Aeor Mats and Pylon Mats from I.L.Y.P. Sales provided removable covers to protect aircraft wings and pylons from structural damage during maintenance and repairs. The closed-cell vinyl sponge matting--available for most business aircraft--is fluid-resistant and wipes clean with alcohol or soap and water. Yellow borders on the 25- to 45-pound mats warn of hazardous work areas. The nonskid, pebble-finish mats, says I.L.V.P., help to relieve workers' leg and back fatigue.
This chart, supplied by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fl., shows the number of accidents and major incidents experienced by the turbine-business aircraft fleet from the time the specific model was introduced through 1997. WORLDWIDE AIRCRAFT-SPECIFIC ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS Business Jets Number of Accidents/ Major Aircraft Incidents Challengers 14
Lancair International selected BFGoodrich's Stormscope WX-950 thunderstorm detection system as standard equipment on the Columbia 300, a four-place, single-engine recip scheduled for certification in the fall (May, page 68). The system will be designed to interface with the Avidyne/AvroTech Flight Monitor multifunction display.
FAA extended the comment period to June 26 on its August 1997 proposal to update the overall regulatory structure of FAR Part 107 (airport security) and Part 108 (aircraft operator security). Several general aviation interests are already on record proposing that separate rules be adopted for general aviation operations (February 1998, page 24). For more information, contact the FAA at (202) 267-9496.
A realignment of the top executives at Signature Flight Support and its parent unit, BBA Aviation, resulted in Bruce Van Allen being promoted to president and CEO of the FBO chain. Dick Dodson moved up to become president and CEO of the BBA Aviation Division. In addition to Signature, BBA Aviation includes Dallas Airmotive (which recently acquired Precision Avionics and Instruments in Atlanta).
Nearly five percent fewer regional airlines carried seven percent more passengers during 1997, according to the RAA. They also generated 7.6-percent more revenue passenger miles on an increase of only 3.5 percent in available seat miles, and average load factor increased from 53 to 55 percent year-over-year. The number of airlines in operation declined 4.6 percent to 104-a number that stood at 169 in 1987.
Despite initial misgivings from many quadrants about Jane Garvey's lack of aviation experience, she has done a remarkable job of turning potential critics into fans during her first nine months on the job. Already popular on Capitol Hill when she got the FAA job, Garvey has managed to solidify her support in Congress and won kudos for her efforts to communicate with the people who build and fly aircraft. She's also drawn praise for trying to develop consensus answers to major problems and prioritizing the FAA's safety agenda.
A strike or even a work slowdown by air traffic controllers in Canada is not imminent, despite an overwhelming rejection in early May of a proposed contract offer. Officials from Nav Canada and the Canadian Air Traffic Controllers Association told B/CA that the steps required to obtain authority to strike (including a work slowdown) take several months.
Something special is in the air at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.: Two business aircraft hanging on high for public view-a Beech King Air A90 and a Cessna Citation 501. The business aircraft classics are part of a new, NBAA-sponsored "Business Wings" exhibit that opened on June 12 and runs through May 31, 1999 to inform museum visitors about the roots and purpose of business aviation.
When you decided to become an aviation professional, you knew you would have to master many skills-piloting, for example, and engineering and management. But, I bet you never suspected one of those critical skills would be legislative lobbying. Well, it is, and if you avoid using that skill, you risk serious consequences.
Avidyne Corp. received TSO C113 EFIS and C110 lightning sensor system approvals for its flat-panel, multifunction flight computer, thereby paving the way for STC approvals in a wide variety of installations, including in Mooney 252s. TSO C63c weather radar interface certification is expected by the end of the summer. News of the TSO approval was welcomed by AvroTech, a manufacturer of large format, flat-panel MFDs that will use Avidyne's software.
The CFE738 engine, built under a joint program between AlliedSignal and General Electric, recently passed 100,000 hours of operation since entering service in 1995. More than 100 engines are in service
Aircraft painting companies and other aviation users of methylene chloride may be given more regulatory relief from Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules aimed at lowering exposure rates to the caustic chemical (February, page 28). OSHA is considering a petition to extend to April 10, 2000 the start-up date to install engineering and respirator controls that limit exposure. The current deadlines are August 31 for respirator controls and December 10 for engineering controls.
New from PPG Industries is a disposable, single-application rain-repellent coating kit formulated as a visibility enhancer for glass-faced aircraft windshields. PPG's Hydrophobic Coating Application Kit includes Surface Seal coating and all materials needed to clean, prime and coat the windshield in about one hour. The handle-box kit weighs less than 10 pounds. Price: $350. PPG Industries, P.O. Box 040004, Huntsville, Ala. 35804. (205) 851-7001; fax: (205) 851-8822.
There seems to be an attitude of complacency that comes with the transition from winter to summer, a feeling that now we are going to "get a break and get some payback from the harshness of winter. We can lay back a little. But summer flight operations deserve as much respect, if not more, than do winter operations.
Southeast Toyota and Florida Jet Service are the first two recipients of a new Achieving Community Excellence (ACE) awards program to recognize noise abatement efforts of operators at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. "These two companies consistently demonstrate their exceptional willingness and ability to fly quietly," said Bill Crouch, airport manager. Toyota operates four corporate jets from the airport and Florida Jet Service flies three. In total, there are 85 corporate jets based at Executive Airport.
Edward G. Tripp FIRST COMBINED NATA/PAMA SHOW GETS AN `A'
Officials of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) were confident their decision to combine their trade shows and collocate their annual member meetings was a success before they got to Kansas City, Mo. in early April. All 650 available booth spaces were sold out in advance by 400 exhibitors. Official attendance was 4,088, according to figures released by PAMA after AS3 (for Aviation Services and Suppliers SuperShow) ended.
Gulfstream's May offering of 18 million new shares will not result in a change of control at the company. Forstmann Little, which owns about 20 percent of Gulfstream's shares, will continue as the largest single shareholder. And the company's bylaws permit the board, led by Chairman Ted Forstmann, to add members and issue new shares without shareholder approval, making it difficult for a third party to gain control of the company, according to Security and Exchange Commission filings.
Honeywell's Auckland, New Zealand avionics repair shop will be approved shortly to perform Level III maintenance on the company's TCAS 2000 and Level IV service on datalink Mode S transponders.
ARINC inaugurated its GLOBALink/HF service on January 28 when ARINC declared the first HF datalink (HFDL) ground station online. The ground station, located at ARINC's communications center in San Francisco, will be part of a worldwide network to provide GLOBALink/HF service. Aircraft equipped with HFDL avionics can now send and receive standard ACARS messages when outside the range of VHF ACARS coverage. In March, a second ground station was opened at ARINC's Hawaii facility.
Century Aerospace of Albuquerque, N.M. is redesigning the cabin of its proposed single-engine business jet to accommodate an optional, private aft lavatory. Baggage capacity is reduced from 48 cubic feet to 30 cubic feet with the lav. Meanwhile, the development schedule for the Century Jet has slipped several months, with first flight now scheduled for December 1999 and certification for March 2001.
