GARRETT AVIATION SERVICES is holding a grand opening Nov. 5 at The Jet Center at the Santa Barbara, Calif. Airport to celebrate "the world's only completion center solely dedicated to completing the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ)." The new facility has two 40,000-square-foot hangars, 50,000 square feet of office and shop space and employs more than 100 people. Garrett currently is completing two BBJs at the new Santa Barbara facility.
U.S. general aviation manufacturers recorded a 41.6 percent surge in billings to $5.5 billion in the first three quarters of the year, continuing the industry's record performance. The $5.5 billion compares with $3.9 billion in sales through the first three quarters of 1998 and approaches the $5.9 billion in billings for all of last year. Unit shipments grew 13.4 percent through the first three quarters from 1,492 in 1998 to 1,692 this year.
TRANSPORT CANADA launched a new safety improvement project at Quebec's Gaspe Airport as part of its Airport Capital Assistance Program. The project entails reconstruction of the existing runway and taxiway, apron repairs, replacement of the visual approach slope indicator system, installation of airfield signs and relocation of other equipment. Transport Canada plans to provide approximately C$4.5 million (US$3.1 million) for the project.
KENT COUNTY, MICH. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT opened its $30 million air cargo and trade facility. Initial tenants include FedEx, Emery Worldwide, Airborne Express and the U.S. Customs Service. The 47-acre complex includes 160,000 square feet of warehouse space, 680,000 square feet of ramp space, 14 aircraft parking positions and 61 truck bays. The facility is part of the airport's 10-year, $300 million capital development program.
FAA, which completed its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on regulating air tour operators in June, has been waiting for Department of Transportation and Office of Management and Budget approval before finally releasing those rules. The air tour operations safety regulations have become more complicated since the FAA's Office of the Chief Counsel ruled that drug and alcohol testing requirements apply to airport charity sightseeing flights.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION completed installation of new Host and Oceanic Computer Systems Replacement (HOCSR) units at 20 regional air traffic control centers and three oceanic centers. The HOCSR system provides the main computer and processor that produces and processes information on aircraft movements through domestic and oceanic airspace. The agency said the new system is more than four times faster and more reliable than its predecessor even though it occupies only about one-eighth of the floor space of the system it replaced.
SOME 500 employees in four FAA divisions are scheduled to vote Dec. 2 on whether to seek representation from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. The election was scheduled after FAA dropped its attempt to exclude large numbers of those employees from seeking representation, AFSCME said (BA, Oct. 11/162). The employees are only a fraction of the nearly 3,000 FAA employees who have filed peti-tions with the Federal Labor Relations Authority seeking representation.
Model F.28 Mark 0070 and Mark 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-346-AD; Amdt. 39-11337; AD 99-20-07) - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires revising the Airplane Flight Manual to provide the flightcrew with instructions not to arm the liftdumper system before commanding the landing gear to extend. This amendment requires modification of the grounds of the shielding of the wheelspeed sensor wiring of the main landing gear (MLG) and installation of new electrical grounds for the wheelspeed sensor channel of the anti-skid control box of the MLG.
Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings Chief Executive Kerry Skeen will become chairman Jan. 1, as C. Edward Acker retires. Thomas Moore, current chief operating officer, will become president on the same date. Acker, who co-founded ACA with Skeen in 1989, was CEO until 1996. Acker also led Pan Am and Air Florida. Moore, who joined ACA in 1997 as senior vice president-maintenance and operations, previously spent 10 years with Continental.
Model PC-7 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-61-AD) - proposes to supersede AD 98-08-07, which currently requires replacing the rudder and elevator pivot arms with improved parts on certain Pilatus Model PC-7 airplanes. The proposed AD would require replacing the rudder and elevator pivot arms with parts that have been improved since issuance of AD 98-08-07. The proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Switzerland.
JET AVIATION'S Bedford, Mass. base is adding another 35,000-square-foot hangar to accommodate growing demand from corporate operators. Construction began in August and completion is anticipated in January. The new hangar will boost total covered space at Jet Aviation's facility to 110,000 square feet. "An increased demand for our services based on the very healthy economy of the region prompted the decision for the expansion," said Thomas W. Mitchell, vice president of U.S. Service Centers for Jet Aviation.
Three aviation companies - Corporate Air Management, DavisAir and the charter business of Butler Air - have combined operations in a partnership under the name United Air Group LLC. The new entity will be headquartered at Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, Pa., south of Pittsburgh, where Corporate Air Management and DavisAir have been in operation for the past 10 years.
TOM MCKINNEY was named vice president-international offset and countertrade for Raytheon Aircraft Co. McKinney formerly was assistant director, international trade development for Raytheon Systems Company. He also spent 15 years with Hughes Aircraft Co.
Model BAe.125 Series 1000A and 1000B, and Model Hawker 1000 series airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-176-AD) -proposes to require inspection of P1 pitot pipes for chafing or damage, and various follow-on actions. This proposal is prompted by reports of P1 pitot pipes chafing against adjacent flight control cables. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent a hole in the P1 pitot pipes, which would lead to erroneous input to the instrumentation and warning systems associated with the pilot's instruments.
Model EMB-120RT and -120ER series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-261-AD; Amendment 39-11315; AD 99-19-28) - requires repetitive detailed visual inspections to detect discrepancies of the brake assemblies on the main landing gear (MLG) and replacement of the brake assemblies with new or serviceable brake assemblies, if necessary. This amendment is prompted by reports of fatigue cracking or splitting of the brake stator disk at the thermal expansion slots.
Delta Air Lines will acquire the 78 percent of regional affiliate Comair the major carrier does not already own under the terms of a deal announced last week. Delta agreed to pay $23.50 a share for Comair, representing a 31 percent premium over the regional's stock closing price of $17.94 at close of trading Oct. 15 - the last trading day before the two companies' boards approved the transaction. Under terms of the deal, Delta also will assume Comair's $100 million debt.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation this month issued a request for proposals for a private company to replace the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as operator of New York Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. The move furthers the privatization goal of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who says the two airports under the Port Authority's management have "suffered from decades of neglect."
GARY DEVLIEG was named vice president-technology center for Crane Aerospace. DeVlieg formerly was manager-landing gear and door systems for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION and the National Business Aviation Association urged members to contact their congressional representatives in support of Rep. Bud Shuster's AIR-21 version of FAA reauthorization legislation, which is the subject of debate in a House-Senate conference committee. Noting that conferees are scheduled to resume negotiations this week, AOPA said, "It is vital AOPA members call or fax their senators today in support of AIR-21.
SA226 and SA227 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-84-AD) - proposes to revise AD 98-19-15, which currently requires incorporating information into the Limitations Section of the airplane flight manual (AFM) that imposes a speed restriction and a minimum pilot requirement for Fairchild SA226 and SA227 series airplanes equipped with Barber-Colman pitch trim actuators, Part Number (P/N) 27-19008-001/-004 or P/N 27-19008-002/-005.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT SERVICES established a joint venture with Aerolineas Ejecutivas to operate Raytheon Aircraft Services-Mexico in Toluca, 35 miles west of Mexico City. The Mexican firm, in business since 1968, has been a Raytheon Aircraft dealer since 1993. As a Raytheon Aircraft authorized service center, RAS-Mexico will provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for the entire Beech product line, plus line maintenance for Hawker business jets.
AVCARD, the Hunt Valley, Md.-based aviation credit card firm, won a new five-year contract to continue providing services for the Defense Energy Support Center's (DESC) AIR Card (Aviation Into-Plane Reimbursement) program. AVCARD said the new contract came as the result of a request for proposals issued in July "which generated significant interest from other industry providers."
USED RETAIL JET DELIVERIES Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for August 1999 (see related graphs on Pages 195 and 196 of the hard copy of this issue.) Used Retail Deliveries AUG. '96 AUG. '97 AUG. '98 AUG. '99 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 51 26 19 41 36 12 57 32 10 68 46 21 America
FAIRCHILD AEROSPACE received an $11.9 million order for a 328JET from Locat s.p.A., an Italian leasing company headquartered in Milan, Italy. The 32-passenger aircraft will be delivered in April to Air Vallee, Aosta, Italy, which will operate the aircraft between Aosta and Rome.
Model CFE738-1-1B turbofan engines (Docket No. 99-NE-39-AD) - proposes to require, on certain engines identified by serial numbers, a one-time visual inspection of Stage 2 high-pressure turbine (HPT) aft cooling plates, for nicks, dents, and scratches, and if present, dimensional inspection of indentation depth, repair if indentation is within acceptable limits, and, if necessary, replacement with serviceable parts.
