The Clinton administration last week transmitted to Congress legislation proposing the Department of Transportation reorganization it announced in December and unveiled in February. The proposal would reduce the department from 10 operating agencies to three - the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard and a new Intermodal Transportation Administration (BA, Feb. 6/55). The new FAA would be smaller, with air traffic control functions shifted to a government corporation under separate legislation.
THE ORENDA DIVISION of Hawker Siddeley Canada, Inc., signed an $8 million contract with GE Aircraft Engines Canada to manufacture components for the CF34 turbofan engine that powers the Canadair Challenger and Regional Jet aircraft. Under the five-year contract, valued at $8 million, Orenda will build housing and support components for 1,000 engines. Orenda said it will absorb tooling costs for the engine components, while a program of concurrent engineering with GE will improve the component design and enhance the manufacturing process.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has developed a system that will improve weather data for the aviation industry, NOAA announced. The Aviation Gridded Forecast System (AGFS) "will enable pilots, air traffic controllers and managers to make better decisions regarding flight safety and efficiency by providing more accurate and timely meteorological information on icing, turbulence and precipitation," said NOAA Administrator D. James Baker. AGFS will report on icing potential, wind and temperature, turbulence, precipitation and cloud cover.
The highly publicized financial problems of Orange County, Calif., have led to talk that the county should sell or transfer title of John Wayne Airport, an idea that is being strongly opposed by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the National Air Transportation Association.
PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN BN2A, BN2B and BN2T Islander series and BN2A Mk III Trislander series airplanes (Docket No. 94-CE-10-AD; Amdt. 39-9161; AD 95- 04-09) - requires repetitive inspections and replacement, if necessary, of the nose wheel steering drive ring on aircraft equipped with a nose wheel steering disconnect system with either Modification NB/M/503 or Modification NB/M/733 nose undercarriage unit. This action is prompted by a report of the rudder pedals jamming in the central position during takeoff on one of the affected airplanes.
Claiming there was "too much reorganization talk," House transportation appropriations subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) suggested that Transportation Department officials hold off on plans to reorganize the department. DOT Secretary Federico Pena in February announced plans to consolidate DOT's 10 operating administrations into three as well as create a unified trust fund covering all transportation projects (BA, Feb. 13/67). Additionally, DOT hopes to establish a government corporation to run the nation's air traffic control system (BA, Feb. 20/88).
The Federal Aviation Administration, which changed procedures March 3 for aircraft waiting to take off to avoid incidents with aircraft landing on the same runway, was criticized by the National Transportation Safety Board for not moving faster on equipment that would help avoid accidents in such situations. The safety board cited a fatal collision Nov. 22 between a TWA MD-80 and Cessna Conquest turboprop, N441KM, at Lambert Airport in St. Louis (BA, Nov. 28/235).
DUNCAN AVIATION received FAA supplemental type certificate approval to install Sundstrand Mark VI ground proximity warning systems in Citation 650 aircraft, Bendix CAS 66A traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS I) in Citation 500s and BFGoodrich 791 TCAS I units in Learjet 35As. Duncan holds 14 certifications for installation of Sundstrand GPWS equipment and 30 certifications for installation of TCAS I and II systems in a variety of aircraft.
LOUIS WERNER has joined Atlantic Aviation Aircraft Services Division as manager, aircraft services. Werner formerly was with Gulfstream Aerospace in Long Beach, Calif. as a service center marketing executive.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL said Transport Canada renewed its approval of the company as a training organization for Aircraft Maintenance Engineer training, following a recent recertification audit. SimuFlite said 14 maintenance programs are included in the approval: King Air 200; Citation I/II; Citation III; Learjet 24/25; Learjet 35/36; Learjet 55; Westwind; Hawker 700/800; Falcon 10/20/50; and Gulfstream II/IIB/III.
AlliedSignal officials say they plan to meet with U.S. Army representatives to discuss a Defense Department decision to close the Army- owned engine plant in Stratford, Conn. A DOD base-closing study recommended closing the Stratford plant, which AlliedSignal took over last year in the acquisition of the Textron Lycoming Turbine Engine Division (BA, Nov. 7/204). Since that acquisition, AlliedSignal has cut employment there from approximately 2,200 workers to about 1,800, and plans call for reducing that total to about 1,000 by yearend.
Facing the possible grounding of commuter category aircraft operated under Part 135, Federal Aviation Administration last week lifted the "unintended requirement" that those aircraft meet more stringent flammability standards. The agency recently issued a rule clarifying flammability and fire blocking standards for certain transport category airplanes, but inadvertently included commuter category aircraft in those standards (BA, Feb. 13/73).
National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne has requested a meeting with National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall to express NATA's concerns about the cost of installing flight data recorders on aircraft operated by the association's small scheduled and unscheduled on-demand operators.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT Chairman Russ Meyer will make a presentation tomorrow in New York explaining the market research and analysis that led Cessna, and its parent company Textron, to re-enter the single-engine, piston- powered aircraft market. The company is scheduled to break ground for its new manufacturing facility in Independence, Kan., next month (BA, Jan. 2/1).
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to withdraw a proposal that would restructure the Los Angeles basin airspace, including a 600-square-mile expansion of Class B airspace, the association said last week. AOPA called the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) "an 11th hour proposal" and said the agency failed to consult users. "For years, FAA has endorsed user groups as a means to better airspace design," said Martin Shuey, AOPA vice president- air traffic control. "We've had a group working on L.A.
BELL has begun assembly of the wing for the No. 7 V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The wing will be mated to the fuselage being built by Boeing. Assembly of the aircraft follows a Critical Design Review after which the Navy "froze" the aircraft's design, Bell Boeing officials said. Current target is a fly-away cost of $29.4 million each. Bell Boeing expects to receive orders for up to 475 V-22s from the Marines and Special Operations Forces and another 48 from the Navy.
ROLLS-ROYCE hopes to complete the acquisition of Allison Engine Company "this spring," a spokesman said last week, but the company declined to set a specific target date for completion of government review. The $525 million acquisition was announced in November (BA, Nov. 28/231).
PIPER PA-24, PA-28R, PA-30, PA-32R, PA-32RT, PA-34-200, PA-34-200T, PA-39 and PA-44 series airplanes (Docket No. 93-CE-61-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspection of the main gear side brace studs for cracks and replacement of any cracked main gear side brace stud. This action is prompted by several reports of main gear side brace stud cracks. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent a main landing gear collapse.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION has released "Miles Ahead with Air Charter," a video for use as a sales and marketing tool to explain the benefits of air charters. The video may be customized for individual companies. For more information about the video, contact Andy Cebula, vice president, government and industry affairs, at (800) 808-6282.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL received a three-year contract to train Westwind pilots for FAA. FlightSafety will provide initial and recurrent training on a new Level C Westwind simulator at its Wilmington, Del. training center. The simulator is equipped with a day/twilight/night visual system.
TEXTRON LYCOMING LTS101 Series Turboshaft and LTP101 Series Turboprop Engines (Docket No. 94-ANE-64) - proposes to require replacement of cast material axial compressor rotors with wrought material axial compressor rotors that have improved fatigue characteristics and material properties. This proposal is prompted by 36 reports of axial compressor blade failures on cast rotors. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent engine power loss and inflight engine shutdown.
"Poor decision-making, poor airmanship and [the] relative inexperience of the captain" were cited last week by the National Transportation Safety Board as the probable cause of the crash of a Model 25D Learjet last June during an early morning approach to fog-bound Dulles International Airport. The aircraft, XA-BBA, was being operated by Transportes Aereos Ejecutivos, S.A. (TAESA) of Mexico. It departed Mexico City late on June 17, refueled in New Orleans and crashed eight-tenths of a mile short of the threshold of Runway 1R at about 6:25 a.m.
Lockheed Air Terminal, the airport management company based in Burbank, Calif., will be renamed under a new ownership agreement that was finalized in January. LAT, formerly owned by Lockheed Corp., now is equally owned by Lockheed and Soros Capital LP, a New York investment firm. The new ownership is expected to create a five-member board including LAT President Viggo Butler and two directors each representing Lockheed and Soros. The ownership also will be open to other investors, a company spokeswoman said.
Canadian conglomerate Bombardier, Inc., reported substantial increases in net income and revenue for the year ended Jan. 31, 1995, based on unaudited figures published last week. Net income was up 38 percent to $241.9 million, compared with $175.6 million a year earlier. (All figures are in Canadian dollars). Revenues were up more than $1 billion, from $4.8 billion a year earlier, to $5.9 billion in the year just ended. During the fourth quarter 1994-1995, net income was $77.1 million, compared with $57.7 million in the same quarter 12 months earlier.
