Jet Aviation hired Bruce McNeely as vice president and general manager of its U.S. aircraft management division. McNeely had been responsible for Flexjet operations and aircraft management at Business Jet Solutions, the Dallas, Texas-based subsidiary of Bombardier.
The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS) was officially commissioned last week by Australia's deputy prime minister and minister for transport and regional services, John Anderson. Airservices Australia Chairman John Forsyth said, "We are today celebrating increased efficiency, an even higher level of safety and a modernization program which will finally allow the advances in aircraft cockpit avionics to be fully realized through comparable on-ground technology."
AERODYNAMICS, INC., Waterford, Mich., added 17,000 square feet of hangar and shop space to its existing facility, bringing total area under roof to nearly 44,000 square feet. The additional room is devoted to fabrication of soft goods, cabinetry and electronics. Aerodynamics, Inc. specializes in interior completions for Gulfstream, Falcon and Raytheon aircraft.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL scheduled its next series of Pilot's Review of Proficiency seminars for MU-2 operators in April and May. The sessions, conducted with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, are free for MU-2 operators. The program will cover the MU-2 product support system, emergency operations, crew resource management, accident/incident reviews, avionics updates, maintenance test flight procedures and routine operational items. The program also will include a viewing of the MU-2 Icing Video required under AD 92-20-14.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT's regional maintenance center in Las Vegas, Nev. won FAA approval as an avionics repair station. The center is capable of installing a variety of navigation and communications equipment, including global positioning systems, traffic alert and collision avoidance systems, ground proximity warning systems, enhanced ground proximity warning systems and cabin entertainment systems. The center named Robert Gallop avionics manager, responsible for the development of the full service shop.
ENGINE MAKER Williams International is joining forces with a newly formed company to develop a six-place, twin-turbofan business jet they say they will sell for less than $1 million.See article on Page 107.
TERJE PETERSON was named flight department manager for Elliott Aviation's facility in Moline, Ill. Peterson has served with US Airways and Great Lakes Aviation and has more than 5,000 hours of flight experience.
Citing concern that strut fitting corrosion could cause "catastrophic in-flight structural failure" on high-wing Piper aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board last week recommended that FAA require thousands of owners of these aircraft to conduct recurrent inspections.
FAA will hold its second industry day to discuss its Controller Pilot Data Link Communications project tomorrow at agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. The seminar will update the status of the project from senior FAA officials and representatives from American and Northwest, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Aeronautical Telecommunications Network Systems, ARINC and Eurocontrol.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE added Australian Jet Center to its network of authorized warranty repair facilities. Australian Jet Center, based at Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney, provides hangar maintenance, full catering service, and full fixed-base operation services, including cleaning and fueling.
MARK BERG was promoted to manager of turbine engine services for Midcoast Aviation. Berg will be responsible for both the TFE731 and CF34 programs at Midcoast's St. Louis Downtown-Parks Airport facility. He has spent his entire 22-year aviation career with Midcoast.
MILLION AIR opened a facility at Desert Resorts Regional Airport in Thermal, Calif. The fixed-base operation, Million Air La Quinta, is the sister facility of Million Air Palm Springs, which is owned by Fixed Base Operators, Inc. Russ Knowles, who manages Million Air Palm Springs, also will oversee Million Air La Quinta.
FAIRCHILD AEROSPACE delivered a corporate 328JET featuring a new "quick-change" interior to Johnson Controls. The aircraft is the fourth corporate 328JET in operation, but the first with a quick-change interior that allows use as either a 32-passenger employee shuttle or 16-passenger executive transport. The interior requires only four hours for conversion, Fairchild said.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE delivered the fifth Gulfstream IV-MPA (multi-purpose variant of the G IV-SP) to the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. The aircraft, designated U-4, includes a multi-mission interior that can be reconfigured for one of three missions within one hour. The aircraft can be used for passengers, cargo or medical evacuation. The aircraft also has a five-foot-by-six-foot cargo door to meet medical evacuation requirements. Gulfstream noted that the U.S. government operates five similarly equipped cargo-door aircraft, designated C-20Gs.
Model EC 135 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-05-AD) - proposes to require replacing a certain oil cooler fan splined drive shaft with a different airworthy shaft and re-identifying the part numbers on the oil cooler fans. This proposal is prompted by two incidents in which the shaft broke. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the shaft, loss of oil cooling, and a subsequent engine shutdown during flight. FAA estimates that nine helicopters on the U.S. Registry would be affected by this proposed AD at a cost of $2,160.
EXECUTIVE JET AVIATION teamed with MedAire to provide MedLink Worldwide passenger care services to its NetJets Europe owners. Already offered to U.S. NetJet owners, the services include specialized MedAire training to manage passenger medical needs, a 24-hour emergency medical hotline, enhanced aircraft first aid kit and emergency medical kits, and pre-travel advice on immunizations and health risks associated with areas of travel. The extension of the services is part of Executive Jet's effort to integrate its European and North American programs.
Model AS-350B, BA, B1, B2, and D, and Model AS-355E, F, F1, F2, and N helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-39-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive that currently requires inspecting the main gearbox suspension bi-directional cross-beam for cracks, and replacing the cross-beam if a crack is found. This action would require the same inspections as the existing AD but would add the time intervals for performing repetitive dye-penetrant inspections on cross-beams with 5,000 or more hours time-in-service (TIS).
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY leased a Beech 1900C regional turboprop to Servicios Aereos Profesionales of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sevicios Aereos Profesionales operates four 1900D and two 1900C aircraft. The airline is using the newest 1900C to carry freight in Puerto Rico.
BFGOODRICH COMPANY'S board of directors approved a corporate plan to repurchase as much as $300 million in common stock, or up to 10 percent of the 110.2 million outstanding common shares. The company said the repurchases, either in private or public market transactions, will be funded from operating cash flows and short-term borrowings and will be accretive to earnings per share. The board also declared a regular quarterly dividend and authorized a new incentive program for management, closely tied to improvements in shareholder value.
JET AVIATION PTE. LTD. in Singapore received approval from Honeywell as a line maintenance service center for the TFE731 engine and GTCP 30/36 APU series. Jet Aviation Singapore, founded in 1995, supports a range of business aircraft and is an authorized service center for Gulfstream, Cessna Citation, Learjet and Challenger. It also is a dealer for Universal Avionics Systems, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins.
Aviation Partners, Inc., the small Seattle, Wash., company that developed winglets to extend the range of Gulfstream business jets, is working on a program to bring that technology to the Hawker 800. API Chief Executive Joe Clark told BA Friday the company is evaluating a program to retrofit API's blended winglet technology on Hawker 800 series business jets and hopes to fly a prototype installation within about six months.
STEVE BURKE was promoted to director of materials/purchasing for Midcoast Aviation. Burke, who will be based at the company's St. Louis Downtown-Parks Airport facility, will oversee purchasing and inventory control at all Midcoast locations. He has served with Midcoast for 25 years.
Model 500N and 600N helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-71-AD; Amendment 39-11564; AD 99-25-08) - publishes an amendment sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Model 500N and 600N helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires, within the next five hours time-in-service (TIS) or before further flight after Dec. 31, 1999, inspecting the thruster control cable conduit cap for corrosion or a crack. This AD also requires, within the next 100 hours TIS or before further flight after Feb.
SAGE PARTS, the Farmingdale, N.Y.-based supplier of replacement parts for aircraft ground support equipment (GSE), merged with Parts Plus Logistics, also a GSE parts distributor, to form a new company, Sage Parts Plus. The combined entity will continue to cover Sage Parts customers including major and regional airlines, freight carriers, ground handling companies, fixed-base operations, GSE leasing companies and equipment rebuilders. It also will include the Parts Plus Logistics primary business as an integrated/single source supplier to American and United Airlines.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION, which conducted focus groups at four strategic locations to determine local attitudes toward airports, found that many people were misinformed about airports and aircraft, but were not as concerned about noise and pollution as originally thought. For instance, residents living near Palwaukee Airport outside Chicago were asked if they would support a runway extension if officials could show the airport generates $140 million in economic activity annually. Those residents, however, refused to believe the estimates.
