Insiders say that FAA certification of the Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 business jet will slip until mid to late 2000, although the firm is standing by its projected date of fourth-quarter 1999. The first production conforming aircraft won't fly until early next year, followed in 30 to 60 days by the second and third flight test aircraft.
Sales of used turbine aircraft continued at a brisk pace and the value of the jet and turboprop fleets each increased more than two percent during the second quarter of 1998, according to the publishers of The Aircraft Bluebook. Bluebook publisher Primedia Intertec, based in Overland Park, Kan., noted that the robust sales activity continues to push up jet prices, although turboprop values rose only slightly.
The ``yolk'' referred to in the September Intelligence item describing the interior styling of the Jaguar King Air (page 26) should, of course, be ``yoke.''
Air traffic controllers may begin to provide pilots with more timely and accurate alerts on wind shear, microbursts and other severe weather when the FAA eventually starts installing a new computer program called Weather Systems Processors. But the product is about two years down the road. Installation of production-version WSPs is not scheduled to start until nearly 2001, and the technology has yet to be developed.
Orenda Recip Inc. opened its Nova Scotia factory, where it plans to build V-8 engines intended for new airframes as well as retrofit for existing turboprop- and piston-powered airplanes. Gordon A. Gilbert
United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines has launched new Canadair Regional Jet service between Chicago O'Hare and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., and upgraded service from its Washington Dulles International hub to Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; and Hartford, Conn. The O'Hare-Wilkes-Barre service, with three daily roundtrips, comes as a result of so-called ``exemption slots'' awarded by the DOT to promote jet service to markets perceived to be underserved. The carrier also gained exemption slots for service from O'Hare to Charleston, W.Va.
Embraer has made a number of top management changes, both at the factory in Brazil and at the company's EAC subsidiary in Fort Lauderdale. EAC President Sam Hill has been named vice chairman of the EAC board of directors and will work closely with Maurcio Botelho, Embraer CEO and EAC board chairman, in business and strategic development of the company. Hill is replaced by Gary Spulak as EAC president and director of financial development. He previously was executive vice president of EAC and has been with the company since 1983.
Cutter Aviation, the Phoenix-based aircraft sales and service organization, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. William P. Cutter and his wife Virginia founded the original company, Cutter Flying Service, in Albuquerque in 1928. Today, the FBO is headed by Chairman and CEO William R. Cutter, son of the founders. One of the oldest FBOs in the United States, Cutter Aviation sells new Raytheon Beech Aircraft and a variety of preowned airplanes from sales offices in Phoenix; Albuquerque; Long Beach, Calif.; and Austin, Midland and San Antonio, Texas.
Bombardier's mulsize contender, the Continental, was introduced at the NBAA convention in October, but it won't officially be launched until it has a sufficient number of firm orders. Bombardier expects that to happen by mid-1999. The interior cross section will be 86 inches wide and 73 inches high, with a 61- inch wide flat floor. The length of the passenger cabin is 16.5 feet. The Continental will have an NBAA IER range of 3,100 nm with eight passengers. Power will come from two 7,595-pound-thrust AlliedSignal AS907 turbofans.
Gulfstream Aerospace and GATX Capital Corp. have formed a joint-venture company to offer flexible, short-term leases on Gulfstream IVSPs and Vs. The joint-venture company, Gulfstream GATX Leasing LLC, placed orders for five G-Vs and one G-IVSP with deliveries from 1999 through 2001. The venture ownership is split 85 percent by GATX and 15 percent by Gulfstream. GATX is providing financing and management, while Gulfstream is handling sales, marketing and aircraft maintenance.
Rifton Aviation Services plans to open one of the largest business aviation facilities in the Northeast by late 1999. The complex, to be built at the intersection of the two main runways at Newburgh, N.Y. 's Stewart International Airport, will include an immense, 200,000-square-foot "dual hangar," each capable of housing six Boeing Business Jets or Airbus 31 9CJs simultaneously, according to Rifton's Kim Bolter.
In celebration of B/CA's 40th anniversary, each month throughout 1998 we will present excerpts from the top features published 40 years ago. We hope you find them interesting and fun. From the November 1958 issue:
The OAG Business Travel Planner is an amalgamation of information on more than 29,000 hotels in over 14,700 destinations throughout North America, with over 1,000 entries for Latin America. Listings are alphabetical by city, with detailed descriptions of the hotels' services. In addition, the Planner provides the scoop on ground transportation, climate, city attractions and special events at each destination. City Center maps and Metro Area maps showing important highways, hotel locations, major corporations and landmarks are included.
AlliedSignal has come up with a unique way for operators to pay for the -3D upgrade for the TFE73 1-3 engine. Instead of paying for the upgrade kit at the time of installation, operators may elect to factor in the price of the kit into their hourly Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) operating rate. If an operator chooses to include the kit price in its MSP, a new five-year contract will be issued with an hourly baseline rate of $159.67.
Audio International Inc., maker of inflight entertainment and cabin management systems for business aircraft, was awarded FAA certification of its A/V-9665 cabin audio/video controller to TSO-C50c specifications.
Now that The Servicenter, Inc., of Bethany, Okla., is a privately owned and operated enterprise, the facility's hangar space will increase, but no other changes are planned by the new owners: Charles Howard and Dave Hobza, general manager since 1987. The Servicenter retains its status as a maintenance and modification outlet center for numerous business aircraft models.
FAA Order 8400.13 specifies the procedures that operators need to follow to earn approval for flying the standard Cat I and Cat II approaches at Type I airports. Landing facilities are designated as Type I, II or III, depending upon their qualifications to support Cat I, II or III flight operations.
The August 13th rollout and preflight celebration for the Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop had all the hallmarks of a big turbine business aircraft debut-lasers, lights, smoke and huge video monitors. It was nothing like the more utilitarian model introductions Piper has been accustomed to. However, the change was deliberate. The company has cast the $1.35-million Meridian as the highest value in single-engine turboprop aircraft, and Piper President and CEO Chuck Suma says there will be more high-value turbine aircraft to follow.
Nearly 60 percent of NATA members favor some sort of regulatory change with respect to fractional ownership, but the group is split on what course the FAA should take. Some 32 percent said in a membership survey that they believe fractional ownership should be governed by FAR Part 135, even if managed aircraft also end up under Part 135.
FAA delayed implementation of its controversial order that essentially voids early STCs covering the conversion of business jets to cargo configuration (July, page 15). Under the revised schedule, cargo operators have until January 1, 2000 to comply with new STCs (yet to be determined) in order to continue flying. The original compliance date was August 1, 1999. While the delay has not changed industry's opposition to this action, it does give the industry more time to develop an acceptable solution.
Sennheiser's latest products are two, lightweight, closed-cup active noise cancellation headsets: the HMEC200 III ($867) for use in fixed-wing aircraft and the HMEC222 III ($934) for helicopter communications. Both models have a new TSO-certificated electret condenser mike with a gain adjustment to compensate for differences in aircraft audio systems. The mounting assembly is higher on the ear cup for easy boom rotation. A flexible, coiled cable is included with the helicopter model to give the pilot greater freedom of movement.
New from II Morrow is the Apollo GX65, an IFR and VFR en route and terminal certificated GPS receiver with moving map display. The panel-mount unit can perform the same functions as the GX60, except it is not certificated for GPS approaches. Features of the GX65 include a sunlight readable display; continuous satellite tracking for 24-hour, around-the-world navigation; and a communications transceiver with eight watts of transmit power. Smart Keys allow the pilot to customize maps (to add and delete waypoints) while viewing them. Price: $3,995. II Morrow, P.O.
Construction is under way at Elliott Aviation's Moline, Ill. facility to boost the FBO's square footage from 54,000 to 91,000. The expansion project, slated to wrap up in January 1999, will include a new aircraft interior refurbishment center, a new manufacturing facility for the company's cabin noise reduction system, a new hangar (large enough to house G-V or Global Express-size business jets) and a complete redesign of the executive terminal.
The AOPA, the Air Transport Association and the FAA selected Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory of Laurel, Md. to conduct an independent risk assessment study of GPS-based sole-means navigation operations.
