Bombardier Aerospace formally launched its CRJ900 regional jet at last week's Farnborough Air Show, an 86-seat model designed to complement its 50- and 70-seat CRJ models.
U.S. general aviation manufacturers reported record billings of $4.2 billion in the first half of the year, a total that General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen said "would have been good yearend numbers" five years ago. Billings in the first six months of the year improved 16 percent from first-half totals in 1999 and airplane shipments jumped 18 percent to 1,316 units this year.
DESPITE TAKING MEASURES to expedite rulemaking efforts, the agencies in the Department of Transportation collectively take twice as long to complete significant rules now than they did in 1993, the Transportation Department Inspector General reported this month. While most transportation modes found that their respective rulemaking processes have slowed down somewhat, FAA reported a whopping increase of more than a 400 percent - from an average of .7 years for significant rules in 1993 to three years in 1999.
FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE submitted its final document to FAA this month outlining how the committee believes the agency should regulate fractional aircraft ownership providers under a new Subpart K of Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.The FOARC completed a draft notice of proposed rulemaking and presented it to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey five months ago (BA, Feb. 28/93).
Triumph Group, Inc., the Wayne, Pa. holding company that specializes in aerospace firms, added two more businesses to its stable of manufacturing enterprises. Triumph acquired the assets of two Hot Springs, Ark. companies - Chem-Fab Corp. and Airborne Nacelle Services, Inc. Both had been privately held by the same majority interest. Combined employment for the two firms is approximately 350, a Triumph spokesman said.
BOMBARDIER received initial FAA approval for the Learjet 45 to operate in reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) airspace. Bombardier next month will issue a special RVSM service bulletin for the Learjet 45 that will detail information on the necessary inspections to demonstrate compliance for individual aircraft approval. In addition, the company also developed a guide to help operators through the operational approval process.
The Carlyle Group completed the $1.2 billion purchase of Northrup Grumman's commercial aerostructures business, a deal that was announced just over a month ago (BA, June 19/285). The Washington-based private equity firm paid $843 million in cash and securities, and assumed more than $400 million in post-employment benefit liabilities, according to Northrup Grumman.
LIGHT HELICOPTER TURBINE ENGINE COMPANY shipped the first CTP800-4T propulsion system unit to Ayres Corporation in Albany, Ga. for its Loadmaster cargo aircraft. The PSU will be mated to the firewall forward portion of the nacelle in preparation for the first flight of the Loadmaster later this year. The CTP800-4T, rated at 2,700 horsepower, incorporates two CTP800-4T engines through a reduction combining gearbox to drive a single propeller. The 19,000-pound Loadmaster is designed to carry a payload of 7,500 pounds with a range of up to 650 miles.
Ogden Corporation, which decided a year ago to abandon the aviation and entertainment portions of its holdings, signed a definitive agreement with John Menzies plc of the United Kingdom for the sale of its ground services business (BA, Sept. 20/129). Menzies, whose origins date to 1833, will pay $117.8 million for Ogden's ramp, passenger and cargo handling operations at 61 airports worldwide. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter and is subject to customary regulatory approvals and by shareholders of Menzies.
FINANCIAL RESERVES set aside to deal with engine recalls had a big effect on finances at Teledyne Technologies' engine division. The company said second quarter sales for the engine unit were up 12.6 percent to $49.9 million, and operating profit - before the effect of the reserves - was up 52.3 percent to $6.4 million. "Including product recall reserves, the Aerospace Engines and Components segment incurred an operating loss of $5.6 million for the second quarter 2000, compared with operating profit of $2.5 million in the same period of 1999," the company said.
NORMAN MINETA was sworn in as Secretary of Commerce on Tuesday. The former California congressman chaired the House aviation subcommittee and Public Works and Transportation Committee before leaving Congress several years ago to accept an executive post with Lockheed Martin. Mineta also chaired the National Civil Aviation Review Commission.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT received an order from Atlas Air Service, GmbH, Ganderkesee, Germany, for a mix of eight new Cessna Citations. Atlas Air, Cessna's authorized sales representative for Citations and Caravans, as well as a single-engine CSTAR facility, has sold 60 new Citations in Germany in the past four years. The latest order includes a Citation Sovereign, three Citation CJ2s and four Citation CJ1s.
Glen W. Lindemann, 61, president and chief executive officer of Scott Technologies, plans to retire at the end of the year. Lindemann will become interim vice chairman Aug. 1 and Mark A. Kirk, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will become president and CEO. Kirk, who will temporarily retain his duties as CFO, joined Scott in 1998 after serving as president and chief operating officer of HMI Industries, Inc.
BFGoodrich Aerospace last week launched its SmartDeck avionics suite designed to integrate advanced avionics and display equipment as well as a host of other electronics for general aviation aircraft and entry-level jets. The SmartDeck incorporates primary flight avionics and active matrix liquid crystal displays with flight, navigation, weather, traffic and terrain avoidance and engine-monitoring functions under one system. Features include Attitude and Heading Reference System and Air Data Computer functions.
Pratt&Whitney launched a demonstration program to bring a geared turbofan engine to the business and regional jet market that claims to offer improved economics while setting lower noise and emissions standards. A 12,000-pounds-thrust ATFI demonstrator will run in the first quarter of 2001, with first flight on a flying test bed later in the year.
BAKER ELECTRONICS developed a JetMap moving map system as part of its new Office in the Sky suite of products. JetMap displays a continuous flight path position as well as high-resolution terrain on a specified flight path. Baker will offer various packages for the JetMap from Complete Worldwide Relief Image to European Map. Other new Office in the Sky products include an 18-inch slim-line LCD monitor, the Mini DVD/CD play and the multi-region DVD/CD player.
THE CV-22, a special operation version of the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, rolled out July 25 in a ceremony at Bell Helicopter Textron's Fort Worth, Texas plant. The aircraft, jointly produced by Bell-Boeing Textron, is designed to carry Special Operations Forces (SOF) on long-range missions. The U.S. Special Operations Command plans to procure 50 CV-22s at a projected cost of about $43 million each to replace aging fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft used by both Army and Air Force SOFs. The first operational CV-22s are scheduled for delivery in 2004.
THE SENATE this month approved an amendment to the fiscal 2001 Interior Department appropriations bill that would ban land managers from using federal funds to permanently close an aircraft landing strip. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has led the charge to preserve the nation's backcountry landing strips, said the amendment, introduced by Sen. Michael Crapo (R-Idaho), is considered a temporary measure until he can develop legislation to create a public process for considering landing strip closures.
Brazilian regional jet manufacturer Embraer launched the ERJ-145XR last week with a major order from Continental Express at the Farnborough Air Show. Continental converted 64 options and 11 firm orders for current ERJ-145 versions into XR commitments and placed 100 additional options for the new 50-seater. The ERJ-145XR is an increased-range variant of the original, which also was kicked off by a launch order from Continental Express, in 1996.
National Transportation Safety Board said the number of general aviation accidents was down eight percent in the first six months of 2000, compared with the first half of last year. The board reported 805 GA accidents through June, compared with 876 during the same period last year. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation pointed out that the number of fatal GA accidents was down nearly 10 percent during the first half of the year, from 155 in the first six months of 1999 to 140 in the most recent period.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT delivered 11 1900D regional turboprops to CommutAir of Plattsburg, N.Y. under a 26-aircraft order valued at more than $125 million. The contract, which includes options for 26 additional 1900D aircraft, is the largest single fleet acquisition for the 1900D since 1995, Raytheon noted. The new aircraft will replace existing Beech 1900D airlines in CommutAir's fleet. CommutAir has operated the Beech 1900D since 1993. Deliveries of the new 1900Ds will continue through the end of the year.
ROLLS-ROYCE had a good first half and is optimistic about both near- and long-term prospects. The British engine maker said it received more than $1.5 billion in new orders in the first half of 2000, with more expected during the remainder of the year. The latest Rolls-Royce forecast calls for a total airline market of nearly 50,000 engines valued at $340 billion over the next 20 years and a defense aerospace market estimated at $375 billion over the same period.
IBIS AEROSPACE LTD., conducted a successful first flight July 25 of its Ae 270 prototype utility aircraft. The single-turboprop, low-wing aircraft is a joint venture between Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic and AIDC of Taiwan.
CBL SYSTEMS, a supplier of fiber optic-based distributed sensing and intelligent automated control solutions, received orders from Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Trans States Airlines to supply its fiber optic-networked Distributed Flight Data Acquisition Unit (DFDAU) for the carriers' fleets of ATR-72 and ATR-42 aircraft. CBL Systems said the DFDAU meets new FAA requirements for expanded flight data recording capacity on existing aircraft, adding that the system won FAA certification last year.
