MILLION AIR will add the 29th facility under its marketing umbrella with the opening of a new fixed-base operation June 1 at Port Columbus, Ohio Airport. The FBO will have 90,000 square feet of hangar space and a terminal that includes a lobby, passenger lounge, flight planning room and conference room. The facilities also will include a pilot's lounge and showers.
GE Engine Services - Corporate Aviation furthered its reach into the avionics services business with the acquisition of ElectroSonics, Inc., of Columbus, Ohio, and McKinney, Texas. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. ElectroSonics provides avionics sales, engineering, installation and service for corporate aircraft. The company, which employs more than 60 people, will continue to operate as ElectroSonics and President Robert Kauffman will remain president and general manager of the entity.
Wayfarer Aviation, the Rockefeller family-owned aircraft management and charter firm, launched a fractional ownership (FO) aircraft program last week aimed at wealthy individuals in the New York metropolitan area who could use aircraft for business and pleasure travel.
BRITISH AEROSPACE HP137 Mk1, Jetstream Series 200, and Jetstream Models 3101 and 3201 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-92-AD; Amendment 39-11075; AD 99-06-11) - requires inspecting the elevator bias spring assembly for correct installation and to assure that the correctly manufactured bias spring is installed. This AD also requires replacing any incorrectly manufactured bias spring, reworking any incorrectly installed bias spring assembly, inspecting the link assembly for distortion or damage, and replacing any distorted and/or damaged parts.
European Union transport ministers last week postponed by one month their decision on phasing out hushkitted aircraft, but it was not clear whether the action was anything more than a reprieve. German Minister for Traffic, Construction and Infrastructure Franz Muenterferring said the proposed legislation "will be adopted unchanged on 29 April," and EU and U.S. officials will resume talks in the meantime.
WHILE THE OFF-BUDGET coalition is making some progress in the House, key Senate leaders have taken steps that could hamper those efforts. See article on Page 155.
The Smithsonian Institution's plans to build the National Air and Space Museum Dulles Center is on track to open in 2003 with site work to begin next year, but organizers thus far have raised only $21.5 million of the $130 million in private dollars necessary to fund the project. The project has cleared all the necessary congressional hurdles and the site passed the environmental assessment with "flying colors," said Lin Ezell, program manager for the Dulles Center.
WILCO INC., Wichita, Kan., received an FAA supplemental type certificate to install Concord Valve Regulated Sealed Lead Acid batteries in Cessna 182 Skylane aircraft. The STC covers 12- and 24-volt batteries. For more information, contact Wilco at (800) 767-7593.
TWO Washington associations called on their members to write their congressmen to support House efforts to take the Airport and Airway Trust Fund off budget (BA, March 29/143). Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) compromise with House leadership last month "makes pilots' letters [to their representatives] more important than ever" (BA, March 29/143). AOPA President Phil Boyer said, "The time to act is now.
SIKORSKY Model S-76C helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-22-AD; Amdt. 39-11083; AD 99-07-01) - supersedes an existing priority letter AD, which requires, before further flight, inserting new operating limitations and performance data into the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) that lower allowable gross weights for certain operational conditions. This amendment requires the same actions as the priority letter AD, but updates the previously referenced RFMs. This amendment is prompted by the revisions to the RFMs referenced in the priority letter AD.
AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION will hold a series of safety seminars at Sun 'N Fun April 11-14 in Lakeland, Fla. The seminars will include GPS Update, GPS for VFR Operations, Weather Strategies, Weather Tactics, and Single Pilot IFR. The safety seminars are free for all pilots.
CIRRUS DESIGN said Friday it "remains confident it will begin delivering airplanes starting this spring," but the company is conducting "an internal review of the design and the production process" before deliveries begin. The No. 1 production unit of the Cirrus SR20 crashed during a March 23 test flight, resulting in the death of Scott Anderson, the company's chief test pilot. The company said it expects to complete construction of another test airplane within a few days. NTSB's investigation into the cause of the March 23 accident continues.
EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT added three Citation Xs to its fleet. Two of the business jets, based in White Plains, N.Y. and Jeffersonville, Ind., will be operated for charter. The third, based in Windsor Locks, Conn., will support Executive Jet's NetJets fractional aircraft ownership program. EJM manages 46 aircraft in 22 locations nationwide and plans to add 25 aircraft to its managed fleet this year.
JET AVIATION, Bedford, Mass., installed a new 55,000-gallon state-of-the-art fuel farm, which officials said will accommodate the increasing number of corporate operators who are opting for Hanscom Field over Logan Airport in Boston. The fuel farm is the latest in Jet Aviation Bedford's expansion, which also included the acquisition of a second hangar and 18,000 square feet of ramp space. The new hangar boosted the facility's hangar space to more than 42,000 square feet.
James D. Taiclet, Jr., was named president of AlliedSignal's Aerospace Services unit, which provides aftermarket services to commercial, regional, business and military customers worldwide. Taiclet had been vice president of Pratt&Whitney's engine services business based in Hartford, Conn. At AlliedSignal he is responsible for managing the company's aerospace aftermarket services, which include repair and overhaul functions that support 38 sites worldwide; the company's commercial spares operation; and its military customer support business.
RTS SERVICES INC., Fort Worth, Texas, launched a new comprehensive engine management program for corporate operators. The Business Leader Aircraft Support and Engine Reporting (BLASER) system includes a PT6A and TPE-331 quick-turn fuel nozzle exchange program and a TPE331 gear and bearing inspection and repair package. The program also will track maintenance resources, engine time and cycles, assist with insurance claims, assist with scheduling, inspect rejected parts, assist with pre-buy inspections and provide 100-hour inspections.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION last week presented Carol Carmody, former U.S. representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the agency's highest honor, the Administrator's Award for Extraordinary Service. FAA honored Carmody even though she was a State Department employee during her term in Montreal. "We always felt she was part of our FAA family," said Assistant Administrator David Traynham.
ARTHUR E. RAYMOND, 99, a driving force in the design of the DC-3 aircraft, died March 29 in Santa Monica, Calif., two days short of his 100th birthday. Raymond was named chief engineer of Douglas Aircraft Co. in 1934 and led the team that designed the successor to the DC-2. Thousands of DC-3s were built for commercial service and the military version, the C-47, was one of the most widely used transports in World War II.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION is hopeful FAA will publish a "direct final rule" by mid-April to provide relief from the requirement that pilots-in-command perform three night takeoffs and landings every 90 days in aircraft of the same category, class and type that they fly.That requirement - which went into effect as part of changes to Parts 61 and 141 of the Federal Aviation Regulations in August 1997 - has been widely criticized by corporate flight department managers who say the rule is unnecessary, costly and potentially dangerous (BA, Feb. 1/49).
BRIAN MATHY was appointed program manager for new products for Stevens Aviation. Mathy will oversee the Orenda King Air and the Standard Aero PT6-41 to -42 engine conversion programs.
Trimble's plan to discontinue its line of Global Positioning System products for general aviation was sparked by lack of a marketing and distribution network, said Bradford Parkinson, president and CEO emeritus of the Sunnyvale, Calif., company.
FAA ADMINISTRATOR JANE GARVEY is scheduled to discuss a progress report on the Federal Aviation Administration's Safer Skies Initiative during SAE International's Advances in Aviation Safety Conference&Exposition April 15 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla. The conference will focus on the latest technological advances in aviation safety with concurrent sessions discussing design, operations and maintenance. For more information about the conference, contact SAE at (724) 772-7131.
Federal Aviation Administration this summer will consider whether to issue travelers advisories on countries that are lagging in their work to ensure that air traffic control computers will be able to function in 2000, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told the Senate transportation appropriation subcommittee last month. FAA plans to work with the six countries Americans travel to most - the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, Garvey said.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
