Barry L. Valentine, 53, will become acting administrator of FAA Feb. 1, the day after Linda Hall Daschle, the deputy administrator and current acting administrator, resigns those posts to join a Washington law firm. Valentine, who joined FAA in March 1994 as assistant administrator for policy, planning and international aviation, was named acting administrator by DOT Secretary Federico Pena.
CESSNA Model 525 airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-59-AD; Amdt. 39-9873; AD 97-01-02) - requires repetitive inspection of the main landing gear trunnion pins for proper installation and either immediately or eventually replacing the existing dry-film lubricated trunnion slot bearings with sealed and self-lubricating bearings. This AD results from an incident in which the left main landing gear collapsed during the landing roll even though the cockpit indications showed that the main landing gear was in the normal down and locked position.
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA Models N22B, N22S and N24A airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-98-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspection of the stub wing upper front spar cap flanges for cracks and repair of any cracked part. The proposed AD results from tests that show the stub wing upper front spar cap flanges could fail over time because of fatigue.
CAMP SYSTEMS, INC. named Wayne Hoppner president, succeeding Daniel Ryan, who moved up to chair the company's board of directors. Hoppner, along with Anthony Costa and William Slavik, joined CSI founder Daniel Ryan in November 1968 to help establish the company, one of the leading developers and marketers of aviation management software systems. Hoppner, a U.S.
FAA last week called for the removal of Airtell Centaurus C3-100 ground proximity warning systems on all aircraft. FAA said the Centaurus Model C3-100 GPWS units in certain circumstances do not provide aural warnings to indicate the aircraft is descending. The airworthiness directive requires operators to replace the systems with similar equipment that meets specific performance requirements of technical standard order C- 92B.
REGIONAL AIRLINE ASSOCIATION officials will meet tomorrow with FAA to review separation standards for regional aircraft. A variety of commuters were reclassified as small aircraft last year to help prevent wake vortex accidents involving aircraft following Boeing 757s (BA, Aug. 19/82). Walt Coleman, RAA president, said the penalty in delays and added expense associated with the rule - and the absence of IFR wake-vortex accidents involving commuter aircraft operating under the previous standard - suggests that changes could be made without affecting safety.
Former FAA Administrator David Hinson last week advised Washington officials to "just pause" before making radical changes to FAA and civil aviation, saying the agency already has been given many of the tools it needs to prepare for the future. Speaking to the Aero Club of Washington Wednesday, Hinson also recommended immediate reinstatement of the aviation excise taxes and said regulators should ensure the viability of general aviation.
MERCURY AIR GROUP was selected to operate a new fixed-base operaton at Charleston, S.C. International Airport. Under the proposed contract, the Charleston County Aviation Authority will build an 8,500-square-foot terminal and 20,000 square feet of hangar space. The FBO facilities, expected to be operational in January 1998, also include six acres of ramp space. The contract award continues the growth of Mercury's FBO chain, which includes 12 facilities.
AMR Airline Services won a 10-year contract to provide into-plane fueling at Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok airport. The agreement, one of 60 major contracts awarded by the airport in recent months, was signed by H. Townsend, chief executive officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong and Bella D. Goren, president of AMR Airline Services.
AIR EXCEL COMMUTER, a KLM partner based at Maastricht Airport in the Netherlands, ordered three used ATR-42-320s. The aircraft are slated for delivery in March 1997. Air Excel will operate the aircraft on its Maastricht-Amsterdam, Eindhoven-London Heathrow and Eindhoven-Charles de Gaulle routes. The airline, established in 1991, also operates two Embraer Brasilias.
DON LUSCOMBE Models 8, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, 8F, T-8F airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-99-AD; Amdt. 39-9841; AD 96-24-17) - requires installation of new inspection holes, modification of the wing tip fairings and inspection of the wing spares for intergranular corrosion. This action is prompted by reports of intergranular corrosion in the wings. The actions specified by the proposal are intended to prevent wing spar failure from such corrosion and subsequent structural failure.
CONFIRMATION HEARING for Rodney Slater, President Clinton's nominee for Transportation Secretary, is set for Jan. 29 before the Senate Commerce Committee (BA, Dec. 23/285).
THE FAIRCHILD CORPORATION acquired an exclusive call option to purchase a majority interest in Simmonds, SA, a European manufacturer and distributor of aerospace fasteners, for approximately $21 million and the assumption of about $35.5 million in debt. Under the agreement, Fairchild would purchase common shares and convertible notes representing 84.2 percent of Simmonds. Completion of the transaction is contingent upon due diligence review and necessary approvals.
COLLINS COMMERCIAL AVIONICS received FAA supplemental type certification for its AMS-850 avionics management system on a Beechjet 400A. The certification allows the system to provide primary satellite-based navigation, including nonprecision GPS approaches. The system, expected to be available in April, is qualified for long-range navigation for all oceanic and remote operations - including the North Atlantic track system.
The Federal Aviation Administration Thursday ordered the revocation of the air carrier operating certificate held by Aero Flight Service, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which operates a fleet of four Hawker aircraft on air taxi, air ambulance and cargo flights.
Models N22B, N22S and N24A airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-57-AD) - proposes to require repetitively inspecting the horizontal stabilizer upper and lower skin, intercostal angles and the horizontal stabilizer trailing edge channel for cracks; and repair of any cracks or replacement of any cracked parts. The proposed AD is prompted by numerous reports of cracking in certain areas of the horizontal stabilizer.
The United States Attorney in Wichita, Kan., Thursday said 20 individuals and companies pleaded guilty in federal court there to various charges of fraud in connection with a kickback scheme to obtain inflated contracts from Boeing and Learjet in Wichita. U.S. Attorney Jackie Williams said the defendants entered guilty pleas to various charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and depredation of defense material.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT named Richard Danforth vice president-operations. Danforth, who joined the Raytheon parent company in 1982 as an industrial engineer, is responsible for factory operations in Wichita, Salina, and Andover, Kan., as well as in Little Rock, Ark. Most recently, he served as deputy manager-manufacturing at Raytheon Electronic Systems Division in Bedford, Mass.
HERB FRANCK, former president of Commander Aircraft, was named director of airline marketing for Rolls-Royce, Inc. Franck replaces Martin Blain, who returned to the United Kingdom. Franck served as president of Commander from 1993 to 1995 and most recently was with the brokerage firm JB&A Aviation. He also has held sales and marketing positions with Rockwell International, Gulfstream Aerospace and British Aerospace.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the replacement of high pressure turbine (HPT) disks on Williams FJ44-1A engines powering early model CitationJets. The airworthiness directive, which affects about 87 airplanes, stems from two incidents in which HPT disk blade retention posts separated in flight. An investigation of the incidents revealed cracking in the posts from material creep and fatigue. FAA said such separation could in turn allow the turbine blades to separate and lead to engine failure and/or aircraft damage.
CHALLENGER 604 business jets received approval from Transport Canada that opens the door for the aircraft to operate under Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) guidelines over the North Atlantic (BA, Dec.
FRASCA INTERNATIONAL, Urbana, Ill., was selected to supply a flight training device to the Transportation Division of Samsung Aerospace, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Samsung will use the FTD as a recurrent trainer for Eurocopter AS365N2 Dauphin pilots. The trainer will provide cockpit familiarization, engine start, navigation and emergency training.
MEANWHILE, at FAA, Barry Valentine is slated to become the second acting administrator since David Hinson resigned in November. Valentine will take over from Deputy Administrator Linda Hall Daschle, who has served as acting administrator since Hinson's departure. Daschle is expected to join the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Berman&Caldwell, which is headed by former Sen. Howard Baker, (R-Tenn.). See article below.
