Flight Time, a Waltham, Mass.-based air charter broker, acquired aviation software company MACH-1 and safety auditor Wyvern, Ltd., publisher of the Wyvern Report. No staff changes are planned at either company. Although Wyvern will continue to operate independently, Flight Time's charter suppliers likely will be required to undergo Wyvern auditing in the future, if they already haven't, according to Flight Time President Robert McBride. MACH-1 develops trip management software for air charter operators and corporate flight departments.
Most approach/landing accidents occur at night or in IMC when the pilot who flies the approach continues on to land the aircraft. Many airlines and corporate operators believe the risk is reduced if the one pilot flies the approach and missed approach while the other monitors the approach progress and then lands the aircraft after obtaining sufficient visual reference. Logically enough, this operation is called a monitored approach.
NTSB investigators are examining issues of crew scheduling, crew pairing, intra-cockpit communications and dispatch policies, as well as the psychology of terminal area operations and training as it continues its examination of the June 1, 1999 crash of an American Airlines MD-82 at Little Rock, Ark.
Honeywell conducted its first flight test of the AS900 turbofan engine, the powerplant chosen for Bombardier's Continental Business Jet and the Avro RJX. The engine flew more than two hours on Honeywell's Boeing 720 test-bed near Phoenix and is expected to accumulate 7,500 hours of testing by the time of FAA certification, which is planned for spring 2001. (For further information about the test, see page 32.)
Bombardier has sold two Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ) to J-Air, a Japan Air Lines subsidiary based in Hiroshima. J-Air now operates five 19-seat turboprops in southwest Japan, and plans to fly the 50-seat jets on new routes.
Results of a recent poll by Manager magazine placed DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) as the ninth ``most-esteemed'' German company. DASA also received a 1999 German Business Innovation Award for its role in developing laser welding for the aerospace industry.
Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport (BWG) in Bowling Green, Ky., plans to unveil its new airport terminal building and newly expanded ramp area this month. The 10,000-square-foot terminal will have 120 parking spaces and up to 60 aircraft tiedowns, compared with the 80 parking spaces and 21 tiedowns offered now. According to airport President and CEO Cornelius Martin, the construction was funded through the public and private sectors.
In the pioneering years of television, as Philo Farnsworth and his followers competed with Robert Sarnoff and his minions at the Radio Corp. of America to be the first to offer broadcast television, a demonstration was staged of airborne TV reception.
Pilots working for US Airways' wholly owned regional carriers could receive preferential hiring at the mainline carrier if ongoing talks are successful. According to sources within the US Airways chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union has proposed a ``bi-directional flow-through agreement'' involving Allegheny, PSA and Piedmont Airlines, and ``percentage caps and ratios are being discussed.''
The main objective of a medical examination is to identify risk factors as well as diagnose medical problems either suspected or unknown. Risk factors are not a diagnosis, but they do lend important insights to a potential diagnosis. Such risk factors stand alone; that is, everything else being normal, the factor increases the risk of developing cardiac disease. Therefore, it's important to recognize the following classic independent risks: hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, smoking, age, gender and, most important, family history.
Pilots of business aircraft often wonder what would happen if they were to declare an emergency. What kind of assistance can ATC provide? Is this an invitation for the FAA to launch an inquisition into your pilot qualifications and recurrent experience status? Are you asking to have your aircraft documents, logbooks, maintenance records and repair shop put under a legal microscope? Is there a uniform standard for when and why ATC initiates certain kinds of incident or deviation reports?
The European Union's (EU) ongoing effort to restrict the importation of ``hushkitted'' U.S. aircraft has incited a formal complaint from U.S. government trade officials. Filed under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation, the complaint alleges that EU regulations discriminate against U.S. equipment, while representing a ``stark departure'' from global aircraft noise standards developed by ICAO.
Boeing has installed the first set of production winglets on a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) to be used in upcoming certification test flights. The tests will generate data for the BBJ and all other 737 next-generation aircraft equipped with the winglets, which are designed by Aviation Partners Inc. (API) and built by Hexcel Structures. Boeing Aviation Services (BAS) will retrofit the winglets at its plant in Wichita.
Mercury Air Group subsidiary Maytag Aircraft Corp. has won a $7.5 million contract to provide aircraft fueling and related services at the North Island Naval Air Station and outlying naval airfields in the San Diego area. These sites include Imperial Beach, San Clemente Island and Coronado, Calif.
With a square jaw, all the right answers and hundreds of hours in the cockpits of U.S. Navy S-3 jets, Sam got a major airline job with minimal fuss. Eventually, his classmates discovered the truth and ratted him out, however. An electronic systems operator, Sam had claimed his ride-along time as pilot experience, hiding the deception behind legitimate FAA certificates and ratings earned in his spare time.
Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) is continuing its expansion with the acquisition of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Flight Review. Founded by veteran instructor Tom Clements, Flight Review provides on-site pilot training in Raytheon aircraft. Clements is a former Beech factory instructor and training manager with over 11,000 hours in King Airs. Flight Review has merged with Pan's Am's SimCom International operation in Scottsdale, with Clements joining the school as an instructor.
United Technologies Corp., Honeywell and software company I@ Technologies are teaming up to create Myaircraft.com, an e-commerce site to sell aircraft products and services on the Web. The partners say services planned for the new site include supply chain management, auction capabilities, and access to technical experts and online technical publications. The initial phase of Myaircraft.com is expected to launch this spring. New York-based Supplyview.com also says it is entering the Web-based aviation parts business.
John J.T. Helms is now branch manager of the company's new pleasure and business office. Craig Williams is now branch manager of the aviation insurance agency's new San Francisco office.
You can never have enough of a good thing. That's the philosophy of Earl Robinson, president of just launched Alliance Aircraft Holding Corp., which plans to enter the highly competitive regional jet market with a new family of 55- to 110-seat aircraft. Alliance claims two letters of intent for 28 aircraft.
Photograph: Honeywell's AS900 flight-test team Backslapping and handshaking were prevalent at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on January 28, as Honeywell's Boeing 720 flying test bed touched down after the successful first flight of the firm's new AS900 turbofan engine. Pre-launch delays caused by a brand-new digital test suite aboard the Boeing cut the ambitious four-plus hour test card by one half, however, since FAA rules require the test flight to be completed by sunset (1756 local time).
Columbia, Mo.-based Ozark Air Lines has received FAA certification and began operations under FAR Part 121. The regional carrier is operating two Fairchild 328JETs from its Columbia headquarters to Chicago Midway and Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. Ozark is using similar livery as its Missouri namesake, which merged with TWA in 1986.
Michael Gregory has been named vice president and general manager of its West Palm Beach facility, a new position. Gregory, a 12-year Jet Aviation veteran, was the company's CFO. Susan Howard is Jet's new customer service manager in West Palm.
Schweizer Aircraft is partnering with Northup Grumman to produce an unmanned version of its Model 333 turbine helicopter for the U.S. Navy. Under the terms of the $93 million deal, Schweizer will manufacture nine airframes to be designated as Model 379 or Vertical takeoff and landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV). The aircraft is designed to carry a 200-pound payload, fly 110 nm and remain on-site for three hours at altitudes as high as 20,000 feet.
