Growth in the worldwide helicopter business is flat and commercial operators are growing increasingly wary of high labor and maintenance costs. According to the Helicopter Association International's (HAI) 1999 Survey of Operating Performance, 39 percent of operators did not show a profit in 1998, a figure unchanged from the previous year.
Flight Environments has selected Stevens Aviation to distribute and install its Cabin Comfort Systems sound insulation at seven East Coast and Southern locations.
Photograph: Pam Lohman, flight coordinator for Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, makes a point during one of the S&D Conference sessions. Offered under the auspices of the NBAA's Professional Development Program (PDP), the scheduler/ dispatcher certification course was unveiled in February at Las Vegas during the NBAA's 11th Schedulers&Dispatchers Conference.
Continental Express will exercise 75 existing options for the purchase of 25 new Embraer ERJ-135 and 50 ERJ-145 regional jets, in addition to 25 undisclosed options for ERJ-145 aircraft exercised in December 1999. The latest order is worth nearly $500 million to engine-maker Rolls-Royce, whose AE3007 turbofan powers both aircraft types, as well as the derivative ERJ-140, a 44-seat variant of the ERJ-135/145.
Edited by Paul RichfieldBy David Esler, in Burbank, Calif.
In a vote of confidence for California's noise-sensitive Glendale-Burbank Pasa-dena Airport (BUR), Mercury Air Group opened its $10 million Mercury Air Center FBO on March 10. Distinguished by a glassed-in, elevated lobby, the facility was built to cater primarily to the entertain-ment industry, which frequently makes use of business aviation at BUR, the former Lockheed Air Terminal.
Bombardier Aerospace is opening a 43,500-square-foot factory service center at Dallas Love Field. The facility will employ 30 maintenance technicians to service the entire Learjet and Challenger line, with additional staff and facilities for Bombardier Global Express aircraft expected to be available in 2001. The Dallas operation is Bombardier's seventh U.S. location, operating under Bombardier's Business Aviation Services division. K-C Aviation Dallas veteran Stephen McNally has been tapped to manage the facility.
Fairchild Aerospace says it is in the final stages of certifying the 328JET for a service ceiling of 35,000 feet -- a 4,000-foot increase resulting in improved range -- as well as the first of several refinements. The company also has begun final assembly of the first 328JET approved for higher gross weights, which translates to nearly 900 pounds of additional payload. Atlantic Coast Airlines unit Atlantic Coast Jet will take delivery of the first increased-payload aircraft this month.
The FAA has ordered Atlantic City, N.J., to fix unsafe conditions at Bader Field (AIY). According to the agency's March 3 letter, city officials must repair inoperable Precision Approach Path Indicators and runway end identifier lights, poor signage and pavement markings, and poorly maintained runways and taxiways. Bader has been a source of controversy for years, with local officials opposing its continued operation despite accepting federal grants that require it to remain open until 2006.
GE Engine Services has authorized Garrett Aviation Services to perform overhaul and hot section work on CJ610 and CF700 engines. There are more than 3,000 of the engines in service, primarily on early Learjets and Dassault Falcon 20s, according to Garrett program manager Craig Winterrowd. He added that Garrett also provides factory-authorized airframe service on both aircraft, so airframe and engine work now can be performed simultaneously.
When Gulfstream Aerospace announced the Gulfstream IV in the early 1980s, the firm promised the third-generation Gulfstream business jet would have the most advanced technology of any business aircraft yet built. The G-IV also promised to have the most operational flexibility and offer passengers the most comfortable cabin of any Gulfstream yet built. Just as importantly, it would offer historical Gulfstream dispatch reliability.
The NBAA's board of directors has elected new officers, including PAR Travel Tech's Phil Roberts as chairman, succeeding retired Sears, Roebuck executive Tom Myers. Ken Emerick of General Motors and Automotive Air Charter will serve the remainder of Myers' term as a board member. The NBAA directors also elected George Saling of Philip Morris as vice chairman and Texaco's Don Baldwin as treasurer while reelecting NBAA President Jack Olcott and Corporate Secretary Lise Margin as officers.
Aircraft flying through the Julian Mountain Pass in Southeastern California soon will have access to real-time weather conditions. The Bell Charitable Foundation is funding installation of an automated weather observing system (AWOS) in the pass, which will provide wind speed, direction and gusts, temperature, relative humidity and altimeter settings. Once complete, says Sacramento-based AWOS manufacturer Qualimetrics, flight crews can access the weather data by telephone or a discreet VHF frequency en route.
Minneapolis-based Fire Combat is offering a new fire-fighting rig for permanent or mobile installation. FlameOut utilizes foam and dry chemical to extinguish fires and to help ensure they stay out. The rig is ideal for use in heliports, hangars and other aviation facilities, and it is particularly helpful where full-size fire engines are impractical or cost-prohibitive. Price: $3,000 to $6,000, varies with application Fire Combat 5500 Lincoln Dr. Minneapolis, Minn. 55436 Phone: (800) 285-3651; Fax: (612) 938-9617
DaimlerChrysler Capital Services (Norwalk, Conn.) -- Noreen Greenhalgh has been promoted to unit leader of credit risk management and Helen Parker is now unit leader of operations at the financing company.
Million Air has opened an FBO in Utah at the Provo Municipal Airport. Located 35 miles north of Salt Lake City, the facility offers maintenance, charter, aircraft management and flight instruction. Construction of a new FBO/terminal building and hangar is scheduled to begin this spring.
Operators who transit Japanese airspace more than three times per month will now have to pay a user fee. The fees range from about $150 to $850 depending on whether flights occur over Japanese land masses or oceanic airspace. A separate fee structure based on gross takeoff weight and distance flown applies to aircraft landing in Japan.
Signature Flight Support's regional maintenance center in Las Vegas has received avionics repair station certification for Radio classes 1, 2 and 3. Opened in October 1998 at McCarran International Airport, the RMC specializes in service for Hawker, Gulfstream and Citation aircraft.
New entrant carrier Pro Air says the FAA certification process is delaying the launch of its Pro Air Express regional aircraft division. Pro Air announced in August 1999 that it would operate three Saab 2000s owned by General Motors to feed traffic through its Detroit hub. General Motors removed the aircraft from FAR Part 91 employee shuttle service and offered them to Pro Air under undisclosed terms. The carrier says certification is taking longer than anticipated largely because no Saab 2000s have ever operated under Part 121 in the United States.
MedAire's Medlink Worldwide program will now cover passengers on NetJets Europe aircraft. Medlink provides inflight access to physicians in the event of an onboard medical emergency, enhanced first aid and medical emergency kits for NetJets aircraft, and pre-travel medical briefings to reduce health risks while traveling. NetJets already offers the service to its U.S. customers.
The FAA was slated to act on a rulemaking proposal that would regulate fractional ownership under a new subpart of FAR Part 91 by March 31. The rule leaves Part 91.501 intact, while also providing some relief for Part 135 operators. (See stories on pages 50 and 97). If the FAA adopts the proposal, the next step is a 45- to 60-day period set aside for an economic analysis of the rule's impact. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making could be published this summer, but observers have cautioned that it could take a year or more to get to a final rule.
