improved the fleet average reliability to 99.93 percent in the month of May, nearing its goal of 99.95 percent by the end of the year.
Environmental Protection Agency support for halon-based aircraft fire suppression systems is contingent on continued work toward non-halon systems for future aircraft, and an airline anathema - waterspray - stands out as a "very promising alternative," FAA said last week in its fire suppression rulemaking. FAA, which has worked extensively but unsuccessfully to develop waterspray systems for passenger cabins, said applying the concept to cargo compartments as well might make it feasible.
MESSIER-DOWTY, responsible for the total landing gear system on the Raytheon Aircraft Hawker Horizon, selected Aircraft Braking Systems Corp. (ABSC), Akron, Ohio, to design and manufacture the complete braking system for the aircraft. ABSC will supply the tires, wheels, carbon brakes, brake temperature monitoring and digital brake-by-wire system.
The Port of Portland, Ore. Commission adopted landing fees for commercial aircraft and all aircraft weighing 10,000 pounds or more using Hillsboro and Troutdale airports, saying the fees are part of an effort to make the airports more self-sufficient. The fees, effective July 1, apply as well to Portland International Airport, and a commission ordinance clarifies the port's ability to collect a landing fee from aircraft operating without an agreement at Portland International.
The National Transportation Safety Board urged FAA to require one-time inspections of all Pratt&Whitney of Canada PW100 series turboprop engines to ensure that the gas generator case drain line and the plug are correctly installed.
