The FAA has awarded a $450 million contract to BAE Systems Applied Technologies to supply engineering and technical assistance to the agency's Office of Research and Acquisitions.
Penny and Giles Aerospace has formally changed its name to Spirent Systems Wichita. The company's telephone, fax and Web site addresses remain unchanged.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge has appointed 18 members to the state's new Aviation Advisory Committee. The group includes representatives of various aviation interests, including airlines, airport management, FBOs, local planning experts and the general public. Regional Airline Association Vice President Scott Fosse is one of two airline industry representatives, Tech Aviation's Frank Paczewski and Jay Stout of Flying Tigers represent general aviation FBOs and Keystone Helicopters' Mike D'Aries is one of four airport representatives.
The FAA promised the U.S. aviation community 500 new instrument approach procedures (IAPs) per year, once GPS became operational in the mid-1990s. This ambitious goal would be made possible by transitioning to satellite-based navigation from ground-based, line-of-sight navaids, such as ILSes, localizers, VORs and NDBs. Ground-based navaids, FAA officials say, are limited by where they can be installed, their signals are prone to physical interference and they are expensive to maintain.
Illustration: Graph: Comparison Profile (Percent Relative to Average) Tradeoffs are a reality of aircraft design, although engineers attempt to optimize the blend of capabilities, performance and passenger comfort. In order to portray graphically the strengths and compromises of specific aircraft, B/CA compares the subject aircraft to the composite characteristics of other aircraft in its class, computing the percentage differences for the various parameters.
Executive Aircraft Corp. (EAC) has launched a new Super King Air 350 fractional program at its FBO facility at Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) in Wichita. Called Executive AirShare, the program has purchased a total of seven King Air 350s at a cost of $38 million. EAC Chairman Ben Ames said the Executive AirShare program will be offered in Kansas City and Columbia, Mo.
Photograph: A lineman at Raytheon Aircraft Services in Tampa, Fla., services his refueler at the FBO's fuel farm. You arrive at a new destination and call for fuel. The truck shows up and you discover it is crewed by a person who seems barely old enough to have gotten by the OSHA regs. He gives you a welcoming grin, grabs a screwdriver and starts looking for the access door to your complicated single-point refueling panel. You start to feel a bit uncomfortable.
Inventing Flight: Dayton 2003, The Centennial Celebration has joined Aviation Week's ``The Next Century of Flight'' program, a multimedia education campaign celebrating the 100th anniversary of powered, controlled flight. The Dayton group already has begun staging events to commemorate the anniversary, culminating in an extensive celebration and air show in July 2003. Dayton, Ohio, is the home of the Wright brothers, the U.S. Air Force Museum, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Dayton Aviation heritage National Historical Park.
A. Howard Hasbrook, 87, an aviation safety pioneer whose work led to the introduction of automotive seat belts, died on August 19 at his home near Prescott, Ariz. A 16,000-hour pilot and flight instructor, Hasbrook at one time served as chief of flight research at the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute, where he helped conduct early human factors research into flight instrument design.
The FAA has issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive (2000-18-06) requiring the immediate inspection of Rolls-Royce AE3007A, AE and C turbofan engines equipped with Full Authority Digital Electronic Controls (FADEC). Rolls-Royce said the problem stems from two production lots of ``faulty internal power supply transistors'' on the FADEC units that subcontractor TRW (Lucas) had shipped since March.
Salaries for most general aviation employees -- including pilots, maintenance technicians and line service personnel -- increased in 2000, based on the results of a recent National Air Transportation Association (NATA) survey. Maintenance technicians and managers realized some of the largest gains as compared with 1999 salaries. The survey breaks down compensation by job title, region, equipment and revenues. NATA members that participated in the survey will receive a complimentary copy of the results.
Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI) is adding optional routine maintenance coverage for its hourly maintenance customers. Dubbed JSSI Plus, the new program covers engine removal and replacement (R&R) labor, parts and labor for routine inspections, overnight component shipping and provides for on-site maintenance personnel if an aircraft cannot be ferried to a service center. JSSI Plus is only available for North American customers and replaces the company's R&R Upgrade for U.S. and Canadian customers.
Aviation Research Group/U.S., Inc. (ARG/US) and B/CA have produced a CD-ROM that provides database information on business aircraft in a manner that easily communicates your findings to first-time buyers as well as experienced owners. CompAir is a powerful and intuitive interface that can quickly and easily compare the most popular turbine business aircraft. Search parameters include performance, price, real-world operating costs and dimensions.
Rural Alaska is now the proving ground for new avionics and flight procedures that could reduce the state's staggering accident rate and one day affect the way we use the airspace over the lower 48. Called Capstone, this joint industry-FAA initiative is equipping 150 commercial aircraft -- mostly piston singles operated in the remote Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta under FAR Part 135 -- with multi-function displays (MFDs) not unlike those found on the newest airliners and business aircraft.
Over the next two years, the FAA will seek to alleviate air traffic delays across the nation by breaking open some of the ``operational bottlenecks'' that affect flights in and around the New York metropolitan area. Crafted with input from the NBAA and other industry and labor groups, the plan pushes aircraft away from the most crowded fixes, routes and altitudes, in a bid to break the ``conga lines'' of air traffic generated by the five major airports within 20 miles of midtown Manhattan.
The FAA has withdrawn four of 38 proposed Airworthiness Directives mandating Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) revisions on the use of pneumatic deicing boot activation. The rescinded ADs cover Cessna 208, 208A and 208B Caravans; Beech 99, 1900 and 2000 Starship Models; the King Air 90, 100, 200 and 300; and Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2T and BN-2TA Islanders. According to the FAA, the manufacturers demonstrated that the language in the AFMs of the affected aircraft adequately addressed the condition described in the proposed AD.
The battle to design and certify a Stage 3 hush kit for the Rolls-Royce Spey engines that power Gulfstream II, IIB and III aircraft is expected to rage on at least through the first half of 2001. The rivals in the hush kit race, Mojave, Calif.-based ReallyQuiet and La Jolla, Calif.-based Stage III Technologies, each has spent thousands of hours and millions of dollars on a competition marked by giddy promises and embarrassing failures.
Jacksonville-based Unison Industries has been chosen to supply wiring harnesses and other electrical components for MD Helicopters' Explorer light-twin helicopter.
These three graphs are designed to be used together to provide a broad view of the Galaxy's performance. Do not use these data for flight planning. For a complete operational analysis, use the Approved Aircraft Flight Manual, Operational Planning Manual and other flight planning data supplied by Galaxy Aerospace Corp. (GAC).
The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) is awarding its 2000 Environmental Achievement Awards to Halifax International Airport Authority and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) for environmental programs that go ``above and beyond regulations.'' ACI-NA selected Halifax for its on-site falconry program that helps reduce bird and wildlife hazards, while LAWA received recognition for its ``strong commitment to clean air in Los Angeles.'' Southwest Florida International Airport received a special award for its wildlife management program, which includes Jet, th
