Pilatus received an order from V. Kelner Airways Ltd. of Goose Bay, Canada for three of its PC-12 single-engine turboprops. Kelner will operate the aircraft for cargo and passenger transport in Northeast Canada, becoming the first operator to fly the PC-12 in North America under single- engine IFR authority. Kelner, also the first Canadian operator of the Cessna Caravan in single-engine IFR operations, cited the PC-12 performance, comfort, safety and cost for the order.
HOWARD HACKNEY was appointed vice president of business development and special projects for Chrysler Pentastar Aviation. Hackney, who has 20 years of aviation management experience, will be responsible for developing new domestic and international business, strengthening the company's aircraft management services, analyzing new aviation equipment, establishing the company's Part 121 certification, strengthening customer relations and remaining proficient as a company Gulfstream IV captain.
"BILL DALEY has the inside track to become the next U.S. transportation secretary," according to a political columnist in last Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times, who said "President Clinton is expected to nominate him within the month, sources said." Whether that's wishful thinking by Daley, the brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, or a fact, remains to be seen. Several other names for the top DOT job also have surfaced (BA, Nov.
ST. LOUIS, MO. officials canceled a $50 million program management contract awarded to a joint-venture team led by a Sverdrup Corp., unit after learning a top mayoral aide had ties to one of the firms in the team. Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. fired his executive assistant, Tim Person - who represented the mayor on the contract's selection committee - after learning Person's wife was a subcontractor with Sverdrup as well as minority-owned team-member Kwame Building Group, a city official said.
Gulfstream Aerospace, which expects to win initial FAA certification of its 6,500-nautical-mile Gulfstream V business jet next month, plans to double production of its line of top-end business jets over the next three years. Theodore Forstmann, chairman of Gulfstream and head of Forstmann Little, told reporters at last week's NBAA convention that Gulfstream will build 29 Gulfstream IV-SPs and Gulfstream Vs this year and deliver 26.
MIDCOAST AVIATION is offering a Collins Pro Line 4 avionics package for installation on Falcon 50 aircraft. The package is similar to the avionics suites on the Falcon 2000 and 50EX. Midcoast said retrofit of the Collins Pro Line 4 should be done in conjunction with other major maintenance work since it will take four months to complete. Midcoast, a subsidiary of Sabreliner Corp., provides maintenance and modification for a variety of civil, government and military aircraft.
THREE PERSONS were killed Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz., when their single- engine Mooney went out of control during an attempted night landing at Scottsdale Municipal Airport. The aircraft touched down briefly, lifted off again, clipped the tail of a parked aircraft and smashed into a parked Challenger 600.
PILATUS AIRCRAFT signed an agreement with Simcom International to develop a simulator for the PC-12 single-turboprop aircraft. The simulator, which will be certified as a Level 6 flight training device, is expected to be completed in September. Simcom will operate the simulator at its Orlando, Fla. training facility. "We are extremely excited about our continued association with Pilatus as the exclusive authorized training organization for North America for the PC-12," said Simcom President Walter David.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE plans to build 60 business jets in 1999, a number that would equate to $1.98 billion in revenues, based on an average price of $33 million per aircraft. That compares with total U.S. industry billings of $2.8 billion in 1995, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. See article below.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week awarded a contract valued at $900,000 to Coopers&Lybrand to conduct an independent assessment of the agency's funding needs over the next seven years. The assessment, mandated by Congress in the Federal Aviation Authorization Act of 1996, will lay the ground work for the National Civil Aviation Review Commission to develop recommendations on how to fund FAA (BA, Nov. 4/203).
FRASCA INTERNATIONAL, Urbana, Ill., received an order from the Argentine Air Force Air Attache in Washington, D.C. for two twin-turbine flight training devices (FTDs) for the Argentine National Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) in Buenos Aires. The FTDs, a Model 242T and 242J, will be used for advanced pilot training and turbine transition training. The contract also calls for Frasca to remodel a former airport facility into a simulator laboratory at the INAC training center. Delivery of the FTDs is scheduled for the third quarter of 1997.
RICHARD SPENCER was named chief engineer of the avionics department of Stead Aviation. Spencer will be responsible for the company's CAD avionics system and integration program. He previously spent six years with Grumman Aerospace.
The worldwide business aircraft market appears headed for strong growth, according to an AlliedSignal Aerospace survey, with sales of turbine-powered aircraft worldwide expected to approach 4,400 units valued at $57 billion through 2007. AlliedSignal, which last week detailed the results of its 1996 Purchase Expectations Survey, noted "sharp increases" in purchase expectations of business aircraft operators this year, up by eight percentage points over last year's expectations.
Flexjet, the business jet fractional ownership program operated by Bombardier and AMR Combs, is beginning to grow significantly and officials signaled they expect that growth to continue with announcement of plans to double the fleet during the next two years and an order for 25 Model 45s Learjets to be delivered beginning in March 1999.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION Thursday reopened the comment period until Dec. 23 on its proposal to bar air tour operations over Rocky Mountain National Park (BA, May 20/227). FAA completed a draft environmental assessment (EA) for the proposal and reopened the comment period "to afford the public the opportunity to comment on the draft EA." The original comment period ended Aug. 19. Copies of the Draft EA can be obtained by contacting William Marx at (202) 267-3075.
DEVORE AVIATION, Albuquerque, N.M., was selected to provide external lighting systems for Raytheon Aircraft's Premier I light business jet. The contract includes the landing lights, taxi lights, anti-collision lights, navigation lights, ground recognition beacon, wing illumination lights, entrance way lights and forward facing recognition lights. In a separate agreement, Raytheon also chose Devore to design and manufacture wingtip assemblies for the Premier.
PATS, INC. was awarded an FAA supplemental type certificate for a long- range auxiliary fuel system for the McDonnell Douglas MD-87. The system, which comprises 10 auxiliary fuel tanks in the lower cargo hold of the aircraft, would allow the MD-87 to carry an additional fuel load of 3,800 gallons and provide a range of 4,200 nautical miles for use as an intercontinental business jet. The Jet Center in Van Nuys, Calif.
Federal Aviation Administration will publish an advisory circular (AC) designed to help airlines, crews and law enforcement officials deal with increasingly frequent rowdy-passenger incidents on commercial airlines, ranging from verbal abuse to actions that interfere with flight safety. Current regulations prohibit assaulting, threatening or intimidating crewmembers or interfering with their duties, prohibit boarding passengers who appear intoxicated, and require passengers to obey information signs, such as seatbelt and no-smoking instructions.
VisionAire's Vantage composite single-engine business jet successfully completed its first flight Nov. 16, flying for 57 minutes, climbing to 10,000 feet and reaching a speed of 155 knots. The first flight followed the formal roll out of the proof-of-concept Vantage Nov. 8 at the facilities of Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif. (BA, Oct. 21/182).
REP. FRANK WOLF (R-Va.), who chairs the House transportation appropriations subcommittee, last week urged President Clinton to appoint a new FAA administrator quickly, "before the Christmas holiday if possible." In a Nov. 18 letter to Clinton, Wolf noted several issues the new administrator will need to wrestle with in 1997, including the expiration of the aviation ticket tax and the controversial user fee proposal.
RICHARD WRIGHT joined the Helicopter Association International as director, safety and flight operations. Wright recently retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as chief, Aviation Life Support Branch. He has held aviator ratings with the U.S. Army and Navy and Royal Air Force and has accumulated more than 5,400 flight hours. In his new position, he will oversee HAI's safety initiatives, publications and awards and act as staff liaison with several HAI committees.
Nearly one-third of business aircraft operators claim they would shut down their flight operation if faced with a $200-$300-per-hour user fee, according to AlliedSignal's annual Business Aircraft Purchase Expectations Survey. The AlliedSignal survey, released during last week's NBAA convention, predicted robust growth for the industry in the next decade, with user fees seen as the "only dark cloud" in the future. "Although optimism concerning the future was almost universal among U.S.
McDonnell Douglas's MD 600N, an eight-place large-cabin version of the MD 520N, is on schedule to receive FAA type certification early next month, the company said. Light Helicopter Division Vice President Erv Hunter said the project has met or exceeded its goals for hover, range and speed performance. The 600N, another no-tail-rotor (NOTAR) design, is fitted with a new Allison C-47 engine that generates 800 shaft horsepower and has a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) system.
Galaxy Aerospace, a new company with major financial backing from the Pritzker organization, made its debut at last week's NBAA convention with Brian Barents at the helm as president and chief executive (BA, Nov.
