The value of real-time, global communication -- and the potential revenue for businesses providing the connections -- is generally recognized. In fact, hardly a day passes without reports of a new wireless communication proposal. A number of joint ventures have been established or are being formed to develop aviation services. They are an interesting mixture of established aviation companies, telecommunications companies, so-called content providers and a host of other hardware and software organizations.
I marvel at business aviation, at the variety of its equipment, the diversity of its missions, and its responsiveness. It's a well-worn Navajo rumbling across the Alleghenies at night with a load of vital manufacturing parts strapped down in back, and it's a gleaming Global Express touching down in Santiago with a cargo of Atlanta executives, eager to do a deal.
Lufthansa Technik is buying Composite International, the Tulsa-based aircraft component service company. Composite International has 107,000 square feet of shop space and employs 60. Lufthansa Technik also announced it is establishing a facility in Shenzhen, China to service aircraft components. The Shenzhen facility is a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen and two Chinese companies. The operations are expected to begin this year. The company said its latest expansion effort ``is a further step toward . . .
PrivatAir Holdings, Geneva, Switzerland, has formed a new aviation group consisting of the PrivatAir executive VIP operation and Flight Services Group (FSG). With the integration of the two companies, FSG and PrivatAir said they plan to refurbish their Transair FBO facilities at Le Bourget Airport in France. The combined group will now offer charter, management and FBO services at 20 locations in Europe and North America.
Be a Pilot will begin an aggressive campaign to increase new pilot starts this year, according to President and CEO Drew Steketee. Among the initiatives: new incentives for flight schools to increase local marketing, hiring of an outside marketing and public relations firm and a commitment to provide leads generated by the group's advertising to local flight schools. The Be a Pilot board of directors elected new officers: Sporty's Pilot Shop founder Hal Shevers is now chairman of the group, succeeding Russ Meyer, who will remain chairman of the finance committee.
Two unions have asked the FAA to take its Capstone demonstration program off line in Alaska until the agency resolves software glitches that cropped up in January.
Cencal, a manufacturer of aviation flight bags, has a new line of technical tool bags. The Tech Bag can carry a computer, soldering and just about any tool you may need in the field. It has a detachable cellular telephone pouch that can be worn on a belt and it comes with one adjustable inside divider. Made from Dupont's Denier Cordura, the Tech Bag is soft sided and fully padded, so there is less chance of damage to the aircraft. The reinforced bottom gives additional support. Price: $135.99 Cencal Sales
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation, Frederick, Md., has awarded Elizabeth Copelin of Upton, Ky., its Koch Scholarship. After graduation from Eastern Kentucky University, Copelin plans to work as a flight instructor while she pursues a career as an airline pilot.
Concern over inadvertent autopilot engagement or mode changes during critical phases of flight has led the FAA to look at ``protecting'' or relocating autopilot switches now installed on the control wheels of turbine aircraft. The agency says its goal is not to create any ``binding norms'' or new regulations, but to refine the certification guidelines for all turbine-powered aircraft in the normal, utility, acrobatic and commuter categories.
Jetfly Aviation of Luxembourg took delivery of the first of 10 TBM 700Bs for its new fractional program at Le Bourget, France on February 1. The $24 million contract includes a ``power by the hour'' maintenance plan, and deliveries are at the rate of one every three months.
ICAO has announced an agreement on a new air route structure over the North Pole that will reduce flight distances from North America and Europe to Asia and the Pacific region. While the new routes are being crafted with the major airlines in mind, operators of ultra-long-range business aircraft also stand to benefit.
It was a sweltering August day in 1981 when members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) struck against the FAA. Abandoning control towers and radar rooms across the country, they waved union banners, pumped their clenched fists into the sky, and began exhorting before television news crews that rushed to the picket lines. The controllers said they were angry, inveighing against a monolithic government agency. They wanted more money, better hours, better equipment, more help and the right to strike.
The leading organization providing satellite services for civil communication is London, England-based Inmarsat (which describes itself as ``the world's leading celestial communications network''). Originally formed by international treaty to provide safety communication to ships at sea, that service was extended to provide similar services to aviation. Now privatized, Inmarsat furnishes a mix of emergency and commercial communication connections and services through its galaxy of eight geosynchronous satellites.
Bearskin Airlines has launched Fairchild Metroliner service between Kapuskasing and Timmins, Ontario. The Thunder Bay, Ontario-based carrier -- one of Canada's last independent regionals -- says the decision to fly the route is based on direct solicitation from the community of Kapuskasing, plus Air Creebec's withdrawal from the market in fall 2000. Bearskin offers around 200 daily flights to 37 destinations, including many remote villages with no road access.
Western Michigan University will train up to 40 female and minority pilot candidates under a new ab initio training agreement with Delta Air Lines. The students will include graduates and undergraduates, who will be given priority hiring consideration at Delta Connection carriers Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines. Delta has pledged $1.65 million over four years in support of the program.
NASA is expected to release in the next few weeks an NRA (NASA Research Announcement) requesting proposals from companies and other organizations for participation in its Small Aircraft Transport System (SATS) program. The NRA will seek one-year demonstration projects that advance the goals of SATS, designed to increase availability of low-cost general aviation aircraft and access to small airports. The NRA is expected to draw more than just aviation companies; the states of Florida and Oklahoma, in particular, have expressed substantial interest in participating.
For most operators, the answer to the question of when is an airplane or helicopter too old is straightforward: when its economically useful life ends. In the real world, that answer is not so simple. Given the wide variety of applications, geographic areas, regulatory oversight and economic drivers, aircraft once thought to be candidates for the wrecker's yard by one group are considered very useful by another.
Were it not for the bugs that go splat, and the ice and grime that accumulate, most pilots would have no reason to notice the windshields in front of their noses. And that's understandable because windshields are remarkably good at keeping the inside world in and the outside world out while remaining, for the most part, entirely invisible.
Jeppesen GmbH of Frankfurt, Germany has reached a major agreement with the United Kingdom's Oxford Aviation to publish a 15-volume series of Theoretical Knowledge Manuals for flight schools engaged in training for the JAA-FCL Airline Transport License. Oxford Aviation is supplying the manuals' content, which is based on the school's last three years of developing JAA-FCL ATPL ground examination requirements.
NTSB investigators are continuing to examine the cause of two separate Raytheon King Air A90 crashes killing 13 people earlier this year. Poor weather, an aircraft that was not equipped for flight in instrument conditions and a VFR flight that continued into instrument meteorological conditions appear to have led to the January 14 fatal crash of an A90 into the Great Salt Lake near Salt Lake City, Utah. The pilot and all eight passengers were killed in the accident.
Marc Fruchter Aviation, Reading, Pa., has appointed Jeffrey Alderfer as its president and chief operating officer. Previously a line captain and the director of training, Alderfer will oversee daily operations and will report to Marc Fruchter, the company's chairman and CEO.
Ever wonder what happened to all those David Clark headsets in use on the sidelines of Nation-al Football League (NFL) games? The David Clark Corp. is wondering the same thing, though it doesn't admit to fumbling in the big game. ``We had the NFL contract for years, then Telex came in three or four years ago and gave the equipment away,'' says John Farr, David Clark's director of marketing.
The FAA and industry have agreed to add ``GPS'' to the titles of all RNAV (remote navigation) approach charts in a bid to resolve compatibility issues with multi-sensor FMS equipment. The change took effect with database cycle 0101, effective January 25. An approach titled ``RNAV (GPS) RWY XX'' on the chart may appear as ``GPS XX'' on the aircraft's FMS. The apparent glitch appeared on February 24, 2000, when the FAA began publishing RNAV approach procedures designed to be flown by both GPS and RNP-0.3-equipped aircraft.
