Cessna Aircraft began flight tests July 16 of the first Model 182 Skylane the company has built in more than a decade. Like the first new Model 172 that flew on April 16 (BA, April 22/182), the first of the new- production Skylanes was built in Wichita as part of a three-aircraft "pilot program" to train assembly workers and prove the production tooling. Two additional Skylanes are scheduled to be built in Wichita and test flown, before assembly operations move to the company's new single-engine assembly plant in Independence, Kan.
AVIAT Models S-2A, S-2B and S-2S airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-101-AD; Amdt. 39-9690; AD 96-09-08 R1) - requires inspection of the longerons aft of the rear cabane struts for cracks and if cracked, repair before further flight. After FAA issued the AD the manufacturer notified the agency that the compliance time in the service bulletin was changed. As a result, the issue date for the service bulletin was changed. This revision is intended to ensure that owners and operators are using the most up-to-date service bulletin applicable to the required actions in the AD.
HONEYWELL plans to open a new facility in Shanghai to support its commercial avionics airline customers in the region. Ron Blanchard, a 37- year Honeywell veteran who helped start both Honeywell's France and Singapore support centers, will manage the new Honeywell China Service center. The center, located in a building owned by the China Aviation Supplies Corp., will include a training center conference area, offices and a bonded warehouse.
RUSS MEYER III was named team leader-domestic fleet sales for Cessna Aircraft's single-engine sales and marketing group, reporting to Doug Smith, director of single-engine sales and marketing. Meyer, who had been a single-engine program coordinator, now will be responsible for the development and direction of U.S. and Canadian single-engine factory-direct sales to universities, institutions and government agencies. Meyer, 30, the son of Cessna Chairman and Chief Executive Russ Meyer, Jr., joined Cessna in 1994. He had been with Honeywell, Inc. in Phoenix, Ariz.
CLAYTON CALLIHAN, director of advertising at Learjet, Inc., joined Sullivan Higdon&Sink as an account supervisor for aviation clients. Callihan has held a number of marketing communications positions over the past 18 years, including five years in the Houston, Texas office of McCann-Erickson Worldwide. Sullivan Higdon&Sink is a Wichita, Kan. advertising and public relations agency.
An advisory circular detailing the use of statistical quality control for product inspection and acceptance has been published by FAA, which is soliciting comments on the AC. The agency said the proposed AC 21-SQC provides guidance for meeting the requirements of the FAA's Part 21, Certification Procedures for Products and Parts. Copies of the AC may be obtained from FAA, Policy, Evaluation and Analysis Branch, AIR-230, Products and Airworthiness Certification Service, 800 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20591. Comments are due Sept. 6.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT said its backlog for the Citation Excel business jet reached the 100-aircraft mark with an order last month from H.E. Butt Grocery Company of San Antonio, Texas. The 91-year-old food retailer that operates 230 stores in 122 Texas communities currently operates a Citation V and previously owned a Citation 500. The Excel, first unveiled during the National Business Aircraft Association convention in 1994, completed its first flight in February and is slated for certification in September 1997.
NASA is scheduling a series of meetings with U.S. airframers, engine makers, airlines and engineering schools in the next few months to sketch a plan of government support to help the U.S. aviation industry meet international competition in the coming century, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin said Tuesday.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORP. appointed Mooney MMC Panama as the distributor of Mooney aircraft in Panama. Roberto Motto, owner of Agencies Motta who has been involved in aviation for 15 years, will direct the distributorship.
HAROLD W. BUKER, JR., 77, director of the New Hampshire Division of Aeronautics, died last month after a year-long battle with cancer. Buker was named the state's aviation director in 1986 by then Gov. John Sununu and in 1994 he was elected president of the National Association of State Aviation Officials. Buker bought his first plane and learned to fly when he was 14. He enlisted at the outbreak of World War II and flew several missions as a B-24 captain in the Eighth Air Force before being forced to ditch in the North Sea.
LINDY RITZ, a 17-year veteran of FAA, will become director of the agency's Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City in December when H.C. (Mac) McClure retires. McClure, with 29 years of government service, has headed the Aeronautical Center since 1988 and before that spent seven years as the regional administrator of FAA's Western-Pacific Region. Ritz is currently deputy director of the center. She joined FAA in 1979 and was one of 23 graduates of the agency's first Senior Executive Candidate Development Program.
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced a notice of proposed rulemaking Friday that would further restrict air tour operations over the Grand Canyon to reduce noise impact on the ground by nearly doubling the amount of restricted airspace in the area. The United States Air Tour Association (USATA), claiming that the proposal was motivated by election- year politics, warned that compressing flight routes will increase the risk of midair collisions over the Canyon.
The House early last week approved by overwhelming votes three aviation bills that would prohibit children from attempting record-setting flights, require airlines to share information from pilot personnel and training, and authorize programs for the National Transportation Safety Board. The child pilot safety act, H.R.3267, adopted by a 395-5 vote, would establish a mandatory age of at least 17 before a person could pilot an aircraft in an attempt to set an aviation record (BA, April 22/181).
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to ban oxidizers and oxidizing materials in specific compartments on passenger and cargo aircraft and increase its hazardous materials inspector force, FAA Administrator David Hinson said last week. FAA is seeking $14 million in fiscal 1997 to expand its hazardous materials inspectors and legal work force by 130 positions. There also will be stepped up cargo security programs to address terrorist and criminal concerns, Hinson said.
A VETERAN CAPTAIN for Dassault Falcon Jet, on his way to France to pick up a new Falcon 900EX, was one of those killed in Wednesday's crash of the TWA 747-100. See article below.
THE PRICE of Cessna Aircraft's new Model 172 will be $124,500 for a VFR- equipped model, $134,500 for an IFR-capable 172 and $136,000 for the IFR version with wheel pants. Cessna is scheduled to announce the price of its new single-engine aircraft Aug. 1 at the Experimental Aircraft Association convention in Oshkosh, Wis. (BA, July 15/26),
The American Sleep Disorders Association told the Federal Aviation Administration the association has strongly believed for many years that the effects of sleep deprivation and basic circadian physiology on job performance - including that of flight crewmembers - have been "substantially underestimated." ASDA President David White endorsed a review of FAA's proposed rules on flight and duty time funded by the Independent Pilots Association, which represents UPS pilots.
HONEYWELL'S Primus 2000 integrated avionics system received Federal Aviation Administration type certification aboard the Cessna Citation X. The system includes five eight-by-seven-inch color displays for the electronic flight instrument system and engine instrument and crew alerting system. A dual IC-800 integrated avionics computer integrates the FMZ-2000 flight management system, fail operational/fail passive dual autopilot/flight director, electronic display and fault warning processors.
DE HAVILLAND Model DHC-8-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-266- AD) - proposes to revise an existing AD that requires clearly marking the location and means of entering the lavatory. That AD was prompted by reports of passengers mistaking the airstair door operating handle for the means of gaining access to the lavatory. The actions specified by that AD are intended to prevent inadvertent opening of the airstair door and consequent depressurization of the airplane. This action would limit the applicability of the rule to fewer airplanes.
C. Rod Foster, 61, a veteran pilot for Dassault Falcon Jet, was among the 230 victims of TWA Flight 800, which exploded over the Atlantic Wednesday night shortly after the Boeing 747-100 had departed Kennedy International Airport en route to Paris. Foster, who resided in Sherman, Conn., was on his way to Dassault's production facility in France to pick up Falcon 900EX, S/N 4, to ferry the aircraft to the company's Little Rock, Ark., facility for completion.
JOYCE STREATOR was elected president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Commission. Streator, formerly vice president of the authority, also will serve as treasurer.
The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved an $8.336 billion fiscal 1997 budget for the Federal Aviation Administration, including $75 million in new user fees and funds for 640 more air traffic controllers, regulation and certification and hazardous materials inspectors. The budget, included in the fiscal 1997 DOT appropriations bill, is $151 million more than the House-passed level and $120 million over the fiscal 1996 level.
U.S. general aviation manufacturers reported a 10.3 percent increase in shipments during the first six months of 1996 despite a small decline in business jet deliveries and total billings, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. U.S. GA manufacturers delivered 503 aircraft during the first half of year, compared with 456 in the first half of 1995. The improved results are attributable to a 26.2 percent jump in turboprop deliveries, from 107 in the first six months of 1995 to 135 in the most recent period.
ALAN DARROW, director of finance and administration for the National Air Transportation Association, was promoted to vice president. NATA President James Coyne credited Darrow with having "progressively positioned the association's finances into the best situation they have been in NATA's 56- year history," since joining the organization less than two years ago (BA, Jan. 30, 1995/47). Douglas Carr, who recently completed an internship with NATA, has been hired as a government and industry affairs specialist.
Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson were subjected to tough questions and some criticism by Senate Commerce Committee members Wednesday, as the panel delved into a number of safety related issues. Much of the questioning focused on FAA's inspections of ValuJet before and after the May 11 crash of a ValuJet DC-9 in the Florida Everglades, but several of the issues raised involve broader policy questions.
