ROBERT ZEDAKER was appointed chief financial officer for Million Air Reading. Zedaker most recently was vice president/manager of commercial real estate lending for Meridian Bank. He also has served as a commercial and retail lending officer with Hamilton Bank and assistant manager for Signal Finance.
FAA Administrator David Hinson announced creation Thursday of a nationally coordinated program to identify unapproved parts and to keep them out of operator inventories. The new bureaucracy that FAA will set up to ferret out unapproved parts will be somewhat burdensome and costly, acknowledged Nicholas Sabatini, chairman of a task force which came up with the recommendations for the national program.
U.S. GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS' shipments and billings show further indication of recovery with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reporting Friday that its members' billings have jumped 42.3 percent and deliveries increased 16 percent through the first three quarters of the year.See story and BA's compilation of worldwide unit shipments below.
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES officials expect to receive Federal Aviation Administration and Canadian certification for the Astra SPX by the end of the month. The aircraft received Civil Aviation Authority provisional approval last month.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT received FAA approval for flight into known icing conditions for the Ovation and TLS model aircraft. The Ovation and TLS are equipped with a TKS ice protection system developed by Aerospace Systems and Technologies, Inc., of Lawrence, Kan. Mooney officials said the aircraft underwent testing of flight into simulated icing conditions using an ice-generating tanker aircraft. The aircraft also was tested in natural icing conditions ranging from rime and mixed ice to freezing rain.
MERCURY AIR GROUP'S board of directors declared the company's fourth consecutive cash dividend of one cent per common share, payable Nov. 1 to shareholders of record on Oct. 18.
BUSINESS/PERSONAL/REGIONAL AIRCRAFT -- THIRD QUARTER UNIT SHIPMENTS 3rd 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 2 7
INNOTECH AVIATION LTD. renewed a joint marketing agreement with Rolls-Royce Canada, Ltd., Montreal, Canada, under which Innotech will continue as an authorized service facility for Rolls-Royce Dart, Spey and Tay engine maintenance support in Montreal and Vancouver.
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.
Raytheon Aircraft renamed its United Beechcraft and Hawker fixed-base operations Raytheon Aircraft Services and said it plans to expand the chain with a new facility in Atlantic City, N.J.
Hughes Aircraft of Canada said Thursday the Treasury Board of Canada has approved an amended, $360 million contract from Transport Canada to develop and install the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System (CAATS), a national air traffic control system that now is to be delivered by July 1998. The contract had been held up after Hughes started work due to differences over the scope and cost of the project. Originally, CAATS was to have been completed in 1996. However, the Canadian project still will be completed long before its counterpart in the U.S.
Bombardier Aerospace Group-North America named Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan to develop and produce the fuselage and tail sections for the 350-knot, 70-seat de Havilland Dash 8-400 high-speed turboprop, the Montreal-based manufacturer announced. Bombardier Aerospace Group-NA President Robert Brown said, "This further reinforces Bombardier's business associations in the Asia/Pacific region and, in particular, with Mitsubishi which already participates in our Global Express business jet program with responsibility for the wing and centre fuselage sections."
INNOTECH AVIATION, LTD., Montreal, Quebec, signed a service facility agreement to support operators of the Williams-Rolls FJ44 jet engine. The agreement covers Innotech's major facilities in Montreal and Vancouver, British Columbia and includes all warranty service, service bulletin updates and provision of rental engines. Stephen K.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL is offering an alternate recurrent maintenance training course as an option to its standard maintenance recurrent courses. The alternate recurrent course combines three days of aircraft systems with two days of specific topics including practical aircraft electricity, avionics and troubleshooting. The systems review section allows class members to select topics for instruction based on interests.
MEDAIRE has redesigned its medical refresher training program to provide a variety of options for corporate flight crews. MedAire, which provides annual CPR and oxygen therapy courses, said the new program will allow flight crews to select additional training in areas such as altitude physiology, medical emergencies, traumatic emergencies, prevention of back injuries, fatigue and bloodborne pathogens. The expanded venue will be available beginning in January. MedAire, Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held company partially owned by Samaritan Health System.
HORIZON AIR said FAA approved its de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft equipped with Flight Dynamics Head-Up Guidance Systems (HGS) to begin approaches at the Medford, Ore. Airport under reduced forward visibility conditions. The airline said its HGS-equipped Dash 8 now will be permitted to commence approaches at Medford with only 1,800 feet of forward visibility, compared with the 2,400-foot minimum for non-HGS-equipped aircraft.
THE ITALIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY ordered 16 EH101 helicopters for its navy from Agusta, which developed the EH101 with Westland of the U.K. The Italian order comprises eight helicopters for anti-submarine/anti-surface vessel missions, four in the surveillance radar configuration and four utility transports. The helicopters will be assembled by Agusta, with first deliveries anticipated in early 1998.
Transportes Aereos Regionais (TAM), Cessna Aircraft's authorized sales representative in Brazil, placed an order for 100 of the new single-engine, piston-powered aircraft that Cessna plans to begin building late next year at a new factory in Independence, Kan. The new order signals a return to the single-engine market in Brazil, which used to be a major customer for Cessna's line of light, personal aircraft.
DONALD HASTINGS was named executive director of The American Society for Nondestructive Testing. Hastings most recently served as a staff supervisor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he oversaw NDT services for three lab programs.
Despite short-term economic problems that have depressed sales of U.S.-built business aircraft in Mexico, the president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association expressed confidence last week that in the long run, adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement will boost aircraft sales in Mexico.
INTERNATIONAL TURBINE SERVICE, the Grapevine, Texas-based supplier of turbine engine parts, opened a new Eastern division office in Pompano Beach, Fla. ITS named Dennis Harper general manager of the new division. The 4,000-square-foot facility will provide the same services as the headquarters, including the availability of a Designated Airworthiness Representative, 24 hours a day. The new office is located at 4100 N. Powerline Road, Suite F5, Pompano Beach, Fla.; telephone: (954) 979-9060; fax: (954) 979-0026.
