The Air Transport Association's (ATA) annual Engineering Maintenance and Materiel Forum will merge with Aviation Week&Space Technology's MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) conference and trade show in 2001. The ATA's Donald Collier says the combined show will provide ``an expanded learning experience'' as well as a productive networking opportunity. MRO 2001 is scheduled for April 3-5 in Dallas. For further information call (800) 240-7645 or visit www.aviationnow.com/conferences.
Signature Flight Support parent BBA Group has acquired U.K. FBO Lynton Aviation in a cash deal worth $55 million. The arrangement extends BBA's business aviation presence in Europe, where the company already operates two FBOs. Lynton has operations at Luton, London City, Blackbushe and Denham in the United Kingdom, and at Morristown, N.J. Lynton's U.K. operation also includes aircraft repair and overhaul services, and aircraft charter management and sales businesses. For its last fiscal year ended September 1999, the company reported revenues of $65 million.
The Ada, Okla., Municipal Airport (KADH) received the Oklahoma Airport Operators Association's ``Airport of the Year'' award for 1999. The award recognizes excellence in planning, capital improvement and economic development at general aviation airports in the state.
The FCC has granted AirCell, an air-to-ground communications provider for business aviation, a two-year extension of its operating authority. With the renewal, AirCell says it now can focus on securing an additional four ground-based providers to ensure ``seamless nationwide service.'' AirCell has delivered around 300 of its inflight phones at a cost of $4,000 to $8,000 per installation, but price isn't only obstacle the company faces.
A new rule from the FAA bans smoking on all scheduled flights between the United States and foreign destinations. The rule specifically bans smoking in the cockpit, as well.
The Airline Dispatchers Federation (ADF) has called upon the FAA to require more stringent regulation of air charter, cargo and fractional operations. The group wants operators of passenger aircraft with 10 or more seats and cargo aircraft with maximum gross weights in excess of 20,000 pounds to operate under FAR Part 121, which, incidentally, requires the use of licensed aircraft dispatchers. According to the ADF, such a move would duplicate the ``Single Level of Safety'' standard, enacted in 1997, which required most regional carriers to comply with Part 121.
The FAA has presented ICAO with a ``safety oversight template'' that could spur wider implementation of U.S. aviation regulations and standards around the world. On May 18 in Montreal, Tom McSweeny, head of the FAA's regulation and certification branch, presented ICAO with Version 1.5 of the Model Aviation Regulatory Document, which provides guidelines for government oversight of flight operations, aircraft certification and other safety-related functions.
For 1999, Business Week magazine selected the best-performing companies from the S&P 500 index based on eight factors: total return for 1999, total return for three prior years, sales growth for 1999, sales growth for three prior years, profit growth for 1999, profit growth for three prior years, net margin for 1999 and return on equity for 1999. To select the best performing companies, Business Week combined scores for the eight factors, and added a weighting for sales volume to come up with the following results.
Bombardier plans to grow its Belfast, Northern Ireland-based work force by 1,200, or 20 percent, over the next two years as part of a production rate increase. The new employees will support component manufacture for the Canadair Regional Jet, Challenger 604 and Global Express programs. Parts for the CRJ Series 100/200 are already built at the Belfast plant. ``These new manufacturing responsibilities are a strong endorsement of our Northern Ireland operation and a clear expression of our confidence in our
SSBJs will have a price tag twice that of today's large-cabin business aircraft. It's also unlikely that an SSBJ will offer the short-field performance and long-legs, short-haul operating flexibility of traditional business aircraft, thereby squeezing them into a long-haul niche.
When humans are heavily tasked with little time to accomplish the tasks, the chance for error increases. This is routinely referred to as ``pilot error'' in aviation, but it is actually just ``human error.'' When we are rushed we are prone to mistakes, and confusion can easily occur. In this environment, tasks may be done incorrectly or not at all. Therefore, when possible it makes sense to move complex tasks from high workload periods to times when workload is lower.
Owners of older David Clark headsets can update their microphones with a new retrofit kit from the manufacturer. The M-7DC kit enables installation of a flex boom amplified electret microphone on veteran headsets like the H10-30 and H10-40. It's an excellent solution for pilots who want to combine the comfort of their existing equipment with the advanced technology of David Clark's improved microphone technology. Price: $89.75 David Clark Co. 360 Franklin St., Box 15054 Worcester, Mass. 01615-0054
The FAA is reviewing its newly crafted rules regarding fractional ownership operations, and expects to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) before the end of the year. ``We've received the draft NPRM and it's quite a good product that represents a lot of consensus-building,'' said Margaret Gilligan, the FAA's deputy associate administrator for regulation and certification.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has called Department of Defense justification of 391 support aircraft ``inadequate'' and recommended that the DOD reevaluate its requirements. The aircraft are intended to transport passengers and cargo in wartime when other commercial and military flights are unavailable. In peacetime, however, the aircraft -- most of them military versions of corporate aircraft -- are being used for non-critical missions such as crew training and passenger transport. Almost half the aircraft in question are military versions of the Beech King Air.
A new airline has launched service between Finland and Estonia using Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopters. Copterline, a subsidiary of Finland's Copter Action, operates the 18-minute flights once hourly in each direction. According to Sikorsky, there are now five airlines operating scheduled service with S-76 variants, including Sweden's Helikopter Service AB, Alidaunia of Italy, East Asia Airlines of Macau and Canada's Helijet Airways.
Prolonged sitting, whether in the cockpit or passenger cabin, can strain back muscles, cause lower back pain and restrict movement of your spine. A Vermont physician has created a device to prevent or limit lower back problems. BackCycler relies on an inflatable airbag to keep your lower back in motion using ``continuous passive motion.'' The subtle movements created by the BackCycler help exercise the back and reduce fatigue. BackCycler is available for virtually all business and general aviation aircraft. Price: $350 to $550 per seat
Sikorsky plans to incorporate a number of significant design changes into its new S-92 helicopter, in a bid to improve the aircraft's handling characteristics and utility. According to Tommy Thomason, Sikorsky's civil programs chief, search and rescue operators' need for a larger door drove the redesign, which will delay FAA certification from its original December 2001 timeframe until spring 2002.
Atlantic Aviation has opened the doors of its new $22.5 million relocated FBO at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). The new facility consists of an 8,800-square-foot executive terminal, two tenant hangars and 18 acres of ramp space. The terminal offers a passenger and pilot's lounge, office cubicles with data ports, WSI weather, general business services and conference rooms. The two, 22,599-square-foot hangars are equipped with infrared heating and 28-foot hangar doors capable of accommodating an aircraft up to G-V size.
European pilot groups say helicopter firefighting operations in Spain are being conducted with ``complete disregard to the normal standards for aviation.'' According to the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA), such operations rely on Russian-made military helicopters that lack airworthiness certificates and maintenance records. IFALPA also cited what it calls the ``outrageous use of foreign, quasi-military personnel operating without any regulation of their working hours.''
OnMoney.com, an internet bill-paying and financial services site, is offering a year of business jet travel as a sweepstakes prize. The Grand Prize winner in the ``Escape the Frustration Sweepstakes'' will receive a $100,000 charge card from eBizJet.com, valid for up to a year. Service only is available in the continental United States and is subject to one-hour per flight and two-hour per day minimums, federal excise tax and other restrictions. The prize also includes a $50,000 cash award. Visit www.onmoney.com for further information.
Windsor Airmotive has added robotic technology to its Plasma Spray Department. Windsor, a division of Barnes Aerospace, develops high-tech repairs for turbine engine components.
