PRECISION STANDARD named Henrik Blaabjerg general manager of its Pemco Air Support Services (PASS) subsidiary's Copenhagen, Denmark operation. Blaabjerg spent 15 years in the Danish Air Force, and also held positions with Maersk and SAS. He joined Pemco in May 1994. PASS provides worldwide spare parts and manufacturing support for cargo carriers, airlines and manufacturers.
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION charged that part of FAA's vaunted new Voice Switching and Control System (VSCS) at the Seattle, Wash., control center was down for nearly two hours after a power failure.
CONGRESS, as expected, passed a temporary spending measure to reopen government agencies shut down during the budget dispute, but that measure had no affect on the expired aviation taxes (BA, Jan. 8/13). The aviation excise taxes are part of the overall budget package and are not expected to be re-instated without passage of a comprehensive budget agreement, National Air Transportation Association told its members.
GERALD FITZGERALD was appointed director of aviation for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. FitzGerald, a 32-year Port Authority employee, will oversee the operations of John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark International airports.
GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM is considering a proposal to double the number of commercial airports in the country to 32 over the next 15 years. In addition, the proposal - developed by the government's Strategic Development Institute and the Department of Civil Aviation - envisions expansion of several existing airports.
LEARJET test pilots have logged more than 60 hours on the No. 1 Model 45 since the first flight in October and are now concentrating on expanding the performance envelope. By the beginning of the year, the No. 1 aircraft had logged 62.3 hours during 33 flights, reaching altitudes up to 49,000 feet and speeds of Mach .81. Pete Reynolds, director of flight test for Bombardier Aerospace Group-North America, said flight time is ahead of schedule, adding that "performance is tracking very closely to what we had anticipated at the outset."
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL won a U.S. Air Force contract to upgrade KC-135 pilot training devices. The contract covers replacement of the host computer in 19 Operational Flight Trainers (OFTs) and reconfiguration of those OFTs to accommodate anticipated future upgrades and new instructor stations. The project, already under way at FSI's Simulation Systems Division in Tulsa, Okla., will continue through 1999. The KC-135 is a military version of the Boeing 707 used as an aerial refueling aircraft throughout the world.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION applauded a recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordering a moratorium on operation of outdoor lasers within 20 miles of Las Vegas-area airports. The FDA acted after an airline pilot was temporarily blinded by a laser flash, but AOPA - which said it has been urging FAA to ban outdoor laser use since 1994 - said the devices are particularly dangerous to GA pilots flying alone.
Loral Corp. agreed to sell essentially all but its space business to Lockheed Martin in a move that prompted both major debt rating agencies last week to downgrade Lockheed's debt and study an upgrade of the remaining Loral entity. Standard&Poor's and Moody's Investors Service downgraded Lockheed's short-term debt and moved to cut ratings on long-term debt as well. S&P lowered Lockheed Martin senior debt to Single-A-Minus and cut commercial paper to A-2. Moody's sent senior debt to A3 from A2.
JEFF MONGELLI has joined the CIT Group/Industrial Financing's Western Business Center as district sales manager. Mongelli will be responsible for providing financing to a number of industries in Southern California.
Dave Sheehan, a 30-year veteran of Mobil Corp. who has held a wide range of flying and managerial assignments for the company, plans to retire at the end of March. Sheehan, general manager of Mobil Administrative Services, Inc. since 1987, oversaw a worldwide fleet of more than 60 aircraft, including more than 30 owned by the corporation. He told BA his decision to retire resulted from a major restructuring of support services, including transportation, within Mobil that resulted in attractive financial incentives for thousands of employees, including himself.
FOKKER Model F28 Mark 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-99-AD) - proposes to require inspections to verify the correct operation of the main landing gear downlock actuators, and replacement of any discrepant unit with a serviceable unit. The proposed AD also would require eventual replacement of the main landing gear downlock actuators with improved units. This proposal is prompted by reports of improper operation of the main landing gear downlock actuator due to jamming.
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a Special Federal Aviation Regulation to establish temporary flight restricted areas and a slot reservation system for aircraft operations over various competition venues during the Olympic Games from July 5 to Aug. 11 (BA, Jan. 1/5). FAA said it "believes this action is necessary for the security of the venues, safe operation and management of aircraft operating to, within, and from these areas and to prevent any unsafe congestion of sightseeing and other aircraft over the game sites."
ON THE EUROPEAN FRONT, U.S. aircraft manufacturers are attempting to avoid new regulatory initiatives in two areas. General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Stimpson said GAMA officials are hopeful that the requirements of an Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive published by the European Union will not apply to avionics units that meet Joint Airworthiness Authorities certification standards.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model BAC 1-11 200 and 400 series airplanes (Docket No. 94-NM-164-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires visual inspections for cracks in the flight deck canopy area and repair, if necessary. This action would reduce the inspection threshold and repetitive inspection interval, and would identify specified structural members to be inspected. This action also would require eddy current inspections for cracks of the top sill members at station 82.5 and replacement of cracked parts with new parts, or repair of the top sill members.
TRACY OURHAAN was named program general manager of APU programs for UNC Airwork. Ourhaan has 11 years experience in aviation component design and manufacturing, APU maintenance and customer service.
LEARJET introduced a computerized maintenance tracking program, LASER Link for Windows, that company officials claim will "vastly simplify the paperwork required to plan and track scheduled maintenance." The LASER program tracks all airworthiness directives, service bulletins, life- limited parts and serialized components, identifying inspections and mandatory parts replacements. Learjet unit Bombardier Aviation Services is offering free enrollment through July 1996 to companies scheduling a 300/600-hour or six/12-month inspection.
The National Transportation Safety Board called on FAA to order immediate inspections of certain American Champion aerobatic airplanes to detect possible scratches on wing strut fittings that could lead to structural failure. The board's action resulted from its investigation of the inflight breakup of an American Champion 8KCAB near Frankfort, Ill. in June. Both persons aboard were wearing parachutes. The pilot-owner was ejected from the plane as it broke up and survived with serious injuries.
BEECH Model 400A airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-75-AD; Amdt. 39-9450; AD 95-25-05) - requires an inspection to verify whether the securing rivet is installed on the rod end of the control push rods of the spoiler flight control system, an inspection to verify if the jam nut is secure opposite the rod end, and repair of any discrepancy. This amendment is prompted by a report of loss of roll control on the co-pilot's control wheel shortly after takeoff due to a rivet missing from the control push rod.
MARK CLANCY was appointed regional sales manager for Garrett Aviation Services. Clancy, formerly marketing, sales and engineering manager at Signature Flight Support in Minneapolis, Minn., will be responsible for Garrett Aviation Services sales in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North and South Dakota, and Manitoba, Canada.
Johnson Controls Inc., Teterboro, N.J., was selected to operate Atlantic City International Airport in a public/private partnership with the South Jersey Transportation Authority. Johnson Controls won the contract over three other firms because it offered the best chance of minimizing airport operating costs while maximizing the revenue stream, according to authority Chairman Stanley Glassey. In its proposal, the firm agreed to pay an independent company to conduct appraisals of its performance.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Federico Pena told reporters the budding resurgence of the aerospace industry and billions of dollars of new aircraft orders from foreign carriers is evidence of the "very strong advocacy on the part of the [Clinton] Administration." Pena made the remark at a yearend press conference.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued special conditions covering installation of new avionics systems in Fairchild Aircraft SA227-CC and SA227-DC (C-26B) turboprops. The agency said Rockwell Collins applied for a supplemental type certificate in November for installation of electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS) in those Fairchild models. FAA said compliance with the special conditions, which were published in the Jan. 2 Federal Register, are necessary to protect the digital avionics systems from the effects of high intensity radiated fields (HIRF).
FOKKER Model F28 Mark 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 94-NM-213-AD; Amdt. 39-9446; AD 95-25-02) - requires inspections to detect cracks of the fuselage-mounted half of hinge assemblies of the small cargo door, and replacement of any cracked hinge assembly with a new hinge assembly. This amendment is prompted by a report that the hinges of the small cargo door on these airplanes are made of a material that is sensitive to stress corrosion cracking.
