Jet Aviation has replaced its American president with a Swiss executive. Terrance P. Kelley, who has been with the company for nine years, most recently as president and chief operating officer, is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
The hottest ticket in Washington, D.C., is for a seat on the FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) that will review FAR Parts 125 and 135, according to our sister newsletter, The Weekly of Business Aviation. The FAA originally wanted a 15-member panel for manageability. Sources say the agency received more than 100 requests for a seat on the ARC and increased the committee size to 25 to ensure widespread industry representation.
Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) and Honda Motor Co. are conducting a feasibility study for a next-generation, four-cylinder piston aviation engine that operates on unleaded automobile gasoline. The study follows two years of testing a prototype, Honda-designed aviation piston engine at TCM's Mobile, Ala., facility. The purpose of the research is to evaluate potential marketing, servicing and manufacturing opportunities as well as to identify potential product launch customers for the engine.
The Company Jet, Grand Rapids, Mich., has hired Stephanie Skorik as manager of business development. Skorik will be responsible for all sales activity in Milwaukee and surrounding areas of Wisconsin, introducing businesses to the new fractional jet ownership company, which was founded in November 2002 by Northern Jet Management.
Sky High Gear has introduced its Apollo and Discovery flight bags. Both bags are made of Ballistic Nylon and feature large, padded pockets to aid in managing your gear -- sectionals, hardware, flashlights, charts, keys and backup batteries. The inner pockets are lined for your PDA, E6B, GPS, sunglasses, etc., and the headset pockets will comfortably protect and fit any ANR headset. Price: $85.95 Sky High Gear, Inc. P.O. Box 547 Kaysville, UT 84057 Phone: (801) 390-5501 Fax: (801) 779-9818 www.skyhighgear.com
Alternative Avionics and partner Aero Mech have obtained an RVSM Group Approval for the IAI Westwind I. The award follows a Westwind II RVSM Group Approval won in 2002 and an earlier group Approval for the Lockheed JetStar II. Meanwhile, the partners have completed Falcon 20F group certification test flights, and the RVSM Group Approval documentation should receive FAA approval early in the second quarter of this year. In addition, Alternative Avionics has non-group RVSM approvals for the Cessna Citation, the JetStar 731, Westwind I, Westwind II and the Falcon 20C.
Avidyne's FlightMax Entegra became the first certified all-glass cockpit system for light aircraft after the company announced TSO certification of its system components and an STC for a complete installation on Feb. 24. FlightMax Entegra includes a primary flight display with integrated ADAHRS and a FlightMax EX5000 multifunction display. The Entegra presents attitude, performance and horizontal situation/navigation information. It is driven by an integrated ADAHRS and air data package and interfaces with a wide range of RF navigation sensors.
The National Air Transportation Association filed a petition with the FAA on March 13 to reopen Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to non-scheduled air carriers. ``The closure of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to all but scheduled flight operations conducted under Part 121 is creating serious harm for the traveling public and for NATA's members certificated to operate non-scheduled commercial service under Part 135 air carrier regulations,'' stated NATA President James Coyne.
ARINC Inc., Annapolis, Md., has promoted Graham Lake to corporate vice president, European operations. Lake continues as managing director of the company's operations in Europe, a post he has held since 1999.
Midcoast Aviation, Perryville, Mo., has appointed Tony J. Koprivnik as Learjet program manager, in which capacity he will oversee expanded Learjet services for the full-service corporate jet aircraft maintenance and modification provider. Koprivnik is a licensed A&P mechanic and IA technician with experience in all Learjet series aircraft.
Charlie Johnson, a 14,000-hour pilot who once flew for Arnold Palmer and has served as Cessna president since 1997, is taking on further executive responsibilities. On March 7, long-time Chairman and CEO Russ Meyer announced that Johnson had been given ``full operations responsibility'' for the company and would henceforth report directly to Textron, Cessna's parent. Johnson said he's taking the reins during the ``most challenging year since the mid-1980s'' and that while good backlogs remain, the number of canceled aircraft orders and slowed sales is a concern.
Piaggio Aero Industries announced a signed contract with Pan Europeenne Air Service, a French regional airline and charter company based in Chambery, for the sale of two (one firm and one option) Piaggio P.180 Avanti turboprops. The first Avanti will be delivered in May.
Sikorsky Aircraft is the winner of the 2002 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The National Aeronautic Association selected the manufacturer for its development of the S-92 helicopter. The S-92 is a 19-passenger, twin-engine helicopter, derived from the military S-70, with a range of about 575 miles and top speeds of up to 165 knots.
It is Oct. 7, 2002, and we have been here for three days. I am beginning to remember some of the things I learned on earlier trips, but the flying here is always unique and the circumstances are very different now since the fall of the Taliban. Kabul itself looks much the same, although the people are not oppressed and intimidated as they were previously. There is a lot of energy in the city as refugees return, living in the basements of bombed-out buildings, and in single rooms that are bricked up against the elements in buildings that are otherwise gutted.
MARION BLAKEY, the politically savvy lady who gave in to White House arm-twisting -- surrendering an ``easy'' job chairing the NTSB to replace Jane Garvey as FAA administrator -- isn't well known yet in the aviation community. She's generally kept a low profile and avoided contact with the media while getting up to speed on the myriad programs and issues with which the FAA chief must deal on a daily basis.
Atlantic Aero announced the opening of its new aircraft interior facility at the Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, N.C. Atlantic acquired a 6,100-square-foot hangar exclusively for interior work. Meanwhile, Andy Waynick joined Atlantic to serve as director of interiors.
Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Teterboro, N.J., has named Bob ``Herbie'' Kane as regional sales manager for the western United States. Kane replaces Paul Floreck, who was promoted to the Eastern region. Kane has been with Dassault Falcon since 1997 and is rated in the Falcon 50, 50EX, 900B/C, 900EX and 2000.
When TWA Flight 800 exploded off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., in July 1996, the Boeing 747 was reduced to thousands of pieces that sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Charged with determining the probable cause of the disaster, the NTSB first tried to elicit answers from the aircraft's voice and data recorders, but found few. And so it was faced with the painstaking task of retrieving all those pieces of debris from the ocean floor and rebuilding the aircraft to determine what had brought it down.
The FAA says a ban on Stage 2 aircraft at Naples, Fla., Municipal Airport (APF) is unreasonable, unjustly discriminatory and preempted by federal law. According to GAMA President Ed Bolen, ``The FAA's ruling reinforces the federal interest that is inherent in a national air transportation system, particularly when that system is funded with federal tax dollars.
Chautauqua Airlines will add flights under the US Airways Express banner from New York's La Guardia Airport to Chattanooga, Tenn.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Dayton, Ohio, beginning on May 4. All service will be flown using 50-seat Embraer-145 regional jets, US Airways announced.
NetJets Europe plans to have 51 aircraft based in Europe by year-end, 15 of which are yet to be delivered. Fractional members in Europe have doubled in the last 12 months from 102 to over 200, and a large number of these come from the United Kingdom, says Charles McLean, Netjets Europe's communications director. The company recently achieved ``base operator'' status at Royal Air Force Northolt, which is close to Heathrow, entitling NetJets to operate seven days a week from the highly secure military base.
The TSA is concerned about a lack of activity on the restricted Web site where operators can download the final Twelve-Five Standard Security Program (TFSSP). It has been available to FAR Part 135 operators for several weeks and is accessible at https://webboards.tsa.dot.gov/ ACO500. Charter operators who requested the TFSSP should have been issued a unique Web ID and password that enables them to download the final program from the TSA Web board. The TSA is tracking activity on the Web site and has seen ``only a few hundred'' downloads of the posted information.
Visual disturbance is among the common symptoms associated with hypoxia, but the effects are most notable in dim lighting. As part of the FAA physiological training program, pilots get to experience firsthand the degradation of night vision that accompanies hypoxia. Our test was conducted at a chamber altitude of 18,000 feet. We were instructed to remove our oxygen masks, and make observations regarding an eye chart, color chart and a sectional aeronautical chart.
CelsiStrip self-adhesive temperature labels are an ``easily applied, reliable method'' for catching the maximum temperature levels of aircraft components under real conditions. The labels can be applied to any clean surface and will permanently change from white to black whenever their specific temperature levels are reached or exceeded. CelsiStrips are available in a variety of arrangements of 40 sequenced temperature levels from +105F/40C to +550F/260C.
Robert Perry, president of Triumph Structural Components Group, died suddenly on Feb. 18 at Hydro-Mill Co. in Chatsworth, Calif. He was president of Hydro-Mill when Triumph Group Inc. acquired it, and he became president of structural components when the company reorganized.
