GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE said its fleet of 335 Gulfstream IV and IV-SP business jets has logged more than one million hours of flight operations since the first G-IV was introduced in 1985. The manufacturer said the G-IV fleet has made more than 532,000 landings and achieved a dispatch reliability of 99.4 percent. In addition to corporate use, there are 56 G-IV/-IV-SPs in government service or on order, Gulfstream said, including 12 in a configuration that includes a cargo door and convertible interior.
GARRETT AVIATION SERVICES appointed Jerry Torrance vice president and general manager of The Jet Center in Van Nuys, Calif. Torrance previously was director of operations for Garrett Aviation's Springfield, Ill. facility. Torrance, who joined Garrett Aviation Services in 1980 as an airframe and powerplant mechanic, will be responsible for overall profit and loss and operations at the Van Nuys facility.
THE WICHITA aviation community has captured the attention of senior government officials in Washington, D.C. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey traveled to Wichita to hold one of their listening sessions with industry leaders Thursday and Friday (BA, Jan. 25/35). This will be followed by a House aviation subcommittee field hearing today on local aviation issues. A seven-member delegation from the House is scheduled to attend the hearing, which will be led by aviation subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.).
TRW AND S-TEC UNMANNED TECHNOLOGIES of Mineral Wells, Texas joined forces to seek a U.S. Army contract for a close-range tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aircraft. The team is offering the Sentry, a 250-pound UAV that has logged 1,000 flight hours since its inception. More than 125 Sentrys have been produced to date.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association urged the Joint Aviation Authorities to adopt a recommendation to allow a 180-minute extended-range, twin-engine operations (ETOPS) threshold and bring closure to an issue that the European group has struggled with for the last three years. JAA this month agreed to extend the comment period on the issue in a move that essentially will delay enactment of the proposal by a year (BA, Feb. 15/71).
EARL PALMER was appointed corporate aircraft sales manager for King Aerospace Commercial Corporation. Palmer, who has 25 years of aviation sales management and technical aviation services experience, formerly was a regional sales manager with Gulfstream Aerospace. He also spent 18 years with KC Aviation.
The National Air Transportation Association said a national forum will consider the organization's request for an exemption for fuel truck operators from a requirement to install ticket printers on all aviation fuel truck meters. NATA said the National Interim Conference of Weights&Measures (NICWM), which met this month in Albuquerque, N.M., added the ticket printer issue as a confirmed agenda item for the National Annual Conference of Weights&Measures (NACWM), meaning the matter will be voted upon at the NACWM meeting in July.
The Federal Aviation Administration commissioned a multi-sector oceanic data link (MS-ODL) system built by Raytheon Company and installed at the Oakland, Calif. oceanic air traffic control center.
AN AVIATION COMPLEX was founded at Addison Airport to service corporate and private aircraft in North Dallas. Steven Wilson, president of American International Aircraft Sales who helped develop the Million Air facility at Addison, is launching three new entities - Addison Jet Center, Addison Jet Maintenance and Addison Jet Management - in a 15,000-square-foot hangar facility on the airport. Plans call for the complex to provide a range of aircraft maintenance and management services.
British Aerospace Regional Aircraft (BARA), continuing to offer a four-engine regional jet while competitors develop a range of twin-engine models, last week selected the AlliedSignal AS977-1A to power its new iteration of the venerable BAe 146 design, the Avro RJX.
HARTZELL PROPELLER ( )HC-( )2Y( )-( ) propellers (Docket No. 89-ANE-44) - proposes to supersede priority letter AD 90-02-23, which requires repetitive visual inspections of propeller hubs for cracks using a 10X glass, and, if necessary, removal and replacement of cracked hubs with serviceable parts. This proposal would change the frequency and method of inspection by requiring initial and repetitive eddy current inspections (ECI) of the propeller hub fillet radius for cracks.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CHAIRMAN Russ Meyer was selected by the Wichita Chamber of Commerce as its "Uncommon Citizen," the single highest honor the chamber bestows on citizens to recognize "those who have made widespread contributions to every aspect of the community." The chamber will present the award to the long-time Cessna executive April 20 at rival Raytheon Aircraft's Beech Activity Center.
LAST YEAR'S twin-turbine helicopter accidents included four involving EMS operators, two external-load missions and two commercial passenger-carrying missions. In single-turbine operations, external-load (14), public-use (14) and training (13) missions accounted for the largest number of accidents.
El Toro, Calif. Local Redevelopment Authority is moving to launch air cargo service by three carriers at the Marine Corps Air Station/El Toro, which closes as a military base in July. The authority is working to convert the base into a commercial facility.
ACCIDENTS involving U.S. turbine-powered helicopters killed 53 people last year, an increase of nearly 50 percent over 1997, according to preliminary data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. The U.S. twin-turbine helicopter fleet was involved in 10 accidents last year, including three fatal mishaps that claimed 11 lives. That compares with nine accidents in 1997, including three fatals that resulted in the deaths of three people.
AIRCRAFT PARTS INTERNATIONAL will begin marketing a new ConversionAir R134a cooling system conversion kit for business and general aviation aircraft. The kit, which enables conversion to the new R134a freon, was developed by Steinbach&Associates of Waco, Texas. API will market the system under its brand name through an exclusive agreement with Steinbach.
Northwest Airlines signed an agreement to buy 54 Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet Series 200LR aircraft valued at $1.3 billion in what Bombardier officials called the largest single sale for the aircraft to date. The order also included options for up to 70 more of the 50-seat regional jets. Deliveries of the 54 aircraft are slated to begin in April 2000 and continue through mid-2004. Northwest plans for the aircraft include growth of its network, service to new nonstop markets, and replacement of smaller turboprops.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association this month asked the National Transportation Safety Board to withdraw its recommendations that urged restrictions on aerobatic flight for pilots with cardiac conditions. NTSB, citing three accidents, last month called on FAA to bar pilots who have cardiac conditions or who take medication that reduces G-tolerance from conducting aerobatic operations (BA, Jan. 18/30).
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT Beech Model 60 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-126-AD; Amdt. 39-11024; AD 99-03-11) - requires modifying the aircraft cabin heat control wiring. This AD is the result of an incident where the circuit control that operates the aircraft cabin heater overheated and caused the cabin heater to shut down during in-flight operation.
U.S. military officials will conduct a six-day series of GPS jamming tests beginning this afternoon off the East Coast of the U.S., prompting FAA to issue a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) warning pilots not to rely on GPS navigation units during the test period. The GPS interference testing is scheduled for the following dates and times: 2/22, 1300-1700 EST; 2/23, 1300-1700; 2/24, 1230-1630; 2/25, 0900-1300; 2/26, 0900-1300; and, 2/27, 0900-1300. Word of the upcoming tests began circulating late last week, but FAA did not issue the NOTAM until Friday.
INMARSAT'S Assembly of member governments elected Jerzy Vonau, permanent representative of Poland to the International Maritime Organization, as director of the secretariat of the intergovernmental organization that will oversee Inmarsat's public service obligations once the organization is privatized. The Inmarsat Assembly agreed last fall to privatize. The new structure will comprise a private company that will seek an initial public offering within two years and an intergovernmental body to ensure that Inmarsat meets its public service obligations.
JAMES MOFFETT was named manager of modifications for Atlantic Aviation Corp. Moffett previously was manager/lead industrial designer of Gulfstream's Savannah, Ga., and Long Beach, Calif., interior design departments. He also has served with Page Avjet.
NATIONAL AERONAUTIC ASSOCIATION selected Lockheed Martin's U-2S/ER-2 for the Collier Trophy recognizing the top aeronautical achievement in the U.S. for 1998. NAA cited Lockheed and its partners - General Electric, NASA, the U.S.
U.S. Navy aircraft procurement will decline slightly from fiscal 1999 plans under the Clinton Administration's fiscal 2000 budget request, but according to the future years defense plan (FYDP) the service will use part of its $35 billion total in extra spending authority under the Clinton Administration's defense boost to buy 75 aircraft not planned in fiscal 1999.
