James Raisbeck has donated $2 million to Purdue University, his alma mater, to advance aeronautical engineering education at the school. The money will be used to create a professorship devoted to the development of coursework in the Schools of Technology and Aeronautics and Astronautics. Raisbeck hopes the new interdisciplinary courses will enable students to apply engineering theory to real-world aeronautics applications. A 1961 Purdue aeronautical engineering graduate, Raisbeck is owner and CEO of Seattle-based Raisbeck Engineering and Raisbeck Commercial Air Group.
John Williams has resigned from his post at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., but will remain in charge of commercial development until September. John Edney is named acting managing director of Stewart while the search for a permanent director continues.
DeCrane Aircraft Holdings has completed its acquisition of aircraft seating manufacturer ERDA, Inc. The Peshtigo, Wis.-based company joins Dettmer Industries in the new seating division of DeCrane's Aircraft Cabin Management Group. According to DeCrane executive Jeff Nerland, the company plans ``significant future investments in ERDA,'' including an eventual doubling of the company's manufacturing capacity. As many as 100 new jobs may be created as a result of the acquisition.
Ernest Schweizer, cofounder of Schweizer Aircraft and one of the last surviving aircraft manufacturing pioneers, has died at 88. Ernie, his two brothers and some friends founded the Elmira, N.Y.-based company in 1939, which remains under family ownership and management. Schweizer Aircraft originally was known for manufacturing sailplanes and now also produces a line of piston- and turbine-powered light helicopters.
Greg Cope joined as director for airline sales in the Americas. Cope is a veteran of Rolls-Royce, British Aerospace and Britannia Airways. Kent Hollinger joined the manufacturer as vice president of technical support.
Ruth Leverenz, presently the agency's assistant administrator for region and center operations, assumes added responsibilities as administrator of the southwest region.
The U.S. government's National Technical Information Service has produced a CD-ROM containing a comprehensive database of FAA airworthiness directives, certification and other data. Purchasers can have instant access to ADs issued since 1940, type certificate data sheets, Parts Manufacturer Approvals (PMA) since 1992, Technical Standard Orders (TSO) and Supplemental Type Certificates (STC). The information, which covers all types of aircraft from airships to transports, is current through December 1999. Price: $125 plus $5 handling fee
The NBAA has launched Operation Heritage -- a fundraising drive to support a business aviation presence at the Smithsonian's proposed National Air and Space Museum facility at Dulles Airport in Virginia. NBAA members are being encouraged to make corporate and personal donations to the program, which it says will help preserve business aviation's history. The NBAA will match personal contributions up to $500,000. It sponsored and spearheaded Business Wings -- a business aviation exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. -- which closed in June.
Flying at 0.8 to 0.9 Mach will put business travelers in the slow lane in the 21st century, say supersonic business jet (SSBJ) proponents. As a result, Boeing, Dassault and Gulfstream, among other business aircraft manufacturers, have been studying the feasibility of launching an SSBJ for the past several years. An SSBJ, traveling at speeds approaching 2.0 Mach, potentially could shave flight times by almost 50 percent on the most frequently flown long-distance trips.
The DOT's investigative arm has strongly criticized the role of the RTCA -- a powerful, quasi-governmental non-profit group -- in formulating the FAA's plans to modernize the nation's ATC system. According to the DOT's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the practice of having senior FAA and industry officials serve on RTCA committees creates potential conflicts of interest, since such groups may, through their recommendations, control the flow of billions of dollars in federal allocations.
Bell Helicopter's Model 407 light single helicopter is newly certified with an increase in takeoff and landing altitudes from 14,000 to 17,000 feet. The FAA also recently approved an increase in the helicopter's external gross weight to 6,000 pounds. Bell has delivered more than 400 Model 407s, including over 65 units in 1999.
When an airplane crashes, says safety expert John K. Lauber, ``we need to understand what is happening to be able to come up with solutions. And if people perceive that they are facing a threat of criminal prosecution, that will dry up a critically important source of information.'' Lauber, vice president of safety and technical affairs for Airbus Industrie of North America and former NTSB member, was referring to the 1999 conviction of SaberTech, a contract maintenance company, in connection with the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in 1996.
The FAA is again planning to charge a fee to operators of aircraft that transit U.S. airspace without taking-off or landing on U.S. soil. The U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a similar FAA rule in early 1998, saying the fee structure was ``inconsistent'' with conditions in the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 allowing the charges. The revised fees are now based on the agency's actual cost of delivering ATC services. According to FAA CEO Donna F.
Bowman Field Airport has received $481,000 from the commonwealth of Kentucky, to fund interior renovations to the historic administrations building and improvements to Runway 6-24. ``The airport is sincerely appreciative of Representative [Larry] Clark's singular leadership in securing funds from the state for much-needed improvements at Bowman Field,'' said J. Michael Brown, airport authority chairman. Airport officials anticipate construction to start in spring 2001.
Assembly of the conforming prototype SJ30-2 airframes earmarked for the FAA certification program is underway at Sino Swearingen's San Antonio plant. The company says the SJ30-2 is on target for a first flight in the third quarter of this year, with first deliveries planned for late 2001. Production SJ30-2s will be built in Martinsburg, W.Va., though the company plans to keep its administrative, marketing and engineering operations in San Antonio.
Photograph: Business Jet Center's Dallas Love Field facility Business Jet Center The Business Jet Center (BJC) has opened for business at Dallas Love Field, after investing more than $15 million in a rebuilding program. The airport authority requested Business Jet Services to provide executive services and hangar leasing after Cirrus Air defaulted to the city in 1997. The plans included a 22,000-square-foot business center, underground fuel farm, 13 acres of ramp space, and seven corporate and private hangars.
Space-Ray has introduced a new gas-fired infrared tube heater designed to provide heating for large workspaces, such as hangars and warehouses. According to the manufacturer, the new ETU200 has a 200,000 BTU/hr capacity with reported energy savings of up to 50 percent over forced air heating. The unit is available in natural gas and propane models and features manual temperature control, safety shutoff control and is built to continue operating even in strong wind gusts. Price: $1,300 to $1,800 Space-Ray 305 Doggett St.
The House Aviation Subcommittee has launched a probe of the government's Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which subsidizes airline flights to small communities that lack the traffic needed to justify profitable service. While EAS funding has nearly doubled over the past five years, the number of communities benefiting from the flights has decreased, and passenger loads have slipped as well.
Passengers expect their business aircraft to have the comforts of home and utility of the office, which means that inflight Internet access and computer networking is becoming a necessity. Pentar Avionics' new JetLAN airborne network server offers users the ability to access e-mail, surf the Web and share files and printers in-flight. Designed exclusively for use in aircraft cabins, the JetLAN is built small but tough. And, with its removable hard drive, confidential documents can remain so. After test flying for a year, JetLAN is now ready for prime time.
