Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Conn., reported net income of $19.5 million last year, a turnaround of more than $32 million compared with the net loss of $13.2 million recorded for 1994. Revenues for 1995 rose nearly 10 percent to $899.5 million, compared with $820.8 million in 1994. In the fourth quarter, Kaman reported net income of $4.8 million, compared with a loss of $26.9 million in 1994.
SAAB AIRCRAFT won orders for 36 Saab 340s and 2000s during 1995 compared with just six in the previous year, the manufacturer reported. The improvement in deliveries was almost as dramatic - 35 Saab regional airliners were delivered last year compared with just 12 in 1994, Saab said. At the end of the year - the Saab 2000's first full year in revenue service - 25 2000s were in operation with five operators. The aircraft had accumulated 35,000 flight hours and carried 850,000 revenue passengers.
MAULE M-4, M-5, M-6, M-7, MX-7, MXT-7 series and Models MT-7-235 and M-8-235 airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-97-AD; Amdt. 39-9476; AD 95-26-18) - requires a one-time inspection of certain wing lift struts for internal corrosion and replacement of the struts if corrosion is detected. This action is prompted by an accident involving a wing separating from a Maule airplane while in flight. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent corrosion of the wing lift strut, which could cause the wing to separate from the airplane.
LIDER S.A., the Brazilian air taxi, charter and helicopter operator, contracted with FlightSafety International for FSI's new flightcrew service training program. The "Service Excellence" training course was designed as "a workshop-style, interactive exploration entirely focused on customer relationships in the aviation environment," according to FSI. All Lider personnel will participate in the program, which will be presented at a number of the company's locations.
OPPOSITION to the Alliance is led by several major air carriers - including American, Northwest and Delta - who are advocating passage of Sen. John McCain's FAA reform bill.The McCain bill proposes elimination of the excise taxes and adoption of new user charges.Alliance members - who are backing the Duncan/Lightfoot reform legislation introduced in the House (BA, Sept. 11/109) - believe the McCain proposal would open the door to vastly higher operating costs for small carriers, business and corporate operators and the general aviation community.
JETSTREAM Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 94-NM-237-AD; Amdt. 39- 9468; AD 95-26-10) - supersedes an existing AD that requires repetitive purging of the hydraulic system and installation of a spoiler actuator that has been previously certified. That AD was prompted by a report of damage to the locking mechanisms on some pistons of the spoiler actuators. The actions specified by the AD are intended to prevent uncommanded extension of the lift spoiler in the event of loss of hydraulic pressure in the spoiler actuator.
HAMILTON STANDARD Models 14RF-9, 14RF-19, 14RF-21, 14SF-5, 14SF-7, 14SF-11, 14SFL11, 14SF-15, 14SF-17, 14SF-19 and 14SF-23 and 6/5500/F propellers (Docket No. 95-ANE-73; Amdt. 39-9477, AD 96-01-01) - supersedes a priority letter AD issued Aug. 30 that requires an ultrasonic shear wave inspection for all Hamilton Standard 14RF-9 propeller blades and ultrasonic shear wave inspection on Models 14RF-19, 14RF-21, 14SF-5, 14SF-7, 14SF-11, 14SFL11, 14SF-15, 14SF-17, 14SF-19 and 14SF-23 and 6/5500/F propeller blades.
GLENN BROWN was appointed general manager of Lucas Aerospace's North American Customer Support operation in Englewood, N.J. Brown, who joined Lucas in 1987, previously directed the company's business development activities in North America. Before joining Lucas, he held executive positions with Sundstrand, Rockwell and DuPont.
PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN received orders from two north German operators for Islander airplanes. Frisia Luftverkehr Norddeich (FLN) and Luftverkehr Friesland Harle (LFH) have ordered a BN2B-20 and BN2B-26, respectively, for their services to the Friesian Islands. Both operators will replace older Islanders with the new aircraft, which are slated for delivery this year.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION has developed a package to help companies meet FAA's new Part 107 unescorted access regulations. For more information, contact NATA at (703) 845-9000.
NASA plans to issue Cooperative Agreement Notices (CANs) in about a month seeking industry proposals for development of "revolutionary power systems for general aviation aircraft." See article on Page 55.
TWO KEY LEGISLATORS wrote Transportation Secretary Federico Pena last week to express concern about recent findings of a DOT Inspector General report regarding travel by DOT senior officials. Reps. Bob Livingston (R-La.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee and transportation subcommittee, respectively, said the report revealed senior department officials took about 700 trips in fiscal 1995 at a cost of $600,000.
The trade agreement concluded last week by Vice President Gore and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin of the Russian Federation provides for steady aircraft tariff reductions and will enable U.S. aircraft manufacturers to "participate in the Russian aircraft market, which is currently small but has strong growth potential," according to U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor.
Declaring that FAA's proposed changes in flight and duty time standards for air taxi operators represent "the most serious and onerous proposal ever to face the Part 135 on-demand industry," National Air Transportation Association officials are preparing a major informational and lobbying campaign to force changes in the proposed regulations.
CENTURY FLIGHT SYSTEMS received FAA supplemental type certificate approval for installation of its Century 2000 autopilot in various Cessna 206 models. The Century 2000, a panel-mounted, expandable flight control system, is available in one-axis, two-axis or three-axis configurations. Advanced digital logic and automatic VOR/LOC coupling are standard features on the Century 2000 system. Flight director, horizontal situation indicator and altitude preselect are system options.
Less than a year after being set up as purely a marketing and sales organization, the Aero International Regional, or AIR, joint venture of France's Aerospatiale, Italy's Alenia and British Aerospace is exploring plans to develop a regional jetliner, AIR chief Henri-Paul Puel said last week. AIR is studying an aircraft seating between 70 and 85 passengers as its entry into a market segment the venture guesses will require 400-450 aircraft by 2010, Puel told reporters in Toulouse.
CORPORATE ANGEL NETWORK officials called 1995 "the best year ever" for the organization, with more than 540 corporations volunteering their aircraft to transport nearly 2,000 people to/from cancer treatment centers at no cost. For more information about CAN, call (914) 328-1313.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
AVREPS INTERNATIONAL renewed its marketing agreement with Trimble Navigation, the Austin, Texas supplier of global positioning systems to civil and military aviation markets. Under the agreement, AvReps will continue to provide sales and marketing assistance to Trimble in North America.
JUST EIGHT DAYS after the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report highlighting power outage problems at FAA air traffic control facilities (BA, Jan. 29/47), the control tower at the Pittsburgh, Pa. International Airport lost power. Dale Gourley, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association local at the airport, said he had to use a pay telephone to ask controllers in Ohio to keep aircraft on hold. The trouble began when a tree fell on a power line. A backup generator was available, but it also experienced power supply problems.
ASTM TECHNICAL&PROFESSIONAL TRAINING is holding three-day courses on Aviation Fuels: Specifications and Test Methods. The sessions, geared for professionals in the fields of fuel handling, purchasing, quality control, lab operations and fuel systems design, will cover jet fuel and aviation gasoline specifications worldwide, fuel testing, transportation and quality control procedures, critical evaluation of test results, refining processes, sources of engineering information on aviation fuels and the structure and operation of ASTM.
AN ALLIANCE of manufacturers, low-fare airlines and general aviation interests opposing proposals for new aviation user fees (BA, Dec. 18/263) is "well and growing," according to Ed Stimpson, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and one of the organizers of the group.
The Airline Services Council recently formed to represent companies that perform various ground services for the large scheduled airlines. The new group will be chaired by Nicholas Campbell, president of Airport Terminal Services of St. Louis, Mo.
U.S. general aviation manufacturers continued to rebound in 1995, delivering more than 1,000 aircraft for the first time since 1991 and posting the best billings since 1981, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported last week. "Last year at this time, we said that our industry was poised for recovery and was at the threshold of a new era. This recovery is well under way," GAMA President Ed Stimpson said at a press conference Thursday in Washington, D.C.
The number of general aviation accidents rose slightly last year, but the accident rate jumped to its highest point in more than a decade, according to figures released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board. The board said there were 2,066 GA accidents last year, compared with 1,990 in 1994. NTSB noted that the 1994 figures marked "an historic low...after years of consecutive declines." There were 408 fatal GA accidents last year, compared with 402 in 1994.
