Executive Jet, Inc., whose NetJets fractional aircraft ownership program has grown dramatically over the past few years, dedicated a new operations center and maintenance facility at its Port Columbus International Airport (CMH) base in Columbus, Ohio Wednesday. The new 200,000-square-foot facility features state-of-the-art computer and communications equipment to link the company's service and reservation representatives with customers and to keep pilots all over North America in touch with dispatchers and meteorologists in Columbus.
AOPA PRESIDENT PHIL BOYER'S chances of winning a seat on the FAA Management Advisory Committee appear to be fading fast because of continued opposition from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee (BA, June 12/271). The Commerce Committee cleared six other nominees for the MAC panel in about 30 seconds Thursday, but the nominations of Boyer and Debbie Branson, a Dallas trial attorney, did not come up. Most observers believe their chances of confirmation are somewhere between slim and none.
BBA AVIATION, which promoted Bruce Van Allen and Beth Haskins to new posts recently (BA, June 12/276), announced some additional personnel moves Friday. Gary Boekenkamp was appointed vice president of marketing for BBA Aviation North America. He had been senior vice president of marketing for BBA's Signature Flight Support chain of fixed-base operations. T. Peter Whitehead was named chief executive of BBA Aviation Europe, reporting to Dick Dodson, president and CEO of BBA Aviation.
The Senate Thursday approved the fiscal 2001 transportation appropriations bill by a vote of 99-0, a measure that includes $12.4 billion for the FAA in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The bill now goes to conference with the House, which passed its FY 2001 appropriations measure last month.
INCREASED ATTENTION to the problem of runway incursion incidents led FAA to schedule a Runway Safety National Summit June 26-28 in Washington, D.C., a program announced last week as NTSB was issuing recommendations addressing the runway incursion problem. Participants will include FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, NTSB Chairman James Hall and Kenneth Mead, the DOT Inspector General. The three-day meeting will be held at the Washington Hilton and Towers Hotel at 1919 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
R. NEIL SCHNAAK was named director of flight operations for Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Schnaak previously was vice president-operations at Shuttle America and before that he was vice president of operations for Corporate Airlines and director of safety for American Eagle/Flagship Airlines. He will be based in Minneapolis and will report to John Spanjers, vice president of flight operations.
PEREGRINE AVIATION SERVICES scheduled "An Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) Mini-Conference" June 27 at the Avitat fixed-base operation at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. and June 28 at Peregrine's Hackensack, N.J. headquarters. For more information, call Peregrine at (201) 342-3700.
An FAA airworthiness directive that went into effect Friday to address the problem of possibly severe pitch oscillations on Dassault Falcon business jets includes the Model 2000 aircraft along with many of its predecessor models.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer's opposition to new aviation user fees -- a view he shares with nearly everyone in the general and business aviation community -- is driving Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) opposition to Boyer's appointment to FAA's Management Advisory Committee.
BOEING is seeking a buyer to operate its St. Louis, Mo. parts fabrication business, part of the company's effort to streamline facilities and focus on design, manufacturing and systems integration. The 1.7 million square foot St. Louis plant currently operates at about 40 percent of its capacity, Boeing said, with a workforce of about 1,700 who makes metal and composite parts for a variety of military aircraft.
THE BUSINESS JET MARKET "is now worth about as much as the world combat fighter market," with each segment delivering about $10 billion worth of products annually, according to the latest 10-year forecast from The Teal Group. The forecasters believe the strong business aviation market will continue, noting that for business jets, "the worst years of our forecast period will be better than any year before 1999." See related article on Page 288.
TELEDYNE CONTROLS received orders valued at $5.6 million from Gulfstream Aerospace and Bombardier, Inc. to purchase Mini-Flight Data Acquisition (MFDAU) systems for Gulfstream's G-IV-SP and G-V aircraft and Bombardier's de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft. Teledyne Technologies said the MFDAU system acquires and processes mandatory FAA aircraft and engine data for storage in the flight data recorder.
The latest Teal Group Business Aircraft Overview predicts Canadian manufacturer Bombardier will outpace a handful of competitors to claim more than one-quarter of the business jet market (based on dollar value) over the next decade.
NTSB last week recommended that FAA require all airports with scheduled passenger service to have a ground movement safety system to prevent runway incursions by providing a direct warning to flight crews. NTSB said it was not impressed with FAA's Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), saying that it "does not appear to be able to provide sufficient warning time to prevent even some runway collisions" because warnings must be routed through air traffic controllers. The board claims runway incursions increased 71 percent between 1993 and 1999.
Northrop Grumman Corp. signed a definitive agreement to sell its commercial aerostructures business -- which builds the integrated wing structure for the Gulfstream V business jet -- to The Carlyle Group. The transaction is valued at $1.2 billion, with the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Corp. agreeing to pay $843 million in cash and securities while assuming more than $400 million in post-employment benefit liabilities.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE officially opened its seventh U.S. business aircraft service center, at Dallas Love Field, this month. The Canadian manufacturer said the $7 million facility will operate from 7:30 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, with a staff of 66, including 40 licensed technicians. The total workforce is expected to grow to 75 by the end of the year and to about 100 next year. The 43,500-square-foot facility can accommodate up to four Challengers and six or seven Learjets simultaneously.
REGIONAL AIRLINE ASSOCIATION is relocating to 2025 M St., N.W., Suite 800, in Washington, D.C. June 26. The new telephone and fax numbers are (202) 367-1170 and (202) 367-2170, respectively.
EXECUTIVE JET officials say they're not struggling to find enough pilots to staff their burgeoning NetJets operation, but the company has taken steps to make the operation more pilot-friendly. These include a rapid expansion of crew bases across the U.S. in Hartford, Teterboro, Savannah, Orlando, Dallas, Columbus, Denver, Las Vegas and Seattle. A tenth city, Los Angeles, will be added to the list in the near future. The location of the crew base cities reflects popular bases and destinations for the company's customers.
RICHARD G. GENTNER joined Evans&Sutherland as director of sales for the company's PC Simulation business. Gentner, who reports to Dave Fluegeman, E&S PC Simulation general manager, is responsible for all PC Simulation sales and marketing activities. His appointment is part of the company's increased emphasis on its PC-based simFUSION image generator product line. Gentner has more than 20 years of aerospace simulation and video graphics experience. Most recently he was director of scalable graphics products for Real 3D Inc.
REVO Models Lake LA-4, Lake LA-4A, Lake LA-4P, Lake LA-4-200, and Lake Model 250 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-27-AD; Amdt. 39-11746; AD 2000-10-22) -- requires inspection of the left and right wing upper and lower spar doublers for cracks, replacement of any cracked parts and incorporation of a modification kit. This AD is the result of a report of a fatigue crack found at the second most inboard wing attachment bolt hole on one of the affected airplanes.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-301, AT-401, and AT-501 airplanes [Docket No. 2000-CE-21-AD; Amdt. 39-11753; AD 2000-11-05) -- requires inspection of the vertical fin front spar attachment fittings for fatigue cracks, and rework of the vertical fin if any cracks are found. This AD is the result of reports of a vertical fin front spar fitting failure on a Model AT-401 airplane. The actions specified by this AD are intended to detect and correct cracks in the vertical fin front spar attachment fittings, which could result in failure of the vertical fin.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. plans to incorporate a number of design changes in its new S-92 helicopter to improve the aircraft's utility and handling characteristics.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE is providing an initial Flight Attendant Emergency Procedures Training Course with the purchase of both new and used Gulfstream airplanes. The training, to be conducted by FlightSafety International, consists of a practical course with emergency and safety equipment, classroom instruction and realistic emergency simulator sessions. The simulators include a corporate cabin trainer used to simulate a range of emergencies and a water egress trainer.
NEW PIPER Models PA-46-310P and PA-46-350P airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-112-AD; Amdt. 39-11747; AD 99-15-04 R1) -- revises AD 99-15-04, which currently requires operators to calibrate, inspect, and repair or replace portions of the turbine inlet temperature system. Information reveals that the AD should not apply to airplanes on which the factory installed turbine inlet temperature gauge and associated probe have been replaced through supplemental type certificate (STC). This AD retains the actions of AD 99-15-04, and restricts the applicability accordingly.
AVCARD, the aviation credit card company, signed fuel contracts with eight additional global fuel suppliers. The new agreements cover fuel supplied in China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan, India, Mexico, Slovenia, Macedonia and Croatia. The new contracts add 162 locations to the network of dealers who accept AVCARD and add supplier options for comparative service and pricing at nine additional airports. For additional information, contact AVCARD at (410) 771-2701.
