NICHOLAS A. (NICK) GENTILE joined the commercial aircraft division of McDonnell Douglas as business unit manager of flight crew training. He will oversee ground school training, computer-based training, simulator and flight training for Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach. He reports to Diane Shapiro, general manager of flight operations. Gentile joins McDonnell Douglas after 31 years with Delta Air Lines. He has more than 22,000 flight hours in a wide variety of McDonnell Douglas aircraft.
An RTCA task force has presented FAA Administrator David Hinson with a report he requested on how to implement free flight. The report, given to Hinson last week, contains 45 recommendations that cover the near term through 1997, the mid term through the year 2000 and the far term, the year 2001 and beyond. The report found that significant benefits are achievable from near and mid-term actions.
Westinghouse Electric Corp. received FAA certification for its MR- 3000 predictive windshear radar. The company said it received supplemental type certification following flight demonstrations in Orlando, Fla., aboard its BAC-1-11 testbed aircraft. The aircraft was fitted with a degraded Class Category 2 radome. "We have demonstrated that this advancement in predictive windshear weather radar allows windshear to be detected in spite of a severely degraded radome," said Jim Pitts, general manger of the avionics division.
K-C AVIATION added a Citation III to its satellite location in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Citation III joins a Challenger 601 based at the West Palm Beach location. K-C Aviation said it has aircraft based at 16 airports throughout the U.S.
De HAVILLAND DHC-6 series airplanes (Docket No. 91-CE-46-AD; Amdt. 39- 9401; AD 95-21-14) - supersedes AD 83-18-03, which requires repetitive inspections of the tailplane outboard hinge assembly and replacement of any cracked assembly. FAA's policy on aging commuter-class aircraft is to eliminate, or, in certain instances, reduce the number of repetitive short- interval inspections when improved parts or modifications are available.
TRIMBLE AVIONICS retained PRC Aviation of Tucson, Ariz., to conduct an in- depth study of Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation benefits to commercial airline operators. Bruce Alspach, vice president of Trimble's Avionics Group, said the immediate benefits of GPS "go far beyond point-to- point navigation.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS moved into a new headquarters building in West Conshohocken, Pa. ASTM, which publishes voluntary standards for industry, is now located at 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, Pa. 19428-2959; telephone (610) 832-9500.
AVIALL DISTRIBUTION CENTER has expanded its Miami, Fla., Customer Service Center to carry more than $2 million in new parts inventory to support general aviation, regional and airline markets in Latin America, the Caribbean and Florida. The 21,000-square-foot service center houses distribution and product repair service operations for wheels, brakes, batteries and hoses.
AMR COMBS' Aircraft Parts International unit has consolidated its activities with the opening of a new facility in Memphis, Tenn. The facility provides twice the space for inventory and an "ideal layout for more effective customer service," said Peter LaSalle, vice president and general manager of API. "The company's rapid growth in recent years had us bursting at the seams - we had operations scattered through four buildings surrounding the Memphis International Airport."
Fokker Aircraft named a 24-year veteran of the company to head its U.S. operations last week. Eelco Wagner, who had been vice president of customer support for Fokker, is the new president of Fokker Aircraft U.S.A., which is based in Alexandria, Va., outside Washington, D.C. He is replacing Maarten van Eeghen, who served as president of Fokker Aircraft U.S.A. for the past two years. Fokker said van Eeghen is leaving the company for family reasons and will be joining the management of the Dutch railroads.
THE SUN 'N FUN EAA FLY-IN'S Spring Celebration of Flight will be held April 14-20, 1996 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Fla. For more information, call Sun 'n Fun at (941) 644-2431.
Raytheon Aircraft Services has developed a new fuel discount program for customers at its network of fixed-base operations. The plan, which the company calls "MaxPower," discounts fuel prices up to 40 cents per gallon for aviation gasoline and 55 cents per gallon for jet fuel, depending on amount of fuel purchased.
The board of directors of Mooney Aircraft, which lost President Jacques Esculier to a marketing job in Singapore with AlliedSignal (BA, Oct. 2/141), last week named the owner of an airline ground support equipment manufacturer to run Mooney. Bing T. Lantis was named president and chief executive officer of Mooney, the Kerrville, Texas-based manufacturer of light single-engine aircraft.
LEARJET Model 31A and 60 airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-178-AD; Amdt. 39- 9388; AD 95-21-03) - requires an inspection to identify the serial numbers of the engine fire pull switch assemblies and replacement of the assembly with a serviceable assembly, if necessary. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that certain engine fire pull switch assemblies may contain micro-switches that were manufactured with internal defects. Such defects could result in electrical failure of the switch in the open or closed position.
The Federal Aviation Administration has adopted regulations designed to protect against engine rotor burst in helicopters. The regulations, which will become effective Jan. 31, come more than 11 years after such action was recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board and more than six years since FAA first proposed such action.
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE Friday was expected to approve the nominations of Charles Hunnicutt as assistant secretary of transportation for aviation and international affairs and Nancy McFadden as general counsel of the Department of Transportation.
DARRELL LOGAN has joined Duncan Aviation as government marketing representative. Logan, who recently retired from the Air Force after 28 years of service, will be responsible for developing new government-based aviation business.
DENNIS WAGNER was named vice president of finance and administration at Aviall Engine Services. Wagner, who joined Aviall in January 1987 as director of finance and administration for Ryder Airline Services, most recently served as general manager of Aviall's CFM International CFM56 and IAE V2500 engine product lines in Dallas.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION'S 21st annual Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference will be held March 5 at the Stouffer Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. The agency will hold its sixth annual General Aviation Forecast Conference March 26-27 at the Wyndham Harbor Island Hotel in Tampa, Fla. Registration information and agendas for both conferences will be available in January. For more information, call (202) 267-3355.
SKYCOM AVIONICS, INC., Milwaukee, Wis., will be required to meet special conditions issued by FAA in conjunction with installation of new avionics systems in Beech Model A36, A36TC and B36TC airplanes. FAA said the special conditions are necessary to ensure that the electronic displays installed in the aircraft are adequately protected from the effects of high intensity radiated fields (HIRF). For more information, contact Ervin Dvorak in FAA's Aircraft Certification Service in Kansas City, Mo. at (816) 426-6941.
AOPA OFFICIALS reported record attendance of 8,921 for their three-day Atlantic City gathering. More than 1,000 aircraft were flown in by convention attendees. The 1996 edition of the AOPA EXPO is scheduled for Oct. 17-19 in San Jose, Calif.
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.
CLAYTON M. JONES is the new vice president and general manager of the Collins Air Transport Division, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Jones, who will report to John Girotto, president of Collins Commercial Avionics, most recently had been senior vice president-government operations and international for Rockwell International, the parent company of Collins, in Washington, D.C. Jones, 46, joined Rockwell in 1979 as a senior marketing representative after U.S. Air Force service as a fighter pilot.
GA LEADERS last week were encouraged by actions taken in the House that moved forward legislation to reform FAA and reinforced their efforts to fight proposed user fees. See articles below.
