A STERN WARNING against unauthorized flight operations around Cuba was issued by FAA Administrator David Hinson in the wake of the shooting down of two unarmed Cessna 337s by Cuban military aircraft. Hinson said any U.S. operator who has conducted unauthorized operations within Cuban airspace should cease and desist and that holders of U.S. airman certificates and operators of U.S. registered aircraft should comply with FAA's prohibition of unauthorized flight operations near Cuba.
JAMES DOUGHERTY, who provided technical expertise to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association for 17 years, is retiring. GAMA President Ed Stimpson said Dougherty's counsel "has proved invaluable to our members and he will be missed. Jim's efforts have significantly increased the safety of air transportation and have had an invaluable and positive effect on the preeminence of the U.S.
HONEYWELL INC. said Friday it was "surprised and extremely disappointed" with a $234 million jury verdict returned against the company after a three-month trial concerning monopolization of ring laser gyroscope-based vertical navigation systems. "We are disappointed by the jury's findings and believe the decision is unsupported by the facts and the law," said Edward D. Grayson, Honeywell's vice president and general counsel.
JOUVE DATA MANAGEMENT INC. was selected to provide its software and production services for the Allison AE3007C engine. Allison, which will supply the AE3007C for the Cessna Citation X, was contracted by Cessna to provide the AE3007C Maintenance Manual and Illustrated Parts Catalog in electronic format. JDM will convert the manuals to CD-ROM for Allison.
George Black, a civil engineer with more than 30 years of transportation experience, was sworn in as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board by Chairman Jim Hall late last month in Atlanta, Ga. Black, whose term will expire at yearend, was appointed to the position vacated by Carl Vogt in November of 1994. Black previously served as director of transportation for Gwinnett County, a suburban county outside of Atlanta, responsible for the design, acquisition, construction, maintenance and operation of the county's roadways, airport and storm water systems.
CARLA CANTU was appointed a corporate marketing coordinator for Downtown Airpark, Inc. Cantu will oversee the marketing and customer relations department.
ALLIEDSIGNAL will have $1.5 billion in cash for use in possible acquisitions under terms of an agreement to sell its automotive brake business to Bosch GmbH. See article below.
Mercury Air Group, Inc. completed the acquisition of Floracool, Inc., of Miami, Fla., which Mercury said is "one of only seven companies with permits to conduct air cargo handling operations at Miami International Airport." Floracool, which has 85,000 square feet of warehouse space, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercury Air Cargo. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
THE HOUSE AND SENATE are expected to take action this month on bills to reform the Federal Aviation Administration as the April 1 deadline approaches for the agency's personnel and procurement reforms (BA, Feb. 19/78). Leaders tentatively scheduled floor action on the House version of the reform bill, H.R.2276, March 11. Senate plans are less clear with one staff member saying that action is possible in the next couple of weeks.
RALPH E. PIPER, 83, died last month at his home in suburban St. Louis. He was president of Ralph E. Piper&Co., an aviation consulting firm he founded in 1967. Prior to starting his own business, Piper established Monsanto Company's flight department and served as chief pilot from 1946- 1967. A decorated veteran of World War II who flew 60 missions "over the hump" in the China-Burma-India theater, Piper was a director of the National Business Aircraft Association from 1953-1960.
MIDLANTIC JET AVIATION will open a new maintenance facility and move its operations to Atlantic City International Airport, where it already operates a fixed-base operation. Midlantic plans to relocate its maintenance operations from Millville, N.J., into the new 20,000-square- foot hangar facility later this year. The company will focus on maintenance of Learjets, Hawkers and Beech King Airs.
AlliedSignal Aerospace is permitting business jet manufacturers and airlines to test Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System units that are designed to help pilots avoid controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents by providing a "map-like picture" of surrounding topography.
DE HAVILLAND Model DHC-8-301, -311 and -315 series airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-261-AD; Amdt. 39-9475; AD 95-26-17) - requires modification of the airspeed limitations placard and revision of the airplane flight manual to specify operating at lower airspeeds at full flaps. This action also provides for the termination of the requirement of this AD for certain airplanes. This amendment is prompted by a report that the incorrect rivets were installed on the outboard flap assemblies of these airplanes.
DASSAULT FALCON JET CORP. named Gerry Goguen director of customer support administration. Goguen succeeds Ron Velivis, who was promoted to director of technical support. Goguen, who will manage Dassault Falcon Jet's authorized service center network and repair agencies in the Western Hemisphere, reports to Peter Ginocchio, senior vice president of customer support. He previously was managing director for Daya Jasa Transindo Pratama, an air charter company in Jakarta, Indonesia.
FRASCA said its TH-67 helicopter flight training device (FTD) will be used for a U.S. Army study of simulator effectiveness in ab initio flight training. The study, conducted by the Army Research Institute and the Aviation Training Brigade at Fort Rucker, Ala., will determine whether the use of a low-cost flight simulator in conjunction with actual aircraft training will produce better Army helicopter pilots, Frasca said.
Hudson General Corp. signed an agreement with Lufthansa Airport and Ground Services GmbH (LAGS) under which the German firm will acquire a 26 percent interest in Hudson General's aviation service businesses, and will have an option to acquire a larger stake later, officials said. LAGS, a subsidiary of the German airline, will pay approximately $23.8 million for its 26 percent interest in a newly formed Hudson General subsidiary that will conduct the company's aviation business.
AlliedSignal will sell its light vehicle hydraulic and anti-lock braking business to Robert Bosch GmbH for $1.5 billion in cash. The businesses being sold accounted for approximately $2.1 billion of AlliedSignal's total 1995 sales of $14.3 billion.
SAAB Model SF340A and 340B series airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-79-AD; Amdt. 39-9505; AD 96-03-08) - requires repetitive operational tests of the valve limit switch of the propeller brake. This amendment also provides an optional terminating action for the repetitive tests. This amendment is prompted by a report that when the propeller brake was not properly engaged, the crew did not receive a "Prop Brake" warning due to a faulty valve limit switch.
BARFIELD/AVSCO opened a 16,000-square-foot facility in Long Beach, Calif. The facility will provide repair and overhaul services for Barfield/AVSCO's West Coast and Pacific Rim customers.
Just a few months after successfully opposing a Clinton Administration proposal for $10 million in new aviation user fees, general aviation groups are trying to ward off what they expect will be a similar but much costlier proposal in the fiscal 1997 budget. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association and National Business Aircraft Association urged the House transportation appropriations subcommittee Tuesday to reject any Administration request for the authority to impose new fees on aviation users.
HEXCEL CORPORATION has merged with Ciba Composites, creating a company with combined sales of $675 million in 1995 that specializes in lightweight, high-performance composite materials. In exchange for Ciba's prepregs, honeycomb, structures, film adhesives, panels and interiors business, Hexcel will provide 18 million of newly issued shares of common stock, representing 49.9 percent of its equity, and $25 million in cash to Ciba. The combined company will retain the Hexcel Corporation name.
ATTEMPTING to find some safe ground on the controversial issue of fractional ownership of business aircraft, the National Business Aircraft Association last week published a carefully worded statement "in response to questions from NBAA members." Issued in the name of NBAA Board Chairman Allan B. Lane, the statement said "NBAA considers fractional ownership as a means of expanding the number of companies that will utilize business aircraft and thus offers the potential for increasing the number of company flight departments.
JAMES GREENWOOD, a veteran public affairs official and author, is one of four individuals selected for induction into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame during ceremonies April 20 at the Pima Air&Space Museum in Tucson. Greenwood, 75, is a World War II Navy veteran, former journalist, parachutist and pilot. He served as head of public affairs at Hawthorne School of Aeronautics, Beech Aircraft and Learjet before serving as assistant administrator for public affairs at FAA while Jack Shaffer was FAA Administrator.
Cessna Aircraft Co. named Michael J. Shonka senior vice president and chief financial officer and promoted Ron Alberti to vice president of manufacturing. Formerly executive vice president and chief financial officer for Fourth Financial Corporation of Wichita, Shonka will oversee Cessna's financial activities, contracts and estimating and the Cessna Finance Corporation. Before joining Fourth Financial Corp., Shonka spent 12 years in various positions with Liberty Bancorporation in Oklahoma City, Okla., including senior vice president.
Cessna Aircraft Company is scheduled to begin delivering Citation Ultra business jets to the U.S. Army in November as part of the service's C-XX medium-range transport aircraft program. Cessna, teamed with DynCorp., which will provide on-site maintenance support, and FlightSafety International, which will conduct pilot and mechanic training, was selected for the program late last month (BA, Jan. 29/49). If the Army exercises all options, the C-XX program would include 35 business jets valued at nearly $157 million.
