FUEL PROVIDERS at Centennial Airport - including AMR Combs and Denver JetCenter - have been big beneficiaries of the new Denver International Airport that replaced Stapleton International, spurring corporate and charter operators to move to the general aviation airport that is 15 miles southeast of Denver. Centennial officials reported that jet fuel sales have jumped 144 percent since DIA opened in early 1995 with 9.2 million gallons of fuel pumped last year. The airport had a record year in 1998 with 466,000 operations.
RAYTHEON AEROSPACE won a one-year contract valued at $41.5 million from the U.S. Customs Service to support the service's Air Interdiction Maintenance Program. The contract includes nine one-year options that could increase the total value to $471.7 million. Under the contract, Raytheon Aerospace will provide maintenance and logistics support, program management and electronic data processing support for more than 120 aircraft and helicopters. Raytheon Aerospace will provide support on-site at 23 locations primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Puerto Rico.
AVIDYNE CORPORATION won FAA technical standard order approval for its Avidyne Radar flight situation display for business and commercial aircraft operators. Avidyne Radar interfaces with Bendix RDR 130, RDR 150 and RDR 160 weather radar systems. Avidyne priced the flight situational display with Avidyne Radar beginning at $12,000. Avidyne also has received TSO approval for its Navigator, Charts and Lightning flight situation display features.
ROLLS-ROYCE Viper Models Mk.521 and Mk.522 turbojet engines (Docket No. 98-ANE-01-AD; Amendment 39-10947; AD 98-26-07) - requires replacement of certain high pressure (HP) fuel pumps with an improved design that is more tolerant of reduced lubricity fuel caused by water contamination. This amendment is prompted by reports of HP fuel pump drive shaft failures resulting in in-flight engine shutdowns. These failures have been attributed to the reduced lubricity properties of fuel contaminated by water.
Swiss manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft plans to boost production of its PC-12 in coming months after enjoying a record year in 1998 with orders for 76 of the single-turboprop and 51 deliveries. North and South America accounted for 80 percent of worldwide sales of the PC-12 with 61 orders from those areas during the year, Pilatus said. Plans call for its Stans, Switzerland plant to produce five PC-12s per month - up from the current four per month - beginning in the second quarter, the company said.
DASSAULT AVIATION'S Falcon 900C, the follow-on to the 900B, completed its first flight last month on schedule for certification this spring. The testbed aircraft was a modified Falcon 900B retrofitted with 900EX avionics. The 900C, introduced in June (BA, June 29/288), will incorporate the Honeywell Primus 2000 avionics system with standard dual Laserf Inertial Reference Systems, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and turbulence detection. The aircraft, powered by three AlliedSignal TFE731-5BR-1C engines, will have a cruise range of 4,000 nautical miles.
JOSEPH VAVALA was appointed director of construction and facilities for Atlantic Aviation. Vavala will be responsible for overseeing Atlantic's construction and refurbishment projects, including the construction of a new fixed-base operation at Philadelphia International Airport, two new hangars at Teterboro Airport and refurbishment of all existing Atlantic FBOs. Before joining Atlantic, he was vice president for Christiana Construction.
NASA licensed an Everett, Wash., company that specializes in aircraft upgrades to commercialize a technology developed at Langley Research Center that improves single-rotor helicopter performance by using the downflow of air from the rotor to counter torque. Boundary Layer Research Inc. (BLR) will market a system of tailboom strakes that already has attracted interest in the U.S. Army and the helicopter forces of Australia and New Zealand.
Dassault Aviation reported continued success in the market with sales for 173 new Falcons valued at more than $4 billion in 1997 and 1998 - a record two-year period for the French manufacturer. The company sold 99 Falcons in 1998, including 24 Falcon 2000s originally announced in 1997 for Executive Jet's NetJets fractional ownership program (BA, Jan. 19, 1998/23). Executive Jet orders over the year grew to 38 Falcon 2000s, making it the "biggest seller" in 1998, Dassault said.
WESTLAND 30 Series 100 and 100-60 helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-40-AD; Amendment 39-10969; AD 99-01-02) - requires the removal and replacement of conformal pinion quill shafts installed in certain main rotor gearboxes that fail to pass a magnetic drain plug inspection. This amendment is prompted by a report of a forced landing that occurred when a single conformal pinion quill shaft failed in a main rotor gearbox (MRGB). This condition, if not corrected, could result in MRGB failure, and a subsequent forced landing or loss of control of the helicopter.
CHARLES LLOYD was named vice president, marketing for SkyShare International, a Little Rock, Ark. company that assists local aircraft managers and fixed-base operators to establish fractional ownership programs. Lloyd has more than 24 years of aviation industry experience, serving as director of used aircraft for both Cessna and Raytheon.
Within the next six months Germany is expected to lead the European Union in an attempt to convince international air transport bodies to impose a tax on kerosene. The German Socialist-Green government will hold the revolving presidency of the European Union from this month through June.
HOUSE AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE (106th Congress) Republican Members Democrat Members John Duncan (TN), chair William Lipinski (IL), ranking John Sweeney (NY), vice-chair Jerry Costello (IL) Tom Petri (WI) Corrine Brown (FL) Thomas Ewing (IL) Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) John Mica (FL) Juanita Millender-McDonald (CA)
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT awarded a contract to Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) of Taiwan to supply passenger and crew doors for the S-76 helicopter. Sikorsky said it expects the value of the contract to exceed $10 million over the next five years. The contact stems from a memorandum of understanding that Sikorsky and AIDC signed in 1998 for the two parties to work together. AIDC will produce door assemblies with composites.
AVIONS PIERRE ROBIN Model R2160 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-83-AD; Amendment 39-10971; AD 99-01-04) - requires replacing the left and right rudder bars with improved rudder bars. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for France. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent distortion of the rudder bars during operation, which could result in reduced or loss of control of the airplane.
RAYTHEON Models 1900, 1900C, and 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-153-AD; Amendment 39-10959; AD 98-26-16) - requires modifying the emergency exit doors and installing interior and exterior placards on each of the emergency exit doors. This action is prompted by difficulty in opening the emergency exit doors. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent passengers and crew from not being able to open the emergency exit doors during an airplane emergency, which could result in passenger and crew injuries. FAA estimates that 527 airplanes on the U.S.
AIG ENVIRONMENTAL, which has provided environmental insurance programs for more than 17 years, developed an insurance program to provide coverage for pollution accidents not covered under airport liability or standard casualty policies. The Safe Fuel Pollution Liability Program, designed for fixed-base operations and aircraft fueling operations, offers limits of $1 million with a $5,000 minimum deductible and a $1,500 minimum premium. The coverage includes owned or operated facilities, operations, transportation and transportation of waste products.
DASSAULT Model Mystere-Falcon 20 series airplanes, Fan Jet Falcon series airplanes, and Fan Jet Falcon D, E, and F series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-221-AD; Amdt. 39-10950; AD 98-26-10) - requires revising the Airplane Flight Manual to provide the flight crew with certain emergency procedures associated with an engine fire, or a rear compartment fire or overheat conditions. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) reaffirmed his support for making FAA more independent.Shuster said this month he would like to see a scenario similar to NASA for FAA. The committee, which expects to hold hearings in early February on a comprehensive multi-year FAA reauthorization package, is considering possibilities for giving FAA more autonomy from the Department of Transportation. But, an aide noted, those deliberations are in early stages and the committee is unsure what steps, if any, it may take.
C.L. (BUDDY) SMITH was named manager/partner at Million Air-Topeka. Smith, who has 23 years of naval aviation experience, is a licensed civil engineer who has worked with various government, engineering and corporate operations.
A closely held report by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, due out Jan. 29, concludes that risks to the Global Positioning System signal can be managed but steps must be taken to minimize intentional interference risk. The report was commissioned six months ago by the FAA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association. The laboratory was tasked to perform an independent risk assessment study to determine the ability of GPS and two crucial augmentations to serve as a sole means of navigation.
Bombardier's amphibious water bomber program got a major boost this month as the Ministry of Defense of the Hellenic Republic of Greece purchased 10 Canadair CL-415GR airplanes and took options for five more, a deal valued "in excess of $250 million U.S.," according to the manufacturer. Deliveries will begin this quarter and continue through 2001.
Triumph Group, Inc. acquired Hartford Tool and Die Co. Inc., a Bloomfield, Conn. manufacturer of aerospace engine parts. Hartford fabricates precision components and assemblies for commercial and military jet engines and has annual revenues in excess of $10 million. The firm's principal customers are Pratt&Whitney and General Electric.
BRITISH AEROSPACE HP137 Mk1, Jetstream Series 200, and Jetstream Models 3101 and 3201 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-102-AD) - proposes to require replacing the nose wheel steering jack seals with improved seals. The proposed AD stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.
PILATUS Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-73-AD) - proposes to require removing the "Alternate Flap System" from the airplane flight controls and inserting a temporary revision that specifies this change in Section 2 - limitations of the PC-12 Pilot's Operating Handbook. The proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Switzerland.
