Mercury Air Group (MAG) has struck a deal to sell its 18 FBOs to Allied Capital Corp. of Washington, D.C. MAG will focus on growing its three remaining and profitable businesses -- MercFuel, Air Cargo and Government Contracting Services (Maytag Aviation). The Los Angeles-based company was facing an end-of-the-year deadline to pay off a $24 million senior subordinated 12-percent note held by the J.H. Whitney Co. Mezzanine Fund.
Savi Technology's Savi 602 system, a dual-frequency tracking and asset management device based on the company's EchoPoint Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) platform, has earned its STC from the FAA. Savi is the first to receive FAA certification for RFID technology, which transmits data over radio frequency waves. Tracking systems based on RFID technology can be used to locate just about anything, including meal carts and removable flight equipment, as well as tugs, GPUs and other ramp equipment that often gets misplaced or borrowed.
Two Bombardier Aerospace CRJ700s became the first 70-seat RJs in the Asia/Pacific region when delivered to Shandong Airlines of the People's Republic of China in October. Shandong currently operates 10 50-passenger CRJ200s.
Keith Products, Addison, Texas, won STC approval from the FAA for a vapor cycle air-conditioning system for the Cirrus SR22. The 12,500 BTU system, developed in conjunction with Cirrus, has an installed weight of 68 pounds and features an integrated cabin ventilation system and multi-speed evaporator blower unit. A pneumatic control valve allows the pilot to adjust the mix of ambient and conditioned air. For more information, contact Cirrus at (218) 788-3900.
London Biggin Hill, England, appointed Stephan Koss as senior vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation London Biggin Hill. Koss, who has 20 years of experience in the aviation industry, joined Jet Aviation Basel in 2001 as a maintenance sales engineer.
Rolls-Royce is celebrating 50 years of production for the T56 engine this month. The turboprop engine, which can produce between 3,250 and 5,800 shaft hp, has accumulated 180 million operating hours and is in service on C-130 Hercules, C-2A Greyhound, E-2C Hawkeye and P-3 Orion aircraft. Rolls-Royce has produced more than 16,500 of the engines to date and the company said that production could continue through 2015.
When you added a King Air B200C to the fleet a few years back, one of the first things your maintenance crew did was to ensure the aircraft is fully compliant with all applicable Airworthiness Directives (ADs). As it turned out, they discovered AD 87-22-01R1, a recurring inspection of the nose-gear fork assembly, was coming due. A related Service Bulletin recommended the inspection be made using fluorescent penetrant liquid. So, you ordered a Zyglo kit with a black light and your crew performed the inspection, which revealed no cracks.
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) contacted leaders of aviation trade associations last week asking them to get in touch with their members in support of winning Senate passage of the FAA reauthorization bill. Mica told the organizations that the Bush Administration ``has stated in writing that it will not privatize the ATC system,'' and pointed out that of the 219 contract towers, 116 were privatized during the Clinton Administration. Those 219 contract towers account for 45 percent of the nation's total of 484, he said.
Four, 14-inch flat-panel displays dominate the G450's instrument panel, providing a wealth of easy-to-use information to the crew. PlaneView is one of the best implementations of Honeywell Primus Epic we've yet seen and it's highly intuitive, especially for pilots with previous SPZ-8000-series Gulfstream cockpit experience who are making the upgrade. The outboard display screens may be configured with an edge-to-edge PFD attitude indicator that's the largest we've seen in a civil aircraft.
Englewood, Colo., recently named George DeClue as Northeast U.S. account executive for the business and general aviation division. Based near White Plains, N.Y., DeClue will be responsible for all business aviation sales in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Eastern Canada. He brings over 16 years of aviation and computer technology sales and management experience to his new position.
Midcoast Aviation received an FAA STC for installation of dual Honeywell MCS-6000+SATCOM systems on Gulfstream V aircraft to provide worldwide cabin telecommunications via Inmarsat.
Considering how instrumental Fred McIntosh was in making the NBAA a key policy player inside the Washington Beltway, it's sad to consider that many current members of the organization probably have little or no direct knowledge of his work at the NBAA. That's why it was so appropriate the board made Fred the second recipient of the NBAA Staff Lifetime Achievement Award at the convention in October. Fred joined the NBAA in early 1964, about a year and a half after he left the U.S.
In keeping with an NTSB recommendation for ``a ground movement safety system that will prevent runway incursions'' by warning flight crews directly, the FAA has issued a contract to Optimus Corp. and its partner, Veracity Engineering, to evaluate and analyze existing and emerging runway safety technologies that could enhance pilot and controller situational awareness.
Finnish regional airline Air Botnia is rebranding itself as Blue 1 effective Jan. 1, 2004. The company claims to be the fastest growing Finnish airline and operates a fleet of Avro RJ85s and Saab 2000s on internal and international routes.
Airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics are leaving aviation for other industries such as public utilities, computers and automotive for better pay, a better career path and a more dynamic work environment. These are some of the findings in ``North American Commercial and Military Aircraft and Engine Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Markets,'' a report written by Research Analyst Merl Fuchs of Frost & Sullivan's San Antonio office.
Corporate Angel Network broke its previous monthly record in October, arranging 210 flights for cancer patients and their families to and from treatment facilities. You can find out more at www.corporateangelnetwork.org.
Wulfsberg Electronics and Chelton Avionics are now offering a new space-saving, panel-mounted navigation, communications and identification controller interchangeable with Bendix, AlliedSignal and Chelton Series III control displays. The FliteLine combined nav/comm control and display unit occupies half the space of earlier units, ideal for RVSM compliance. The controller features bright, full-color displays. Since the installation does not require new wiring, installation time is minimal.
The GAMA board of directors voted Cirrus Design to membership in the organization. The Duluth, Minn., builder of the SR20 and SR22 aircraft will be represented on the GAMA board by Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier.
Aircraft Specialists has opened a new satellite FAA Part 145 repair station at McCullom Airport in Kennesaw, Ga. Arthur T. (Skip) Moore, Aircraft Specialists' chief inspector, reports the satellite shares the capabilities of the company's main facility at Lawerenceville, Ga. (LZU) that has authorization to work on Challengers, Learjets, 500- and 600-series Citations, King Airs, Hawkers, Beechjets and IAI Westwind 1124s and 1124As. It also has Radio Class I, II and III certifications. David Zorger has been named director of maintenance.
The G450 gets a considerably more-robust APU that produces 44 percent more bleed air and 33 percent more AC electrical power than the 36-100G aboard older Gulfstream IV series aircraft. It has virtually the same capacity as the APU fitted to the Bombardier CRJ 200. The new unit features a FADEC-like Electronic Engine Control, an oil-cooled generator, an upgraded gear box and a ported shroud around the compressor that eliminates the need for a compressor bleed valve. It can be started and run up to FL 370 and it's fully integrated with the Primus PlaneView avionics suite.
AOPA President Phil Boyer told FAA Administrator Marion Blakey that continued pressure from her agency to enforce airport grant obligations is crucial to protecting America's airports. At a meeting with Blakey, FAA senior managers and the General Aviation Coalition, Boyer highlighted several instances, including the latest win in St. Petersburg, Fla., in which the threat of FAA grant obligation enforcement actions protected a general aviation airport.
Allendale, N.J., has added Jim Schneider as director of sales. Schneider's background includes FAR Part 145 repair station, Part 135 charter and Part 121 airline management experience.
L-3 Avionics Systems is certifying a WAAS-capable, small, low-cost GPS receiver. The company is aiming the product primarily at system integrators. The 1.6-by-3.2-by-0.4-inch receiver will meet FAA TSO-C145a and RTCA DO-229C Class Beta-1 requirements and utilize DO-178B Level B software assurance, and will be qualified to DO-160D environmental categories.
Shrike Makes Final Flight Airshow legend Bob Hoover has made his Shrike Commander's final flight. The Shrike had been on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum in Lakeland, Fla., until it could be displayed in the new National Air and Space Museum annex at Washington's Dulles International (IAD), set to open Dec. 15 (see ``Building for History,'' page 56). Hoover flew the green and white aircraft to Washington where he did a fly-by over the huge hangar-shaped museum before touching down for the last time.
PrivatAir added a 14-seat Falcon 900B to its charter fleet in Europe. Owned by a Dutch investor, the aircraft is based in Amsterdam. The Falcon is the first conventional business jet in PrivatAir's European fleet -- its other European-based aircraft are Boeing and Airbus models. The company also recently added a Gulfstream IV to its U.S.-based charter fleet.
