RAYTHEON Model 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-127-AD; Amdt. 39-11191; AD 99-12-07) - requires replacing the passenger oxygen container and mask assembly with an improved passenger oxygen container and mask assembly. This AD is the result of an incident in which a passenger put on the oxygen mask and the lanyard pin did not automatically pull and initiate oxygen flow during a loss of airplane pressurization while in flight.
DON CLARK was promoted to director of maintenance for West Star Aviation in Grand Junction, Colo. Clark previously was assistant director of maintenance, managing the piston engine/airframe shop for West Star. He began his aviation career in 1979 as a final line mechanic for Cessna Aircraft.
TED FINCK was appointed manager of FlightSafety International's new training center in Columbus, Ohio. Finck, previously manager of FlightSafety's center in Bethany, Okla., joined the company in 1987. Before that, he served with Beech Aircraft in Wichita, Kan. The new center on Port Columbus International Airport recently won certification of its first flight simulator, a Level D Citation Ultra trainer (BA, June 7, 261).
The National Transportation Safety Board is focusing on weather in its investigation of a fatal Beech C90 King Air accident June 25 in Florida in which both wings and both horizontal stabilizers separated from the aircraft in flight.
Citing concerns over restrictive European proposals, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association last week applauded the joint effort between the Clinton Administration and the European Union to develop an early warning system for policy proposals.
NEW PIPER Models PA-31, PA-31-300, PA-31-325, PA-31-350, and PA-31P-350 airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-32-AD; Amdt. 39-11189; AD 99-12-05) - requires installing access holes for the inspection of the elevator spar; inspecting the elevator ice protection boots for looseness and reinstalling or replacing the elevator ice protection boots if looseness is found.
SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT delivered a Model 300CB helicopter to Millennia Helicopters of Calgary, Alberta. Millennia will operate the helicopter for flight training. Schweizer noted that the helicopter is the first 300CB to be operated in Western Canada, saying the area can be "a key market for all three of our helicopters." Millennia, which has operated for three years, specializes in training and commercial work and plans to become a Schweizer dealer in the next year. The 300CB is a two-place trainer derived from Schweizer's 300C piston helicopter.
National Business Aviation Association officials once again defended the association's controversial position on Part 91 regulation of fractional aircraft operations during a meeting that drew more than 100 people to the Avitat hangar at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., June 28.
Dean C. Borgman, a 17-year veteran of McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company in Mesa, Ariz., was named president and chief executive officer of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. Thursday's announcement follows the June 30 retirement of Eugene Buckley as chairman and CEO.
STANDARD AERO won a contract from the Canadian Forces to coat the service's fleet of more than 200 T56 engines with its AeroBlue DP coating. Standard Aero, which has received both FAA and Transport Canada approval for the coating, said AeroBlue DP protects gas turbine compressor components from corrosion and erosion. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Standard Aero is an independent gas turbine engine and accessory repair and overhaul company that services Rolls-Royce/Allison, Pratt&Whitney Canada, AlliedSignal and General Electric engines.
Organizers of the Be A Pilot learn-to-fly campaign are enthusiastic about responses to the program and the increased number of student starts through the first four months of the year.
BANYAN AIR SERVICE was named a B/E Aerospace SMR Technologies authorized installation center for pneumatic and electric de-icers. B/E Aerospace manufactures Ice Shield de-icers for general aviation and commuter aircraft.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS 332C, L, L1, and L2 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-17-AD; Amdt. 39-11195; AD 99-13-02) - supersedes an existing priority letter AD, which currently requires conducting a filter clogging warning test, and, if necessary, replacing a jammed valve with an airworthy valve. This amendment requires the same corrective actions required by the existing AD; however, the applicability is reduced to encompass only certain part-numbered fuel filters.
GE AIRCRAFT ENGINES is interested in investing in Taiwan's state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC), sources in Taipei say. AIDC is undergoing privatization, a process due for completion by yearend. GEAE is especially interested in AIDC's aircraft engine production plant, one of three divisions that will be formed under the privatization plan, sources said.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is considering a recommendation to FAA calling for the replacement of older-model, TSO C-91-compliant emergency locator transmitters on tens of thousands of aircraft. During a discussion at the board's public meeting Tuesday, which focused on a Cessna Caravan accident in which the ELT did not activate, board staffers said there are some 40,000 C-91 ELTs and 140,000 C-91A models installed on U.S. aircraft. The replacement cost for new ELT units that meet the specifications of TSO C-126 was estimated at $3,000 per aircraft.
DUNCAN AVIATION was named an authorized service center for Raytheon Hawker 800XP and 1000 aircraft. The designation allows Duncan to provide warranty service and to receive support services from Raytheon.
KAREN MONTALVO was appointed sales and marketing manager for Atlantic Aviation Corporation. Montalvo, who will be based at Atlantic's corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Del., will be responsible for corporate marketing and promotion of the Flight Support Division. She previously served as manager of marketing services for SimuFlite Training International.
LORI ARNOLD was named general manager of Signature Flight Support's Santa Barbara, Calif. fixed-base operation. Arnold most recently was assistant general manager for Signature's Las Vegas, Nev. facility, where she was responsible for general aviation operations and lease agreements. She also has served as general manager for Signature's original West Palm Beach, Fla. (PBI) base. She joined Signature in 1981 at PBI as a customer service representative.
Aviation artist Samuel A. Lyons, Jr., 43, was severely burned and his wife, Victoria, 49, was killed June 26, when their Piper Cub crashed shortly after takeoff from a small airport in Maryland, one of two Cubs that crashed in a flight of three.
CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY for Singapore (CAAS) will invest $1 million (U.S.) to build a ground station capable of using satellite signals to guide aircraft to land, even in zero visibility, and track their positions. CAAS will launch a Global Positioning System pilot project at one of the republic's smaller airports in Seletar and later extend it to Changi Airport. Seletar was selected because it does not have an instrument landing system, Lo Weng Kee, CAAS executive engineer for navigational aids, said.
RTCA scheduled its 1999 symposium, Modernization: Aviation's Challenge and Opportunity for the New Millennium, Oct. 13-15 at the Sheraton Premier in Tyson's Corner, Va. The symposium will explore domestic and international modernization issues, including the National Airspace System Architecture, the transition to GPS, data link, Free Flight Phase 1 and other topics. For more information, contact Dee Clarke at (202) 833-9339.
IT MAY BE LATE THIS SUMMER before FAA finally issues its long-awaited policy statement on how fractional aircraft ownership providers should be regulated by the agency.FAA Administrator Jane Garvey sent a letter to a member of Congress late last month discussing the agency's schedule for making a final decision on that issue. She said several approaches are under consideration, including the "self-regulatory," best-practices guidelines developed by NBAA and other industry groups.
GALAXY AEROSPACE said Lions Air, the Zurich, Switzerland-based charter operator, signed a contract for an Astra SPX business jet, the fourth aircraft Lions Air has ordered from Galaxy. The charter operator currently operates one SPX and owns a Galaxy super-mid-size business jet, which it is leasing back to the manufacturer for use as a demonstrator. It has a second Galaxy on order for delivery next year and will take delivery of its second SPX this September.
ROBERT SMITH joined Flight Services Group as vice president of aircraft flight services. Smith will oversee aircraft owner support and services for Flight Services Group's managed aircraft fleet. He has more than 30 years of aviation sales and management experience, most recently as vice president of sales and marketing for Atlantic Aviation. He also has held sales and management positions with Cessna, Executive Jet and KC Aviation.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE was selected by Spanish manufacturer CASA to provide an extensive package of avionics for new production C-295 and CN-235 aircraft and for retrofits of existing CN-235s. AlliedSignal said the contract is expected to generate up to $100 million in sales, based on equipping 300 new C-295 and CN-235 aircraft and retrofitting 200 CN-235s.
