The FAA in May issued a proposed Airworthiness Directive requiring operators of some 1,400 Garrett/Honeywell TFE731-2, -3 and -4 turbofan engines to replace suspect fan rotor discs by the end of 2002. The fan discs in question have been subject to 1986 and 1996 ADs, which require removing certain fan rotor discs from service and establish life-cycle limits of 4,100 cycles-since-new (CSN) or 4,600 CSN, depending on the part numbers of the disc. Those ADs also require repetitive eddy current inspections to detect possible cracks in the dovetail slots.
Cascade Aerospace, formerly Conair Aerospace, located in Abbotsford, Canada, has opened a 250,000-square-foot Boeing 737 (BBJ) Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility. The $50 million (Can.) center can accommodate up to eight 737s and features fixed docking systems for all series of fuselage lengths. ``The ability to perform major C and D checks, lap-joint modification and repairs, and in-dock painting makes our facility unique,'' said Cascade President David Schellenberg.
The residual value of older business jets has slid dramatically in recent months. Hardest hit are aircraft that are in need of expensive avionics upgrades or fail to meet new noise regulations. ``It's inevitable that there would be a change, since we've seen the most aggressive residual values in the history of business aviation,'' said William J. Quinn Jr., founder and president of AMS Consultants, speaking at Dassault's fourth annual Aviation Professionals Conference in Teterboro.
Great Lakes Aviation has agreed to a new code-share deal with Frontier Airlines, providing new service to nine markets from Frontier's Denver hub. Great Lakes had been seeking to lessen its dependence on United Airlines, for which it has flown exclusively as a United Express carrier since 1992. Under the terms of a new agreement with United that took effect in May, Great Lakes will continue to provide code-share service for United, although the aircraft will be operated in Great Lakes' own livery.
Blue Fox Executive Airlines is due to start a scheduled one-class ``business first'' service from the United Kingdom to New York JFK in March 2002. Operating twice-daily service out of its own terminal at London Stansted Airport, the airline is to fly three Boeing 767-300ERs with just 138 ``guests'' (as they are to be known) aboard an aircraft, which can accommodate a maximum of 298 seats.
Unlike most odor control products, Meguiar's Car Odor Eliminator safely removes offensive odors in aircraft and doesn't allow them to return again when the aircraft interior heats up. Other products either try to cover up the odor with a stronger fragrance that soon fades or provide only temporary relief, according to Meguiar. Controlling odors in aircraft is more difficult than it is in homes. The space is compact, temperature extremes are common, high humidity conditions can occur and moisture can be brought in due to rain or snow.
Bird-X's Irri-Tape is designed to repel small birds with its iridescent, holographic pattern that resembles the eyes of an owl or the skin of a snake. Light hitting the two-inch-wide, two-mil-thick ribbon of polyester film creates ``an intimidating 3-D effect.'' Irri-Tape also emits a metallic rattle when wind blows and physically creates a barrier to any linear area below. Installation is as simple as suspending the tape anywhere that birds tend to roost. In open areas Bird-X recommends tying strips to the top of any upright pole to create a ``Maypole.''
Baseops International, Houston, has named Carl Moody as its president. Moody has more than 25 years of aviation experience including over 16,000 flight hours. The company also promoted John Harpool to senior vice president and director of operations. Harpool is a commercial pilot and CFI and is responsible for the corporate flight services division.
Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures, Inc., the Long Beach, Calif., company that has been struggling to find the financing to complete development and certification of its Jetcruzer 500 aircraft, named aviation marketing veteran Roy H. Norris to its board of directors. Norris, 56, has held a series of executive posts with Raytheon Aircraft, Gulfstream Aerospace and Cessna Aircraft. He currently is president of The Norris Group, a consulting services firm based in Birmingham, Ala.
During recent years, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has conducted investigations into the practice of certain industries in fixing and advertising list prices. It is the position of the FTC that it is deceptive to the public and against the law for list prices of any product to be specified or advertised in a trade area if the majority of sales are made at less than those prices.
A New Piper Meridian turboprop crashed soon after departing from Vero Beach, Fla., on April 9, killing both the pilot/ owner and his lone passenger. According to preliminary reports, owner Leonard Korman had flown the aircraft from his Daytona Beach-area home to the New Piper factory for what an NTSB official termed ``minor maintenance.''
Pratt&Whitney Canada has run its new geared turbofan technology slated for its next generation of regional and corporate jet aircraft powerplants. The first test run occurred on March 17. Launched in July 2000 at the Farnborough Air Show in England, the Advanced Technology Fan Integrator (AFTI) will form the nucleus of the PW800 engine family of geared turbofans in the 10,000- to 19,000-pound-thrust range.
Stephan A. Hanvey President/CEO, Piaggio America The P180 Avanti program was suspended when its Italian parent company failed. Now Hanvey, a former U.S. Navy test pilot and head of engineering at Beech/Raytheon, is leading a new group's reintroduction of the unique turboprop. 1 Is there much of a market for a turboprop these days?
While helicopter fleet growth had been expected to reach 2.5 percent, the downturn in the economy is expected to trim growth to approximately 1.5 percent. The first few signs of this change in helicopter consumer confidence came in reduced sales at the Helicopter Association International convention in Anaheim, Calif., in February, and in a cautionary report from the Transportation Research Board (TRB).
Graduates of Pan Am International Flight Academy's (PAIFA) Air Crew Education Program (ACE) will receive conditional employment offers from five regional carriers. Participating operators include AirNet Express, Chicago Express, Mesaba Airlines, Skyway Airlines and Trans States Airlines. PAIFA describes the program as a ``finishing school'' for pilots who meet the regionals' minimum experience requirements. To qualify for the ACE program, candidates must have 800 hours total time and 200 hours of multiengine experience.
While Executive Jet is adding airplanes to its fleet at the rate of six to eight a month, Executive Vice President Kevin Russell maintains the company has not had problems building its pilot base. The company hired 450 pilots in 2000, but had a pool of 8,000 applicants. Russell added that all were well-qualified applicants since the company requires a minimum of 2,500 hours flight time for consideration.
Fairchild Dornier delivered the 1,053rd and final aircraft in the Merlin/Metro series to Pennsylvania-based National Jet Aviation Services on March 28, ending the type's 35-year production run. The Metroliner is one of the more significant aircraft in U.S. regional airline history, at its peak serving with 84 operators in 46 countries. The Merlin was one of the first twin turboprops to gain wide acceptance as a business aircraft.
The FAA selected Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to lead a team of five universities that will create a ``center of excellence'' to research general aviation technology and safety issues. The team, which also includes Wichita State, the University of North Dakota, Florida A&M and the University of Alaska, will establish a cooperative agreement with the FAA to act as ``equal technical and fiscal partners'' to support research and development programs.
A Head-Up Guidance System (HGS) fitted to all 43 of Lufthansa CityLine's CRJ-100/200s has proven so popular that pilots say they want it fitted to the 20 CRJ-700s the airline has on order. The first -700 is due this month and should be in service by June.
A microcosm of the overall ``dot-com'' online business phenomenon, avia- tion e-commerce continues to evolve at light speed. Change is happening so fast, in fact, that you can't tell the players without a scorecard, or rather, a good search engine. A portent of the latest trend in aviation e-commerce, consolidation, was seen in summer 2000 when three-year-old Skyjet.com, one of the industry's self-styled ``pioneers'' was acquired by Bombardier Aerospace.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Washington, D.C., has released its report card for aviation and has given the nation's apparently overburdened infrastructure a grade of ``D.'' ``The nation's civil aviation system is showing signs of strain,'' the group said. ``While a tremendous amount of attention has been focused on the problem, not enough has been done to alleviate it.''
