FlightSafety Boeing, Seattle, has appointed Paul Hinton as its vice president of flight training and international operations and Pat Gaines as executive vice president.
Sigma Tek has designed the 1U619-002 electronic radio control panel to replace the existing mechanical panel in Cessna Citation Is, IIs and IIIs. The features include an all electronic, drop-in replacement for the mechanical controllers, no major wire changes, improved preselection of VHF comm frequencies and 10 frequency memories. The units are TSOed and have a built-in self-test with a diagnostic code display. The units will be available this spring. Price: $25,970 Sigma Tek, Inc. 1001 Industrial Rd. Augusta, Kan. 67010
Midcoast Aviation's three Midwest FBOs have received the National Air Transportation Association's (NATA) Safety 1st designation. Line service personnel at Safety 1st participants must pass a written and practical exam demonstrating their knowledge of aircraft fueling and handling within 90 days of being hired. Midcoast's Michael J. Mueller says the Lambert-St. Louis International, St. Louis Downtown-Parks and Little Rock National Airport staffs undergo rigorous training for up to a year before being considered fully trained for their jobs.
SimuFlite, Dallas, has named Lee Baldwin as manager of technical operations. Southwest Jet Aviation, Scottsdale, Ariz., has promoted Jeff Schlueter to president and Rich Dawson to executive vice president.
Eurocopter's twin-engine Cougar/Super Puma MK2+ helicopter took its first flight in late November 2000. Slated for certification in late 2002, the medium-lift craft features enhanced performance over earlier versions, including increased MTOW, internal payload, range and cruise speed. The helicopter will be available in civil and military versions, Eurocopter says, with the military version offering inflight fueling capability.
Road warriors with an extra $290,000 and an acre of land to spare can go from feeling like they're living on airplanes to actually living in one. Nashville-based Max Power Aerospace will convert a 727 into residential use, complete with plumbing, electricity and sliding glass entry-door in place of an over-wing exit. Mounted 30 to 40 feet off the ground, Max Aero says the 727s make the ultimate beach home, with their strong construction making them virtually hurricane-proof.
Austria's Danube University Krems has introduced a new Aviation MBA Program. The curriculum offers classes in basic and advanced aviation management and includes optional study at universities and aviation businesses in Europe and the United States. Geared to aviation professionals, the degree is currently offered on a part-time basis in two-week blocks in order to allow candidates to continue working while earning their degrees. A full-time program is expected to commence this fall. Optional flight training at nearby Krems airfield also is available to enrollees.
There were scattered clouds and light snow flurries late that starless night almost three years ago at the small airport in the Sierra Nevadas. The ceiling and visibility were above minimums, but not by wide margins. The airport, serving winter sports enthusiasts, is ringed by rugged rock outcroppings more than 1,000 feet above the runways. Close into the airport boundaries, tall pine trees on numerous knolls wait to snag any aircraft that strays off far from the traffic pattern at low altitude.
I've enjoyed Torch Lewis' columns over the years. In all that time, I've never read anything with which I could disagree. He finally got me in the October issue (page 192).
The FAA and local FBOs are bracing for possible gridlock both in the air and on the ground this month during George W. Bush's presidential Inauguration and on Super Bowl weekend. Temporary flight restrictions are planned from 9 a.m. (ET) to 12 midnight over the Washington, D.C. area on Inauguration Day, Saturday, January 20. The restrictions call for a ban on all flight operations in an expanded version of Prohibited Area 56 (P-56), encompassing a seven-mile radius of Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Andrews Air Force Base below 18,000 feet.
Canada's Field Aviation has opened a branch office in Beijing, China. The new office will provide parts and aircraft sales, technical support and maintenance assistance to commercial and corporate aircraft operators in the region.
Aero Services Executive of France has ordered an Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ). The aircraft will be made available for charter flights with delivery expected this summer.
DeCrane Aircraft Holdings division Avtech has added a second SELCAL product line with its acquisition of Motorola's SELCAL manufacturing business in late 2000. Avtech purchased SELCAL maker Coltech earlier in the year. After a brief transitional period, production of the former Motorola products will move from that company's Schaumburg, Ill., facility to Avtech headquarters in Seattle.
JDC, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has appointed Efrain Lopez as general manager of the company's Round Rock, Texas, facility. JDC specializes in the repair, overhaul, exchange and sales of aircraft instrumentation and related products.
Horizon Air's maintenance technicians have ratified a two-year contract that makes them ``the highest paid [mechanics] in the regional airline industry,'' according to the Seattle-based carrier. Horizon President George Bagley thanked the company's Trans-port Workers Union leadership at the signing of the collective bargaining agreement, saying the airline now can focus on the new aircraft poised to enter the Horizon fleet this year. These include 17 new 70-seat Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jets and 15 new Dash 8-Q400 turboprops.
Premier Turbines is planning to expand TFE731 MPI services at its St. Louis Downtown-Parks Airport facility. Mark Berg, Premier engine shop manager, said the equipment being added will ensure deliveries will be accomplished in ``the timeframe promised to each customer.''
Perhaps the only group more excited about the Republican presidential victory than the Bush family is the United States Air Tour Association (USATA) and its president, Steve Bassett. The group has long felt that Vice President Al Gore was behind attempts to impose unnecessarily restrictive air tour regulations over the Grand Canyon and other national parks.
For John Ross, the perfect complement to a G-IV trip across the Atlantic is a J-3 hop across Great South Bay. A captain with North American Air Charter in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, Ross is very much a part of today's technologically advanced business aviation community. But once the Gulfstream is hangared, he frequently makes his way to Bayport Aerodrome, a grass strip just south of Islip, N.Y., and rolls out his other pride and joy -- a tiny yellow bird with a familiar black stripe down the side.
The Naples Airport Authority has voted to ban Stage 2 jets weighing less than 75,000 pounds from the city's Municipal Airport. Exceptions include air ambulance and government flights as well as a possible six-month exemption for Stage 2 aircraft being upgraded to Stage 3. The final vote had been delayed while the airport authority responded to FAA objections to the ban, including a threatened revocation of federal funding for the airport.
Bombardier has named Istanbul's Kontinental Aviation exclusive sales agent for Learjets in Turkey. The manufacturer also said it has delivered two Q300s to Qantas regional subsidiary Eastern Australia Airlines. The aircraft will be used on the carrier's high-frequency service between Sydney and Canberra
