Business & Commercial Aviation

BY GORDON A. GILBERT
Martin Harwit, beleaguered director of the National Air&Space Museum, resigned in May, citing what he termed the ``controversy and devisiveness'' that resulted from the museum's preparation for the display of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. Veterans protested the museum's plans to display the aircraft along with a description they felt did not give sufficient weight to Japanese aggression and did not reflect the anticipated number of Allied casualties if it had been necessary to launch a land invasion of Japan.

G.A.G.
From a recent issue of the New York Times: The scene is a small foyer outside the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria. The occasion is the American Heart Association's annual benefit dinner-dance. Says man in formal dinner suit, puffing on a cigarette: ``You know what I did when they prohibited smoking in planes?'' Queried woman in ball gown, puffing on a cigarette: ``No, what did you do?'' Retorted man in dinner suit: ``I bought my own airplane; now I have no problem.''

BY GORDON A. GILBERT
The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) still is plagued by delays that are likely to put off commissioning more installations until year-end. About 320 of 537 systems have been installed, but only two-at Montrose, Colorado and Grand Canyon, Arizona-have been commissioned. Delays are attributed to problems with obtaining long-line communications, a National Weather Service moratorium imposed due to technical problems, and an FAA agreement with ATC controllers not to install ASOS at airports with control towers.

By Richard N. Aarons
The facts of this accident were pretty uncomplicated. On June 18, 1994, at about 0625 hours, a Transportes Aeros Ejecutivos, S.A. (TAESA) Learjet 25D (XA-BBA) crashed 0.8-nm south of the threshold of Runway 1R at Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Chantilly, Virginia, during an ILS approach in Category III-level IMC. Two crewmembers and all 10 passengers were killed. The airplane was destroyed by impact.

BY GORDON A. GILBERT
AlliedSignal says its new RDR 2100 vertical-profile weather radar system, introduced at the Paris Air Show, features four times longer magnetron life, greater capability, longer range and six times more power than the system it replaces. The vertical-profile feature of the RDR 2100 can be viewed separately or simultaneously in a split-screen mode. Shipments of the RDR 2100 are expected to begin in August. The new RDR 2100 retails for $46,500.

Staff
As part of its negotiation of the type-certification basis for the G-V, Gulfstream Aerospace conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the 16-g seat rule as it applies to business jets. The company calculated a ratio ranging between 0.011 and 0.41, depending on whose cost figures are used. The FAA, like other federal agencies, is required to do a cost-benefit analysis of all of its significant proposed rules. The acceptable cost-benefit ratio is held to be one-to-one.

BY GORDON A. GILBERT
A proposed noise-compatibility program for Saipan International Airport in the Northern Mariana Islands has been submitted to the FAA. The agency is scheduled to approve or disapprove the proposal under FAR Part 150 guidelines on or before September 25. To obtain more information and to submit comments, contact David J. Welhouse at the FAA in Honolulu. Phone: (808) 541-1243.

P.E.B.
Schweizer Aircraft is making inroads into the helicopter-training market with its 300CB, an approximately $184,000 basic model with which the company hopes to capture a share of a market dominated by Robinson Helicopter's R22. The Elmira, New York company introduced the 300CB at this year's Helicopter Association International Meeting (B/CA, March, page 20). Helicopter Adventures, one of the largest helicopter-training schools in the United States, has begun taking delivery of 10 300CBs, and most of them will replace Robinson R22s.

BY GORDON A. GILBERT
Canadian manufacturer Bombardier announced at the Paris Air Show that it will proceed with development of the 70-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-400 regional- airliner derivative of the 50-passenger Dash 8-300. Development of the -400, which had been in the proposal stage since the mid 1980s, is scheduled to culminate in certification in late 1998. The twin-engine Dash 8-400 will be powered by the new P&WC PW150, a derivative of the PW100 turboprop family.

Staff
The FAA has awarded more than 114 STCs to Sabreliner and Midcoast since late 1977. The following sampling gives a good idea of the companies' diverse capabilities in avionics, systems and cabin-interior modifications and retrofits. Date Aircraft Component 12/29/77 Sabreliner 60 VLF/Omega 9/28/78 Sabreliner 60 Aisle facing seat 9/28/78 Falcon 20C, D, E, F Autopilot static port systems 10/27/79 Sabreliner 40 FCS

Staff
FAA has eased some of the flight restrictions it imposed earlier this year on the Robinson R22 and R44 light helicopters. Now, pilots with at least 200 hours in helicopters and 50 hours in the R22 or R44 are exempt from prohibitions on flight under these conditions: when surface winds exceed 25 knots, when gusts exceed 15 knots, or when moderate, severe or extreme turbulence is reported. The restrictions continue to apply to lower-time pilots (B/CA, April, page 24).

Staff
Cessna is scheduled to begin construction of a Citation service center in July at San Antonio International Airport. When the facility opens in summer 1996, it will be the ninth Cessna-owned Citation service operation and the largest--outside of the company's Wichita headquarters. Separately, Gulfstream has started building a 200,000-square-foot service complex at the company's Savannah headquarters. The complex is scheduled to be in use by early 1996.

Staff
At its Facilitation Division meeting held in Montreal in April, ICAO proposed the adoption of a U.S.-requested ``recommended practice'' to stop the spraying of insecticide on aircraft while passengers are on board. The only exception would be for aircraft operations originating in or operating via a nation considered to pose a threat to public health or the agricultural industry. The full ICAO Council is expected to adopt this recommended practice by summer's end. About 20 countries still require spraying (B/CA, March, page 26).

By DAVID COLLOGAN
After more than a decade of gloom and declining sales, the general aviation manufacturing industry is finally showing some signs of resurgence. The most tangible evidence is construction of Cessna Aircraft Company's new single-engine production facility in Independence, Kansas, but other examples abound.

Staff
The Principality of Monaco will host a helicopter business market event designed to pull together customers, airframers and suppliers. The event will be held from June 23 to June 26 near Monaco's international heliport (pictured). The show will feature exhibits from the major western helicopter manufacturers. Other events include the 7th French Helicopter Championships and a meeting of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and the European Civil Aviation Commission (ECAC). For additional information contact Media Plus at +33-93 25 48 26 or fax +33-93 25 54 13.

Staff
Pilots flying within 300 nm of White Sands, New Mexico should be alert to possibly unreliable GPS signals until July 15. For the next month and half, the White Sands Missile Range is conducting signal-jamming tests of GPS to determine what effect electronic interference might have on signal reliability. The FAA reportedly has no objection to such tests as long as they will be ``highly restricted'' once GPS is approved as a primary means of navigation.

By Dan Manningham
The year was 1964. Remember that one? The young Beatles, Tonkin Gulf, ``Gilligan's Island,'' the New York World's Fair and the first Ford Mustang. . . . The place was Denver, Mile High City, Stapleton Airport, home to United Airlines' flight training center, a.k.a. ``DENTK,'' its company mail address. The occasion was a training flight for landing practice in a Douglas DC-7.

Staff
Socata, the subsidiary of Aerospatiale that produces single-engine aircraft, recently acquired Mooney's 30-percent interest in the TBM-700 single-engine turboprop. The company dissolved TBM S.A., the joint-venture holding company, and TBM N.A. in North America. Aerospatiale General Aviation in Grand Prairie, Texas will now provide TBM-700 support and marketing. Mooney helped launch the TBM-700 in 1987 by providing technological and marketing support.

By ROBERT A. SEARLES
Jim was making the single-pilot trip that was traditionally his corporation's final flight each week. He had flown the company turboprop into a midwestern airport to pick up the 55-year-old sales manager after that executive had finished dinner Friday evening with a major client. Now Jim and his passenger were heading back to base on the East Coast. The home airport was IMC, but no significant weather was forecast en route.

Staff
June 27 is the deadline for comments to the FAA on its far-reaching proposal to upgrade FAR Part 135 regional airline rules (B/CA, May, page 11). Under the provisions of the proposal, scheduled carriers using aircraft with 10 to 30 passenger seats would have to meet Part 121, the standards that now apply to scheduled operations in aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats. For further information, contact the FAA's Alberta Brown at (202) 267-8248.

Staff
Loral Corporation and the FAA have agreed on a contract that will allow the New York-based company to provide future workstations for air traffic controllers. The work-station project came to a virtual standstill last year when it was part of the long-troubled, and now largely-defunct, Advanced Automation System being developed by IBM's Federal Systems Company (B/CA, February 1994, page 28). The new workstations will be called the Display System Replacement (DSR).

Staff
In an effort to maintain closer contact with Learjet customers, the Learjet Advisory Panel has established an electronic bulletin board system (BBS). Panel members are representatives from manufacturers and FlightSafety International, operators and others. To access the system, users need a 386 or higher PC, a modem (set to N-8-1) and a communications program. After registering with the system's main menu at (915) 949-5517, users also will be given access to other areas in the system, including bulletins, libraries, message areas and e-mail.

Staff
After a five-month study, a nine-member team of FAA engineers and airworthiness inspectors and experts from other government agencies discovered no design flaws in the flight-control system of Boeing 737s. The study of the aircraft was undertaken since, to date, the NTSB has been unable to determine the cause of the 1991 crash of a United Airlines 737 at Colorado Springs, Colorado and a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh in September 1994. The two crashes killed 157 people.

Staff
Fees were increased for certain certification services the FAA performs outside the United States. The agency says the new schedule is the first update of fees since 1982, although the FAA's costs for performing these services has escalated significantly in the last 12 years. Fee increases apply to the administering of written tests, proficiency checks, and similar services to pilots and mechanics. For more information, contact the FAA at (202) 267-3301.

Staff
Netherlands-based Fokker Aircraft has received certification from the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority for its F70 twin-jet. The aircraft received Dutch and U.S. certification in September 1994, and the first production unit, a 48-seat corporate shuttle, was delivered to Ford Motor Company in October. Fokker hopes to receive certification for autoland capability later this year (B/CA, December 1994, page 28). Meanwhile, Fokker is implementing a major restructuring plan aimed at returning the company to financial stability.