Raytheon Co. completed testing of a key component of the Wide Area Augmentation System, being developed to provide navigation for all phases of flight, including precision approaches, using Global Positioning System satellites. The company, which is the WAAS prime contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration, used 25 installed reference stations, two master stations and Inmarsat geosynchronous satellites in a 72-hour signal-
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE won orders from Changan Airlines of Shaanxi Province in central China for three de Havilland Dash 8 Q400 aircraft and from Taipei, Taiwan-based UNI Airways Corporation for a Dash 8 Q200 aircraft. Bombardier valued the deal with Changan Airlines at more the $60 million U.S. The Changan order marks the first sale of the Q400 in The People's Republic of China. Bombardier has orders for 40 Q400s from eight airlines in Europe and the Far East. UNI Airways, which also has ordered six Q400s, currently operates 12 Dash 8 Series 300 aircraft.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL received Level D certification for its second Cessna Citation X full flight simulator. The Citation X simulator was installed at FlightSafety's recently expanded Toledo Learning Center. FlightSafety's Long Beach, Calif. training center also recently won certification for a Level C Embraer EMB-120 simulator. The EMB-120 simulator, one of six FlightSafety EMB-120 simulators, formerly was based at Houston Hobby Airport. The Long Beach center will join FlightSafety's Salt Lake City, Utah center in training Skywest Airlines EMB-120 pilots.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION called the new user fee schedule slated to begin July 1 in New Zealand "a horrible omen of what might happen in the U.S." New Zealand is proposing to charge general aviation users $22.50 for a VFR flight plan, $1.60 for the first minute of a weather briefing and $0.27 for each additional minute, $3.65 for an IFR approach and $1.19 per 100 nautical miles for en route IFR services.
Thomas Davis, 81, founder and former chairman of Piedmont Airlines, died Thursday of pneumonia following a long illness. Davis guided Piedmont from a small carrier that grew out of the fixed-base chain Piedmont Aviation, now Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation, to an airline that, when it merged with USAir in 1989, had 21,500 employees with annual revenues of $2.5 billion. Piedmont Aviation, originally Camel City Flying Service, was founded in 1940 as a Piper and Stinson dealer and repair facility.
GOODSMITH&CO. formed a financing company, Piedmont Aviation Capital Services LLC, to provide acquisition financing and related services. The new company will support the airliner sales division of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Piedmont Aviation Services.
AEROSPACE PRODUCT INTERNATIONAL named 20-year aviation industry veteran Jeffery Flack director of domestic general aviation sales. Flack will oversee API field sales activities, managing 14 regional sales managers in the U.S. He will oversee planning and development of domestic sales and support programs. Flack previously served as general manager of spares support at Raytheon Aircraft. He also has held sales and management positions with Cooper Aviation Supply, Stevens Aviation, Atlantic Aviation and Airwork.
JETCORP Director of Engineering Marilyn Feigl was named a designated engineering representative by the Federal Aviation Administration. Feigl, one of a handful of DERs in Missouri, will review and approve engineering data on FAA's behalf to return aircraft to service after modifications. She joined JetCorp in May 1997 and was promoted to director of engineering the following October. Before joining Jet Corp., she served with Emerson Electric and American Electron Laboratories on commercial and government defense projects.
Providence, R.I. conglomerate Textron, Inc. last week credited its Aircraft Segment, and Cessna Aircraft in particular, for leading revenue growth, which helped steer the company to its 38th consecutive quarter of year-to-year income improvement and record results in the first quarter of 1999. Textron reported a 22 percent increase in revenues to $2.75 billion and 17 percent increase of operating income to $277 million in the first quarter of the year.
JOHN HOLLAND joined Banyan Air Service as avionics installation manager. Holland previously was avionics manager for AMR Combs in Birmingham, Ala. and also has served as a bench technician for Collins Avionics.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-175-AD; Amendment 39-11115; AD 99-08-09) - supersedes an existing AD that requires a one-time inspection of the main landing gear (MLG) actuator fitting bolt holes for correct alignment, and rework of the fitting surface and bolt replacement, if necessary. This amendment requires replacement of the MLG actuator fitting bolts with new, improved bolts. This amendment also revises the applicability of the existing AD.
AIRWOLF FILTER CORP. is offering a remote-mounted oil filter system that the company says will help meet filter and inspection requirements of a Textron Lycoming Service Instruction regarding abnormal wear of all piston pin plugs shipped since January 1994 (BA, April 19/76). The filter, mounted on the aircraft firewall, allows piston pin plug wear to be monitored visually. The filter also can be changed within five minutes, the company said.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-215-1A10 and CL-215-6B11 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-370-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires repetitive inspections for cracks on certain wing-to-fuselage frame-angles, and repair, if necessary. This action would continue to require the same inspections. This proposal is prompted by a comments received in response to the existing AD. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to detect and correct cracking in the wing-to-fuselage frame-angles, which could reduce the structural integrity of the airframe.
JIM ZANINO has joined Avidyne Corporation as inside sales representative. Zanino formerly spent 10 years with the U.S. Navy, where he accumulated 750 flight hours in the A-6 Intruder.
BOMBARDIER officials, who won a favorable ruling from the World Trade Organization concerning the Canadian firm's complaint that Brazil was illegally subsidizing sales of Embraer aircraft, say they believe Brazil's use of ProEx financing hurt sales of Bombardier's de Havilland DHC-8 product line. During a conference call with reporters last week to discuss Bombardier's fiscal 1999 results, Yvan Allaire, executive vice president of Bombardier, Inc.
ROCKWELL COLLINS integrated its service and support functions under a new Collins Aviation Services (CAS) organization that will support commercial, regional, business and military aircraft operators. CAS combines the former Collins Support Services, Technical Publications, Training and Rental/Exchange departments. CAS established a 24-hour customer response center that can be reached at (888) COLLINS for domestic and (319) COLLINS for international customers.
United Kingdom charter operator Gold Air International placed an order for two Learjet 45 business jets with options for two more. The purchase, which calls for the first two Model 45s to be delivered in the first quarter of 2001, is part of a $55 million investment program by Gold Air to upgrade its fleet. "This investment is part of a strategic plan designed to position us as the premier charter operator in the London area and the Learjet 45 will be a vital component of that plan," said Gold Air Chairman Michael Vaughan.
THE NUMBER OF FLIGHT DEPARTMENTS in the U.S. grew 18 percent from the end of 1995 through the end of March 1999, according to information compiled by Aviation Data Service, Wichita, Kan. AvData said there were 7,126 U.S. flight departments at the end of 1995 and 8,430 at the end of last month. Worldwide, flight department growth was up 12 percent during the same period, from 10,726 to 12,012.
BOMBARDIER'S BROWN took issue with a report that officials were considering a delay in the launch decision for the BRJ-X regional jet. "That absolutely is not the case," Brown said in response to a question. "We've always said we would make a decision in late 1999 or early 2000," adding that officials recently met with the BRJ-X customer advisory council and continue with wind tunnel tests. "We're right on track," he said, adding that the Dash 8-400 turboprop is still on schedule for certification in mid-1999 and initial deliveries in the fall.
JUSTIN SHULL joined Avidyne Corporation as inside sales representative. Shull, who holds a private pilot's license and is working toward his instrument rating, previously was with Fidelity Investments.
THE SUN 'N' FUN air show in Lakeland, Fla. had to deal with a couple of weather related problems last week. Extremely dry conditions and gusty winds in the area created a lot of dust, necessitating use of sprinkler trucks. Then Thursday's air show was canceled after a large brush fire near the airport blew smoke and soot onto the airport grounds and fire units stationed at the airport left to help battle the blaze.
ALEXANDRE LANG was appointed international sales representative for BFGoodrich Avionics. Lang will represent BFGoodrich Avionics' product lines in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The City of San Diego, Calif. is formally backing an effort to develop Brown Field, a principal general aviation reliever airport in the area, into a privatized air cargo center to boost the local economy. Brown Field, a former naval aviation base built before World War II, has been one of the area's primary alternates to crowded San Diego's Lindbergh Field, which caters to airline operations. Brown has an 8,500-foot runway, but planners envision an 11,500-foot runway and new commercial facilities, and hope to start work by the end of the year.
SOCATA Model TBM 700 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-08-AD; Amdt. 39-11096; AD 99-07-11) - requires inspecting the left-hand and right-hand outboard hinge fittings of the horizontal stabilizer for cracks, and replacing any cracked fitting. 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 structural damage to the stabilizer caused by outboard hinge fitting cracks, which could result in uncontrolled flight if the hinges break.
