FAA'S regulatory process is "overly burdensome and politicized, and urgently needs to be streamlined," according to Booz, Allen&Hamilton, Inc., a Washington, D.C. consulting firm asked to conduct an independent study of the FAA's Office of Regulation and Certification.
The receivers of bankrupt Fokker Aircraft are considering whether to allow the Dutch plane-maker to manufacture up to an additional 18 aircraft, which could prolong production by up to a year. The receivers previously decided the company would complete 15 aircraft, but now are contemplating whether to add 12 to 18 aircraft to the final production schedule. The company said Fokker customers are "pressing for delivery of outstanding orders. Some customers have indicated their intention to order more aircraft to complement their fleet.
NORMAN LEVY ASSOCIATES will auction off production equipment from Northrop Grumman's Bethpage, N.Y., and Glen Arm, Md., facilities. The Bethpage auction is scheduled for April 23-25. The Glen Arm sale is expected to be held in mid-June. Norman Levy officials expect to offer 10,000 lots of material, including a variety of metal working, metal plating and inspection machinery. For a catalog of Northrop Grumman auction items, call (810) 353-5798.
WHILE THE AVIONICS MARKET will grow at double-digit rates through 1998, only three or four companies will be able to take advantage of "the emerging opportunities in this area," according to a forecast by Frost&Sullivan, Mountain View, Calif. Those companies "will need a wide range of products to succeed," the forecast says.
Everett, Wash.-based Precision Aerospace Corp. acquired propeller manufacturer and overhauler Pacific Propeller, Inc. of Kent, Wash., company officials announced last week. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. PPI, formerly a subsidiary of NMB (USA) Inc., overhauls and repairs most major propellers including Hamilton Standard, Aeroproducts, Hartzell, McCauley and Dowty Aerospace models. In addition, PPI produces its own line of "heavy duty" propellers for crop dusters.
CESSNA CHAIRMAN Russ Meyer has high hopes for a resurgence in light aircraft production. Addressing the annual Illinois Aviation Day conference in Danville, Ill., last week, Meyer said he believes U.S. manufacturers will some day return to building as many as 10,000 aircraft per year in this country, perhaps within the next 10 years. In preparation for Cessna's return to the light single-engine market, the company has hired a veteran GA marketer to oversee sales and marketing. See article below.
UNC TRI-REMANUFACTURING, Terre Haute, Ind., received ISO 9002 certification for the repair and manufacture of gas turbine engine components. UNC Tri- Remanufacturing, the third UNC unit to receive such certification, overhauls and repairs gas turbine engine components.
SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT sold a Model 330 turbine helicopter to the West Palm Beach, Fla. Police Department, marking the first sale of the model to a law enforcement agency. Cav-Air, a Schweizer service center, will provide maintenance and support for the aircraft.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT named Brad Hatt vice president-domestic Beech sales. Hatt will oversee Beech King Air, Baron and Bonanza aircraft sales in North America. Hatt, formerly vice president-special mission aircraft for Raytheon Aircraft, joined the company in 1992. Before that, he was director of sales and program management for AlliedSignal's Bendix/King unit.
Raytheon Aircraft Services received a contract from Executive Jet Aviation to support EJA's fleet of 17 Hawker 1000s. Under the contract, Raytheon Aircraft Services' network of fixed-base operations will provide all aircraft maintenance and avionics support for the EJA Hawker fleet. Raytheon officials said EJA manages the largest fleet of Hawker 1000s through its NetJets program. EJA initially ordered six Hawker 1000s in 1993. "NetJets' growth and the expansion of our Hawker program continues to be phenomenal," said EJA owner Richard Santulli.
AVIALL, INC., restructured its bank credit facility to provide a new payment schedule "which takes account of the planned proceeds from the sale of Aviall's engine services businesses, cures previous financial covenant defaults and restores Aviall's full access to borrowings," the company said. Under the new agreement Aviall said it expects to have sufficient liquidity to operate its worldwide businesses and meet its bank commitments.
REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R-Conn.) last month introduced legislation, H.R.3131, to allow a state located within five miles of an airport in another state to participate in the approval process of development projects at the airport. Under the proposal, which Shays is proposing be adopted in the FAA reauthorization bill, the participation of the adjacent state would be advisory. The legislation is prompted by development at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y.
DASSAULT AVIATION appointed Charles Nicol vice president of worldwide spares. Nicol, a 30-year industry veteran who most recently was with Messier-Bugatti, will work with the company's customer support team to develop a comprehensive distribution system. Nicol will report to Jean- Francois Georges, president and chief executive officer of Dassault Falcon Jet. While with Messier-Bugatti, Nicol served as vice president of repairs and subsidiaries involved in repairs and distribution.
THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION, which sought the elimination from past budgets of the pay demonstration program for air traffic controllers in hard-to-staff locations, last week announced a similar program of special pay incentives to attract air traffic controllers and technicians to hard-to-staff facilities. The new program, expected to benefit about 2,200 employees, will provide an increase of 10 percent above base pay for controllers and technicians at centers in certain New York, California and Chicago-area locations.
PRATT&WHITNEY, noting that "many airlines are finding that the JT8D will be part of their fleet well into the next century," is opening a new overhaul facility for the JT8D line at its manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ga. The new Columbus Engine Center will occupy 100,000 square feet and employ approximately 200 people.
THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Pa., has extended until Thursday its request for proposals for the operation of fixed-base facilities at both Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia Airport.
MARK FRANCETIC joined Duncan Aviation as manager of the Duncan Avionics Las Vegas facility. Francetic, who has 15 years of aviation experience, previously was a manager for EG&G Energy Measurements, Inc. in Las Vegas. He also has held positions with Precision Avionics, Beechcraft West and Tiger Air.
BILL MERMELSTEIN was named sales manager for Twin Commander Aircraft Corp. Mermelstein joined Twin Commander a year ago as a technical sales representative and subsequently become Renaissance Program manager.
AEROSPATIALE GENERAL AVIATION, the North American subsidiary of SOCATA Groupe Aerospatiale, changed its name to Socata Aircraft. The name change "is one element of a comprehensive strategic plan to establish the SOCATA name as a worldwide resource within the aviation and aerospace industry," the company said. Bill Monroe is president of Socata Aircraft, the Grand Prairie, Texas-based manufacturer whose product line includes piston- and turboprop-powered models ranging from the TB9 Tampico Club trainer to the TBM 700.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-136-AD; Amdt. 39-9554; AD 96-07-05) - requires installation of a reinforcement doubler on the rudder skin. This amendment is prompted by the results of a design review that revealed inadequate structural strength of the attachment fitting of the rudder damper and the adjacent structure.
THREE MEN were nominated for seats on the National Air Transportation Association's board of directors: Richard Dodson, president and chief executive of Signature Flight Support, Orlando, Fla.; J. Steve Joiner, director of terminal services for Dallas Airmotive, Dallas, Texas; and, Thor Solberg, president of Solberg Aviation Company in Readington, N.J. The three will stand for election at NATA's annual meeting and convention later this month in Las Vegas, Nev.
Douglas H. Smith, a 25-year veteran of the aviation industry with a broad range of managerial experience in the light plane market, is joining Cessna Aircraft this month to run marketing of the company's new single- engine line. Smith, who has held positions at Piper Aircraft, Aerospatiale General Aviation, Electrosystems and Textron Lycoming, was named director of sales and marketing for Cessna's single-engine business by Pat Boyarski, general manager of the single-engine business.
ALLIANCE ENGINES confirmed that the company's "management team is negotiating with the owners, AVKAP, Inc. and Alliance Holding LLC, to buy the company" (BA, April 1/145), but added that "because of confidentiality agreements, neither the owners nor the Alliance Engines management team can comment further on these developments." AVKAP and Alliance Holding are units of K-C Aviation and Duncan Aviation, which formed a joint venture to launch Alliance Engines in the fall of 1994 (BA, Oct. 3, 1994/138).
ROBERT PADEN was promoted to program sales manager for Rolls-Royce and AlliedSignal engine programs for UNC Airwork. Paden joined UNC Airwork in 1992 as a product support representative for the Rolls-Royce product line.
