DEDICATION CEREMONIES for the new control tower and terminal radar approach control facility at Washington National Airport will be held today (May 12) at 10 a.m. with DOT Secretary Rodney Slater presiding. Controllers began operating from the new tower a number of weeks ago and the airport's new main terminal is scheduled to become operational this summer.
PATS, Inc., the Columbia, Md., designer and manufacturer of a wide range of aircraft systems and modifications, was selected to provide several enhancements to the U.S. Air Force's fleet of Boeing 757 aircraft. The service recently selected a mix C-132s (757s) and C-37s (Gulfstream Vs) to replace its aging fleet of C-137s (Boeing 707s) (BA, May 5/202).
DOW-UNITED TECHNOLOGIES Composites Products Inc. won a contract to manufacture composite components for aircraft engines built by Allison Engine Co., Indianapolis, Ind. The company, based in Wallingford, Conn., will manufacture bypass vanes to funnel air in the front section of the Allison AE 3007 engine that powers the Cessna Citation X and the Embraer EMB-145 regional jet.
JENNIFER HERONEMA was named public relations manager for Atlantic Coast Airlines. Heronema previously served as a staff writer and editor for the Army Times Publishing Co. She also has served as a staff writer and conducted promotional activities for companies in the health care industry, including Dow Chemical Co. and Disability Research Systems.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, with help from the State of Virginia, the Loudoun County Industrial Development Authority and the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA), will build an 85,000-square-foot aircraft maintenance facility at Washington Dulles Airport. The hangar, scheduled to be occupied in December, is the first airline maintenance facility to be located at Dulles, ACA said. The project was assisted by a $175,000 Governor's Opportunity Fund grant for Loudoun County. Investment support is being provided by the MWAA and the county.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued an emergency order last week revoking the repair station certificate of D&C Airparts Corp., Hialeah, Fla. FAA said the company performed work on power supply units and emergency power supply appliances without being authorized to perform such work.
RAYTHEON Model DH 125-1A, -3A and -400A series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-190-AD; Amdt. 39-10008; AD 96-09-12) - requires a one-time inspection for scoring of the upper fuselage skin around the periphery of the cockpit canopy blister interface and repair, if necessary. This amendment is prompted by reports indicating that scoring of the upper fuselage skin had been detected in that area. The actions specified by this AD are intended to detect and correct such scoring, which could reduce the structural integrity of the fuselage and cause cabin depressurization.
JETSTREAM Model BAe ATP series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-100-AD; Amdt. 39-10006; AD 97-09-10) - requires modification of certain parts in the elevator flight control system and the propeller switch warning system. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that these parts could interfere with the proper operation of these systems.
MULTI SERVICE CORP., Overland Park, Kan., was selected by Wright Express to provide credit card services for aviation customers in fulfillment of a General Services Administration contract. Multi Service will provide commercial credit card services to operators of 1,600 federal civilian government aircraft, beginning June 1, when it will issue new credit cards replacing U.S. government Fleet Card, SF 149 and SF 149A cards, the company said. The new co-branded cards will have both GSA Aviation and Multi Service logos.
While numerous industry and congressional leaders have decried the Clinton Administration's failure to name a new FAA Administrator, concern also has been building about the growing list of other key vacancies within the agency. In addition to the administrator's position, now left open for more than six months, and the deputy administrator's post, open since the end of January, the agency lost a number of its senior managers in the Flight Standards Service.
GARY DELUCA was appointed general manager-JT8D engines for Greenwich Air Services. DeLuca previously served with Miami Air International as manager-engines, APUs and landing gear. Before joining Miami Air, DeLuca spent 12 years with Eastern Airlines, where he started as an aircraft cleaner and was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, including shift manager-JT8D production and manager-engine service center component shops.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR42 and ATR72 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM- 141-AD; 39-10007; AD 97-09-11) - requires modification of the handle of the passenger/crew door to change the "down-to-open" configuration of the handle to an "up-to-open" configuration. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that, immediately after takeoff, the passenger/crew door opened and separated from the airplane due to the inadvertent operation of the door handle.
REFLECTONE, INC., will hold a special shareholders meeting May 20 for a vote on a merger proposal that would combine Reflectone, British Aerospace Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Aerospace, and a newly formed subsidiary of British Aerospace Holdings. If approved, shareholders of Reflectone would receive $24 cash per share as of the effective date of the merger.
LUCAS AEROSPACE won a contract to supply couplings for production units of the Bell/Boeing V-22 tiltrotor. The Lucas couplings, fabricated at the company's Utica, N.Y. plant, are designed to distribute power between the engines and proprotors as part of the cross wing drive system. Lucas will provide four different coupling types that incorporate flexible diaphragms and welded construction to permit continued operation under severe conditions without lubrication.
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA Models N22S, N22B and N24A airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-31-AD; Amdt. 39-10004; AD 97-09-08) - supersedes AD 82-25-09, which requires repetitive inspections of the pilot and co-pilot control wheel subassemblies for cracks and modification of cracked parts. This action retains the requirements, but also includes a modification that would terminate the repetitive inspections by replacing or reworking the control wheel subassembly.
National Transportation Safety Board issued data and group investigation summaries Wednesday for the continuing inquiry on Comair Flight 3272, an Embraer Brasilia that crashed near Detroit Jan. 9 on a flight from Cincinnati. The cockpit voice recorder transcript suggests only about 20 seconds elapsed between the crew's first mention of trouble and the tape's end, the likely moment of impact. At 1553:25, controllers gave the crew a heading change and instructed the pilots to reduce their speed from 170 knots to 150 knots.
Unison Industries expects to complete the purchase of the BFGoodrich Engine Electrical Systems Division (EESD) in Norwich, N.Y. by mid-year, a move that will give Jacksonville, Fla.-based Unison a bigger share of the market for aircraft electrical systems.
NORTHEASTERN AVIATION CORP. completed a new $2.5 million corporate aircraft hangar and office facility at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, N.Y. and plans grand opening ceremonies May 22. The new facility has 17,000 square feet of hangar space and another 6,000 square feet of office space.
KAREN TRIPP, who left avionics manufacturer Collins last year to join the advertising and public relations firm of Sullivan, Higdon&Sink in Wichita, Kan., has returned to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa manufacturer as vice president-communications for Rockwell Collins Avionics and Communications. Her responsibilities include activities in the company's general aviation, air transport, military and systems divisions.
Kaynar Technologies, Inc., announced an initial public offering of two million shares of its common stock at $14.50 per share. Of the two million shares, 1.8 million are being offered by the company and 200,000 by a selling stockholder. Kaynar, headquartered in Orange, Calif., manufactures specialty fasteners, fastening systems and related components for original equipment manufacturers and their subcontractors for use in production of commercial aircraft and defense products. The company also manufactures fasteners for the automotive and electrical industries.
The initial balanced budget agreement struck between the White House and congressional leaders would include a five-year extension of the aviation excise taxes and about $8 billion to $10 billion more in transportation budget authority than the Clinton Administration budget had planned. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Dominici (R-N.M.), who called the President's transportation budget "way too low," said the agreement provides for "a rather substantial increase....I can't give you the numbers, but surely it is $8 to $10 billion over the President's numbers."
JOHN J. SHEEHAN, who spent 10 years with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association before getting into the consulting business, was named secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations. He succeeds Steven J. Brown, who left the post in December to become president of the National Aeronautic Association. Sheehan was at AOPA from 1980-1990, serving as senior vice president government and technical affairs and executive vice president.
KARL A. KERSCHER, a former United Air Lines pilot, is the new regional representative for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Kerscher has flown 22,000 hours since 1960, has owned eight general aviation airplanes and served as the airport manager of the Land O' Lakes, Wis. Airport for a number of years to help revitalize that facility when it was threatened with being closed. Kerscher will continue to reside in Land O' Lakes.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT and Executive Jet International promise "a significant announcement" at a press conference Tuesday in New York. EJI is operating 20 Hawker 1000s it began buying four years ago in its NetJets fractional ownership program (BA, June 14, 1993/233) and is expected to announce plans to acquire 25 Hawker 800XPs as it continues to grow the program.
KEN KANTOLA was appointed general manager of Cessna Aircraft's Sacramento Citation Service Center. Kantola joined Cessna in September 1984 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, including inspector, lead mechanic, maintenance supervisor and sales supervisor. Before joining Cessna, he was director of turbine aircraft maintenance for Patterson Aircraft in Sacramento.
