March was a tragic month for corporate operators and regional carriers, with accidents resulting in 41 fatalities. Two of the acci- dents occurred at two of the world's most challenging and appealing destinations: Aspen, Colo., and St. Barts in the Caribbean. The following is a chronological list of noteworthy mishaps.
An independent panel of industry and academic experts has recommended that the United States continue to fund work on the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) -- the FAA's controversial effort to use satellite signals as a primary means of aircraft navigation. In its report to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, the WAAS Independent Review Board (IRB) concluded that WAAS will provide ``enormous benefit'' to all GPS users, given the FAA's full commitment to the project.
Airline holding company Great Plains has purchased a stake in Columbia, Mo.-based Ozark Airlines. The carrier, which began service in February 2000, links Chicago and Dallas with two Fairchild Dornier 328JETS. While Ozark has a loose affiliation with American Airlines, other alliances are desired. A proposed association with start-up Access Air fell through when that carrier ceased operating and filed for bankruptcy. No terms of the deal were disclosed, although Great Plains is believed to have its eye on regional jet service linking Tulsa with the East Coast.
CargoLifter, a German company with plans to re-create the age of the super dirigibles, has selected General Electric's CT7-8 tuboshaft engines to power its new behemoth. Each of the 850-foot-long CL160 airships will be fitted with eight CT7-8 engines producing a combined output of approximately 30,000 shp. Buoyed by 15.8 million cubic feet of helium, the airship is designed to haul over 160 tons of cargo, 6,210 miles at a maximum altitude of 6,500 feet. CargoLifter said first flight of the $44 million airship should occur after engine delivery in 2002.
More than two months have passed since FAA Administrator Jane Garvey signed off on the notice of proposed rulemaking that would establish a new Subpart K of FAR Part 91 governing fractional aircraft ownership programs and modify operating rules for Part 135 air taxi companies, and sent the measure to the DOT for a 60-day review. No ``showstoppers'' have surfaced at the DOT, but the transition of the new administration and the need to fill key positions at the department apparently has delayed the review process.
Bombardier Aerospace has changed the management of its Flexjet fractional aircraft program, naming former Pratt&Whitney Canada executive Clifford Dickman as president. Dickman joined Bombardier as vice president and general manager of the company's Business Aircraft division and will now assume responsibility for Flexjet operations in the United States and Europe as president of Business JetSolutions. Michael McQuay is joining Bombardier as vice president and general manager of Flexjet North America.
FAA and Canadian officials have lifted the airspeed restriction limiting the VNE speed of the Bell 407. The FAA ordered the restriction earlier this year, reducing the VNE speed of the Model 407 to 110 knots due to questions surrounding a 407 crash in December 2000. The agency said then that the restrictions were ``intended to prevent tail-rotor blades from striking the tail boom'' and causing separation of the aft section of the tail boom.
Geneva-based charter operator PrivatAir has acquired Ogden's Flight Services Group operations in the United States and its Transair FBO at Paris' Le Bourget airport. FSG says it will keep its corporate identity for the immediate future, though it will be identified as part of the PrivatAir group.
Air France plans to combine its three regional airlines -- Flandre Air, Proteus Airlines and Regional Airlines -- under the ``Regional'' brand. The three airlines operate around 80 aircraft, including Embraer Brasilias, Beech 1900s, Fairchild Dornier 328s, Saab 2000s and Embraer ERJ-135/145 aircraft. Regional Airlines also has 11 ERJ-170s on order, the first scheduled for delivery in June 2002.
The FAA has granted type certification to Bombardier's 70-seat CRJ700 regional jet. The move clears the way for deliveries to U.S. customers, including American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast, Comair, Delta Connection, GECAS and Horizon. In all, Bombardier claims 175 firm orders and 313 options for the regional jet, which began service with Air France affiliate Brit Air in February.
England's Manchester Airport formally opened its second 3,048-meter (10,000-foot) runway in February. The new Runway 24/06L is officially known as Runway Two and runs parallel to the existing Runway One. The new runway, which cost $258 million and took 10 years from planning to completion, is the U.K.'s first full-length runway be built at a civil airport since London City's, 20 years ago.
Two veteran aviation executives have resigned their posts for senior positions with the AOPA. Gulfstream Aerospace Director of Corporate Communications Keith Mordoff joined the AOPA in March as senior vice-president-corporate communications. Mordoff succeeds Drew Steketee in the high profile position. Steketee departed the AOPA in fall 2000 to become president of the BE A PILOT program. Mordoff, a former Aviation Week&Space Technology reporter and bureau chief, spent seven years at Lockheed prior to going to Gulfstream.
NetJets Chairman and founder Richard Santulli is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar (CASS) late this month in Orlando. Topics planned for discussion during the April 24-26 gathering include criminalization of aircraft accidents, situational awareness, controlled flight into terrain and advice for hiring flight department staff. B/CA Editor-at-Large Richard N. Aarons will present the corporate aviation Year in Review shortly after Santulli's address on April 25. The event is sponsored by the Flight Safety Foundation and the NBAA.
Mercury Air Centers is offering its customers the option of electronic reservations through its Easy Turn service. By visiting the company Web site operators can use Easy Turn to electronically notify a particular Mercury FBO of arrival and departure times, and whether or not they need to turn the aircraft quickly, as well as other requirements. In addition, Mercury promotional material will feature the new :Cue bar coding, which when scanned with a free :Cue:Cat device will access Mercury's Web site.
General and business aviation groups have voiced strong opposition to a think-tank proposal that recommends privatizing the nation's ATC system and funding the new non-profit entity with user fees. The Reason Public Policy Institute's (RPPI) report, ``How to Commercialize Air Traffic Control,'' unveiled in late February, is seen by many as a blueprint of user fees that could almost double the tax burden of some business jet operators.
FlightSafety International founder and CEO Al Ueltschi is one of four people slated to be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame this summer in Dayton, Ohio. Ueltschi is being honored for his lifelong contributions to aviation, including his early days as a barnstormer and as Juan Trippe's personal pilot, the founding of FlightSafety, and development of Project Orbis -- the flying hospital and teaching facility for eye care.
Departing from its previous practice of factory-direct sales, Socata has begun appointing U.S. distributors for its TBM 700 and single-engine piston TB lines of general aviation aircraft. The first three TBM 700 distributors are Groton, Conn.-based Columbia Aircraft Sales; Aurora Aviation of Waco, Texas; and Camarillo, Calif.'s New Avex, Inc. Aurora and New Avex also have been tapped as distributors for Socata's TB series, as has Airlink of Farmingdale, N.Y.
The way turbine flight crews train is about to change to meet challenges presented by modern avionics and cockpit automation. All of the major training organizations and avionics manufacturers tell B/CA they now are immersed in efforts to develop new courseware, presentation methods and information distribution channels to meet customer desires to better understand the avionics and automation features of the airplanes they fly.
ExecuJet Australia has been named an approved foreign repair station by the FAA. The Sydney-based company received its certification after international field officers from the FAA completed inspection of the facility and procedures manual. ExecuJet Australia's managing director, Ian Vanderbeek, said the approval was crucial to the company's strategy of tapping into the maintenance and repair service for the large number of corporate aircraft that visit the region. In addition Bombardier Aerospace has named ExecuJet Australia as an authorized service and sales facility.
A proposed airworthiness directive would require repetitive inspections of more than 1,650 General Electric CF34 engines installed on Bombardier Challengers and regional jets. The problem was discovered in September 1999 when the failure of a number five bearing rotating air seal led to a fire in the cavity of the low-pressure turbine, resulting in over-temperature condition and the inflight shutdown of the engine.
Jet Aviation has purchased a facility at London's Biggin Hill Airport and will offer FBO services by September. The new facility includes two hangars totaling 55,830 square feet and is currently being used by Jet Aviation for maintenance and refurbishment services on Gulfstream, Falcon, Hawker and Citation aircraft. Starting out with a staff of 25 employees, the Biggin Hill FBO will be managed by Elie Zelouf, former general manager of Jet Aviation Basel.
Jack Olcott and New Jersey -- perfect together? In a variation on the state tourist bureau's former advertising slogan, it appears that Garden State aviation folks are high on the NBAA president. Olcott is scheduled to keynote the New Jersey State Aviation Conference on May 2 at McGuire Air Force Base. Theme of the gathering: New Jersey's Airports in the 21st Century: ``It's More Than Pavement.'' Later in the month he'll be inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum at Teterboro Airport.
Million Air, Cincinnati, has announced the following promotions: Bill Wildeboer to general manager at Cincinnati Municipal Airport (LUK), Glenn Sargent to general manager at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) and Michelle Schlette to customer service manager at New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NEW). Bill Tylka has joined the company as general manager at Port Columbus International Airport (CMH).
