A European Commission (EC) proposal that could change the way takeoff and landing slots are allocated at Europe's largest airports has evoked the ire of regional airlines fearful of losing access to their most important markets. The EC submitted its draft proposal on July 18, invited airlines and trade groups to discuss the changes a week later (July 26), and required them to furnish detailed responses to the proposal by the end of August.
The Aircraft Bluebook-Price Digest reports little or no increase in jet and turboprop prices at the end of this year's second quarter, whereas piston-powered aircraft stand out as the ``most increased'' segments of the used aircraft market.
Start-up carrier Indigo has received U.S. DOT air carrier certification (under CFR Part 380) through its sister company AirServ, a NewWorldAir Holdings company headquartered in Chicago. Using three Dassault Falcon 20s, Indigo is selling individual seats on flights between Chicago's Midway Airport (MDW), Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, and Westchester County Airport (HPN) in New York.
Pratt&Whitney Engine Services has opened a Regional Service Center in Orlando. The new center is staffed by four technicians who can perform a variety of services including hot-section inspections, engine removal and installation services, fan balancing, troubleshooting and coordination with the engine manufacturer's recently expanded West Virginia overhaul and repair facility. The Orlando location specializes in PT6, JT15D, PW300 and PW500 engines.
Maptech is now offering free, downloadable National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) aeronautical charts through its Mapserver service. The New Hampshire company also provides free U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps, NOAA marine charts and high altitude marine navigation photos on the Internet. All charts are digitized versions of U.S. government charts. Maptech sells a CD-ROM version of sectional charts, VFR terminal area charts and world aeronautical charts, which include GPS interface, elevation profiling and other navigation tools.
Vision, dedication and perseverance are the traits of aviation pioneers. When pundits say something cannot be done, these extraordinary people, undaunted by past failures, focus on the potential that the future offers. One such man was the late Allen E. Paulson, who parlayed an aircraft parts, modification and sales business into the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of your flight crew I would like to welcome you aboard. Our flight time to Portland tonight is . . .'' When asked whether they deliver regular announcements on corporate aircraft, many pilots respond: ``An announcement on a corporate aircraft? Why?''
The FAA has declared its Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) available for VFR flight, recreational boating, surveying and other non-aviation applications. The action follows a 21-day ``stability test'' of the WAAS signal, which demonstrated that the system can safely augment GPS signals without interruption. Raytheon -- lead contractor on the WAAS program -- says measured accuracy during the test was one meter horizontally and two meters vertically, well within the 7.6-meter requirement the FAA had stipulated.
The FAA has proposed a $75,000 civil penalty against Skyway Airlines parent Astral Aviation, for allegedly failing to document a maintenance procedure on an aircraft, and for operating that aircraft in an ``unairworthy condition.'' The FAA says a routine inspection of a company Beech 1900D revealed tape covering a moisture drain hole, and the aircraft was used on 54 passenger flights before the discrepancy was corrected. Milwaukee-based Skyway is the commuter unit of Midwest Express Airlines.
MD Helicopters Inc. in Mesa, Ariz., has finalized the purchase of a 40,000-square-foot hangar previously owned by the Boeing Co. Included in the acquisition are five buildings that house MDHI's assembly/completion center, paint shop, warranty/repair center and administrative facilities. Construction of an additional 35,000-square-foot warehouse is scheduled for completion by the end of this month. In May, MDHI awarded Kaman a contract to supply fuselages for its entire line of single-engine helicopters.
Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures, manufacturer of the proposed Jetcruzer 500, says it has received $20 million in additional financing and 50 new orders for the single-engine turboprop. Private investors have committed to buy the company's stock in $200,000 to $1.5 million increments over the next two years. China's China Eastern Educational Training Co. signed a letter of intent to purchase 30 Jetcruzers, with options for an additional 20 aircraft. China Eastern, the country's only commercial pilot training school, plans to add air taxi service later this year.
Gulfstream's newly expanded Brunswick, Ga., completions and service facility opened in late September. The 24,000-square-foot hangar and nearby 20,000-square-foot storage and maintenance building are largely dedicated to completion and service of G-IVSPs and G-Vs in the Gulfstream Shares program -- a partnership with Executive Jet International. The manufacturer expects to complete seven G-IVSPs this year and one G-V that already has arrived in Brunswick.
Early this year, a consortium of companies led by Honeywell and United Airlines (UAL) showed off a proof-of-concept, data-link weather system that potentially could be installed in airliner cockpits as early as 2001. Using a data-link weather display in the cockpit as a strategic planning tool to avoid hazardous weather, airlines could save as much as one percent in actual time en route, Honeywell officials claimed.
As the presidential campaign enters the last 30 days, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish the wheat from the chaff in the endless political rhetoric.
San Diego-based Jet Source recently donated roundtrip transportation to a local family whose five-year-old son required a bone marrow transplant at Children's Hospital in Seattle. The operator supplied a Learjet 35 for the trip north and a Falcon 50 for the trip home after the successful treatment.
Fairchild Dornier has named McDonnell Douglas veteran Louis F. Harrington as its new CEO, effective October 1. Harrington replaces Charles P. Pieper, who assumed the CEO role from Carl Albert when Pieper's firm -- New York investment bank Clayton, Dubilier&Rice and Allianz Capital -- acquired Fairchild in April.
Over the past three decades, a variety of automated observation systems have been used to provide data for pilots. The two primary systems found in the present national air-space system are AWOS (Automated Weather Observations System) and ASOS (Automated Surface Observation System). While both were developed in the 1970s and 1980s and provide the same basic data, there are distinct differences.
Greg Napert, former founding editor of AMT magazine, has been named as the company's central-region maintenance training marketing manager, Ken Brewer has joined the company's maintenance training sales group and Andy Parish has been promoted to assistant manager of the Savannah learning center.
Trans States Airlines will discontinue Delta Connection service by March 31, 2001, Delta Connection President A. David Siebenburgan said in mid-September. Most of Trans States' flights will be replaced by ACJet and Delta subsidiaries Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair. ACJet is the new Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings subsidiary formed to operate Delta connection flights using Fairchild Dornier 328JETs.
