JET AVIATION delivered the first Boeing Business Jet to be outfitted in Europe. The aircraft, which arrived green at Jet Aviation Basel in January, was fitted with a VIP cabin that will accommodate 18 passengers. The interior includes separate meeting, lounge and dining areas along with sleeping quarters, a closet and private bathroom with shower. A second BBJ is undergoing completion at the Basel facility and a third is expected to be delivered to Jet Aviation before yearend.
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT and Chicago area officials are hosting a three-day Aviation in the 21st Century - Beyond Open Skies conference to address "the enormous advances and developments that have taken place in aviation over the last 55 years" since the 1944 Chicago Convention on aviation that established the post-war framework for the aviation industry. Next month's conference will include transport ministers and director generals from more than 100 nations. Attendance is expected to exceed 500 and will include representatives of major U.S.
PAUL E. FULCHINO, president and chief operating officer of B/E Aerospace, resigned to pursue other business interests, the company said Wednesday. Robert Khoury, the vice chairman and chief executive officer, assumed the duties of president. B/E Aerospace is a major manufacturer of cabin interior products for both commercial and business aviation aircraft.
SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS is publishing its first international aerospace quality systems standard, AS9100 Quality Systems - Aerospace - Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation and Servicing. AS9100 will be the technical equivalent of the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA) version, prEN9100. The quality standard was developed in association with the American Aerospace Quality Group in the U.S., AECMA in Europe and officials from Japan, China, Mexico and Brazil.
FAA'S NEW FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP Aviation Rulemaking Committee (FOARC) held its first three days of meetings last week in Washington, with most of the time devoted to presentations by committee members of their respective points of view. There was general agreement on a definition of fractional ownership, a definition quite similar to the one included in a set of industry-developed guidelines published late last year (BA, Jan. 4/1). The challenge of defining "operational control" of aircraft has been deferred for later meetings.
A RECENT MEETING with Nick Lacey, FAA's Flight Standards director, has given the National Air Transportation Association hope that FAA understands that certain reserve time requirements designed for scheduled operators will not work with on-demand Part 135 carriers and the agency plans to recognize that fact in its enforcement activities as well as in future rulemaking. See article below.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN was named president of Battelle's new Vitex Systems subsidiary. Vitex will provide Flexglas substrates and Barix conformal coating systems for use in the communications, consumer and industrial electronics markets. Sullivan formerly was an executive of Raychem Corp. and president of Flex Products.
CANADIAN MARCONI COMPANY won an order valued at $6 million to supply its Integrated Display System (IDS) to MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) for the MD Explorer aircraft. Deliveries will begin in October 2000 and continue through June 2003. MDHI produces a line of "no tail rotor" (NOTAR) commercial helicopters including the MD Explorer, as well as the MD 600N, MD 520N, MD 500E and MD 530F.
ALPA'S WOERTH charged that FAA is "reverting to their previous method of dealing with the issue, which is to say, stall, stonewall, and bend over backwards once gain to accommodate industry attempts to avoid their responsibilities." The Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots at American Airlines, charged that FAA "is putting the financial interests of U.S. air carriers ahead of passenger safety by delaying enforcement of regulations mandating adequate rest" for reserve and standby airline pilots.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE announced the sale last week of two Challenger 604 business jets to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, a deal consummated some months ago. The first 604 went into completion a month ago and is scheduled for entry into service with the RJAF in the second quarter of 2000. The second aircraft will be delivered "green" at the end of January.
Monte Belger, a 27-year FAA veteran who has served as the acting deputy administrator, was selected by the Clinton Administration to permanently fill the slot. The White House this month said it intended to nominate Belger, but nomination hearings and confirmation will have to wait until Congress reconvenes in late January. Belger, who served two stints as two acting deputy administrator since 1997, currently is associate administrator for air traffic services, where he oversees day-to-day operation of the nation's air traffic control system.
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) called on his Senate colleagues last week to support a requirement that air carrier aircraft be equipped with cockpit video recording systems for use in accident investigations.
SPECIAL METALS CORP. reported a net loss of $5.4 million on sales of $139.3 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. During the same period a year ago, the company reported net income of $4.1 million on sales of $41.6 million. For the first nine months, Special Metals had a $12.5 million net loss on sales of $449.9 million. That compares with a profit of $15 million on sales of $134.7 million a year earlier. Special Metals said the increase in third-quarter and nine-month revenues was due to the fourth-quarter 1998 acquisition of Inco Alloys International.
A LAST DITCH EFFORT to reach agreement on long-term funding of the Federal Aviation Administration failed after a final meeting between Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) yielded no movement Thursday afternoon.Congress, meanwhile, decided against including the Senate-passed extension of the Airport Improvement Program in the comprehensive budget deal so AIP remains expired (BA, Nov. 15/221).
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND GMBH Model BO-105A, BO-105C, BO-105 C-2, BO-105 CB-2, BO-105 CB-4, BO-105S, BO-105 CS-2, BO-105 CBS-2, BO-105 CBS-4, and BO-105LS A-1 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-52-AD; Amdt. 39-11357; AD 99-19-22) - publishes an AD that was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Model BO-105A, BO-105C, BO-105 C-2, BO-105 CB-2, BO-105 CB-4, BO-105S, BO-105 CS-2, BO-105 CBS-2, BO-105 CBS-4, and BO-105LS A-1 helicopters by individual letters.
EUROCOPTER CANADA Model BO 105 LS A-3 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-56-AD; Amdt. 39-11371; AD 99-20-13) - publishes an AD that was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Model BO 105 LS A-3 helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires, before further flight, creating a component log card or equivalent record and determining the age and number of flights on each tension-torsion (TT) strap. The AD also requires inspecting and removing, as necessary, certain unairworthy TT straps.
Development of the Continental business jet is ahead of schedule, Bombardier Aerospace said last week, adding that workers began cutting metal for the first component last month.
Signature Flight Support, already the nation's largest chain of fixed-base operations, acquired its 50th location with the recent purchase of Airway Aviation at Atlanta's Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK). The Airway facility, known as Air BP Atlanta since its opening in 1989, was owned by a group of private investors led by Mercer Dye and was renamed Airway earlier this year. The facility, known for its trademark 8,000-square-foot ramp canopy, employs 25 full-time customer support and line service personnel.
THE WHITE HOUSE this month quietly announced its intention to nominate Monte Belger as deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. The nomination is the second effort to fill a position that has not been filled on a permanent basis since late 1996. The first attempt to confirm a deputy, the June 1997 nomination of George Donohue, unraveled six months later after considerable political haranguing (BA, Feb. 16, 1998/71). FAA executives have periodically filled the position on an acting basis in the interim.
AIR METHODS CORP. retained the services of Emerge Corp. to assist it in finding suitable acquisition targets. Emerge, which identifies itself as a middle-market mergers and acquisitions specialist, said it will provide target identification and strategic counsel to Air Methods, the Denver, Colo.-based medical air services provider. Air Methods wants to grow its revenue to $50 million annually over the next five years. Emerge is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif.
M.R. (JIM) KALETTA was promoted to vice president and general manager of Scott Technologies Aviation&Government Products Group. Kaletta has served with the group for nearly 38 years, most recently as vice president of marketing, sales and engineering. He also has served as a pilot for United Airlines.
MYLAR INSULATION in the cockpits and certain cabin sections of Swissair's MD-11 fleet is being replaced with Tedlar, a "particularly fire resistant brand of insulation," the carrier said. Swissair said the change is being made on its own initiative and is based on information from the ongoing investigation into the crash of one of the carrier's MD-11s in September 1998 off the coast of Nova Scotia (BA, Nov. 2, 1998/203). Swissair is taking advantage of D-checks to install the new Insulfab 330 insulation blankets in strategic zones of stripped-down fuselage sections.
SAAB AIRCRAFT LEASING, INC., Stockholm, Sweden, won an order from Chatauqua Airlines for 10 used Saab 340A turboprops, plus options for two more. The Indianapolis, Ind.-based carrier operates as a US Airways Express carrier. It will use the 340s to expand its route structure and replace 19-seat Jetstream aircraft. Deliveries will begin in December and be completed by May.
COMMANDER AIRCRAFT, Bethany, Okla., named Joe Kirkwood vice president of marketing. He is responsible for sales of new Commander single-engine aircraft in the Midwest U.S. Kirkwood formerly represented Diamond Aircraft Company in the Midwest and is a veteran pilot.
