The Federal Aviation Administration, which has been criticized for not being more aggressive in protecting airports, issued five short-term recommendations last week to encourage compatible use of land around airports. The guidelines, part of the agency's Land Use Initiative, aim to explain federal policies and clarify other land-use and noise issues. Airports have become quieter as FAA's Jan. 1 deadline for converting carrier fleets to Stage 3 standard approaches.
HONEYWELL presented two financial gifts to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott, Ariz. campus. Honeywell committed to providing $100,000 over four years for a Digital Signal Processing Laboratory at Embry-Riddle's King Engineering and Technology Center. Honeywell also created a Meyer Scholarship, named after Cessna Chairman Russell W. Meyer Jr., and is presenting the first $10,000 award to Katherine Johnson, a senior from Montrose, Colo. The Digital Signal Processing Laboratory will be used to study, simulate and experiment with digital signals and systems.
DAC INTERNATIONAL established a new full-time office to serve customers in the Asia Pacific market. Peter O'Connor, based in Ferny Hills, Queensland, Australia, will oversee the Asia Pacific market as business development manager. DAC International, a subsidiary of The Fairchild Corporation, markets and sells avionics and avionics test equipment for corporate aircraft, airlines, modification centers, manufacturers, special mission and military markets and general aviation aircraft. O'Connor can be reached at 61(0) 418 881 668; fax: 61(0) 738 510 152.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION added regional representatives in the Midwest and Southwest. John Balsiger, a former Midcoast Aviation employee, will represent NBAA in the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. He held a number of posts after joining Midcoast in 1973, including manager of line and customer service, manager of technical service sales and manager of customer services.
Heico Corporation's Flight Support Group acquired Air Radio&Instruments Corp., a Miami, Fla.-based firm that overhauls and repair avionics, instruments and electronic equipment for commercial aircraft. Founded in 1983, Air Radio has 30 employees at its facility near Miami International Airport. The purchase price was $3.5 million in cash, plus a $1.25 million "earnout" payment if Air Radio meets certain earnings targets during the first two years of Heico's ownership.
The Federal Aviation Administration has not adequately monitored general aviation airports and has failed to protect the government's investment in those airports from mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse, the General Accounting Office concluded this month in a report to Congress.
BRIAN ELYANOFF was promoted to corporate customer support manager for FlightSafety international. Elyanoff joined Flight-Safety six years ago as an account manager.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION will offer a new workshop, Aircraft Resourcing Options, Objectively Analyzing Company Travel Requirements, June 10 in Orlando, Fla. The workshop will discuss flight department operational requirements, aircraft resourcing operations and operational costs. "This workshop will help our members answer questions on how their in-house flight department service compares with other services such as managed aircraft, fractional programs or charter," Ken Emerick, NBAA's chairman of the Corporate Aviation Management Committee, said.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION elected Charlie Priester, president and chief executive officer of Priester Aviation, as chairman of the board. Linda Barker, vice president and co-owner of Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Business Aviation, was named vice chairman and Rob Wells, a 21-year veteran at Piedmont-Hawthorne Aviation, was elected treasurer. The new officers will serve one-year terms.
HARTZELL PROPELLER won supplemental type certificate approval for installation of its new three-bladed propeller systems in Piper Turbo Arrow III (PA-28R-201T) and Turbo Arrow IV (PA-28RT-201T) aircraft. The new Top Prop system will include a six-year, 2,400-hour time-between-overhaul, improved ground clearance and reduced noise levels. Installation of the system also will eliminate the current RPM restriction placards. Hartzell is offering the propeller system for $6,995.
ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines May 11. Skip Barnette, a 29-year veteran of Delta, was named president of the regional carrier. Delta had owned nearly eight million of ASA's 28.5 million shares of common stock and agreed to pay about $700 million in cash for the remainder (BA, Feb. 22/87). ASA was headed by George Pickett, chairman and chief executive, who now will serve as a consultant to Delta.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION and a number of other groups representing a wide range of manufacturers sent a joint letter to the House of Representatives this month seeking support for H.R.796, The Defense Jobs and Trade Promotion Act of 1999. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas), would eliminate a provision of the tax code that discriminates against U.S. exporters of defense products. The bill would extend the full benefits of the Foreign Sales Corporations exemption to defense exporters. FSCs were initially established by Congress so U.S.
A NEVADA CASINO OPERATOR and developer is pushing for construction of a regional airport in Mesquite, Nev., large enough to accommodate major transports and serve as a reliever for Las Vegas. Mesquite is one hour northeast of Las Vegas by road. Michael Signorelli, chief executive of NevStar Gaming&Entertainment, said his business would help fund the airport. NevStar owns and operates the Mesquite Star Hotel Casino. The airport would be 10 miles from downtown Mesquite in an area known as Mormon Mesa.
HAMMONDS COMPANIES added 18,000 square feet of office and shop space to its facilities at Houston Bush Airport. Hammonds relocated to the Houston Bush office three years ago and said that since that time, growth in personnel and sales and services have required the doubling of its capacity. The additional space includes a training facility for distributors, sales personnel and customers. Hammonds manufactures fluid powered additive injector systems and fuel additives.
BRITISH AEROSPACE HP137 Mk1, Jetstream Series 200, and Jetstream Models 3101 and 3201 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-115-AD) - proposes to require repetitively removing the nose landing gear steering selector valve and installing either a new nose landing gear steering selector valve or one that has been overhauled in accordance with the appropriate component maintenance manual. The proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom.
MERCURY AIR GROUP reached an agreement to support Angel Flight, a non-profit organization that provides free air transportation for critically ill patients, health care agencies, donor organ banks, blood banks and tissue banks. Mercury Air Center fixed-base operations will provide discounted fuel for Angel Flight missions.
DAVID WILLIAMS was appointed vice president-commercial for Fairchild Aerospace Corp. Williams has more than 30 years of business development and marketing experience, most recently serving as a management consultant for Bombardier Regional Aircraft Division. He also held a number of positions with McDonnell Douglas Corp.
A GAO REPORT on FAA's small-airport oversight "proves what we've been saying for years: in the battle to protect airports, FAA is frequently a noncombatant," Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer said last week.AOPA, which encouraged Congress to request the GAO report, noted that it "paints a picture of an agency 'asleep at the radar scope' while critical airport resources slip away under their noses." See article below.
The National Business Aviation Association is the latest to express its concern about FAA's new interpretation of regulations that require pilots "to comply with the clearances and instructions of air traffic controllers except in very narrow circumstances," warning that the change could harm a number of cooperative agency/industry programs. FAA issued the new interpretation six weeks ago (BA, April 5/153) and was quickly criticized by the National Air Transportation Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (BA, April 19/175).
INDUSTRY SUPPORT is growing for Sen. James Inhofe's legislation, S.722, to permit pilots to challenge an emergency revocation notice by FAA. Inhofe's bill would give certificate holders an expedited hearing before the National Transportation Safety Board, which would rule within seven days on whether the certificate action was a true emergency (BA, April 5/160).
FOUR U.S. AIRLINES are now in the FOQA (Flight Operations Quality Assurance) demonstration study, two are in the process of starting and five more plan to get under way, according to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey. To date, 230 aircraft are collecting FOQA data and another 350 aircraft are being equipped for FOQA this year, she said.
Two U.S. firms have formed a joint venture with a German company to provide a full range of Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM) services to European business aircraft operators.
Galaxy Aerospace continues to round out its staff with a number of management appointments. Galaxy named Kip Harkness director of completions, Darin Alley manager of completions, Michele Kerstein manager of parts sales and marketing, Des Bassett director of sales for Eastern Europe, and Jim Lewis regional sales manager for the Pacific Northwest. Harkness, formerly manager of design for Bombardier Business Aircraft, joined Galaxy in 1998 as director of styling and design.
