Aviation Sales Co. sold its Dixie Aerospace Bearings new parts operation to Wencor West, Inc. Atlanta-based Dixie Aerospace distributes multiple lines of aircraft bearings, carbon seals, sealants, adhesives, lubricants and epoxies. Aviation Sales now consists of six maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) businesses.
In a move to expedite European approval, Sino Swearingen plans to forgo seeking a higher weight exemption there for its SJ30-2 and will certify the twinjet at 12,500 pounds MTOW under the JAR 23 normal category. The manufacturer came to the decision after learning that the European Joint Aviation Authorities had never granted an exemption to JAR 23. At that weight, the aircraft has a range of 2,100 nm, a figure the company described as ``very viable,'' particularly in Europe.
Potomac Air has begun service from Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) with up to eight Dash 8-200 turboprops. A US Airways Express unit, Potomac Air was created to establish a framework for DC Air, the DCA-based airline proposed as a way to alleviate antitrust concerns raised by United Airlines' proposed acquisition of US Airways. John Leonard is Potomac Air's president; the company now has 120 employees at its operation and maintenance base in Roanoke, Va.
Markings on the sidewall of a tire spell out the performance ratings of the tire: tire size, load rating, speed rating, ply rating, molded skid depth (depth of the grooves in the tread) and the applicable TSO. The serial number of the tire provides information to manufacturers and operators alike. The first digit of the eight-character serial number identifies the last number of the year of manufacture (i.e. ``6'' for ``1996''). The next three characters are the Julian date of manufacture. The last four digits are used to aid in tracking tires.
Piedmont Airlines' unionized flight attendants voted to strike if current contract negotiations, ongoing for the past 18 months, fail. The carrier is a significant part of US Airways' regional network, flying 15 percent of the mainline carrier's daily schedule from Charlotte, N.C., for example.
Atlantic Coast Airlines has placed firm orders for 32 Fairchild Dornier 328JETs, in addition to the 30 328JETs it previously ordered for its subsidiary, ACJet. ACA also increased its 328JET options from 30 to 83, orders that may be assigned to either carrier. ACJet, which operates as a Delta Connection carrier, has taken delivery of 14 328JETs since August 2000; the 16 remaining in that order are expected this year.
Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. signed a contract with Millennium Aerospace to pursue certification for and market an aircraft emergency parachute system for the Cessna 172. BRS expects a 12- to 18-month certification program for the BRS-172 parachute system. Millennium Aerospace unit Aerospace Marketing Inc. will act as the factory authorized distributor for aftermarket sales of the BRS-172 unit while AirFlight Technologies, another Millennium unit, will acquire and refurbish Cessna 172s with the system and then offer them for sale.
Concern over pilot fatigue has led the FAA to mandate a maximum 16-hour duty day for all pilots in domestic service under FAR Parts 135 and 121. The Air Line Pilots Association says the ruling (handed down by FAA Deputy Chief Counsel James W. Whitlow) falls short of its goal, and plans to continue to press for a 12-hour duty period and ``other limitations'' to prevent pilot fatigue.
Designed to allow enough vision to see vital instruments and the flight path, the Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS) offers the fllight crew the ability to perform emergency functions in the event of smoke in the cockpit. The EVAS system uses an inflatable vision unit that is filled with filtered air from the cabin to provide an unobstructed view to the window and primary instruments. The EVAS is self-contained and occupies a space approximately the size of a flight manual.
The FAA certified new Raytheon Beechjet 400A and Cessna Citation II simulators for FlightSafety International. The Beechjet, FSI's third, is based at the company's Raytheon Learning center in Wichita, while the Citation is based at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta.
The Helicopter Association International, Alexandria, Va., has named the following pilots as award recipients: Timothy Tucker, chief pilot at Robinson Helicopter, for its Outstanding CFI award; Toni Lotscher, deputy chief pilot at Swiss Air Ambulance, for the Robert E. Trimble award; and Jim Gardner, pilot for KFOR-TV, for the Pilot of the Year award.
Bombardier Aerospace won Transport Canada approval for its 70-passenger CRJ700 regional jet, the follow-on to its successful 50-passenger CRJ, and expects European Joint Aviation Authorities and U.S. FAA approvals shortly. Bombardier, which has 174 orders in hand for the CRJ700, expects the first aircraft to enter airline service with French regional carrier Brit Air this quarter. Brit Air has signed contracts for 12 of the aircraft.
Boeing has deferred launching a shortened, 86-passenger version of the Boeing 717, an aircraft that would place the Seattle giant in direct competition with regional jet makers Bombardier, Embraer and Fairchild Dornier. Current production 717-200s have around 100 seats, and are a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series. Sales of the 717 have been slow (149 to date), as are sales for the 110-seat 737-600 (86 orders to date).
The AOPA launched an online service to help members follow up on special issuance medical applications. The association placed a ``status request form'' on its members-only section that allows members to provide basic medical information confidentially to the AOPA's medical certification staff. The staff will use that information to track applications within the FAA. ``Currently, the FAA is several months behind in proc-essing special issuance medical applications,'' said Gary Crump, AOPA director of medical certification.
Midcoast Aviation, Cahokia, Ill., and the Illinois Aviation Trades Association have awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Karl Nero of Chicago. Nero had completed seven semesters of a four-year degree in aviation human factors at the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation at Urbana-Champaign.
Atlantic Coast Airlines has taken delivery of its 36th Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet. The carrier holds firm orders for 60 CRJs and options for an additional 80. Bombardier says it recently made its first sale to Senegal. Air Senegal International has ordered a Q300 turboprop for domestic and regional international flights. Service is slated to begin this month.
Executive Jet Management has added 12 aircraft to its managed fleet, including three Gulfstream IVs, two Falcon 900s, two Cessna Citation Excels, a Citation II, Hawker 800XP, Falcon 50, Challenger 600 and a Learjet 35A. EJM now manages 56 aircraft based in 31 cities nationwide.
The tires looked just fine during the preflight. The tread was good, there were no nicks or cuts, no flat spots, and they didn't look low on air. More important in my mind was the condition of the wheels, brakes and struts, and a quick visual inspection of these items yielded no discrepancies either.
The FAA has selected three U.S. military airports for conversion to civil-only or joint-use status, as part of a program designed to increase system capacity and reduce air traffic control delays.
Safe Flight Instrument achieved two milestones re-cently: shipment of its 600,000th Stall Warning System and delivery of the 50th Bombardier Challenger 604 AutoPower automatic throttle system. The Stall Warning System was invented in 1946 by Safe Flight Founder Leonard M. Greene.
U.K.-based BBA Aviation will buy Gulfstream's engine overhaul and repair operations in Dallas, and Gulfstream will purchase BBA's maintenance centers in Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and West Palm Beach, Fla.
Edited By Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield, in New York
The Russians are coming -- with huge helicopters. Siberia's Tyumenaviatrans Aviation (TAT) says it plans to expand its business westward and is near to closing a landmark deal with one of the larger U.S. helicopter operators. Speaking recently in New York, TAT chief executive Andrei Martirossov said his goal is to create a ``global helicopter alliance'' that will mirror the code-share operations employed by the major passenger airlines.
Edited By Paul RichfieldMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
An AgustaWestland EH101 helicopter variant operated by Britain's Royal Navy crashed off the coast of Scotland on October 27, 2000; its five crewmembers were rescued. The Merlin HM Mk.1 was conducting a sonar-dipping exercise at approximately 100 feet when it suffered a power loss and fire in its Number Two engine, according to a company spokesman, who said the helicopter rolled inverted before hitting the water.
Computer reservation service Worldspan is now offering travel agents the ability to price and book air charters online on the company's Worldspan Go! system. Worldspan has signed an alliance with CharterHub, an online provider of real-time charter availability and booking. The new service is available for charters in the United States and Canada.
Australian air safety officials are crafting new rules that mandate personal flotation devices (PFDs) on commercial aircraft that fly even short distances over water. The move comes six months after a Wyhalla Airlines Piper Chieftain crashed into the Spencer Gulf along Australia's southern coast, killing all eight aboard. Current rules require PFDs only on flights that operate at least 50 nm from land.
