RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT Model 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-41-AD; Amdt. 39-9720; AD 96-15-01) - publishes an AD previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of Model 1900D airplanes (BA, July 15/26). The AD requires immediately pulling and banding the circuit breakers leading to the windshield heat control on both the pilot and co-pilot sides, inserting a copy of the priority letter AD into the limitations section of the airplane flight manual and installing a placard instructing the pilot to avoid flight into known icing conditions.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT named Karl Childs vice president-sales and marketing. Childs, previously vice president-domestic business jet sales, will be responsible for domestic and international sales of all new and used commercial aircraft. He also will oversee the company's marketing functions and independent distributor relations and sales activities. In addition to serving with Raytheon, Childs also has been a vice president at Sabreliner Corp. and general sales manager for Cessna.
RANDALL LANCE was appointed vice president, human resources, for Signature Flight Support. Lance, who has worked in the aviation field for more than 20 years, previously was director, organizational development for Raytheon Aircraft.
WOODLAND AVIATION was named an authorized corporate aviation center for Raytheon Aircraft in Northern California and Northern Nevada. Woodland, which has been an authorized Raytheon/Beechcraft dealer since 1963 in a limited area, now will inventory and sell Beech Bonanzas, Barons and King Air C90s from Monterey to the Oregon border. Woodland, which has facilities at Yolo County Airport and Watts-Woodland Airport in California, also provides aircraft maintenance, parts, avionics, charter, mangement and interior refurbishment services.
U.S. AIR FORCE is testing sensors aboard a modified C-135 aircraft to develop an autonomous landing system. The effort is aimed at merging separate images from a millimeter wave radar and a forward-looking infrared sensor to produce a real-time image of a runway in bad weather. A millimeter wave radar developed by Lear Astronics Corp., Santa Monica, Calif., has been flying on the test aircraft for several months, and an infrared sensor from FLIR Systems, Inc., Portland, Ore., was scheduled to fly this week.
Gleason Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., announced an agreement Thursday to acquire all operations of the Hermann Pfauter Group, a leading manufacturer of cylindrical gear production equipment headquartered in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The firm has operating locations in Germany, the U.S. and Italy and approximately 1,050 employees worldwide. The acquisition includes Pfauter's 76 percent interest in Pfauter-Maag Cutting Tools, Inc., a U.S. producer of cylindrical gear cutting tools. Combined sales for the Pfauter operations were approximately $175 million in 1995.
FRASCA INTERNATIONAL, Waukegan, Ill., recently received a number of orders for its standard line of flight training devices (FTDs). Frasca sold its Model 141 single-engine FTD to Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Ark., and Presidential Flight Training. Aeroclub de Sao Paulo, Brazil signed a contract for two Model 141s. Frasca received an order for a Model 142 twin-engine FTD from the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and for a Model 242 twin-engine FTD from the National Civil Aviation Training Organization in Cairo, Egypt.
MIKE HANSEN joined Duncan Aviation as manager of avionics and instruments. Hansen, formerly with BFGoodrich Component Overhaul&Repair in Austin, Texas, will oversee Duncan's avionics and instrument repair and overhaul business.
ROBERT HILL was appointed technical service sales manager for Flightcraft. Hill, who will focus on technical service sales to turbine operators in the Northwest and California, most recently was with Stevens Aviation.
The organization that represents the nation's air tour operators sent a letter to President Clinton last week charging that the National Park Service (NPS) - "led by officials appointed by you - is actively engaged in a very undemocratic and unfair lobbying campaign" in support of proposed regulations restricting overflights in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION had a banner towed over Chicago last week to express its concerns about the proposed closing of Meigs Field to delegates at last week's Democratic convention. The 100-foot long banner said: "DECISION 96? KEEP MEIGS AIRPORT OPEN." AOPA had wanted to tow the banner in the area near Meigs, but FAA issued a notice to airmen restricting transient traffic within six miles of the convention site, an area that includes Meigs.
Horizon Air of Seattle, Wash., signed a major order for up to 70 Dash 8 turboprop airliners last week from Bombardier's Regional Aircraft Division (BRAD), a huge piece of business for the Ontario manufacturer that could be worth more than $900 million if all options are exercised.
BOMBARDIER officials should be heading to this week's Farnborough Air Show with big smiles. In addition to last week's rollout of the Global Express long-range business jet, the Bombardier Regional Aircraft Division announced firm orders for approximately $590 million (U.S.) in new aircraft from two carriers within a nine-day period last month. That total will climb to more than $1 billion if the two carriers exercise all options and conditional orders. See articles below.
Mercury Air Group, Inc. doubled the size of its fixed-base network last week when it began operating five facilities just acquired from Raytheon Aircraft Services (BA, May 13/219). The changeover occurred at midnight Aug. 28 when Mercury employees took over at former Raytheon locations at Ontario, Calif. International Airport; Hartsfield International and Peachtree-DeKalb Airport in the Atlanta, Ga., area; Corpus Christi, Texas International Airport and Addison Airport in the Dallas, Texas area.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT Model Hawker 1000 and BAe 125-1000A series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-54-AD; Amdt. 39-9718; AD 96-17-09) - supersedes an existing AD that requires inspections to detect various discrepancies of the fuel hose assemblies on the auxiliary power unit, and correction of any discrepancy found. That AD was prompted by several reports of heat damage to the fuel hose assembly on the APU. This amendment adds a requirement to replace the existing conduit of the fuel feed hose with an improved conduit, which will terminate the repetitive inspections.
RON MORGAN, a 26-year FAA veteran, is the agency's new director of air traffic, responsible for managing air traffic control facilities and staff and developing national policies, procedures and standards to promote ATC services. Morgan, who joined FAA in 1970 as a controller in the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center in Palmdale, Calif., replaced Bill Jeffers who recently retired. Morgan, an instrument rated pilot with more than 2,000 hours, was a charter pilot and flight instructor in Southern California before joining FAA.
Industry leaders last week accused President Clinton of assaulting business aviation as he proposed a $225 per-flight fee on business aircraft to help pay for his new national literacy program initiative. The Administration said the special tax - which would come on top of the current aviation excise taxes - would reduce by 50 percent "the subsidy" provided to commercial and private corporate turbine aircraft by 1999.
Bombardier Aerospace named Michael Graff, a relative newcomer to the industry, president of the Bombardier Business Aircraft Division. Graff assumed his new post at the end of June but Bombardier planned to delay a formal announcement until this week's Farnborough Air Show. He oversees business aircraft activities of the Bombardier Aerospace Group, including Bombardier Global Express, Canadair Challenger, Learjet, Business Jet Solutions and Bombardier Aviation Services.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE has substantially increased its share of interior installations and completions for the business jets it sells. In 1990, Gulfstream was performing completions on about 70 percent of the new aircraft it sold, but the company "currently completes approximately 95 percent of all new Gulfstream aircraft sold to customers," according to a recent recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (BA, Aug. 19/77).
ROLLS-ROYCE'S operating profit for the first half of 1996 jumped to 96 million pounds from 64 million pounds during the same period a year earlier, reflecting a significant increase from aerospace activities, the company said. It attributed some 19 million pounds of the increase to its acquisition of Allison Engine Co., which contributed only three months to first half 1995 results.
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) engineers are studying a range of improvements to the MD600N no-tail-rotor helicopter in the wake of the May crash of a flight-test MD600, a process that can now begin in earnest following the first flight of the replacement aircraft on Aug. 9, the company reported. MDHS said last month that it wouldn't need to make any modifications as a direct result of the accident (BA, July 29/50).
Mesa Air Group agreed to order 16 Canadair Regional Jets from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, along with options for 16 additional aircraft. Bombardier said the 16 aircraft in the initial order are valued at $320 million (U.S.). Mesa and Bombardier expect to sign a definitive agreement confirming the purchase within the next few weeks. Delivery of the new aircraft will begin in February. The 50-passenger Mesa RJs will be the Series 200LR version powered by General Electric CF34-3B1 turbofan engines.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE announced a number of executive appointments. Jerry Rockstroh was named director of international procurement with responsibility for leading the company's global sourcing and supplier development activities. Michael Chan was appointed director of manufacturing training. Chan will head the company's continuous improvement efforts for manufacturing.
