The Federal Aviation Administration is soliciting comments on providing public access to aviation safety information. The agency, noting it is responding to a request from Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Wendell Ford (D-Ky.), said it hopes to determine "the best means of providing aviation safety information to the public while ensuring the integrity of the aviation safety system." FAA specifically is seeking comment on a paper, prepared by GRA Inc., that reviews issues surrounding public access to aviation safety information.
THE POST-ELECTION NAME GAME is getting under way in Washington with pundits attempting to guess the names of key appointees in the second Clinton Administration. William Daley (the brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley) is being mentioned again as a possible candidate for DOT Secretary. Daley made an effort to snare that job four years ago, but eventually was passed over. Other names being bandied about for the DOT post include Rodney Slater, the current Federal Highway Administrator, and Gerald Baliles, former Virginia governor.
FAA'S PENCHANT for low-balling the cost impact estimates of controversial rulemaking proposals appears to have surfaced again in the NPRM to sharply restrict air tour operators flying in the area of the Grand Canyon. While FAA's analysis indicates the NPRM would impose costs of $8.6 million to $11 million, a new study says the cost will actually be hundreds of millions of dollars.
JOE BICA, 65, the veteran head of technical support for Astra Jet Corp., died Nov. 14 after a long battle with cancer. Bica began his aviation career with the U.S. Air Force in 1949 as a flight engineer. He spent 20 years in commercial airline maintenance, serving as maintenance supervisor of Avianca for many years before joining Israel Aircraft Industries in 1976. He was named vice president of technical services in 1984 with responsibility for technical publications, technical representatives and service centers.
NIR GILAD was appointed corporate vice president of finance for Israel Aircraft Industries. Gilad previously served with the Israel Ministry of Finance Budget Department for 10 years, most recently as deputy head of budgets.
FRASCA said its Model 242 flight training device (FTD) installed at the University of Alaska, Anchorage received FAA Level 3 qualification. The FTD can be configured as either a single- or twin-engine aircraft and includes a three-axis hydraulic motion base, two window FVS-200HR visual system with collimated display, a custom airport data base and a graphical instructor station. The FTD was part of a subcontract to Wesson International, which provided tower and ATC radar simulators to the university.
MICHAEL AGNEW was named regional sales manager for British Aerospace Asset Management - Turboprops. Agnew will be responsible for sales in Canada and Alaska.
EAGLE CANYON AIRLINES reported a record month for number of passengers carried during September. The air tour operator carried 11,211 passengers on routes between Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Laughlin, Nev., marking a 33 percent improvement over the number carried in September 1995. Eagle Canyon, which operates a fleet of F27 aircraft that carry up to 44 passengers, is based at Las Vegas Executive Air Terminal. In addition to its Grand Canyon tours, the operator plans to begin service to Cedar City, Utah, near Brian Head Resort, next month.
The board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association implemented the latest phase of its executive transition program last week, electing Edward M. Bolen president and appointing Edward W. Stimpson to the post of vice chairman.
PHIL BOTANA AND DOUG SHAW, two aviation industry veterans who provide a range of consulting services, have formed a strategic alliance under which they will combine efforts on certain projects where their complementary skills will benefit their clients. Shaw heads Business Innovations Group, while Botana is president of Botana&Company, of Dallas, Texas. Botana held key posts with Executive Jet Aviation and a number of fixed-base operators including International Aviation, Burlington Northern and Van Dusen, plus helping engineer the turnaround of Butler Aviation.
COLTEC AEROSPACE was selected to provide a version of its full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) system for the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Co., CTP800 turboprop engine. Coltec will produce the FADEC at its Chandler Evans Control Systems Division in West Hartford, Conn. Chandler Evans, which is providing FADECs for the Allison 250-C40, 250-C47 and 250- C30R3 engines, said the CTP800 FADEC is the first the company is providing for a turboprop engine.
LEARJET Model 31 and 35A airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-202-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires replacement of two segments of 16 American Wire Gauge (AWG) wire with 8 AWG wire at the connector that is connected to the auxiliary cabin heater relay box. That AD was prompted by a report indicating that two segments of the 16 AWG wire in the auxiliary cabin heater, which were spliced during production, do not provide adequate current-carrying capacity. This proposal would require the installation of a new replacement wire assembly.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT is expanding its PowerAdvantage engine program to cover the William-Rolls FJ44 turbofan powering the CitationJet. The program covers all engine parts for routine maintenance, line replacement units, hot section inspections and overhaul. The program also is available on engines powering Citation Vs, Ultras, Bravos and Excels. In addition to its PowerAdvantage program, Cessna offers a ProParts program that provides nose-to-tail parts coverage for many new and used Citations.
GE ENGINE SERVICES and the Nordam Group have formed Nordam Europe, Wales, a joint company to perform maintenance and overhaul work on jet engine thrust reversers and nacelle components. The joint company initially will serve as GE's maintenance and overhaul operation in Nantgarw, Wales. Plans are to expand Nordam Europe's customer base to include other jet maintenance and overhaul operations worldwide. Completion of a $9.3 million, 100,000- square-foot facility in Blackwood, Wales, is scheduled early in 1997. The new company will create up to 170 jobs.
A Federal Aviation Administration proposal to sharply restrict the routes and frequency of commercial air tour flights in and around the Grand Canyon is seriously flawed and should be withdrawn, according to comments filed on behalf of 20 firms and organizations engaged in providing air tour flights and related goods and services.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION warned last week that a U.S.- Canadian agreement poses "a tremendous threat to the entire general aviation fleet." The association said The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the two countries seeks to replace lead in aviation fuel by 2005. "Penalizing general aviation, whose activities account for less than 0.3 percent of the total gasoline consumed in the region, is absurd," NATA President Jim Coyne said in a letter to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Program Office.
NICHOLS AIRCRAFT DIVISION of Parker Bertea Aerospace will relocate from Waltham, Mass. to a new facility in the Devens Commerce Center in Devens, Mass. The Nichols operation designs and builds lubrication and scavenge pumps for jet engines, helicopter transmissions and other aerospace applications with a work force of 120. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new 53,000-square-foot plant is planned this spring, with occupancy expected this fall.
DASSAULT FALCON JET promoted Jon Lax to director of service and maintenance engineering. Lax, who will direct service engineers, structural engineers and help desk representatives, reports to Peter Ginocchio, senior vice president of customer support. Lax joined the company in July 1994 as manager of special projects. Previously, he served as a computer technical support consultant, an aircraft broker and a chief pilot and flight department manager for a West Coast company.
PHIL BOYER, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, was presented the Alpha Eta Rho International Fraternity Award last month during the University Aviation Association's annual fall conference, held in conjunction with AOPA's Expo '96 in San Jose, Calif. Alpha Eta Rho is an aviation fraternity founded in 1929 at the University of Southern California and dedicated to promoting aviation education. Previous winners of the award include Lt. Gen. James H.
The Federal Aviation Administration, attempting to increase its expertise in a variety of technical disciplines, has selected seven more chief scientific and technical advisors to serve as National Resource Specialists with the agency. Stationed throughout the U.S., the specialists are part of FAA's Office of Regulation and Certification and are supposed to "serve as advisors to U.S. and foreign industry; national, state and local government agencies; and international aviation authorities," according to FAA.
The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to issue new requirements for Part 135 cargo operations that could cost operators between $45,000 to $80,000 per aircraft, according to industry sources. The agency is drafting a new Handbook Bulletin for its inspectors that would require commuter and on-demand operators of aircraft modified with Class A cargo compartments to meet the requirements of an FAA-approved supplemental type certificate under Part 25.
UNISON INDUSTRIES reached a long-term agreement valued at more than $15 million to provide ignition systems and related hardware to AlliedSignal. The agreement, which runs through 2000, covers more than 95 part numbers for ignition systems, wiring harnesses and electrical generator subassemblies. Unison and AlliedSignal also agreed to combine efforts on a continuous improvement process for quality, cost, delivery, technology and service to benefit both companies and their mutual customers.
AIR REPAIR, INC., Cleveland, Miss., has become a full service dealer for Ayres Corp. Air Repair, which took over the Bob Bailey Aircraft Sales dealership in Clinton, Miss., will sell and service all models of the Ayres Thrush agricultural aircraft. Bailey will continue as a consultant to Air Repair.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL upgraded its Gulfstream IV simulator to include Honeywell's SPZ-8400 enhanced avionics. SimuFlite has offered G-IV training with Honeywell's SPZ-8000 since April. The training company now offers training for both Honeywell systems. SimuFlite also offers simulator training on the Gulfstream II and III; Challenger 601-3A/3R; Citation II, III and V; Falcon 10, 20 and 50; Hawker 700, 800 and 1000; King Air 200; Learjet 24/25, 35/36, and 55 and Westwind II.
