RAYTHEON Models 65-90, 65-A90, 65-A90-1, 65-A90-2, 65-A90-3, 65-A90-4, B90, C90, C90A, E90, H90, and F90 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-18-AD; Amdt. 39-11171; AD 99-10-07) - publishes in the Federal Register AD 99-10-07, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Beech 65-90, 65-A90, 65-A90-1, 65-A90-2, 65-A90-3, 65-A90-4, B90, C90, C90A, E90, H90, and F90 airplanes.
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to launch an industry-wide audit of commercial air carriers this month to assess their compliance with federal flight and duty time requirements for pilots, the National Air Transportation Association said Friday.
Stellex Precision Machining of Wellington, Kan., signed a long-term contract with Gulfstream Aerospace of Oklahoma City, Okla. for the Gulfstream V business jet program. The agreement, valued in excess of $17 million, runs through 2003 and covers 123 different components for the G-V.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model BAC 1-11 200 and 400 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-307-AD; Amdt. 39-11157; AD 99-10-03) - requires an inspection for cracking of the flap control lever and to identify the material from which the lever is made; replacement of the flap control lever with an improved part, if necessary; and repetitive inspections for airplanes having a lever made from certain material. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
Precision Castparts Corp. Tuesday began a cash tender offer and consent solicitation for Wyman-Gordon notes. PCC, of Portland, Ore., said May 17 that it had executed an agreement to acquire Wyman-Gordon, of North Grafton, Mass. PCC makes structural investment castings and castings for jet engines. Wyman-Gordon makes advanced forgings and castings for aerospace, energy and industrial markets. The action announced Tuesday relates to $150 million of Wyman-Gordon notes due Dec. 15, 2007.
CHET PHILLIPS was appointed sales representative for Professional Aviation Associates. Phillips, who will work in PAA's Learjet Division, previously served in the spare parts sales division and customer service with Bombardier Aerospace in Wichita, Kan.
The VanAllen Group will conduct a two-day "Disaster Response Planning for Business Aviation" workshop June 17-18 at the Atlanta Airport Hilton&Towers. Sponsored by Flight Safety Foundation, the highly interactive workshop will include a simulated accident scenario to illustrate the flow of events and identify key issues resulting from a business aircraft accident.
AVIONS PIERRE ROBIN Model R2160 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-79-AD; Amdt. 39-11155; AD 99-10-01) - requires replacing the wing attachment bolts and associated hardware. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent a wing from separating from the airplane caused by damaged wing attachment bolts. FAA estimates the AD will cover 10 airplanes on the U.S. Registry at a cost of compliance of $26,000, or $2,600 per airplane.
ARINC INC. formed a team to respond to FAA's screening information request for oceanic modernization services. ARINC said FAA's objective is to "modernize its oceanic air traffic control services using modern technologies to obtain significant operational and economic benefits." As part of that effort, FAA will upgrade its oceanic services at the air route traffic control centers at Oakland, Calif., Anchorage, Alaska and Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Delta Airlines hopes to streamline shop floor work and let its mechanics focus more on the tasks at hand instead of on administrative work, now that it's signed a "multimillion-dollar" deal with Cimlinc to use the software maker's Shop Excellerator product. Delta signed up for the product after an extensive "proof-of-concept demonstration" that began about a year ago. The carrier should have it up and running on the shop floor by the middle of the year and eventually will have 5,000 mechanics tapping into the system.
AVIONS PIERRE ROBIN Model R2160 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-81-AD; Amdt. 39-11156; AD 99-10-02) - requires inspecting to assure that the fuel filler cap has a 2.5-millimeter-diameter hole drilled through it or that a vinyl piping is connected to the filler neck inside the cabin. If neither of these items exists, this AD requires replacing the fuel filler cap with a fuel filler cap that has a 2.5-mm-diameter hole drilled through it. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France.
DALLAS AIRMOTIVE recently completed critical tests for certification of the Rolls-Royce Spey 511-8 hush kit and is preparing to install the production noise suppressor system on a Gulfstream II aircraft. The test verified that a hush-kitted Spey 511-8 met the operational parameters as the standard exhaust nozzle assembly. The G-II is scheduled to arrive at Dallas Airmotive's facility at Dallas Love Field in mid-June and noise certification flight tests will be conducted in early July. Dallas Airmotive expects certification by October.
MERCURY AIR GROUP named Mike McWilliams general manager of the company's fixed-base operation at Peachtree-Dekalb Airport (PDK). McWilliams spent more than 30 years with DynAir, most recently serving as station manager at the Worcester, Mass. Municipal Airport. PDK is one of 15 FBOs operated by Mercury Air Group.
Aviation General Inc. (AGI), the parent company of Commander Aircraft, said revenues were off 22.7 percent for the quarter ended March 31, while the net loss soared 57.1 percent.
EMBRAER Model EMB-145 series airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-104-AD; Amdt. 39-11172; AD 99-11-01) - requires repetitive replacement of the bleed-air check valve and associated gaskets on the bleed low-pressure line of the engine, with new parts. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent failure of the bleed-air check valve on the bleed low-pressure line of the engine.
THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE noted DOT difficulties in using aircraft to transport officials under Office of Management and Budget guidelines and said that if the Department can't use its aircraft efficiently, then it should consider fractional ownership.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION named Ava Mims deputy director of the Flight Standards Service and Ronald Wojnar deputy director of the Aircraft Certification Service. Mims previously was manager of the Flight Standards Service Aircraft Maintenance Division and Wojnar manager of the Transport Airplane Directorate in Renton, Wash.
KING SAFETY PRODUCTS, St. Charles, Mo., plans to quadruple its plant and headquarters facilities with a 60,000-square-foot expansion. The expansion follows a 300 percent increase in sales in 1998, King said. The company, which opened its original 20,000-square-foot facility in mid-1996, said the expansion will allow it to eliminate back orders and deliver new orders within 24 hours. King Safety Products, a unit of King Technology, produces wire connectors and related safety products.
AVIATION RESEARCH GROUP/U.S. INC. issued its new NTSB Investigator, a CD-ROM version of the National Transportation Safety Board aviation accident/incident database. ARG/US is marketing the information to safety managers and consultants, manufacturers and government and academic researchers. The NTSB Investigator is updated quarterly. ARG/US priced a one-year subscription at $3,700. The most current edition, which has more than 15 years of data, costs $995.
DICK CHRISTOPHER was appointed program manager of technical sales for Stevens Aviation. Christopher has 27 years of aviation management experience with companies including Airwork Corp., Atlantic Aviation and Raytheon Aircraft Services.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. PORT AUTHORITY will open a new 20,400-square-foot hangar Friday at Herlong Airport (23J). The $1.1 million facility is designed to store aircraft for multiple owners and includes 10,000 square feet of aircraft storage and 16 identical 441-square-foot offices for lease.
PILATUS Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-03-AD; Amdt. 39-11081; AD 99-06-17) - confirms the June 16 effective date of AD 99-06-17, which requires installing a support bracket and a cut-out relay for the second generator control unit. AD 99-06-17 also requires making all the wiring additions and adjustments necessary for the above-referenced installations. This AD was the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Switzerland.
United Technologies Corp. and Sundstrand Corp. received antitrust clearance of their proposed merger from the European Commission, the companies reported last week. The $4.3 billion deal will create Hamilton Sundstrand, one of the world's largest suppliers of aircraft components and subsystems (BA, March 1/101). "Given the companies' modest share of markets where their activities overlap, the proposed concentration does not create or strengthen a dominant position in any of the product markets concerned," the EC said.
DESPITE CHANGES made by the House Transportation Committee to its FAA reauthorization package (AIR-21), the bill continued to draw a veto threat from the Administration. DOT Secretary Rodney Slater wrote to Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) that the "off-budget and guaranteed funding provisions raise serious concerns." If the bill would take the Airport and Airway Trust Fund off budget or spend "the surplus before we have ensured the long-term solvency of Social Security and Medicare, I would be unable to recommend that the President sign the bill," Slater said.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332L2 (Docket No. 99-SW-09-AD; Amdt. 39-11168; AD 99-10-15) - requires inspecting each main rotor head drag damper for a tear, crack, or bonding separation in the elastomer and, if necessary, replacing the damper with an airworthy damper. This amendment is prompted by a report of increased helicopter vibration in flight that was traced to the delamination of the elastomer on a damper. This condition, if not corrected, could result in failure of a damper and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
