THE PACE of industry consolidation continues to be brisk. Lockheed Martin signed a deal to acquire GE's engine controls business and Thiokol Corporation and the Carlyle Group plan to buy precision casting specialist Howmet Corp. for $750 million. See articles below.
Saab 2000 launch customer Crossair has exercised five of its 25 options for the high-speed turboprop, Saab announced. Crossair placed the aircraft in service in September 1994. The order will bring the Swissair subsidiary's total commitment to 25 Saab 2000s and 20 options. The manufacturer has won 40 firm orders for the aircraft.
THOMSON-CSF signed a contract with Swisscontrol, the air navigation services provider of Switzerland, to supply air traffic control centers in Geneva and Zurich with a short-term conflict alert (STCA) device, which will help controllers better anticipate aircraft trajectories and assess the risk of potential conflict. The STCA device has been ordered for Thomson-CSF-supplied centers in Ireland, Belgium, Finland, Bulgaria, Greece, Singapore and Denmark.
JON SWARTZENTRUBER was named vice president of sales and marketing for Million Air Reading. Swartzentruber, a former airline pilot, formerly was national air safety officer for the airline and was an accident investigator for the Air Line Pilots Association. He also has served as president of Fieldstone Homes.
ROBERT E. BREILING ASSOCIATES, which provides detailed accident reviews for business jets, turboprops and turbine helicopters, has developed an international database that includes the accident records of air carriers and large air taxi/charter operators worldwide. Breiling said development of the new database resulted from inquiries by operators whose personnel frequently travel internationally and who use airlines and charter operators whose safety records are unknown. For more information, contact Robert E.
The administration-backed proposal to convert the Federal Aviation Administration to a completely user-fee-funded agency came under fire again last week, this time from executives of low-fare carriers who fear such a system would hurt their competitiveness. Airline executives joined the general aviation industry in opposing the user fees, but also agreed with FAA claims that GA receives more benefits than it pays for and said air carriers should not be asked to cover the costs of other users.
THOMAS J. SMITH, a veteran aerospace executive who held senior posts with Grumman, Fairchild and Fokker, is the new president of General Electrodynamics Corp., of Arlington, Texas. Omega Acquisition, a company founded by Smith, acquired GEC, which designs, manufactures and markets a range of precision portable weighing systems and instrumentation at its facility in South Arlington, Texas. GEC was founded in 1955.
The initial board of directors for the new General Aviation Airports Coalition has settled various aspects of the new group's operation, including a mission statement and legislative priorities. Michael Stephens, who has spearheaded the effort, was voted president by the coalition's initial five-member board. After the first of the year, the board will be expanded to 20 members with each of the nine FAA regions represented by at least one board member. In addition, the coalition plans to select a representative from each state to act as a liaison to the group.
Jet Aviation of Zurich, Switzerland signed a contract to purchase two Raytheon Aircraft Beechjet 400A business jets, and took options on 10 additional aircraft, for the Corpavia Club shared ownership program. Unlike fractional ownership programs, customers do not buy shares in individual aircraft, but instead sign up as club members and pay a one-time entrance fee. Members then pay an annual subscription plus a charge for the flying hours used. Members are entitled to 150 flight hours, with additional hours available at a higher rate.
ATLANTIC AVIATION, responding to more than 40 requests from operators concerned about pending new altitude accuracy requirements for aircraft transiting the North Atlantic, is seeking Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) approvals for operators of select airplanes. The company said it will support customers seeking RVSM approval with maintenance manuals, maintenance schedules, MMEL/MEL manuals and standard practices manuals.
FAIRCHILD SA226 and SA227 series airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-40-AD) - proposes to require drilling inspection access holes in the elevator torque tube arm, inspecting the elevator torque tube for corrosion, replacing any corroded elevator torque tube, and applying a corrosion preventive compound. This proposal is prompted by several reports of corrosion found in the torque tube area on the affected airplanes. The actions specified by the proposal are intended to prevent failure of the flight control system caused by a corroded elevator torque tube.
AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS will offer a Beechjet 400/400A maintenance library on CD-ROM in November. The library, developed in a joint effort between ATP and Raytheon Aircraft, will include a number of publications for maintenance of Beechjet aircraft including the maintenance manual, illustrated parts catalog, selected wiring diagram manuals, FAA airworthiness directives, and applicable manufacturer service bulletins. The library uses ATP Navigator user interface software that is Windows- based.
AIRSHOW and Jeppesen formed a strategic alliance to provide integrated information and communication products for corporate and commercial aircraft. The agreement calls for the integration of Jeppesen's electrical flight information services with Airshow's Genesys system, which provides uplink and display services of Doppler radar images into cockpits.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT'S fixed-base operation chain, now operating under the Raytheon Aircraft Services banner, will no longer sell new aircraft, but instead will focus on its service and support of aircraft, said Raytheon Aircraft Chairman Art Wegner. The decision to remove aircraft sales from its FBOs reinforces the company's decision in early 1993 to sell the top end of its product line factory direct (BA, March 8, 1993/93).
CHARLES KAMAN, founder, chairman and chief executive of Kaman Corp., was named an honorary fellow of The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS). Kaman, one of only four helicopter pioneers to receive such recognitions from RAeS, founded Kaman Corp. in 1945 and oversaw development of the first gas- turbine helicopter in 1951, the first twin-turbine helicopter in 1954 and the first unmanned helicopter in 1957.
LUCAS AEROSPACE POWER SYSTEMS, Hemel Hempstead, England, was awarded a contract to provide the starter-generator system for the Eurocopter EC 135 helicopter. The five/seven-seat multi-purpose helicopter will be equipped with either twin Pratt&Whitney 206B or Turbomeca TM319-1B (Arrius) engines. Production deliveries for the aircraft are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 1996. The EC 135 is slated for certification in early 1996.
PELITA AIR SERVICES took delivery of its first Fokker 70 aircraft, the first of five it ordered from Fokker. The new aircraft will replace the carrier's fleet of Fokker F-28s. Pelita Air Services is a nonscheduled carrier that operates on behalf of the state oil company Pertamina.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT delivered two Beech 1900D 19-passenger regional aircraft to Midway Connection. The new aircraft will operated on routes between Raleigh-Durham, N.C. and Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Midway Connection, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Great Lakes, serves 15 locations on the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean from Raleigh-Durham.
Barry Harris, who served as deputy administrator of FAA for more than two years during the second half of the Bush Administration (BA, March 19, 1990/92), was elected chairman and chief executive officer of a new airline, Independence Air. The prospective carrier, which will be based in Atlanta if it receives government approval to begin service, plans to operate long-haul passenger and freight service with 270-seat A300B4s. Independence Air hopes to begin low-fare service this year between Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.
WESTERN AIRCRAFT, INC., the fixed-base operation at the Boise, Idaho Airport, has named a new management team headed by Allen G. Hoyt. Hoyt, the new president of Western, also is one of the new owners of the company, which was formerly owned by Morrison Knudsen Corp. Hoyt spent 10 years at Western before leaving in 1992. Most recently he has been president and general manager of Satellite Aero, Western's sister company in Jackson, Wyo. He will continue to serve as president of Satellite.
ATLANTIC AVIATION instituted a new incentive fuel pricing program this month at its five fixed-base operations in Wilmington, Del., Teterboro, N.J., Houston, Texas and Philadelphia International and Northeast Philadelphia Airports in Pennsylvania (BA, June 12/149). The program combines ramp service fees (which are waived if the operator of the aircraft buys pre-set minimum fuel loads) with sliding-scale discounts for operators who buy more fuel than specified by Atlantic's incentive fuel pricing (IFP) threshold fee schedule.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-Ariz.), author of a controversial bill that would make FAA quasi-independent and funded completely through user fees, said he pursued the quasi-independent route rather than the nearly complete independence favored by his counterparts in the House because he is not sold on the concept of an independent FAA. He cited as an example his efforts a couple of years ago to get FAA to act on his concerns about aircraft flights over the Grand Canyon. McCain said when FAA did not act, he was forced to turn to the Department of Transportation for help.
STEVE BROWN, senior vice president for government and technical affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, was appointed vice chairman of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. Brown will be ARAC vice chairman for 1995-96 and become chairman for 1996-97, succeeding current Chairwoman Sarah MacLeod of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN reached life-of-contract agreements with Gulfstream Aerospace and Fokker Aircraft to provide engine nacelle systems for all future Gulfstream IV Tay engine installations and for all Rolls-Royce Tay 620/650 or derivative engine nacelle systems applied to any Fokker 60-to- 107-seat aircraft. In addition, Northrop Grumman also will continue producing translating cowl engine sets for the CF6-80C2 thrust reverser under a new five-year agreement with Lockheed Martin.
