Regional telephone directories-one dedicated to general and corporate aviation in Eastern and Southwestern states and one with an industry focus for Western and North Central states, Alaska and Hawaii-are now available. The Aviation Telephone/Fax Directory is divided into three sections: white pages, giving an alphabetical listing of aviation-related firms; blue pages, listing airports and FBOs by state within the region; and yellow pages, providing classified listings and ads for aviation products and services (about 1,500 listings).
Both Advisory Circular 135-12A, published in 1991, and AC 121-24A, published in 1989, list information that should be on passenger briefing cards. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Warrendale, Pa. also offers guidelines in its "Aerospace Recommended Practice ARP1384 Rev. B." Recommendations culled from these publications are: -- Briefing cards on board an aircraft should pertain only to the make and model of that particular aircraft. -- Cards should be placed so the seated passenger can see them and have easy access to them.
In one of business aviation's worst-kept secrets, CAMP Systems International has acquired Aviation Information Services of Englewood, Colo. The new entity, CAMP Systems/AIS, LLC, will combine CAMP's back-end aircraft maintenance data management services with AIS' front-end programming savvy. CAMP, in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., was itself purchased by an investment group in October 1997.
Getting the most from your increasingly more expensive avionics begins at installation. Cooling, proper grounding, environmental considerations and accessibility head the list of considerations in avionics mounting. "Your equipment will function only as good as the installation," said Jim Lauer, president of IFR Avionics at Van Nuys, Calif., and current chairman of the Aircraft Electronics Association. "It needs to be installed by a knowledgeable professional . . . [and] the FAA paperwork needs to be thoroughly checked."
Hood River, Ore.-based Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corp. received the long-delayed FAA certification of its Category I transponder-based landing system (TLS). The approval permits commissioning of TLS installations in Madras, Ore. and Watertown, Wis. as well as for Hillenbrand Industries' corporate airport in Batesville, Ind.
Corporate operators are not doing badly-for the moment-at obtaining timely departure and arrival slots at London's Heathrow Airport, thanks to their legal challenge of a new slot allocation system.
No significant rule changes resulted from the FAA's recent update of its Aviation Insurance regulation, FAR Part 198. The regulation permits the government to provide insurance for civil aircraft chartered by the military when commercial insurance cannot be obtained
Golfbag Express is marketing a white plastic, golf-bag shipping container to ease the weight, space and handling problems of carrying golf clubs on multi-leg business trips in smaller aircraft. The golf clubs are shipped via United Parcel Service 2nd Day Air to the passenger's destination of choice: golf course, home or office. Price: No charge for the containers. Customer is billed only when UPS moves the bag-$59 each way, flat rate, within the United States, including Hawaii. Golfbag Express, 222 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. 2000, El Segundo, Calif. 90245.
Administrative Judge Allan Elmore of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals has reopened the appeals case of TPI International Airways based on new charges of "fraud upon the court" on the part of government witnesses. Following a series of hearings in 1995, Elmore had ruled against the small Brunswick, Ga., cargo carrier's appeal of an Air Force contract cancellation in August 1990 at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
An FAA program designed to transmit timely graphical, digital weather data to general aviation aircraft essentially free of charge is now in the works. The Flight Information Services program will involve the combined efforts of the agency, vendors and users to reduce weather-related accidents. Operators will need to purchase cockpit display capability. FAA data will be transmitted to aircraft through four VHF channels. Vendors will provide free basic FIS products to all properly equipped aircraft, but vendors could charge for more sophisticated service.
Ready for the asking at Wisconsin FBOs and pilot shops is the 1998 Wisconsin Aeronautical Chart produced by the state's Bureau of Aeronautics. The chart, which is available free of charge, has been completely revised and includes current airport surveyed runway lengths and landscape obstructions. Frequencies are listed for CTAF and AWOS at state airports.
The compliance date for operators using European airspace to install B-RNAV was August 1 at press time, and Eurocontrol's Alexander Hendriks proclaimed there will be no further postponements. Serious backlogs in the delivery and installation of required onboard equipment to hundreds of operators have forced two delays already (June, page 26).
Tyler Jet Completions in Tyler, Texas has been FAA approved as a certificated repair station to perform limited powerplant and accessory installations and repairs
Moshe Keret, IAI's president and CEO, is all smiles these days. We imagine he must have sighed mightily in relief when he saw the final financial performance figures for 1997. IAI's revenue was up 15 percent from 1996 to $1.7 billion. More importantly, the firm earned a modest $24.3 million profit, reversing five years of losses, including a $42 million loss in 1996. "We're now out of the recovery period and business looks very good for the first six months of 1998 and beyond. Our backlog has increased.
This FBO announces two appointments: Jim P. Johnson as director of operations for Downtown AirCharter and Tim Corter as the company's Twin Commander Grand Renaissance refurbishment supervisor.
At its annual maintenance and operations meeting, Gulfstream Aerospace told its customers that it hopes to increase dispatch reliability from "99.4 percent to 99.7 percent" through improved product quality and support
The recent flurry of emergency ADs mandating inspections of electrical wiring related to fuel quantity indicating systems and electrical wiring that runs through fuel tanks on Boeing 737s, 747s and 767s should be of interest and potential concern to corporate and regional operators for two reasons.
Miami-based Aeroservice Training Center and FlightSafety Boeing Training International have received FAR Part 142 training certification. Among other things, Part 142 allows for the increased use of simulators for most pilot training, testing and checking tasks. In the case of Aeroservice, the Part 142 approval permits the 22-year-old company to train, check and license pilots for DC-8s, B737s and B727s.
Wayfarer Aviation, the White Plains, N.Y.-based firm best known for its large charter and management operation, is greatly expanding its outside maintenance services. Under the label "Blue Light Service," Wayfarer President Jim Christiansen said the company now offers "'round the clock AOG and routine maintenance for most corporate aircraft." Wayfarer has maintained an FAR Part 145 repair station at Westchester County Airport for many years, but Blue Light Service is the company's first organized maintenance product.
K-C Aviation has rescheduled its 1998 Sundstrand APU training program at Westfield, Mass. to October 6-8. Originally, the program was scheduled for later in October. The course, FAA approved for IA renewal, will cover troubleshooting and inspections of T62T-39 and -40C series units. The course costs $850 and registration should be made no later than September 6. The course also will run in Dallas on December 8-10. For additional information, contact Jeff Shope at K-C Aviation in Dallas. Phone: (214) 902-7575, fax: (214) 902-7625.
