MARGARET BOULINE was named director of information services for Aviall. Bouline joined Aviall in October 1994 as manager of information services and previously held management and programming positions at Sunbelt Nursery Group, Zale Corporation, Fidelity Investments and U.S. Sprint.
The Federal Aviation Administration is soliciting industry comments to help the agency determine whether it should change its traditional interpretation of the term "standard parts" as used in regulations concerning the production of replacement and modification parts for certificated products.
BELL restricted category Model HH-1K, TH-1F, TH-1L, UH-1A, UH-1B, UH- 1E, UH-1F, UH-1H, UH-1L and UH-1P helicopters (Docket No. 96-SW-03-AD) - proposes to require a one-time inspection of the tail rotor slider to verify that it was manufactured with the correct outside diameter. This proposal is prompted by a U.S. Army Safety of Flight message reporting that some sliders may have been improperly manufactured with an undersized wall thickness by U.S. Army vendors.
THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, represented by the Justice Department, last week submitted a 28-page brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals supporting the City of Chicago's position that Meigs Field should not reopen. Less than 24 hours after the tower closed, FAA told the court that two of Meigs's six air traffic controllers had been reassigned to out-of-town posts and the other four transferred to Chicago's Midway Airport.
MEIGS FIELD closed to air traffic late Monday night, but separate rulings by the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Illinois Court of Appeals have temporarily blocked demolition of the lakefront airport. See articles below.
GROB Models G115C, G115C2, G115D and G115D2 (Docket No. 96-CE-50-AD; Amdt. 39-9765; AD 96-19-07) - publishes an AD pre-viously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators that requires installation of a placard restricting the never exceed speed (Vne) of the affected airplane models from 180 knots to 160 knots. The AD also requires installation on the airspeed indicator glass a red line at 296 km/h (160 knots), installation of a placard that prohibits aerobatic maneuvers, and inclusion of a copy of the AD in the Limitations Section of the airplane flight manual.
Aviall, Inc. last month sold its aerospace hardware unit to Maple Leaf Aerospace, Inc., marking the last piece of "non-core" operations that Aviall began to dispose of two years ago. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The aerospace hardware business unit, which employs 80 people and has facilities in Dallas, Toronto, Long Beach and St. Louis, distributes aerospace hardware products. The unit is expected to become part of Tri Star Aerospace.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT MONTEK COMPANY won a contract from the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration (NCAA) to provide a differential global positioning system Category I precision approach and landing system to Bodo airport this fall. The system, the DIAS-3100, is jointly produced by Montek and ARINC, Annapolis, Md. NCAA and Wideroe's Flyveselskap A/S will conduct flight trials using an upgraded version of Universal Avionics Systems UNS- 1B flight management system.
TRANSPORTES AEREOS REGIONAIS, a sister company of Taxi Aereo Marilia, S.A., Cessna Aircraft's authorized sales representative in Brazil, ordered five Citation Ultra business jets for delivery between February and May of next year. TAM Chairman Rolim A. Amaro said the first Ultra will be used as his personal aircraft, while the other four will go into service with TAM's regional airline. "In order to maximize our Fokker 50s' and 100s' load factors, we purposely overbook most flights by a small percentage," Amaro said.
JET AVIATION said its maintenance facility in Hannover, Germany won certification from German aviation authorities to perform work on all Westwind 1124 aircraft, permitting technicians there to perform "A", "B", and "C" checks on Astra and Westwind aircraft, plus landing gear and wing repairs.
The City of Chicago carried through with its plans to close Meigs Field to flight operations on Sept. 30, but the U.S. Court of Appeals and Illinois Court of Appeals issued orders preventing the city from beginning demolition of the lakefront airport. As a result, at least until Oct.
MARY ROSE LONEY was named Chicago's aviation commissioner. Loney, who worked in the city's aviation department from 1989-1992, subsequently held high-profile aviation slots at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. She has been director of aviation for the City of Philadelphia since 1993.
The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Chairman William Archer (R- Texas), is urging Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service officials to reverse the IRS's stand on treating major engine overhauls as capital expenditures rather than ordinary business expenses. The IRS issued a Technical Advice Memorandum this year concluding that engine overhauls should be capitalized, an opinion that could change the long- standing industry practice of deducting overhauls as a business expense (BA, Aug. 12/71).
AVIATION SERVICE CORPORATION, Atlanta, Ga., appointed David Sisson president and chief operating officer. Sisson, a 23-year aviation industry veteran, previously was president and chief executive officer of Superior Air Parts. He also was director of turbofan programs for Textron Lycoming and served with Pratt&Whitney in various program management and sales positions. Avsco also named JoDee Bowen controller. Bowen formerly worked with a large Atlanta public accounting firm for 10 years and as controller of a regional group of dialysis clinics.
General Electric Engine Services, Inc. acquired majority control of CELMA, a jet engine overhaul and repair operation located in Petropolis, Brazil. GE, which previously held 9.7 percent of the company, now has a 74 percent stake. CELMA employs about 1,400 people and services small and large commercial and military jet engines. About half of CELMA's revenues are derived from overhauling Pratt&Whitney JT8 engines for major airline customers.
INNOTECH AVIATION LTD., Montreal, Quebec, received certification from the Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation as an approved maintenance organization for various aircraft models, including Hawker, Jetstream, Cessna, Fokker, Gulfstream, Israel Aircraft Industries, Learjet, Falcon, and Canadair.
Executive Jet International, Inc., exercising options it initially placed in January 1995, last week confirmed the purchase of nine additional Gulfstream IV-SP aircraft for its NetJets fractional ownership program. In addition, EJI said it exercised options for two Gulfstream V business jets for delivery in the third quarter 1998 and first quarter 2000.
The Senate Thursday approved comprehensive aviation legislation that had been held up for nearly a week over a controversial labor provision involving Federal Express Corp. The bill, H.R.3539, which reforms the Federal Aviation Administration and establishes a commission to study funding mechanisms (BA, Sept. 30/146), stalled temporarily because the Federal Express provision - which would modify last year's Interstate Commerce Commission termination act - drew strong opposition from several Democratic leaders, including Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).
TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS opened a customer support center at Fairhope, Ala. Municipal Airport. The center is staffed with A&P and AI TCM factory technicians qualified to perform Continental engine installations for most piston-powered aircraft, powerplant and aircraft maintenance, inspections and repair services. The facility, a fixed-base operation, also offers line services, including fuel, catering, tie downs, hangar space, rental cars and a pilot's lounge.
FLYTE COMM OF FLORIDA substantially expanded its Flyte Trax information service with the addition of real-time data "for all general aviation flights as well as that for commercial flights previously found in the aircraft information system." The company began limited service earlier this year (BA, June 10/262), supplying some air traffic control data via the Internet.
Aerospatiale Chairman Yves Michot believes the terms of his company's merger with Dassault Aviation will be set by June. "If we can wrap it up for the Paris Le Bourget air show, that would be perfect," Michot said in an interview last month published by the French daily Le Figaro.
BELL's 412EP medium twin-engine helicopter was selected by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense as the advanced joint military training aircraft. The program will include nine 412EPs, the first Bell products in U.K. military service since 1978. The 412EP is the crew training helicopter selected by the industry team FBS, made up of Flight Refueling, Bristol Helicopters Ltd. and Serco. FBS won the competitive contract to operate the Defense Helicopter Flying School, a joint training program for all U.K. military pilots.
VANCE AND ENGLES, the Annapolis, Md. based corporate jet brokerage partnership, established an office in Sussex, England, to represent its activities in the United Kingdom and Europe. Doug McDonald, who began his business aviation career in 1965 as an instructor for FlightSafety International and has accumulated more than 12,500 hours of flight time, will run the U.K. office.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will pay two engine manufacturers $46.5 million over the next four years in pursuit of new- technology turbine and combustion engines for small aircraft that will be substantially cheaper than existing powerplant options.
