Midcoast Aviation, St. Louis Downtown Airport, has hired J.P. Michenon as the company's first vice president, operations support. He most recently served as president of Jet Power and Light Inc. In addition, Midcoast has promoted Morris Smith to senior director, technical services; Chris Carter to senior director, engineering; and Danny Farnham to senior director, modifications.
In October 2002, a group of European journalists traveled to Brazil for an on-scene briefing regarding that country's most important manufacturer-exporter: Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A., best known as Embraer. Mike Vines, B/CA's peripatetic U.K. correspondent, filed this report . At Embraer's headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, a 50-mile (90 kilometer) jog from the bright lights and traffic jams of bustling Sao Paulo, there's a quiet confidence about the new Embraer 170, due to enter service this year.
At the same gathering, Dulles Federal Security Director Scott McHugh reiterated the mantra of Transportation Security Administration Administrator Adm. James Loy that the TSA hopes to approach security in a collaborative spirit. McHugh said he sums up security in two words -- partnership and integration. ``That's really what we at the TSA are all about.'' At Dulles, the TSA has brought in security specialists who will be assigned different areas of the airport. Those specialists will be tasked with checking in weekly with all the stakeholders assigned in their areas.
In his article ``Is There Any Logic to Airport Identifiers?'' (B/CA, August 2001, page 98), Robert A. Searles explored the origins of the three-letter identifiers assigned to U.S. airports by the FAA. He noted that in many cases, the identifier was named after the airport, e.g., JFK for John F. Kennedy International Airport. But as pilots who fly internationally (and anyone who plays Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002) knows, the JFK could be preceded by a K, i.e., KJFK, for K is the ICAO designator for the continental United States.
Trintec Industries, the makers of ``Bad Attitude'' and altimeter wall/desk clocks, is offering its pilot altimeter wrist watch through authorized retailers. The watch features precision quartz movement and a leather strap designed for comfort and durability. Price: $49.95 retail Trintec Industries Inc. 467 Westney Rd. S., Unit 3, Ajax Ontario L1S 6V7 Canada Phone: (905) 427-2039 Fax: (905) 427-9285 www.trintec.com
Goodway Technologies Corp. is now offering the GVC-2200V vapor-steam cleaner, designed to loosen dirt and grime from cold surfaces. The unit produces 330F, dry vapor-steam at a variable pressure of 0-90 psi. When the vapor comes in contact with the surface, the temperature expansion loosens dirt, grease and grime, while instantly killing bacteria, mold and fungus. The cleaner also comes with a chemical injection system for additional cleaning power, and a built-in vacuum is installed to recover loose debris and liquids. Price: Call for pricing Goodway Technologies Corp.
Thunder Aviation NA, Inc. recently completed a 39,000-square-foot hangar at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS). The new facility includes 9,000 square feet of available office space, which can be configured to new tenants' specifications. Thunder Aviation now occupies over 100,000 square feet at Spirit of St. Louis. The company was founded in July 1997.
ZACH BJORNSON-HOOPER IS A seasoned flier who has traveled to the South Pacific, Europe, Mexico and other exotic destinations. On a trip to New Zealand in March 2002, he perceived that the flight attendants were serving water from pitchers to the passengers. Being science-minded, a light bulb went on in Hooper's head. He remembered previous long flights in which the attendants ran out of bottled water. It was a monumental coincidence that Zach had a small thermos packed with petri dishes, filters, agar, vials and a syringe.
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. completed the 200th set of integrated wings for the Gulfstream 500 (GV) series ultra-long-range business jet on Dec. 2, 2002. Under a revenue-sharing agreement with Gulfstream established in 1993, Vought designed and produces the wings, including integration of the electrical, hydraulic and fuel systems. The first 94-foot-long integrated wing was designed and produced in 25 months with an on-time delivery in July 1995.
The ``Freeze to Please'' icing research specialists at NASA's Glenn Research Center have created a series of valuable training aids, available through the GRC Web site: http://icebox-esn.grc.nasa.gov/ext/ education/video/video.html. ``A Pilot's Guide to In-Flight Icing'' is an introductory, interactive computer-based training course, consisting of three modules covering preflight tasks, inflight operations and emergency procedures. Three video programs also are available at nominal charge through Sporty's Pilot Shop.
BAE Systems Controls and DDC-I, Inc. will jointly develop a platform for writing safety-critical software that meets ARINC 653 and DO-178B Level One standards. The companies plan to combine BAE's CsLEOS Real-time Operating System (RTOS) with the DDC-I SCORE (Safety-Critical, Real-time Embedded) multi-language development environment. The new product, dubbed SCORE 653, would combine a development environment and an ARINC 653 RTOS with ``brick wall'' partitioning for use in high-integrity embedded systems in safety-critical applications.
U.S. airline pilots could begin training to use guns to defend their aircraft against terrorists within three months after Congress approved legislation setting up the new Department of Homeland Security. The legislation allows pilots to carry guns in the cockpit. Before training can begin, the TSA will have to determine the type of firearm and ammunition pilots may use, set standards for a new training program, and decide where pilots will keep the weapons onboard and how they will be stored between flights.
The NTSB found that a plugged horizontal tail jackscrew lubrication nipple on an Alaska Air MD-80 made the last and possibly several previous lubrication procedures ineffective. Extended inspection intervals contributed to a failure to detect the resulting excessive nut and thread wear that led to sudden catastrophic thread stripping that rendered the aircraft uncontrollable in pitch. The aircraft, en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco, crashed off the Los Angeles coast in January 2000, killing all 88 people on board.
Thomaz Bark is advancing steadily in his piloting career. Not long ago the Swedish aviator was offered a position flying a Beechjet 400A and the operating company even offered to pay for his type rating. Since the only Beechjet 400A simulators in the world are operated by FlightSafety in Wichita, he proceeded to enroll, only to discover that he would not be permitted to train. At least for the time being.
Four companies are bidding to purchase Belfast City Airport. Bombardier Aerospace, which acquired the Northern Ireland facility when it took over Short Brothers, put the downtown airport on the market in September 2002. The company won't disclose the bidders or its asking price. Although Bombardier said it extended the original bid-closing date of Dec. 6 to Dec. 20, 2002, at the request of the bidders, it still hopes to complete the sale soon.
These two graphs are designed to provide a broad sketch of the Falcon 2000EX's performance, based upon preliminary estimates from Claude Saleilles' sales engineering team at Dassault Aviation. B/CA wasn't able to obtain data for a Specific Range chart because Dassault hasn't commenced high-altitude cruise performance tests. Do not use these data for flight planning.
The General Aviation Coalition (GAC) took its message to senior White House officials on Dec. 12, 2002, to discuss aviation security and other pressing concerns. Industry officials are concerned about the apparent perception among some government officials that aviation in general and general aviation in specific is an inherent security risk. Led by the National Air Transportation Association, the coalition met with the incoming Homeland Security team, including Asa Hutchinson, senior White House officials, and members of Congress.
Advising it is in the best interest of the business aviation community to be proactive on security issues, NBAA President Jack Olcott said the association is developing security protocols that could serve as a template for corporate operations. ``We may look back at Nov. 20 [2002] and say those were the good days,'' Olcott said during remarks on that date to a group of corporate pilots at a meeting at Dulles International Airport. He noted that the TSA is nearly fully occupied with congressionally mandated airline-oriented deadlines.
Considering a new hangar? Then you might want to look at the HydroSwing Door. The pre-hung, one-piece door is designed to operate with little to no maintenance and features fast cycle times, a tight seal and a high wind threshold. The HydroSwing Door can be mounted two ways: The inside design will take up five inches of headroom, and the outside mount takes zero inches of headroom. Options for the door include a DC back-up, remote operation, windows, walk-through doors, custom finishes and a 180-m.p.h. rating. Call for pricing HydroSwing Doors 400 E. 4th St. N., P.O.
When aviation services company FlightTime went belly-up in June, there was concern in business flying circles about the ultimate fate of FlightTime subsidiary Wyvern Consulting. One of the pioneers in the aviation safety auditing trade, Wyvern had established a significant customer base in business aviation, especially among corporate flight departments regularly using its inspection and reporting services.
In 1995, the AOPA, GAMA, Helicopter Association International, National Air Transportation Association and NBAA petitioned the FAA to make ASDI information available on a ``need-to-know'' basis. Subsequently, the NBAA became concerned with the broad-scale dissemination of ASDI data.
This past August, the FAA released a memorandum that would permit the Boeing Business Jet and other large aircraft to operate under FAR Part 135 as long as the aircraft met certain seating and payload limitations. The memorandum ``reaffirmed'' FAA policy that aircraft with seating for 30 or fewer passengers and a payload capacity of 7,500 pounds or less could be flown under Part 135. But the decision also opened the door for operators to fly large aircraft for the first time under the more flexible regulations of Part 135 rather than those of Part 121 or even Part 125.
The charter and small commuter airline industry has changed substantially since 1978 when the current Part 135 was written, but some of the circumstances spurring the review are similar to those that existed back then.
By Richard N. Aarons [email protected] Focus is on crew actions in both a Challenger flight-test crash and Engen motorglider break-up.
ON OCT. 10, 2000, at 1452 CST, a modified Canadair Challenger CL 604 crashed during takeoff from Runway 19R at Wichita Mid-Continental Airport (ICT). The accident aircraft had been equipped with a modified pitch feel unit and was scheduled to run a series of tests at altitude. The crew -- two pilots and a flight-test engineer -- ran the appropriate checklists as they taxied the aircraft out from the Bombardier flight-test center. The left-seat pilot was the pilot flying and he was familiarizing the right-seat pilot with the aircraft.
