Swiss regional Crossair sold its sole Saab 340 simulator to Pan Am International Flight Academy to make room for a new Embraer ERJ-145 simulator. Crossair is replacing its Saab 340 fleet with the Embraer RJs over the next two years and says it will use the simulator at the SAS Academy in Stockholm for training, as needed. The carrier also is expanding its Basel, Switzerland training center to accommodate as many as four flight simulators.
Developer Sheltair Orlando has agreed to lease nearly nine acres of land at the Orlando Airport, to be used as the site of the new Avstar Completion Center. Located in the Tradeport area next to the existing AirTran hangar, the center will include a 67,000-square-foot hangar facility, a 26,000-square-foot office and warehouse space. Completion of the hangar is planned for late summer.
Piedmont Hawthorne has opened its new FBO at Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) in Pennsylvania. The facility is located in the 62,000-square-foot hangar and office complex vacated when TYCO International acquired AMP, Inc., the previous tenant. Piedmont Hawthorne's interest follows the structure's purchase by the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority in December 1999. Piedmont Hawthorne now has 31 FBOs, including 10 in the Northeastern United States and three in Canada.
Saying that graduates of most helicopter flight schools ``fall short of the entry level requirement'' to fly professionally, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Heliflight created a new career pilot program specifically for helicopters. Pilots who complete the program will receive their instrument, commercial, CFI and CFII helicopter ratings as well as 200 hours in Robinson R22s, making them ``eligible for flight instructor positions,'' according to the school. Heliflight also operates Robinson R44, Bell JetRanger III, Eurocopter AStar and Sikorsky S-58 aircraft.
Hello, Acme Flight Crew Agency.'' ``Yes, I need a Gulfstream IV first officer with a minimum of 1,500 hours in type for a trip leaving Atlanta tomorrow.'' ``No problem, I have several available. How about someone who is dual-rated in rotorcraft and current in an S-76?''
A new California-based fractional operation known as XJETS is hoping for a summer start-up with up to eight refurbished Cessna Citation IIs. The company is seeking to raise $5 million in investment capital. Like other fractional operators, XJETS plans to sell aircraft shares ranging from one-quarter to one-sixteenth, but to owners mainly flying regionally in the Western United States.
Ten aviation industry trade groups have joined forces to lobby the U.S. Senate to pass AIR-21 -- a bill that could ensure long-term FAA funding. AIR-21 recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 316-110, and is now the subject of Senate debate. As negotiations proceed, proponents of the bill have expressed willingness to compromise.
When Mark Rosekind was an undergraduate at Stanford, he lived every student's dream -- he got paid to sleep. Not only that, but Rosekind's participation in a university sleep research project in exchange for spending money wound up kindling a career-long fascination with the biological mechanism of sleep and the effect of sleep depravation on human performance.
B/CA presented some questions to Alertness Solutions president and chief scientist Mark Rosekind about sleep depravation and cockpit alertness. Here are his comments:
In the aftermath of a fatal Saab 340 crash in January, Swiss regional Crossair has commissioned an audit of its flight operations, maintenance and quality assurance. Dr. Klaus Nittinger and Michael Loges of Rolls-Royce Deutschland GmbH and retired IATA technology official Karel Ledeboer will conduct the audit. Dr. Nittinger is also a former head of Lufthansa Technik. Results of the audit are expected to be available to the airline and the general public at the end of April.
Thunder Aviation NA acquired Ozark Aircraft Radio. Both are to be based at Thunder's facilities at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (KSUS) in Chesterfield, Mo.
If the idea of designing your own seat belts is appealing, you'll enjoy using Aircraft Belts' new Build-A-Belt Web site. Build-A-Belt draws the belt as you select its length, assembly type, hardware type and method of attachment to the aircraft -- even the color. Once completed, the design can be e-mailed or faxed to Aircraft Belts, which promises a price quote within 24 hours. Build-A-Belt's Web site is a variation of the company's CD-ROM program bearing the same name. Price: Varies with design Aircraft Belts, Inc. 2000 Anders Ln.
MD Helicopters parent company MDHI is purchasing U.K.-based Specialist Aviation Services (SAS) from Bombardier for an undisclosed sum. Bombardier acquired the company in 1997. SAS, with its subsidiaries Police Aviation Services (PAS) and Medical Aviation Services (MAS), operates a fleet of helicopters -- including five MD Explorers --and fixed-wing aircraft and offers aircraft maintenance, modification and completion services.
Former airline executive Mark Coleman joins Mercury subsidiary RPA Airline Automation Services as president. Dan McDyre is now western regional director for Mercury Air Centers. Wes Daniels replaces McDyre as general manager of the company's Reno FBO and Fred Allega returns to the company as general manager at LAX.
Savannah Air Center in Savannah, Ga., has been awarded its first major interior modification, to a Gulfstream IV. The refit includes all soft goods, some new cabinetry, new wood and finish, cabin rearrangement plus the addition of a forward lavatory and avionics upgrades to include satellite communications gear.
Embraer has selected AeroInfo Systems of Canada to develop a Web-based maintenance program for its proposed ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 aircraft, as well as the manufacturer's existing line of regional aircraft. AeroInfo's Collaborative Reliability Management System (CRMS) will reduce operating costs and increase utilization of existing aircraft as well as shorten the certification process of new aircraft, says Richard Macdonald, president of the Richmond, British Columbia-based software company.
Denver Air is finishing a new FBO complex at Colorado's Jeffco Airport (BJC), which includes a large maintenance hangar, aircraft storage hangar, offices and a restaurant. BJC is the site of the new Interlocken Advanced Technology Business Center, which the airport says has attracted several new corporate flight departments.
Atlantic Coast Airlines has appointed Dr. Judy Shelton to its board of directors. An economist who specializes in finance, Dr. Shelton is a published author, and serves on the boards of Hilton Hotels and Empower America.
TTI Inc. of Fort Worth, has taken delivery of the first customer Galaxy business jet. The aircraft, serial number 006, will be the second Galaxy in service, preceded by number 005, the company's demonstrator aircraft. Galaxy now has seven Galaxies and six SPX aircraft under completion at its Fort Worth plant. From left are Galaxy Aerospace President and CEO Brian Barents; TTI Inc. CEO Paul Andrews; Judy Andrews; and Roger Sperry, Galaxy's executive vice president, sales.
BFGoodrich's Skywatch Traffic Advisory System has received STC for installation on the Bell 206B JetRanger. Skywatch, which is designed for general aviation aircraft, tracks up to 30 nearby transponder-equipped aircraft using ``TCAS-like symbology,'' according to the manufacturer. Installation requires a single antenna with a standard top-mount or optional bottom-mount.
The Egyptian Government ordered two Gulfstream IVSPs for transporting high-level government officials. Egypt currently operates two G-IIIs, a G-V and two additional G-IVSPs.
Clay Lacy is the owner and legal permittee of Clay Lacy Aviation at Van Nuys Airport in downtown California. He retired as senior captain of United a few years ago after countless pops across the Pacific, to Hawaii and Australia. He has flown all types of flying machines possibly including the box they came in. He has flown his personal denture pink P-51 in the Reno Air Race, Unlimited Class with a full-scale ``Snoopy'' riding shotgun. His beauteous wife, Lois, also flew as a UAL attendant and also is retired (I don't believe she made 60) and is active in the C.L.A.
