TEXACO signed agreements with Equilon Enterprises LLC and Motiva Enterprises LLC to become the sole marketer of general aviation fuels produced by their refineries. Texaco will assume Equilon's existing general aviation contracts, while Equilon and Texaco will continue to market jet fuel to the airline industry. Motiva does not market aviation fuels. Texaco markets aviation fuels to airlines and general aviation customers at more than 550 airports worldwide.
Members of Congress and representatives of the commercial air tour industry took turns during a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday criticizing a proposal by the National Park Service that would effectively place large sections of the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) off limits to air tour flights, with the critics questioning both the motives and methods of the park service representatives.
Avidyne Corp., a manufacturer of situational awareness display products for business and general aviation, plans to move from its Lincoln, Mass. headquarters to a larger, more modern facility to accommodate the company's rapid growth. Avidyne said the new facilities, at Hanscom Air Force Base, are twice the size of the old location.
The Federal Aviation Administration's much publicized Acquisition Management System (AMS) is a "good first step" but apparently not the panacea for modernizing the air traffic control infrastructure that the agency thought, according to a report by the General Accounting Office. The AMS contains a weakness because it does not incorporate all FAA projects "into a complete strategy investment portfolio," GAO reported to Congress.
Bombardier Aerospace's 70-passenger follow-on to its successful Canadair Regional Jet completed its first flight Thursday the day before the May 28 rollout ceremony. The CRJ700 Series airliner departed from Montreal International Airport at 1818 and flew for 128 minutes, reaching an altitude of 15,000 feet and speed of 230 knots.
MOONEY Model M20R airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-14-AD; Amdt. 39-11178; AD 99-11-07) - requires either fabricating and installing a placard that specifies using the air conditioning system during cruise operations only or deactivating the air conditioning system so it cannot be used. This AD is the result of reports of dangerous levels of carbon monoxide during taxi, climb, and descent of the above-referenced airplanes.
AIR BP AMERICAS, part of Air BP International, is relocating its offices from Houston, Texas to new headquarters in the Cantera office complex in Warrenville, Ill., west of Chicago. The move is a result of BP's merger with Amoco that took place in December. General management of the Air BP Americas region will be located in the new head office, as well as customer services, airline and general aviation marketing, supply, trading and logistics, and technical and operations functions.
HOWMET CORPORATION'S Structural Casting facility delivered its first production pylon support casting for the Bell/Agusta BA609 tiltrotor aircraft. Howmet called the pylon support a "fracture-critical component that is vital to the performance of the aircraft's unique capability to take off in helicopter mode and shift while airborne to fixed-wing flight." The titanium pylon measures 38 inches high, 42 inches wide and 22 inches deep. Bell/Agusta claims more than 70 orders since announcing the BA609 a year ago.
J.R. (BUTCH) BOUCHARD was named president of Mercury Air Cargo, Inc. Bouchard, who was acting president of the Mercury Air Group subsidiary, had served as president and owner of Excel Cargo Inc. in Canada until Mercury acquired Excel in 1997. Bouchard also has served in labor relations and customer service with Air Canada and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The U.S. Postal Service will relocate its western network sorting hub from Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena, Calif. Airport to Reno/Tahoe International Airport, according to the Washoe County Airport Authority Board, which recently voted to approve the move. Operations will start no later than Aug. 28 at a temporary site north of the airport's terminal. Airport officials say the operations will move to a permanent facility within the southwest quadrant of the airport, which will become an air cargo center.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model SA341G and SA342J (Docket No. 99-SW-03-AD; Amdt. 39-11174; AD 99-11-03) - requires, before further flight, visually inspecting the external body of each main rotor head pitch-change rod for corrosion. If external corrosion is found, this action also requires a visual inspection of the inside of the body of that rod for corrosion. A rod with external corrosion that exceeds the repair criteria or a rod with any internal corrosion must be replaced with an airworthy rod.
House and Senate appropriators last week rejected the Clinton Administration's request for up to $1.54 billion in new, unspecified user fees and instead approved slight increases for the Federal Aviation Administration fiscal 2000 budget. The House recommendation of nearly $10.54 billion, approved in the transportation appropriations subcommittee Thursday, was some $400 million more than the Clinton Administration's request for $10.13 billion and would be a $700 million increase over the fiscal 1999 budget of $9.81 billion.
Sabreliner Corp. will sell all its commercial aircraft maintenance and overhaul operations and use the proceeds to expand its corporate aircraft and engine repair business.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT received an order from the U.S. Air Force and Navy for 22 more T-6A Texan II primary trainers, in an option exercise valued at $64.5 million. The order, combined with contracts for the Ground Based Training System, brings the total value of the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System program to $459 million to date. The services have ordered 68 production Texan IIs and one manufacturing development aircraft. The JPATS program is expected to result in delivery of more than 700 aircraft through 2014.
ALL T-34 TRAINERS used for air combat simulation flights should be grounded until the wings are inspected, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.The board issued its recommendation following an April 19 accident in which two people were killed after the right wing of the T-34 they were flying separated in flight.
The House Transportation Committee last week stepped up its lobbying effort for Chairman Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) massive aviation package, AIR-21, while it cut more than $20 billion from the proposal and altered the general fund guarantee. The $20 billion in cuts stem from an agreement between Shuster and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) under which Hastert promised a vote on the House floor for the Aviation Investment and Reform Act, H.R. 1000, during the week of June 14.
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM AIRPORT, TEXAS, a converted Air Force base, began service May 22-23, handling 17,000 passengers on its first day of commercial operations. The $585 million facility, which takes over from the now-closed Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, has 25 gates, with room to expand to 55, and an airfield whose longest runway measures 12,250 feet.
The City of Addison, Texas is seeking a new management team for the airport beginning in 2001 and is soliciting proposals. Addison Airport (ADS) is north of Dallas and has a single runway (15-33) that is 7,201 feet long and 100 feet wide. Developed in the mid-1950s by Henry Stuart and private investors, the airport was sold to the Town of Addison in 1976. Since then it has been operated by Addison Airport of Texas, Inc. under an operating lease that expires Dec. 31, 2000.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION, in conjunction with The Transportation Center and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, is offering a course on executive business management for senior aviation managers. The course is designed for senior-level managers who may not have had formal advanced business training. The three-day seminar will include case studies, classroom work and breakout sessions on marketing, strategic planning, financial management and business valuation. The program is scheduled Aug.
MITSUBISHI Model YS-11 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-92-AD; Amdt. 39-11169; AD 99-10-16) - requires repetitive inspections for fatigue cracking in the manhole doublers of the lower wing panels; and repair, if necessary. This amendment also requires eventual modification of screw holes in the manhole doublers of the lower wing panels, which constitutes a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This amendment is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332C, L, and L1 helicopters (Docket No. 98-SW-59-AD) - proposes to require replacing certain electrical modules with airworthy electrical modules. This proposal is prompted by the discovery of several defective electrical modules. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent loss of electrical continuity, which could cause loss of critical systems and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. FAA estimates that three helicopters on the U.S.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued Advisory Circular No. 00-59, which provides guidance on integration of helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft into disaster relief plans. FAA said the AC is intended to assist state and local emergency planners and incorporates "lessons learned" from studies of disaster case histories involving helicopters. "During the last four decades, helicopters have proven their value to communities when disaster strikes," FAA said.
The National Transportation Safety Board Friday called on FAA to ground all Beech T-34 variants used in air combat simulation flights until the aircraft are inspected and said all T-34 operators should inspect their planes at appropriate intervals. The recommendations resulted from the board's ongoing investigation of an April 19 accident near Rydall, Ga. in which a Beech T-34A operated by Sky Warriors, Inc., crashed after the right wing separated. Both the pilot and passenger were killed.
