RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT last month received the first wing for its Hawker Horizon super mid-size business jet from Fuji Heavy Industries in Utsunomiya, Japan. Fuji, a risk-sharing partner in the program, is providing the wings ready for installation. The wing assembly will include all systems including integral fuel tanks and bleed air anti-icing leading edges. Raytheon, which has built the first three fuselage sections, plans to mate the fuselage sections and the wing later this year.
DAN ODLUM was named avionics manager for Western Aircraft. Odlum will assume responsibility for department profitability and customer service in addition to his current duties of project scheduling and technician oversight.
T. GRANT JOHN was appointed to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief operating officer for Special Metals Corporation. John formerly was senior vice president with Lukens Inc., and, before that was president and chief operating officer of Washington Steel Corp.
Bombardier Aerospace won another follow-on contract from SkyWest Airlines for 10 Canadair Regional Jets in a deal valued at $230 million U.S. The contract, which converts a portion of the 45 options Skywest held, will increase the number of firm orders the St. George, Utah airline has placed for the CRJ to 45. Skywest has taken delivery of 10 CRJs so far. Skywest will operate the 50-passenger aircraft under its code-sharing agreement with Delta Air Lines out of its Salt Lake City hub.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT, which has enjoyed great market success with its entry-level CitationJet business jet, appears ready to repeat the process with the CitationJet 2, which made its first flight Tuesday. The Wichita manufacturer had orders for more than 70 CJ2s last fall (BA, Oct. 19/170), and last week Vice Chairman Gary Hay said the total has grown to more than 100 firm orders. "Aircraft orders have greatly exceeded our forecasts," Hay said. See article below.
Fairchild Aerospace, which has been seeking a launch customer for months for its 728JET airliner, announced a $1.6 billion, 60-aircraft order from Lufthansa last week that gives Fairchild's program instant credibility and a nice slice of market share in the 70-seat niche. Lufthansa also took options for 60 additional aircraft from Fairchild.
VALLEY OIL struck an agreement with Exxon Company, USA to distribute Exxon aviation fuels to fixed-base operations in the Rocky Mountain region and some southern states. Valley Oil, founded in 1939 in Salem, Ore., began distributing aviation fuels in 1978 and currently serves nearly 450 branded FBOs in the U.S. as well as unbranded dealers, airlines, helicopter operations and corporate flight departments.
ROBIN Model R2160 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-82-AD; Amdt. 39-11104; AD 99-07-20) - requires repetitively inspecting the vertical stabilizer spar in the area of the lower fitting of the rudder for cracks, loose rivets, or spar web distortion; and modifying the vertical stabilizer spar either immediately or within a certain time period depending on whether discrepancies are found during the inspections. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France.
First Aviation Services, Inc. said Thursday it is "exploring ways of enhancing shareholder value including the potential sale of the company's subsidiary, National Airmotive Corp.," which overhauls and repairs gas turbine engines, including Allison T56 and 250 models and the Pratt&Whitney PT6 line
City and airport officials delayed the opening of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport from May 2 to May 23 to ensure that the transition from Robert Mueller Airport goes smoothly. The delay stems largely from construction of five gates more than in the original plan, added midway during construction of the terminal. "The construction of this expansion became more of an issue when airlines leased two of these gates," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said.
RAYTHEON Beech Models 1900, 1900C, and 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 96-CE-60-AD; Amdt. 39-11129; AD 97-15-13 R2) - revises AD 97-15-13 R1, which currently requires installing lubrication fittings in the airstair door handle and latch housing mechanisms. Since issuance of AD 97-15-13 R1, Raytheon has revised the applicable service information to correct the reference to the number of parts each owner/operator of the affected airplanes should order and to change an incorrect reference to a maintenance manual.
PILATUS Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-122-AD) - proposes to supersede AD 98-13-08, which currently requires replacing and re-routing the power return cables on the starter generator and generator 2 on certain Pilatus airplanes. AD 98-13-08 also requires inserting a temporary revision to the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) and installing a placard near the standby magnetic compass.
Boeing expects to announce a buyer during the second quarter for its Boeing Information Services (BIS) subsidiary, which provides information and systems integration services to the federal government.
ALLISON AE 3007A and AE 3007C series turbofan engines (Docket No. 99-NE-01-AD; Amdt. 39-11108; AD 99-02-51) - publishes in the Federal Register an AD previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of Allison AE 3007A and AE 3007C series turbofan engines by individual telegrams (BA, Jan. 18/27). The AD prohibited, prior to further flight, all engine ground starts at oil temperatures below 32 deg.F (0 deg.C) unless preflight operational procedures ensure that engine oil temperature is maintained at or above 32 deg.F (0 deg.C).
THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK of the U.S. is expanding availability of pre-export capital for small businesses through five delegated authority lenders - The CIT Group/Commercial Services, GE Capital Commercial Finance, Rosenthal Business Credit, Coast Business Credit and World Trade Finance. The lenders will be able to provide working capital loans backed by Ex-Im Bank's guarantee to small and medium companies without prior approval. The loans can be up to $10 million per borrower and up to an aggregate of $150 million per lender.
MERCURY AIR GROUP subsidiary Maytag Aircraft Corp. won a subcontract agreement to provide certain base operating support services at Niagara Falls, N.Y. International Airport for the U.S. Air Reserve Station. The subcontract, with Griffin Services of Atlanta, Ga., calls for Maytag to provide fuel, traffic management, airfield management and meteorological services for the Air Reserve Station through Sept. 30. The contract includes four one-year options with a potential value of up to $3.6 million.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION is not expected to issue its policy on regulating fractional ownership operations for at least a month, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told an industry source last week.FAA's Office of the General Counsel is believed to be leaning toward covering fractional ownership providers under the provisions of FAR Part 135, which regulates small commercial and on-demand carriers. Debate on this position is said to be on-going at the agency. *$end 187 BUSINESS AVIATION INTELLIGENCE
Outdated FAA rules governing air crash firefighting and rescue put millions of passengers at risk each year by relying on too-few firefighters and too-distant supplemental help in the event of a crash, a group representing fire safety experts and flight crews contends in a report released this month.
U.S. Space Command will test the Global Positioning System for Y2K compliance through mid-May, the command said last week. The test involves a single on-orbit satellite and will not interfere with GPS users, the command said. During the tests, the clock on the satellite will be moved forward to specific dates to be tested in a Y2K environment. Before moving the clock forward, the satellite will be temporarily set "unhealthy," so GPS receivers made in accordance with manufacturing specifications will not be able to use its signal.
DASSAULT OFFICIALS are confident, however, that the company's completion center in Little Rock, Ark., will keep pace with the increased production. Dassault Falcon Jet President John Rosanvallon said the completion rate has been a "bottleneck" and is a major problem within the industry. DFJ has increased staff to 1,700 at the Little Rock facility, making it Dassault's largest single employment site worldwide. Rosanvallon estimated the average time for an aircraft completion in Little Rock at three to four months.
Teledyne Continental Motors issued a Critical Service Bulletin (CSB) April 19 requiring operators of nearly 3,000 Series 470, 520 and 550 engines to have the engine crankshafts inspected within the next 10-50 hours in service. Issuance of last week's CSB (99-3) resulted from seven in-flight failures of crankshafts manufactured or remanufactured by Teledyne during 1998.
Proponents of comprehensive legislation that would remove the Airport and Airways trust fund from the federal budget and significantly increase aviation funding have stepped up their lobbying efforts as the bill, AIR-
INMARSAT plans to offer "mini-M" aero services for small corporate and general aviation operators beginning next month. Based on technology developed for land-mobile satcom, mini-M service uses light-weight aircraft equipment that have a signal channel for voice, fax or data communication. The systems will not be certified for aeronautical safety service applications, Inmarsat said, adding this will lower development costs. Inmarsat expects at least two manufacturers to begin marketing mini-M aero avionics in the near future.
