The Federal Communications Commission has authorized some Ultra-Wideband (UWB) operations, despite the urgings of a broad coalition of aviation and communications industry entities to wait until the UWB industry could clearly show safety would not be jeopardized. GAMA expressed grave concern about the authorization, noting that UWB devices would be authorized to operate in the same frequency spectrum used by the GPS satellite system.
Flight Options and Raytheon TravelAir were scheduled to consummate their merger in late March with a contract signing at Flight Options' Cleveland headquarters. Raytheon Chairman Daniel Burnham was scheduled to attend the signing as was Ken Ricci, chief of the newly merged operation, who was to sign for Flight Options. Ricci told B/CA the most immediate change for the new enterprise was the introduction of a ``revolutionary new pricing plan.'' He said the company would sell fractional shares in new and used aircraft.
-- Rifton Aviation has added a Raytheon King Air 200 to its charter fleet. The operator also will market the plane through its JetLimited, NY fractional ownershipprogram. -- Delta AirElite added a Tallahassee, Fla.-based Cessna CJ1 to its charter fleet as well as a Chicago-based Learjet 60.
We know attitude is a key element in safe flying -- not attitude in the sense that blue is up and brown is down, but attitude in the sense of appreciating our own limitations and willingly examining the risk/benefit relationships in any flight. The loss of an owner-flown Mitsubishi MU-2B-26A at Martha's Vineyard on
Mesa Air Group will sell its PT6 maintenance operation to Pratt&Whitney Canada, which will take over maintenance of Mesa's Beech 1900D engines. Pratt&Whitney Canada will buy assets of Mesa's Desert Turbine Services unit plus Mesa's spare PT6 engines. The proposed six-year agreement covers maintenance for the airline's 58 Beech 1900Ds and 116 PT6 engines. It provides for scheduled and unscheduled engine maintenance and removes Mesa from the turbine service business so it can concentrate on the core airline business, say officials.
Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
Two former Air France Airbus A310-300 airliners are to be converted to governmental VVIP use for the Spanish Ministry of Defense. The two aircraft, which were surplus to Air France's requirements after 9/11, are to be converted by Air France Industries (AFI) of Toulouse, France. Delivery of both aircraft is slated for later this year.
Jet Aviation is using its Singapore operation as a springboard into China and the Pacific region. The six-year-old facility is now authorized by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) to perform maintenance on China-registered Citation 550s and 650s and received separate authorization from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) to maintain Hong Kong-registered Global Express aircraft.
The first flight of the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Saras twin pusher turboprop is scheduled by year-end, according to the Bangalore, India- based company. Manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., two flying prototypes and a structural test airframe are being built. The Indian government backs the program and released $30 million in 1999 to get the aircraft to this stage.
Adam Aircraft Industries, Englewood, Colo., has hired two pilots to conduct flight tests of the company's CarbonAero six-place, composite, centerline-thrust aircraft. The first, Steve Martin, is an Annapolis and Pax River graduate and a former U.S. Marine aviator. The second, Glen Maben, holds an M.S. in mechanical engineering and a B.S. in aerospace engineering. He was chief engineer and test pilot at RAM Aircraft. He was a flight test engineer on the X-29 program while also a support volunteer on the Voyager's around-the-world flight.
ARINC wants to brand itself as ``The World Leader in Transportation Communications and Systems Engineering,'' and has hired an agency to get the word out in the form of print and television ads. ARINC makes about half of its revenue from defense and government contracting work and the other half from commercial work in aviation and other transportation business.
Jet-A and Avgas Per Gallon Fuel Prices ARG/US Jet-A Region High Low Average Eastern $3.46 $2.37 $2.87 New England $3.18 $2.10 $2.65 Great Lakes $3.44 $1.65 $2.59 Central $2.99 $1.75 $2.43 Southern $3.37 $2.44 $2.86 Southwest $2.89 $1.69 $2.47 NW Mountain $3.10 $1.95 $2.58
``We don't want to kill the golden goose. We just want to choke it by the neck until it gives us every last egg.'' Rick Dubinsky, Air Line Pilots Association, before wage negotiations at United Airlines. (The New York Times Magazine)
Not long ago there was a 180-acre parcel of well-treed land in the northern part of my town that had been zoned commercial, but for reasons unknown to me (though I suspect tax revenue had something to do with it) the town fathers decided to redesignate as residential. After some tortuous proceedings, developers moved in and houses -- rather grand houses -- began to sprout.
Hazardous Materials Regulations do provide personal exemptions on some materials. Limited quantities of materials for personal care, medical needs, sporting equipment and items required by physically challenged passengers can be legally carried on board by passengers. These include up to 75 ounces of flammable perfumes, aerosols and other personal cosmetics, as long as no single container exceeds 16 fluid ounces. Matches and lighters may be carried, but ``strike-anywhere'' matches, lighters with flammable liquid reservoirs and lighter fluid are forbidden.
As corporate aircraft increase in complexity, requiring new and innovative methods to maintain, directors of maintenance tell B/CA that training providers have not kept up with the times and their maintenance instruction is inadequate. However, operators also admit that OEMs and flight departments themselves are also at fault in perpetuating this antiquated training.
Keeping a tight grasp on corporate aircraft maintenance records is not an easy task. In fact, if not done properly, it could result in FAA violations and fines. Therefore, any tool that effectively aids the technicians in tracking an aircraft's maintenance requirements and records is welcome news. However, finding a program that fits your flight department's needs can be a challenge; if done improperly it can affect the value of your aircraft.
ATP Maintenance Director is a desktop-based maintenance tracking program designed for small flight departments or those that wish a simplified alternative to more complex or OEM systems. The software provides an organized, space-saving alternative to traditional status boards and paper logbooks. It relieves the tedium of updating individual part times by hand and simplifies planning by producing due lists for an entire fleet. In addition, ATP now offers a ``Fast Start'' service, assisting operators in inputting data from paper logbooks.
With over 1,200 operators and 3,000 aircraft enrolled, CAMP SP takes the laurels as the most commonly selected maintenance tracking software among aircraft operators. Since its introduction in 1968, CAMP software has evolved from a basic computerized maintenance program into an aircraft maintenance analytical tool.
Computerized Aircraft Maintenance Systems (CAMS) is a maintenance tracking database that resides on the operator's computer. Unique about the system is that the program is delivered with the complete database.
CompuTrak is a desktop database that is broken down into modules to meet a flight department's individual needs. The core of the software is the Maintenance Tracking module, which stores and calculates maintenance requirements and alerts the user when maintenance is required.
The long-awaited Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) came into being at Asian Aerospace in Singapore after the 15-member board met for the first time. The AsBAA was founded in June 2001 to serve as a single, credible voice for business aviation in the Asia Pacific region.
Factory Aircraft Comprehensive Tracking System (FACTS) is a real-time computerized maintenance tracking system that is integrated with Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s ERP System. This is a Web-based system designed for Raytheon Aircraft operators. Users log in from the Raytheon Web site and enter the aircraft's serial number to update that equipment's specific information. Once in, operators can update additional aircraft maintenance data and preview reports from the main menu.
The Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Computerized Maintenance Program (CMP) monitors and records inspections, service and component replacements. The program helps maintenance personnel plan their maintenance and man-hour allocations and makes available to all subscribers the latest data as supplied by Gulfstream, selected vendors and operators.
Maintenance XG is a Windows-based program provided by Aviation Information Services (AIS) and is designed for the larger flight departments that incorporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or accounting functions into the unit's management. The maintenance program is designed to integrate into AIS's scheduling and planning software in order to create seamless flow between maintenance and operations.
