Southern Star Avionics has completed flight testing its RVSM package for Citation 560 and S550 airframes and hopes for group certification in early March. Southern Star, a partnership between Mobile, Ala.-based Star Aviation and Southern Avionics, currently holds RVSM Group Certification for the Citation 500/550 and -SP series aircraft. The turnkey installation kit uses two identical IS&S digital altimeters with integrated air data computers and an analog interface unit.
AvCraft Aerospace has contracted with Virginia-based BAE Systems Regional Aircraft to operate spares storage, distribution and logistics support for both the Dornier 328 and 328JET to cover North, Central and South America. The agreement will be instituted in three phases and run initially for six years. In the first phase, AvCraft will locate some $150 million of aircraft spares at BAE's facility from stock acquired from Texas-based M7 Aerospace and from AvCraft's own stock at its Oberpfaffenhofen facility.
Mercury Air Cargo, Los Angeles, has named former UPS executive Paul J. Martins as its new chief operating officer. Martins has nearly 20 years of experience in the air freight industry.
3M, St. Paul, Minn., has appointed six employees to new positions within its newly created Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance Division. Dan Machacek is sales and marketing director; Larry Ptasienski is MRO market segment manager; Rich Bushman is OEM market segment manager; Jeff Lonergan is military market segment manager; Cristina Rosenfeld-Bless is marketing manager in international planning and development; and Karen Cleveland is marketing communications administrator.
Honeywell has received an STC for its DRVSM package for Citation 500s. The approval, announced on Jan. 6, covers Citation 500 serial numbers 001 through 0274. The full package includes two next-generation AM 250 altimeter systems coupled to a KFC 325 Flight Control System and EFIS 50 electronic flight instrument system. The altimeters are available separately for aircraft already equipped with a KFC 325 and EFIS 50. Authorized Honeywell Bendix/King dealers can install the equipment.
Jeppesen World Fuel Services customers have a new Web site where they can look up jet fuel prices at more than 1,500 locations worldwide. The detailed price quotes include applicable taxes and fees to show customers the total cost up front. Prices based on different uplift volumes are also listed to help operators determine if there is any benefit in uploading more fuel. Users can store frequented destinations, search past fuel quotes and see the name of the actual into-plane provider.
Northeast Air, Portland, Maine, has announced three personnel changes. With the addition of an avionics engineering department, Craig Bellaire has been hired as avionics engineer. Bellaire was previously with Corporate Wings/Flight Options in Rochester, N.Y., and Executive Aircraft Corp. in Wichita. Also, Caron Casteel has been promoted to general manager of maintenance and avionics, in which capacity he will oversee sales and maintenance as well as avionics service and installation for all turboprop and turbine aircraft.
Air Chef has kicked it up a notch, introducing a special charter menu for sports teams. The company said it had worked closely with clients to develop special menus balancing dietary requirements and regional requests -- specifically the carbohydrate and protein counts that many teams require. The menus were developed for pre-boarding snacks, and onboard appetizers, entrees and desserts, as well as ``front of the plane'' and ``back of the plane'' choices. Vegan, kosher and Atkins menus are available as well.
An A for perseverance. Capt. Jose A. Vega Salinas of Transporte Aereo Tecnico Ejecutiva, based in Toluca, Mexico, was stricken with appendicitis while attending FlightSafety Falcon 900EX EASy initial training in Teterboro, N.J. After emergency surgery and a weekend of recuperation at his hotel, Capt. Salinas hooked up with the next class, albeit walking very, very slowly and wearing loose sweats.
The FAA placed one firm order and two options for Bombardier Challenger 604s for runway and airway calibration and special missions. The FAA already operates three Challenger 601-3Rs and six Learjet 60s for civil and military runway calibration worldwide. The new Challenger 604 is scheduled for delivery in November.
AvCraft Aerospace restarted production of the Dornier 328JET at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, in January and first deliveries are planned for the fourth quarter of this year. On the line are five partially completed aircraft taken over from the Fairchild Dornier bankruptcy in September 2002. The first of these aircraft has found a buyer and two others are subject to contractual negotiation, according to chief executive Ben Bartel. AvCraft has wings for production through to first quarter 2005. A new wing vendor will be selected by mid-February.
Should you register your aircraft offshore as a further ring of anonymity between the aircraft and your company? ``A lot of our clients who operate into areas of high risk choose the lower visibility of flags of convenience, or registration with non-confrontational states like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas,'' Roger Rose, president of Miami-based International Pilot Services, told B/CA.
Raytheon has named Duncan Aviation a Hawker/Beechjet 400XP authorized service center for all 400XP maintenance events including warranty work. Dan Fuoco, Duncan's Hawker Service sales representative, said that ``400XP authorization complements the capabilities of our Hawker-focused teams.'' Duncan Aviation already performs airframe maintenance, engine and APU service, landing gear overhauls, and paint and interior refurbishments on all Hawker models.
Turboprops were involved in 52 accidents, including 20 fatal accidents, which resulted in 45 passenger and crew fatalities in 2003. In 2002 there were 45 accidents, 17 fatal accidents and 42 fatalities.
While the man-portable antiaircraft missile threat is probably exaggerated by the media, it does exist, as was seen in November 2003 in Iraq and in 2002 in East Africa. In the former incident, a DHL Airbus A300 freighter was struck by a shoulder-launched heat-seeking missile while departing Baghdad, receiving serious damage to its flight control system. Its resourceful crew fought the stricken airplane to a successful landing, escaping by the skin of their teeth.
Daniel Webster College, Nashua, N.H., has appointed Stephen K. Brown as director of flight operations. Brown has been with the college for the past three years as director of flight education/chief instructor, and also held the position of interim director of flight operations for four months.
The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority was so concerned that aircraft on approach or takeoff are at risk when light shows or firework displays are being held near airports that it issued guidelines to New Year's Eve display organizers covering fireworks, lasers and searchlights. A CAA official confirmed that no occurrences were recorded over this latest New Year period, but that fireworks have reportedly hit four aircraft in the past four years.
While FAR Part 135 and Part 121 provide operators with specific guidance regarding the assignment of cabin attendants, there's no such requirement for a business aircraft with a seating capacity of less than 19 passengers. Nevertheless, there are times when a flight attendant is invaluable to assuring passenger comfort and safety.
Looking for a flight attendant isn't a matter of flipping through the Yellow Pages until reaching ``Aviation -- Cabin Safety Specialist.'' So how do you find someone who's reliable, presentable, charming, service-minded and familiar with your particular aircraft, its safety equipment and galley facilities? Methodology in this instance dictates telephoning -- to a personnel agency, a friend who has used flight attendants in the past, or neighboring flight department schedulers.
Aviation Fabricators (AvFab) of Clinton, Mo., has developed an armrest repair process for Beech King Air 350 (B300) and Hawker/Beechjet 400A aircraft seats. Previously the only option for operators was to purchase a replacement armrest. The AvFab repair process costs about one-third of replacement part costs with a typical turnaround time currently running about two days after the receipt of the broken unit. And, the company says, the repaired armrests are stronger than the original. For more information, call Jeff Lowe at AvFab at (660) 885-8317.
Thrust-Tech Aviation, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a subsidiary repair station of Corporate Rotable & Supply that services the commercial, general and business aviation marketplaces, has appointed Mike Salapack as general manager. Salapack has over 20 years of senior level management experience and was most recently director of aftermarket sales and operations for Electromech Technologies in Wichita.
Bonnie LeVar Executive Director, Corporate Angel Network, White Plains, N.Y. Founded in 1981, CAN arranges free flights for cancer patients aboard corporate aircraft traveling on routine business. Some 500 companies participate in CAN and to date have carried nearly 18,000 patients. A former social worker for emotionally disturbed children and a CAN volunteer, LeVar took charge of the operation in 2002. 1 Your work with runaway teens must have been emotionally trying. LeVar: Yes, but ditto here, big time.
Scheyden's Flip Sunglasses come in seven styles that range from the classic aviator ``El Capitan'' to the more sleekly designed ``Avalon.'' The handmade, lightweight frames are constructed from titanium for strength and durability. The lenses can be flipped to the up position to ease chart and instrument reading. The sunglasses come with a micro-fiber cleaning cloth, micro-fiber carrying bag and personally engraved Rosewood case. Price: $199 to $445 Scheyden Precision Eyewear 17811 Jamestown Ln.
A blunt letter from the FAA to Danbury, Conn., Mayor Mark Boughton threatened to displace the landing threshold of the city airport's longest runway by nearly 1,000 feet unless trees on the approach were cut down. That would leave only 3,500 feet of Runway 8/26's more than 4,400 feet of asphalt available for landing and could also potentially affect all five instrument approaches into DXR.
Lockheed Martin has completed tests of Flight Safety Technologies' SOCRATES (Sensors for Characterizing Ring-eddy Atmospheric Turbulence Emanating Sound) laser-based instrumentation to detect wake vortices. Acoustic equipment using four separate laser beams was installed at a field 2 miles from Denver International Airport, where approaching aircraft flew overhead at about 500 feet or higher.
