JAY TREES was appointed vice president of logistics and supply chain management for Aerospace Products International. Trees formerly was president of Eriks Aerospace, where he helped establish logistics and inventory support services.
Model DH.125, Model HS.125, Model BH.125, Model BAe125 series 800A (including major variants C-29A and U1-25), Model Hawker 800, Model Hawker 800XP, and Model Hawker 1000 series airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-376-AD) - proposes to require leak checks and inspections for corrosion of the pitot/static and stall vent drain valves, and replacement of certain components, if necessary. This proposal is prompted by reports of plugged or taped drain valves as well as consequent corrosion of certain drain valves.
INDIGO, the new Chicago-based airline that will provide regular service with Falcon business jets, named John Fenton president and chief operating officer. Fenton, who also will serve as president and COO of Indigo parent NewWorldAir Holdings, Inc., will have overall responsibility for corporate and flight operations. He previously was senior vice president of operations for Indigo and managed the development, certification and launch of the company's flight operations.
Federal Aviation Administration, facing continued criticism from Congress and the General Accounting Office for the lack of progress on the Wide Area Augmentation System, last week told a congressional panel that it "shares" the frustration about delays and cost overruns, but believes it has taken adequate steps to "achieve a new, better, safer navigation system that will have worldwide impacts." The beleaguered WAAS development program this year suffered major delays after the agency discovered that the system did not meet its integrity standards.
THE SENATE Thursday confirmed the first six members of the FAA Management Advisory Committee - General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen, Air Wisconsin Chairman Geoffrey Crowley, American Executive Vice President Robert Baker, First Financial Management Services President Kendall Wilson, retired Boeing executive Robert Davis and former Air Line Pilots Association President Randy Babbitt.
Members of the Canadian Auto Workers Locals 112 and 673 returned to work for the midnight shift early Wednesday after they ratified a new collective agreement struck with Bombardier Aerospace the night before. Members of the two locals, representing 3,800 to 4,000 hourly and office workers at Bombardier's Downsview plant near Toronto, walked off the job early June 22 after contract talks with the company failed, primarily over pension and job security issues. Negotiations continued through the weekend and a tentative three-year deal was reached June 26.
BUSINESS AVIATION interests are continuing their push to expand airport access for business jets in Japan and to make it easier for private aircraft operators to fly into China. The U.S.-Japan Business Council, meeting next week in Japan, will hear an appeal from Bryan Moss, vice chairman of Gulfstream Aerospace, for more business aviation slots at Narita and Haneda Airports in Japan.
HONEYWELL signed an agreement with FlightSafety International to provide personal computer training software for training customers who operate Honeywell's FMZ-2000 family of flight management systems. "Our new PC-FMS software will help flight departments reduce their training costs while allowing flight crews to review and practice to proficiency the FMS procedures with their personal computers at home or on the road," said John Uczekaj, vice president of business, regional and helicopter programs for Honeywell Commercial Electronic Systems.
MIKE MCNUTT was appointed national accounts manager, North America for PRIMEDIA's AC-U-KWIK product line. McNutt most recently served as aviation sales program coordinator and advertising account executive for ExxonMobil.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-100 and -300 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-380-AD; Amdt. 39-11768; AD 2000-11-20) - requires revising the aircraft logbook to correct the airplane production modification list; performing an inspection to determine which bonded skin panels on the airplane require bonding integrity inspections (BII); and revising the airworthiness limitations list of the approved maintenance plan to include the BII requirements.
GALAXY AEROSPACE said it will inaugurate FlightSafety International's new center at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport with a Galaxy simulator slated for installation in July. The simulator, which will be certified to Level D standards, is expected to receive FAA qualification in October with customer training beginning later that month. Galaxy has placed four Galaxy business jets into service with deliveries continuing at a rate of one per month. Galaxy expects to increase that rate to two per month later this year.
ATLANTIC AVIATION CORPORATION added a Hawker 800A based in New Hampshire to its charter fleet. Atlantic Aviation's Flight Services Division manages and operates 22 turbine-powered aircraft.
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, a leading manufacturer of diagnostic, monitoring and measurement equipment, has partnered with the international charity The Flying Hospital, Inc., providing $1 million in medical, diagnostic, aviation, communication and other equipment. The Flying Hospital provides free medical services through a Lockheed L-1011-500 equipped with a four-station surgical suite, a 12-bed pre/post-operative area, a pharmacy and a classroom section with seating for 67 medical professionals.
AVA SUMPTER was promoted to lead customer contact on CJ610 and CF700 engine maintenance for Garrett Aviation in Houston, Texas. Sumpter, formerly A&P technician, will retain her duties as lead customer contact for TFE731 engine maintenance. She has 12 years of maintenance experience, including with the U.S. Army, and in 1998 was chosen by Aircraft Technical Publishers as Aviation Technician of the Year. Sumpter received her bachelor's degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is working toward her master's degree there.
A MODEL 55 LEARJET and a second aircraft collided in flight Friday and crashed into a residential area of Boca Raton, Fla., killing three people aboard, local authorities said. The Learjet, N220JC, was a 1982 model, and registered to Universal Jet Aviation, Inc., of Boca Raton, according to Aviation Data Service of Wichita, Kan. Initial indications were that the Learjet, which had been acquired by Universal Jet in April, had taken off from the Boca Raton Airport moments before the collision.
CFM INTERNATIONAL CFM56-2, -2A, -2B, -3, -3B, -3C, -5, -5B, -5C, and -7B series turbofan engines (Docket No. 98-ANE-38-AD; Amdt. 39-11779; AD 2000-12-01) - supersedes an existing AD, which requires revisions to the airworthiness limitations section of applicable engine shop manuals (ESMs). These revisions incorporate required enhanced inspection of selected critical life-limited parts at each piece-part exposure. This amendment requires the addition of CFM56 engine models to the applicability section of the AD, and the introduction of additional inspections.
BAKER ELECTRONICS, INC. in December plans to relocate its aviation manufacturing business to a new business park under construction at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) in Sarasota, Fla. Baker will consolidate its four buildings into a new 50,000-square-foot facility that can be expanded by 30,000 square feet to accommodate growth. The company plans to add 25 employees to its staff of 200 by the end of the year. Baker's new address will be 8323 Lindbergh Ct., Sarasota, Fla. 34243.
PACIFIC AVIATION COMPOSITES USA, LLC, which has officially changed its name to The Lancair Company, recently received a "multi-million dollar" investment that will help boost production of the Columbia 300 and develop the next aircraft in the product line, the Columbia 400. Lancair was not revealing performance figures for the new product, but said it will be powered by the Continental TSIO-550 rated at 310 horsepower and retain the basic, fixed-gear configuration of the Columbia 300. The company hopes to begin delivery of the new model in a year.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION strongly endorsed a provision in the House Labor, Health&Human Services and Education fiscal 2001 appropriations bill that bars the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from using funds to "promulgate, issue, implement, administer, or enforce any proposed, temporary or final standard on ergonomics protection." OSHA in November proposed requiring most employers to develop ergonomics programs to protect against and account and compensate for musculoskeletal disorders (BA, Dec. 6/257).
NOTWITHSTANDING its stated emphasis on personnel issues, Bombardier's Downsview plant in Toronto, Ontario was struck Thursday by members of the Canadian Auto Workers after a labor contract expired. The union represents about two-thirds of the workforce at the plant, which produces the Global Express and wings for the Model 45 Learjet. See article below.
Flight Safety Foundation President Stuart Matthews added his voice to those in industry who have warned that "aviation accident-prevention programs are being endangered by government attempts to use information collected during the investigation of airline accidents to support the criminal prosecution of airlines, airline employees and others involved in those accidents." Matthews, speaking June 15 at the Fourth Global Aviation Information Network World Conference in Paris, said legal protection must be assured for confidential data gathered through commercial aviation
First Aviation Services, Inc. reported a small net loss for the quarter ended April 30, but said sales jumped 21 percent for the period. Sales totaled $21.8 million, compared with $18 million in the same period a year earlier. The loss from continuing operations was $116,000, or one cent per share, compared with a loss of $400,000, or four cents per share, in the same period last year. Net loss also was $116,000, compared with net income of $1.3 million a year ago, but that figure included $1.7 million in net income from discontinued operations.
Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed requiring airports that serve commuter aircraft with at least 10 seats to obtain Part 139 certification, the same standard that currently applies to airports served by air carriers with 30-seat and larger aircraft. The proposal stems from National Transportation Safety Board recommendations as well as from the Department of Transportation's "one level of safety" effort five years ago that treated commuter operators of aircraft with 10 or more seats similarly to larger operators.
BRITISH AEROSPACE BAe Model ATP airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-230-AD; Amdt. 39-11773; AD 2000-11-24) - requires repetitive inspections to detect discrepancies of the downlock support assembly and attachment of the nose landing gear (NLG), and of the bulkhead and adjacent structure in the NLG bay; and corrective action, if necessary. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
