FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, which has been cutting the number of flight service stations in Alaska for years, is reducing the hours of operation at the Northway, Alaska FSS and will close the facility from fall until spring. FAA said it recently cut operating hours at the Northway FSS to 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and will close the facility completely from Sept. 30 through March 1. When the facility is closed, pilots should contact the Fairbanks Automated Flight Service Station.
Precision Castparts Corp., which began a painful restructuring process nearly three years ago, reported higher revenues and earnings for the quarter ended July 2, the continuation of a trend that has persisted since late 1993 (BA, Oct. 18/164).
A Canadian engine manufacturer developing a line of V-8 piston engines for general aviation aircraft has decided to delay the program for up to a year to make changes to the original powerplant design. The Orenda Division of Hawker Siddeley Canada, Inc., said it decided to incorporate "additional powerplant enhancement prior to certification, in response to customer input." Certification by the Canadian Ministry of Transport and FAA had been scheduled for December 1995, but is now "being extended nine to 11 months."
Executive Jet Aviation has reached an agreement with AT&T Capital Corp. under which the latter will provide lease and loan financing for EJA's NetJets customers. NetJets is EJA's fractional share aircraft ownership program under which purchasers can buy a partial share in an aircraft and receive a guaranteed number of annual flight hours of transportation. The NetJets fleet includes 25 Citation S/IIs and 13 Hawker 1000s and the company began taking delivery of 25 Citation V Ultras and some Gulfstream IV-SPs earlier this year.
A.L. UELTSCHI, president and chief executive officer of FlightSafety International, was selected to receive the DeFlorez Training Award for Flight Simulation from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The citation cites Ueltschi's "44 years of improving flight safety by establishing simulator-based training programs throughout the United States, Canada and Europe." The award will be presented Aug. 8 during the AIAA Flight Simulation Technologies Conference in Baltimore, Md.
RALPH FISCH was appointed international sales manager for Garmin International. Fisch, who joined Garmin in 1992 as regional sales manager in the aviation division, will sell and market Garmin marine and aviation products in South America, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Pakistan and the Pacific Rim.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM appointed Peggy Baty as its first full-time executive director. Baty, who also serves as executive director of Women In Aviation, International, formerly was associate vice president of Parks College. The Women's Air and Space Museum, which has operated for the past nine years in the Ashael Wright home in Centerville, Ohio, plans to move to a new $10 million, 45,000-square-foot facility near Dayton, Ohio. The new headquarters office is located at 1 Chamber Plaza- Suite A, Dayton, Ohio 45402 ; phone: (513) 225-9440.
RANDY JONES was appointed director of audit and security for Aviall. Jones, a 27-year Aviall veteran, will be responsible for all internal audit activities as well as domestic and international security matters.
BRANT DAHLFORS, president of TBM N.A. before it was incorporated with the Socata marketing team (BA, May 8/194), has joined Learjet as director of sales in the Pacific Northwest. Dahlfors will relocate from Dallas to Seattle, where he will be responsible for sales in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Dahlfors will report to Roger Sperry, vice president-North American sales.
CESSNA 150 and A150 series and Models 152 and A152 airplanes with Bush Conversions Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) kit (Docket No. 95-CE-14-AD) - proposes to require measuring the wing stall fence for maximum height and installing a smaller fence if the fence exceeds 1.28 inches. This action is prompted by an accident of a Model 152 airplane where the STOL kit hampered the airplane's stall characteristics. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent the airplane from stalling because of improper wing stall fence height.
ROBINSON Model R44 helicopters (Docket No. 95-SW-25-AD; Amdt. 39-9300; AD 95-11-10) - publishes an AD that was previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators by individual letters. This AD prohibits low-gravity cyclic pushover maneuvers and requires installation of a placard in the helicopter warning against such activity. This amendment is prompted by a recent FAA analysis of the manufacturer's data that indicates a low-G cyclic pushover maneuver may result in mast-bumping.
An organizational meeting of a new association to represent the managers of general aviation airports will be held next month in Washington. Michael Stephens, who formerly worked for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the Airports Council International-North America, said he believes such an association is needed "to stem the tide of diminishing public use airports and to provide representation for managers of general aviation airports before regulatory and legislative bodies.
The National Aeronautic Association selected Russ Meyer, chairman and chief executive officer of Cessna Aircraft Company, to receive the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy for 1995. The trophy is awarded annually by NAA to honor a living American for "significant public service of enduring value to aviation." Meyer's selection was announced last week and the award will be presented during a black tie dinner in Washington, D.C. Dec. 15.
BUSINESS/PERSONAL/REGIONAL AIRCRAFT -- SECOND QUARTER UNIT SHIPMENTS 2nd Quarter Cal 95 Year AMERICAN GENERAL AIRCRAFT CORP. - Single-Engine AG-5/B Tiger 0 0 Total 0 0 ATR (Avions de Transport Regional) - Multi-Engine ATR-42 1 5
National Air Transportation Association last week asked the Senate Finance Committee to support a permanent exemption from the impending 4.3 cents-per-gallon tax for commercial air carriers, but Treasury Department officials maintained their stance in favor of implementing the tax as planned Oct. 1. As part of the 1993 budget reconciliation, airlines received a two-year exemption, which expires Oct. 1, from a 4.3 cents-per- gallon tax on transportation fuels.
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY reported that its Aircraft Engines business posted double digit earnings growth during the second quarter of 1995. A company spokesman said the increase was driven by spare parts sales. General Electric, which does not release specific quarterly numbers for its eight businesses, posted company-wide record second quarter net earnings of $1.726 billion, up 11 percent from the second quarter of 1994, on revenues of $17.7 billion.
Mesaba Aviation named Business Express President and Chief Executive Bryan Bedford as its president and CEO, effective next month. Mesaba, owned by AirTran Corp., operates as Northwest Airlink at Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit. Business Express operates as Northwest Airlink in the Northeast. Business Express said Bedford will continue to serve on its board of directors. The carrier appointed Gary Ellmer its new president, in addition to his current duties as chief operating officer, and he will be elected to the board.
ROBINSON Model R22 helicopters (Docket No. 95-SW-24-AD; Amdt. 39-9299; AD 95-11-09) - publishes an AD that was previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators by individual letters. This AD prohibits low-gravity cyclic pushover maneuvers and requires installation of a placard in the helicopter warning against such activity. This amendment is prompted by a recent FAA analysis of the manufacturer's data that indicates a low-G cyclic pushover maneuver may result in mast-bumping.
JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT Director Janice Mittermeier was named interim chief executive for Orange County, Calif., replacing William Popejoy, effective Aug. 1. Assistant Airport Director O.B. Schooley will assume Mittermeier's position until a new chief executive can be found. During his term, Popejoy urged the county board of supervisors to issue a request for proposals for the possible sale of the airport.
ANY REFORM of the Federal Aviation Adminstration should underscore the agency's authority to regulate certain fields, the National Aviation Associations Coalition said last week.For instance, the coalition said FAA's exclusive authority for aircraft certification "should be reaffirmed," and that FAA should have jurisdiction and responsibility for all airspace - including portions over and adjacent to national parks.
GARY BROWN was named vice president-nacelles systems for Northrop Grumman Corporation's Commercial Aircraft Division. Brown will continue to be responsible for managing the company's C-17 and support programs in addition to directing its growing participation in the nacelles systems market.
FOKKER Model F28 Mark 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-52-AD) - proposes to require a visual inspection for damage to the flexible fuel drain line of the auxiliary power unit and replacement of the drain line, if necessary. This proposal also would require installation of two additional clamps to secure the flexible fuel drain line to the fuel supply line of the APU. This proposal is prompted by reports of electrical arcing between the flexible fuel drain line and the APU starter motor.
The National Aviation Associations Coalition (NAAC), representing 30 organizations from all segments of the aviation community, last week endorsed the "basic concept" of a draft proposal from Reps. John Duncan (R- Tenn.) and Jim Lightfoot (R-Iowa) to establish the Federal Aviation Administration as an independent agency.
THOSE HOPING that FAA might delay adoption of a final rule based on its controversial proposal (NPRM 95-5) to impose Part 121 operating standards on scheduled carriers now operating 10-19-seat aircraft under Part 135 will be disappointed to learn that the agency remains "committed" to issuing a final rule by Dec. 14. Tony Broderick, FAA's associate administrator for regulation and certification told reporters Thursday, "That date won't change."
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model BAC 1-11 200 and 400 airplanes (Docket No. 94-NM- 161-AD; Amdt. 39-9295; AD 95-14-03) - requires repetitive radiographic inspections for corrosion of the center torque shaft of the wing spoiler, and replacement, if necessary. This amendment is prompted by a report of the wing spoiler failing to retract fully after deployment, which caused the wing to drop significantly. Subsequent investigation revealed that the torque shaft assembly of the wing spoiler had failed due to severe corrosion.
