DAVID O. SMITH, president of American Eurocopter, was acquitted on all 10 counts contained in a federal indictment regarding the sale of five military helicopters (BA, Feb. 3/50). Smith was acquitted last month at the conclusion of a trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. Eurocopter previously pled guilty to fraud in connection with the case and agreed to pay nearly $25 million in fines and penalties (BA, Feb. 17/70), but it had objected to the government's decision to move forward with the charges against Smith.
IAN CHEYNE, one of the founders of Alliance Engines, Maryville, Tenn., was named director of marketing for the company. He joined the startup engine overhaul facility when it was launched in 1994 and has held director-level posts in both engineering and quality assurance. He worked in development engineering and product support at Rolls-Royce, Ltd., and before joining Alliance he spent 13 years with Airwork Corp.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AVIATION OFFICIALS changed the dates and location for its 66th annual meeting. Originally scheduled for Sept. 14-16 in Albuquerque, N.M., the meeting now will be held Sept. 5-10 in Tulsa, Okla.
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION CLUB said Tuesday's speech by DOT Secretary Rodney Slater will begin at 12:15 p.m., instead of 1 p.m., due to a change in his schedule. Lunch will be served at the conclusion of Slater's remarks. Attendees are being asked to arrive by noon.
U.S. ARMY awarded Cessna Aircraft "a delivery order amount" of $20.5 million as part of a $52 million firm fixed-price contract for five more Citation Ultra business jets. The Wichita manufacturer won the contract for the Army's C-XX medium-range transport aircraft program in early 1996 (BA, Jan. 29/49). That program calls for the Army to purchase 35 Ultras over a five-year period. The Ultras will be used for high-priority personnel and cargo flights. Cessna has delivered three Ultras to the Army, and expects to deliver a fourth this month.
Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. airlines have raised questions recently indicating concern about something that has troubled their counterparts abroad for years - what one source called a "lack of civil involvement" in the Global Positioning System. The system, which determines an aircraft's position and velocity by processing data from a constellation of satellites, is to become the only means of navigation in the not-too-distant future, and the U.S.
BOMBARDIER is claiming a Pittsburgh, Pa., to Paris, France speed record for a June 12 flight by a Model 60 Learjet. The aircraft departed Thursday morning and arrived in Paris eight hours and one minute later.
CORROSION TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, Dallas, Texas, said it received confirmation from Metallurgical Engineering Services, Inc., confirming that the company's Corrosion X product stops and prevents corrosion of carbon steel and aircraft aluminum exposed to sea water. Jim Van Gilder, chief executive of Corrosion Technologies, said the report validates the corrosion-fighting abilities of the Corrosion X product.
AVIATION REPRESENTATIVES participating in an interagency task force addressing the contentious issue of restrictions on commercial air tour flights over national parks were not happy about the lack of support from FAA. Meeting at the Interior Department Wednesday afternoon, aviation industry participants found themselves outnumbered by National Park Service and environmental group representatives throughout the session (BA, May 26/233).
President Clinton plans to nominate Jane Garvey and George Donohue as FAA Administrator and Deputy Administrator, the White House said Wednesday, bringing both a collective sigh of relief from the aviation industry that nominees have finally been selected and mutters of dissatisfaction about Garvey's lack of aviation experience.
Eighteen privately owned corporate business enterprises in Mumbai, India's commercial capital, have decided to resurrect a dormant lobbying group to pressure India's Directorate-General of Civil Aviation to relax its restrictions on corporate jet travel within the country, industry sources said.
Nav Canada has begun a 60-day period of formal consultations with the aviation community on proposed user charges, which will be phased in over two years, beginning Nov. 1. Initial consultations will focus on fees for aircraft weighing more than 5.7 metric tons, about 12,500 pounds. Nav Canada plans to defer fees for aircraft weighing 5.7 metric tons or less until Nov. 1, 1998, because setting fees for these aircraft requires separate analysis and consultation, Nav Canada said. Consultations will take place early in 1998.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-415 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-31-AD; Amdt. 39-10037; AD 97-11-08) - requires 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 amendment is prompted by incidents and accidents involving airplanes equipped with turboprop engines in which the propeller ground beta range was used improperly during flight.
HILLER Model UH-12, UH-12A, UH-12B, UH-12C, UH-12D, UH-12E, CH-112, H- 23A, H-23B, H-23C, H-23D, H-23F, HTE-1, HTE-2, and OH-23G helicopters (Docket No. 96-SW-06-AD; Amdt. 39-10029; AD 97-10-16) - supersedes an existing AD requiring, for certain helicopters, inspections of the blade spar tube and cuff for cracks, and repair or replacement as necessary. This amendment requires inspection of the blade spar tube and cuff for corrosion or cracks, or elongation, corrosion, burrs, pitting or fretting of the bolt holes, and repair as necessary.
KANEMATSU CORPORATION, Raytheon's agent for the U-125A aircraft in Japan, exercised options for four more aircraft valued at $80 million, Raytheon said. The additional aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 1999. Raytheon previously delivered five U-125As, a highly modified version of the Hawker 800 designed for maritime search and rescue missions, and has five more in various stages of production. The contract with the Japan Air Self Defense Force calls for delivery of 27 U-125As through 2005 if all options are exercised.
Operators of Cessna Model 650 Citation business jets must complete inspections of certain wire bundle assemblies in their aircraft within 25 hours time in service, FAA said this month, prompted by an in-flight fire that seriously damaged a Citation III two months ago. The airworthiness directive from FAA incorporates the provisions of Cessna Citation Service Bulletin 650-24-57, dated May 15.
FRIENDS OF MEIGS FIELD is selling tickets for "The Ultimate Chicago Air&Water Show" cruise and fund-raiser Aug. 23. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and other aerial performers will fly their routines over Lake Michigan and ticket holders flying or driving into Meigs will get a three- hour cruise on a converted fire boat to watch the show. Tickets are $45 for adults and $20 for children. For more information, call (773) 465- 0388.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE signed an agreement with JAMCO of Japan to provide line service for Gulfstream aircraft at JAMCO facilities at Sendai Airport, north of Tokyo. Gulfstream said JAMCO is a "multi-faceted aircraft support, maintenance and equipment company" with facilities at Sendai and other locations around the world.
PROPOSALS for a fixed-base operation on a 3.3-acre tract at the Groton-New London, Conn. Airport are being solicited by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Proposals are due Aug. 8 and a mandatory pre-proposal meeting will be held July 8 at 1 p.m. at state DOT headquarters in Newington, Conn. For more information, contact Cornelius B. O'Connor at (860) 594-2545 or Kathleen Frasca at (860) 594-2543.
Executive Jet Aviation, one of Cessna Aircraft's best customers of late, placed an order with the Wichita manufacturer for nearly five dozen more Citation business jets. In an announcement scheduled to coincide with the beginning of this week's Paris Air Show, EJA is ordering 50 Citation Excel business jets, which it said is "the largest single order in unit size for business aircraft in aviation history." In addition, EJA is boosting its total commitment for Cessna's top-of-the-line Citation X with an order for six more of the Mach .92 aircraft.
The Eurocopter consortium and Intertechnique of France were unsuccessful in this month's attempt to fly a single-engine helicopter across the Atlantic Ocean. The Ecureuil flight had logged nearly 1,700 miles, but ended soon after the third of five planned inflight refuelings, when an auxiliary fuel tank developed a leak. The aircraft landed safely on the tug Picardie, over which it had refueled, and the companies gave up on the flight when they found the leak was caused by a soldering problem that could not be repaired safety aboard the tug.
Boeing Business Jets snared a high-profile Gulfstream Aerospace customer last week, signing an agreement with professional golfer Greg Norman under which he will buy a new Model 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) for his business and personal use and also will serve as a worldwide ambassador for the Seattle, Wash.-based aircraft manufacturer. The company also said it has signed orders for 18 BBJs and plans to be producing them at a rate of two per month by 1999.
KEITH PRODUCTS, Dallas, Texas, won FAA certification for an evaporator upgrade kit for the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. The company said Service Bulletin 139-1 provides for the conversion of existing Keith Products Freon R-12 systems to the current industry standard refrigerant R-134A. The manufacturer said the upgrade, applicable to all models of the S-76, will provide a 50 percent increase in cooling performance with no weight penalty. The modification requires approximately 20-man hours to install.
