ATLANTIC AVIATION last month broke ground on a new general aviation terminal at Philadelphia International Airport. The $10.5 million facility will be built near the new reliever runway on the east side of the airport. The facility is slated to open by July. Atlantic Aviation won a 20-year lease with Philadelphia and has two additional five-year options. The lease also covers operations at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Atlantic Aviation plans a $1 million refurbishment of its facilities at Northeast Philadelphia.
Model ATP airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-344-AD; Amdt. 39-11322; AD 99-19-35) - requires repetitive tests for the serviceability of the nose landing gear compensator; and corrective action, if necessary. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent a nose wheel shimmy, which could lead to the collapse of the nose landing gear during landing. FAA estimates that the AD will cover 10 airplanes on the U.S.
The Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIG) meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) called for a number of changes in Annex 13 to improve the flow of information regarding accident data and the use of routine operational data to prevent accidents.
Galaxy Aerospace officials, just starting to ramp up deliveries of its signature Galaxy super mid-size business jet, are busily considering a number of other programs, including a new conventional aircraft and possible involvement in development of a supersonic business jet.
Germany's DaimlerChrysler and France's Lagardere Group signed an agreement to merge their aerospace activities, creating Europe's largest aerospace company and the third-largest in the world. The combination of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) and Aerospatiale Matra essentially is the birth of the European Aerospace and Defense Company (EADS), talked about for years and in negotiation since 1997, an industry analyst said.
Hexcel Corp. said an internal consolidation effort and a slowdown in third quarter orders from customers could result in breakeven earnings for the period or "could even reflect a small loss."
FAIRCHILD AEROSPACE President Jim Robinson said Embraer's recent decision to launch a 44-seat regional jet program "says we were right on track with the 428JET." In fact, Robinson said he's talked with Embraer President Mauricio Botelho and the two agreed that "if we could go back two years we wouldn't do the 328 and they wouldn't do the 135," opting instead for the larger models. The 428JET is where Fairchild is going to record major sales, Robinson said.
ALEXANDRA SPENCER was named public relations officer for three AECOM companies - Daniel Mann, Johnson&Mendenhall (DMJM), Homes&Narver, Inc. (H&N) and the McClier Corporation. Spencer previously was public relations director with DMJM.
6,000 pounds is the figure Bombardier was allowing for the weight of cabin interiors in the Global Express, but after specing out interiors in 15 of the long-range business jets, interior weights were averaging 6,800 pounds. Bombardier just announced a 1,000-pound increase, to 95,000 pounds, in the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft to help alleviate that crunch and said a 96,000-pound MTOW should be approved by yearend.
National Business Aviation Association, which annually holds the largest U.S. convention and exhibition devoted to business aviation products and services, plans to expand into Europe. NBAA President Jack Olcott told attendees at last week's show in Atlanta, Ga., that NBAA will partner with the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) "to produce a major business aviation exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland from April 18-20, 2001."
Dassault Aviation boosted the number of Falcon 2000s slated for fractional ownership programs to 54 after finalizing orders from National Air Services of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 12 and from Executive Jet for three more.
The four largest fractional owners - Executive Jet's NetJets, Bombardier's FlexJets, Raytheon's Travel Air, and the Flight Options program - combined have some 1,600 owners, according to Michael Riegel, vice president of marketing and sales for FlexJets. He sees a market potential for more than 200,000 owners, noting the "market is almost unlimited." Bombardier currently has 365 owners, but expects that number to grow to 480 by yearend.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE is not among the companies working on development of a supersonic business jet. "We've got plenty of things on our plate" without worrying about an SSBJ, said John Holding, executive vice president-engineering and product development. Holding has overseen technical development of 10 new products certificated in the past 10 years and the company expects to begin cutting metal in November on the new Continental business jet.
TWELVE DAYS into the government's new fiscal year, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey already was expressing concern about where she would find the funds to make ends meet at FAA. "We didn't quite get the budget we need from the appropriators," Garvey told attendees Tuesday at the opening session of NBAA's annual convention in Atlanta, Ga., adding that she was looking at what impact the budget shortfall will have on modernization efforts (BA, Oct. 11/161).
National Business Aviation Association saw the first drop in attendance in several years at its 52nd Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlanta, Ga. last week. Final registration for the three-day event was 29,960. That compares with 31,665 at last year's meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. Next year's venue is scheduled Oct. 10-12 in New Orleans, La.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE signed a definitive agreement with Dassault Aviation to offer a TFE731-40 engine retrofit option for Falcon 50 operators. The upgrade includes AlliedSignal's TFE731-40 engines and an Integrated PowerPlant System that covers engine build-up kits and other airframe and system components. The upgrade also will entail a modification of the bleed air system and installation of three new engine indication electronic displays.
Model F27 series airplanes equipped with Rolls-Royce 532-7 "Dart 7" (RDa-7) series engines (Docket No. 98-NM-364-AD; Amdt. 39-11288; AD 99-18-22) - requires revising the Airplane Flight Manual to provide the flightcrew with modified operational procedures to ensure continuous operation with the high pressure cock (HPC) levers in the lockout position. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
AL SIMON was promoted to vice president, operations for Harris Corporation. Simon joined Harris RF Communications in 1964 in the engineering department. He has held positions of increasing responsibility, including overseeing international operations and quality and customer technical services.
CHARTER OPERATORS are angry over recent legislation requiring FAA to ground all carriers who do not respond to a survey on Year 2000 computer compliance by Nov. 1 (BA, Oct. 11/161). An association official said he has been flooded with calls from companies that initially ignored the survey because it was voluntary. One operator, the official said, complained that his company did not own computers so he threw out the survey.
Garrett Aviation Services will be the "completion integrator" for Envoy 3 and Envoy 7 business jets produced by Fairchild Aerospace under an agreement between the two companies announced at last week's NBAA convention in Atlanta. In addition to completions, Garrett will provide ongoing support for the aircraft after delivery, although Fairchild will maintain overall responsibility for the programs.
An announcement by Raytheon Tuesday that it was reducing its 1999 and 2000 earnings expectations caused the company's stock price to plunge nearly 20 points Wednesday, to new 52-week lows. Raytheon A shares dropped 19.5 points to $22.5 and Raytheon B shares were off 18.75 to $24.25. Less than a year ago the stock was trading at $75 and $76 per share, respectively. Raytheon lowered its earnings forecasts because of "revenue shortfalls and lower-than-expected margins at Raytheon Systems Co.
Boeing Business Jets last week unveiled plans to build an even larger long-range corporate jet - the BBJ 2 - at the request of customers who found that the original BBJ does not provide enough space. Boeing Business Jets, the joint enterprise of Boeing and General Electric, entered the market a year ago with the long-range BBJ based upon a hybrid of the 737-700 and -800 airliners and has since delivered 28 green aircraft.
AIR ROUTING GROUP formed a partnership with Delta Air Lines and Boeing Business Jets to establish a BBJ Gold Card support program. The program provides owners access to a network of flight support services, including emergency "roadside" service, fuel discounts and consolidated invoices and billing statements. Air Routing will coordinate the billing and payment statements for the Gold Card and offer the discounted fuel prices.
PILATUS Aircraft Ltd., the Swiss manufacturer of high-performance turboprops, is for sale and officials are in the initial stages of negotiations with a number of potential buyers.A Pilatus official acknowledged that discussions have been held with other airframe manufacturers - sources suggest Raytheon is among them - but said a deal is "far away" at this point. Pilatus is owned by Oerlikon-Contraves AG.
