AIRCRAFT MARKETERS will have plenty of new airplanes to talk about at this month's National Business Aircraft Association convention in Las Vegas. Learjet is scheduled to roll out its first Model 45 on Sept. 14, the first Gulfstream V will be unveiled at Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Ga., on Sept. 22 and Raytheon Aircraft Corp. is scheduled to lift the wraps on its new business jet on Sept. 25 in Las Vegas.
VISION SAFE CORPORATION received orders from the Royal Australian Air Force and MCI to provide its smoke safety system EVAS (Emergency Vision Assurance System). Royal Australian Air Force is installing EVAS on its fleet of Dassault Falcon 900s and MCI will install EVAS on its entire corporate fleet, primarily composed of Falcons. EVAS, a portable system that has its own self-contained power supply, enables pilots to see the flight path and vital instruments during inflight emergencies with continuous dense smoke in the cockpit, Vision Safe officials said.
In a series of actions over the past 10 days, the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered immediate and repetitive inspections and possible replacement of certain propellers manufactured by Hamilton Standard. The actions stem from last month's Atlantic Southeast Airlines crash near Carrollton, Ga., and follows recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board for immediate ultrasonic inspections of Hamilton Standard Model 14SF and 14RF propellers (BA, Aug. 28/88).
BRAZILIAN REGIONAL TAM places a red carpet at the steps of every flight, whether it be a Fokker 100 or a single-engine Cessna Caravan of subsidiary Brasil Central operating into the dirt strips of the Mato Grosso. The subtleness behind this "Red Carpet" treatment, however, is the carpet's abrasive 3M (TM) material, which serves as a doormat and prevents passengers from tracking dirt into the passenger cabins, which are as spotless as the day they left their factories - in sharp contrast to some U.S. domestic regional aircraft.
The New Piper Aircraft Inc. expanded its management team last month with the addition of five new executives. The latest appointments follow the promotions of Warner Hartlieb and George (Buddy) Watson to vice president positions earlier this summer (BA, July 3/3). "These people together with present management will guide Piper into the next century as a diverse and well-rounded team of seasoned professionals and new managers," said Piper President Chuck Suma.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT'S U-125A search and rescue aircraft has received certification by the state minister in Japan. The Japan Air Self Defense Force ordered seven and placed options on 20 of the Hawker 800 derivative. The first three have been handed over to JASDF for operational testing. The U-125A is equipped with a forward-looking infrared system, a 360-degree radar, a flare and marker buoy dispensing system, dinghy-dropping capability and large observation windows.
De HAVILLAND DHC-6 series airplanes (Docket No. 91-CE-45-AD) - proposes to supersede AD 78-26-02, which requires repetitive inspections of the fuselage side frame flanges at fuselage stations 218.125 and 219.525 for cracks and repair or replacement of any cracked part. FAA's policy on commuter-class aircraft is to eliminate or, in certain instances, reduce the number of certain repetitive short-interval inspections when improved parts or modifications are available.
K-C AVIATION TRANSPORTATION SERVICES added four charter sales representatives and a marketing representative to its Montvale, N.J. location. The new charter representatives are Amy Fischer, Paul Class, Stephen Fiscus and Lorraine Grabowski. Judy Mainzer, who has experience in dispatch, operations and customer service, joins K-C Aviation as a marketing representative.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued special conditions for the certification of the Gulfstream V airplane. FAA said the aircraft will use new avionics/electronic systems that provide critical data to the flightcrew, but applicable regulations do not contain adequate safety standards for the protection of those systems from the effects of high- intensity radiated fields. The special conditions will provide the appropriate safety standards to cover the systems, the agency added.
ALLIANCE ENGINES officially opened for business last week following receipt of Repair Station Certificate No. AEOR215N from FAA's Flight Standards District Office in Nashville, Tenn. Alliance, headquartered in a 48,600-square-foot facility near the Knoxville, Tenn. McGhee Tyson Airport, has a work force of 50 (BA, Aug. 7/58). The company is focusing on repairing and reworking Garrett TPE331 and TFE731 components initially, with plans for significant expansion over the next several years.
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES and several of its top executives have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Arthur P. de la Garza, the former executive vice president of the aircraft manufacturer's U.S. operation, Diamond USA, Inc. of Colorado.
Gulfstream Aerospace and SimuFlite Training International jointly created an advisory board for pilot and maintenance training on Gulfstream aircraft. The 21-member Customer Training Advisory Board, comprising Gulfstream management, corporate operators and training experts, will "generate improved standards for all Gulfstream training," said Dick Holland, SimuFlite's manager of Gulfstream programs and co-chair of the board.
THE AIR TOUR INDUSTRY turned out in force last week at an FAA/National Park Service (NPS) public meeting in Flagstaff, Ariz., on the status of Special Federal Air Regulation 50-2, which governs air tour overflights of the Grand Canyon. SFAR 50-2 was adopted in 1987 in an effort to improve air safety and reduce the noise impact of commercial flights over the canyon, and air tour operators agreed last week that the regulation is working well and should not be changed significantly.
ALLIEDSIGNAL LTS101-600 series turboshaft engines (Docket No. 95-ANE- 12) - proposes to require installation of an improved fuel control. This proposal is prompted by reports of fuel control bearings failing before the recommended overhaul period. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent a fuel control failure, which could result in an uncommanded increase or decrease in engine power. Comments on the proposal must be sent in triplicate before Sept.
A NEW ASSOCIATION to represent general aviation airports is being formed following an organizational meeting last month (BA, July 24/32). Michael Stephens, who previously held positions with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and Airports Council International, said a meeting will be held in late September to elect the board of directors of the new General Aviation Airports Coalition. For more information, contact Stephens at (703) 802-9189.
The Federal Aviation Administration awarded an initial $10 million contract to Loral Corp. to begin production and installation of the Display Channel Complex Rehost (DCCR). The DCCR will replace aging Display Channel Complex computers currently in use at FAA air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) near Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., Cleveland and New York. Specifically, Loral will replace IBM 9020Es, used at the facilities since the early 1970s, with newer IBM 9121 computers.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION will hold its Line Service Training Seminar Oct. 18 in Long Beach, Calif., Oct. 19 in Concord, Calif. and Oct. 20 in Portland, Ore. The one-day sessions cover aircraft fuel safety, quality control and fire prevention. The seminar also includes the FAA- required Part 139 fire training program. Valley Oil Company is co- sponsoring the seminars that will have speakers representing aviation fuel distributors, aviation safety specialists and fueling equipment and quality control experts. Seminar costs $99.
LOCTITE CORPORATION published its first aviation products catalog for aviation maintenance personnel, fixed-base operators and airport managers. The catalog provides information on adhesives, sealants, cleaners and lubricants used for maintaining aircraft, airport equipment and facilities. For more information, contact Loctite (203) 571-5100; fax, (203) 571-5465.
ROLLS-ROYCE, INC. named Stanley L. Doepke, Jr., director of airline marketing, and Bruce McClelland airline analysis manager. Both will be based in Reston, Va. Doepke had been a regional sales director with Fokker USA and McClelland was formerly director of strategic marketing planning for Daimler-Benz Aerospace.
DAVID STEMPLER, the International Airline Passengers Association (IAPA) executive director who urged passengers last fall not to travel on airplanes with 30 passenger seats or fewer, has left the organization. IAPA was acquired by an English firm and all Washington, D.C., activities are being moved to Europe. Stempler drew the ire of regional airlines because of his public statements and the safety statistics he distributed concerning the commuter industry.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION last week praised two new laws adopted in the New York Assembly that require aircraft rental disclosure and lower the petroleum business tax. The insurance disclosure law will enable pilots in New York to know how far they are covered by the renting company's insurance, AOPA said, adding that some fixed-base operators do not know how much insurance coverage they provide to the aircraft renter. The second law, effective Sept. 1, cuts the petroleum business tax from 14 cents to about five cents a gallon.
A Cessna Conquest pilot's "mistaken belief that his assigned departure runway was Runway 30R, which resulted in his undetected entrance onto Runway 30R, which was being used by the MD-82 for its departure," was listed by the National Transportation Safety Board as the probable cause of the fatal runway collision on the night of Nov. 22 between a Trans World Airlines jet and the Conquest that claimed the lives of both persons aboard the Model 441.
