BOMBARDIER, as expected, moved closer to a decision to proceed with a stretched version of its popular Canadair Regional Jet, authorizing marketers in the regional jet division to began pitching the larger plane to customers. See article on Page 114 of the hardcopy of this issue.
BOEING said the Air Force of Chile ordered a 737-500 in VIP configuration for delivery in September 1997. The sale boosts the number of orders for new 737s this year to 230, according to the manufacturer.
Cutter Flying Service, one of the nation's oldest fixed-base operations, announced a number of senior management changes approved by the company's board of directors. William W. Cutter was elected president and chief executive officer and Kathryn Cutter was elected vice president and chief financial officer. William W. Cutter, who also will continue to serve as aircraft sales manager, also announced several promotions. Lowell Whitten was named vice president and general manager of Cutter's Albuquerque, N.M. operation.
TEXTRON SYSTEMS plans to build a carbon rapid densification facility to increase production of carbon-carbon composite products utilizing the company's RD process. The facility, to be built in Lowell, Mass., is scheduled to be operational early next year. The facility will produce carbon aircraft brakes and automotive friction products.
AT THE SAME TIME, several of the organizations funding legal action against Chicago blasted Michael Stephens, president of the General Aviation Airports Coalition, for a statement he issued Wednesday after a meeting with Hugh Murphy, acting commissioner of aviation for Chicago. The GAAC statement essentially accepted the closure of Meigs as a fait accompli, outraging those working to keep the lakefront airport open. See article on Page 114 of the hardcopy of this issue.
Pratt&Whitney and nacelle and aerostruc-tures-specialist Rohr are reviving the former Valsan Boeing 727-200 Advanced re-engining program. Suppliers to Valsan before it folded in the mid-1980s, P&W and Rohr recently bought Valsan's supplemental type certificate (STC) covering the two-engine mod. Now executives hope to sell between 50 and 100 upgrades through the life of the re-launched Super 27 program, says Rohr's Robert Korn, business development manager for the effort.
Bombardier has authorized its Regional Aircraft Division to offer the 70-seat CRJ-X aircraft for sale to potential customers, but the company said a final launch decision probably will be made this fall (BA, Sept. 2/106). The company said an official launch is expected before yearend after discussions with customers and partners and a review by Bombardier's board of directors. The standard CRJ seats 50 passengers.
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES Model 1123, 1124 and 1125A airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-173-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspections of the aileron push-pull tubes for excessive wear and the guide rollers for smooth rotation, and repair or replacement of worn parts with serviceable parts, if necessary. This proposal is prompted by reports of excessive wear on the aileron push-pull tube in the area of the guide rollers.
The White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security last week recommended a series of aviation security improvements primarily targeted at commercial aviation, but including a few proposals - such as airport vulnerability assessments - that may affect all operators. Vice President Al Gore, head of the commission, called the proposals "tough and doable" and said they will be implemented as soon as possible. The recommendations, to be presented to President Clinton today, are expected to be funded, initially, by a supplemental budget request of $300 million.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE won a $20 million order from American Airlines for the company's new Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) and plans to retrofit its entire fleet of 635 aircraft by mid-1999. The EGPWS contains a worldwide digital database and can display surrounding terrain below, at, or above the aircraft's altitude. It also sounds a warning if the airplane's projected flight path places it too close to terrain. American's decision to retrofit its fleet follows the Dec.
K-C Aviation won a major service con-tract from Executive Jet Aviation to refurbish, maintain and support the 18 Hawker 1000 aircraft used in EJA's NetJets program. K-C Aviation has a similar contract from EJA International, Inc., an affiliate of EJA located in Hilton Head, S.C., to service that entity's fleet of nine Gulfstream IV aircraft. Much of the work on the Hawker 1000 contract, which includes scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, will be done at K-C's 55,000-square-foot facility in Westfield, Mass.
JETSTREAM Series 200 and Models 3101 and 3201 airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-94-AD; Amdt. 39-9722; AD 96-17-12) - supersedes AD 87-07-01, which requires repetitive inspections of the nose landing gear top cap assembly securing bolts for looseness or cracks, retorquing of any loose security bolt and replacement of any cracked security bolt. That AD also provides the option of incorporating a nose landing gear modification as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections.
Duluth, Minn.-based Cirrus Design Corp. last week broke ground for an aircraft manufacturing facility in Grand Forks, N.D. The 67,500-square- foot facility, slated for completion in the spring, will produce wings and other subassemblies for the SR20 aircraft. The facility is the first of two that Cirrus plans to build in Grand Forks. It also will begin construction of a second facility at Grand Forks International Airport next year to support future final assembly and flights of a new model, the SRX.
LITTON INDUSTRIES appointed Steven Lambert president of the Electro-Optical Systems division, which has operations in Garland, Texas, and Tempe, Ariz. Lambert, who had been Litton's director of night-vision products for the past year, joined the company when the Ni-Tec division of Varo Inc. in Garland was acquired by Litton in 1995. He had been employed by Varo since 1974, advancing from manufacturing engineer to vice president and general manager.
Tracor Flight Systems, Inc., which won an Air Force contract to modify two Israel Aircraft Industries Astra SPX aircraft (BA, Aug. 26/91), said it plans to deliver the completed aircraft late next year. The $20.8 million contract is for two aircraft, but "the total potential value of this contract to Tracor, with options, is $47 million," according to Donald L. Fagan, president of Tracor Flight Systems.
PARKS COLLEGE of Saint Louis University, which is moving to a new campus for the 1997-1998 school year, is hosting an all-alumni reunion next month. The event, scheduled for Oct. 4-6, will include a fly-in and open house, followed by an historical retrospective of Parks College, which bills itself as "the nation's oldest aviation college." Other events will include an aircraft static display, classic car show and tours of both the old and new campuses.
BOMBARDIER is expected to approach customers during this week's Farnborough Air Show about a 70-seat version of its successful Canadair RJ. Bombardier Chairman Laurent Beaudoin said last week the company hopes to make a launch decision on the project by the end of the year.
TEXTRON SYSTEMS signed an exclusive agreement with Anshan East Asia Carbon Fiber (EACF) to sell EACF's pitch-based carbon fibers worldwide, except for China. Anshan EACF produces general-purpose carbon fibers made from petroleum pitch under the trademark Carboflex, as licensed by Ashland Oil, Inc. Textron Systems supplies polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fibers at the company's Lowell, Mass., facility under the trademarks AVCARB and AVOX. Textron said the agreement with Anshan EACF will enable it to expand its current product line offerings.
Unison Industries officials, citing a range of performance and reliability benefits expected from incorporation of new technology, believe the company's new magneto ignition system will be retrofitted into thousands of piston-powered general aviation aircraft. The new LASAR (Limited Authority Spark Advance Regulator) is the product of a development effort that began more than a dozen years ago. Unison received U.S. Patent No.
JET PROFESSIONALS, INC. developed a Web site to list aviation employment opportunities as well as aviation personnel and consulting services. JPI provides information on positions including aviation department managers, captains, first officers, flight engineers, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, dispatchers and other key aviation personnel. JPI's Web site can be accessed at http://www.jet-professionals.com.
DICK HYDE was promoted to Hawker technical specialist at Duncan Aviation. Hyde, a 35-year aviation veteran, was a corporate operator for more than 15 years and spent 17 years working with Hawker aircraft. He joined Duncan in 1987 and most recently was quality assurance inspector.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, which has attracted a considerable amount of industry criticism with its proposal to ban air tour operators from 87 percent of airspace over Grand Canyon National Park, has scheduled public meetings Sept. 16-17 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Sept. 19-20 in Las Vegas, Nev., on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and the corresponding environmental assessment (EA). FAA warned that because it is providing the public this additional opportunity to comment on the proposal, it "does not intend" to extend the comment deadlines of Sept.
Nearly five years after introducing the concept of a very long-range business jet aircraft, Bombardier last week rolled out the Global Express business jet with 52 orders in hand and the first two and one-half years of production sold out.
DASSAULT FALCON JET named Hawker Pacific Pte. Ltd. an authorized service center in Singapore. The center, located at Seletar Airport, is authorized to provide after-sales service and support on all Falcon 10/100, 20, 200, 50, 900 and 2000 aircraft. The center also is an authorized line service center for AlliedSignal and CFE engines. In addition, Dassault Falcon Jet's Asia-Pacific field service representative, Carl Menne, maintains his office at the Hawker Pacific facility in Singapore.
MESA AIR GROUP, which placed orders and options for 32 Canadair Regional Jets last month (BA, Aug. 26/92), plans to consolidate certain maintenance and flight operations and has begun a review of corporate headquarters location options.
