ROLLS-ROYCE received a follow-on order from Gulfstream Aerospace valued at $150 million for additional Rolls-Royce Tay engines for installation on the Gulfstream G-IV-SP business jet. The new order will extend deliveries of the engines through the end of 1997. Gulfstream has used Rolls-Royce engines exclusively throughout its 36-year history, including the 500th Tay, which was installed in May. The Dart turboprops in the Gulfstream I were followed by Spey engines that power Gulfstream II and III model business jets.
FOKKER Model F28 Mark 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 94-NM-122-AD) - proposes to require modification of a certain galley, repetitive inspections for damage and to determine the clearance of generator wires in the auxiliary power unit, and repair or replacement of damaged wires. This proposal also would require an additional modification of a certain galley as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION, anticipating that proposals for increased user fees will feature prominently in the debate about restructuring the nation's air traffic control system, is surveying its members to find out what effect "Eurocontrol-type" charges would have on corporate and business aircraft flight operations. Results of the survey, which was faxed to 1,500 U.S.
France's certification authority, the DGAC, Friday lifted restrictions it had imposed Nov. 9 on the use of the autopilot in ATR-42 and -72 aircraft in icing conditions. To replace those restrictions, DGAC issued an airworthiness directive revising aircraft flight manual operating procedures for the ATR models in icing conditions, ATR Marketing reported. The French AD is identical to one proposed by DGAC to the U.S. FAA, but FAA has not yet responded to the DGAC proposal, according to ATR.
United Parcel Service signed a letter of intent to acquire Sonicair, a leading provider of "same-day" or "next flight out" delivery and third- party logistics services. UPS said SonicAir, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., will become a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS and continue to be managed and operated independently, retaining its existing services and customers. SonicAir provides same-day delivery service throughout the continental U.S., as well as next-flight-out service internationally.
FlightSafety International named four men to new positions with the simulator manufacturing and training company. Al Krusz was appointed manager of the Savannah, Ga., training center, which is dedicated to training Gulfstream business jet pilots and maintenance technicians. Krusz, who had been the Savannah facility's assistant manger, came to FSI from Atlantic Aviation, where he had been operations manager. Before Atlantic, Krusz had been with AMR/Combs in Denver and with Tenneco's flight operation at Houston's Intercontinental Airport.
JETSTREAM Model ATP airplanes (Docket No. 94-NM-168-AD) - proposes to require installation of modified engine de-ice timers, modification of the electrical wiring for the duct heat of the engine air intake and installation of a time delay for the de-ice system in the air intake duct of the right engine. This proposal also would require associated revisions to the airplane flight manual. This proposal is prompted by reports of ice that accreted in the engine air intake ducts and was ingested into the engine. This resulted in engine power rollback.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION has proposed special conditions for Bell Helicopter Textron Model 222U helicopters modified by Heli-Dyne Systems. FAA said the conditions are necessary to provide adequate safety standards to protect certain critical function systems such as the electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) from the effects of high intensity radiated fields. Comments on the special conditions must be sent in duplicate before Jan. 26 to FAA, Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel, Attn.: Rules Docket No. 94-ASW-3, Fort Worth, Texas 76193-0007.
A proposal by the Federal Aviation Administration would permit the use of devices other than fuel pressure indicators on pump-fed engines of small airplanes to warn pilots of problems with the fuel system.
ALASKA AIR CARRIERS ASSOCIATION will hold its 29th Annual Convention and Trade Show Feb. 12-15 at the Turtle Bay Hilton, Oahu, Hawaii. For more information, contact the AACA at (907) 277-0071; fax, (907) 277-0072.
An FAA spokesman at the agency's Washington, D.C. headquarters told BA that Friday's NTSB recommendations were being considered by FAA's Southwest Region headquarters office in Fort Worth, Texas, which houses the Rotorcraft Directorate. A spokeswoman in the Fort Worth office said late Friday that "the matter is under review as we speak." She said the regional office was coordinating its response in conjunction with FAA headquarters in Washington, adding that she did not expect any decision to be made Friday.
Lycoming, newly acquired from Textron by AlliedSignal, and GE Aircraft Engines agreed to drop their nearly 10-year-old revenue-sharing agreement to develop and build the GE38 engine family, because Lycoming's new parent plans to concentrate on its common core program. The GE38, which runs in the 5,000- to 6,000-shaft-horsepower range, would duplicate much of the common core effort, aimed at both turboprops and regional jetliners.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION claims "an estimated 1,000 aviation experts" will participate in this week's Washington conference mandated by DOT Secretary Federico Pena in the wake of several accidents last year (BA, Jan. 2/1). According to an FAA press release, the meeting will be "the world's largest aviation safety conference" and "a key component of...Pena's three-part initiative to examine and enhance aviation safety."
MERCURY AIR GROUP, Los Angeles, Calif., said its board of directors approved a regular quarterly dividend on its common stock of one cent per share to be paid Feb. 1 to shareholders of record Jan. 16. Chairman Seymour Kahn said, "This dividend, the first in a program of regular quarterly dividends, provides Mercury's shareholders with a current return on their investment and signals management's confidence in the company's continued growth."
AIRCRAFT WINDOWS REPAIRS COMPANY said FAA issued Repair Station Certificate XK3D974L for the company's new Port Charlotte, Fla. facility. 1994 marked the 15th anniversary of Aircraft Windows Repairs Co., headquartered in Torrance, Calif. AWR is the approved repair agent for Dassault Falcon, British Aerospace and Raytheon Aircraft Company and also is an approved application center for the PPG Surface Seal coated glass rain removal system.
AGUSTA Model A109A, A109AII and A109C series helicopters (Docket No. 94-SW- 12-AD) - proposes to require a modification of the tail boom vertical fin to create inspection openings that permit initial and repetitive visual inspections for cracks in the vertical fin rear spar attachment area. This proposal is prompted by four reports of cracks in the tail boom vertical fin rear spar attachment area.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION is accepting applications for its Flying Safety Awards. The awards, which are presented at the association's Annual Meeting and Convention, cover six categories: corporate business flying ; commercial business flying; pilot safety; aviation maintenance department; maintenance/avionics technician, and support services. Applications must be postmarked no later than March 1. For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000.
The Federal Aviation Administration has begun an environmental study of a proposed $1.8 billion airport near Peotone, Ill. to serve the Chicago area. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) last month released a proposed airport layout plan to the public as well as state, federal and local officials that outlines a 20,000-plus acre airport that would open in 2001, with six east-west runways, one short crosswind runway for small commuter operations and a terminal complex large enough to allow airline hubbing operations.
The White House, in a little-noticed action during the recent holidays, tabbed veteran FAA executive Robert T. Francis II for the National Transportation Safety Board seat held for nine years by John Lauber. The timing of the White House action, and the fact that it opted to make a "recess appointment" that will permit Francis to serve at least temporarily on NTSB without having been confirmed by the Senate, is raising questions about the administration's move.
BOEING COMPANY awarded a $200,000 grant to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to assist in equipping and furnishing the Structures and Aging Aircraft Laboratory in the university's new Engineering and Technology Building.
FRASCA INTERNATIONAL received an order from the Argentine Air Attache for five Model 141 simulators in T-34 configuration. The simulators will be used by the Argentine Air Force Training Command flight school in Cordoba, Argentina. In addition, Frasca said it recently delivered an Enstrom F-28F helicopter simulator to the Colombian Air Force as part of a U.S. Army Foreign Military Sales contract covering 12 Enstrom helicopters and a simulator. Frasca also shipped two Model 242T simulators to the Mexican Air Force.
DEBRA JOHNSON was named marketing director for Fantasy of Flight, an aviation-theme attraction under development near Polk City, Fla. Johnson previously served as development and programs manager for the EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-In and Sun 'n Fun Aviation Foundation. In her new position, Johnson will oversee advertising, publicity and public relations, group and travel trade sales and research programs for Fantasy of Flight.
AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES, INC., observing that "windsocks have never had a name, they have always been just - windsocks," has addressed that void with a new line of "WindWizard" windsocks in "Vivid White" and "Sunburst Orange" that pilots can rely on "to keep their aircraft from wind shears around the airport." For more information, contact the Edwardsburg, Mich., company at (800) 253-0800.
Type certification requirements for both normal and transport category rotorcraft would be upgraded and brought into compliance with standards being incorporated by European airworthiness officials under a proposal published late last month by FAA. The agency proposed revising airworthiness standards for powerplants, structures, performance, powerplant controls, rotor structures, lightning, static electricity and bird strike protection and systems performance in a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Dec. 28 Federal Register.
Michael D. Van Wagenen, the president and chief executive officer of Peregrine Flight International (PFI) who had a distinguished flying career in the Air Force, was killed Dec. 30 when a Peregrine (formerly designated the BD-10) single-engine jet crashed during a test flight. Van Wagenen, 49, was making his third test flight of the day when the accident occurred.
