CESSNA Model 172R airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-109-AD; Amdt. 39-10925; AD 98-25-03) - requires, for Model 172R airplanes that are not equipped with an autopilot, inspection of the right wing for an incorrectly routed, frayed, or damaged aileron control cable and re-rerouting or replacement, if necessary. This AD also requires reporting any incorrectly routed, frayed or damaged cable to FAA. The AD stems from a report of an incorrectly routed aileron control cable in the right wing.
HAMILTON STANDARD 54H60 series propellers (Docket No. 98-ANE-59-AD; Amdt. 39-10920; AD 98-24-34) - requires affected propeller blades to be removed from service and shipped to designated repair facilities for inspection for insufficient cold rolling of the beveled radius of the blade flange. Affected blades are identified by serial number. The blades, found on Lockheed L100, L188, L200, L288, C130, P-3 and General Dynamics (Convair) CV580 and Guppy aircraft, must be removed within 100 hours time in service after the Dec. 18 effective date or before Sept. 30, 2002.
HARTZELL PROPELLER, INC. won a six-year preferred supplier contract from Raytheon Aircraft under which it will be the sole provider of propeller systems for the company's range of piston and turboprop aircraft. Hartzell currently provides four-bladed composite systems for the 1900D airliner and four-bladed aluminum systems for the King Air 350, King Air B200 and T-6A Texan II. Beginning in 1999, Hartzell also will supply its four-bladed aluminum propellers for the King Air C90B and three-bladed aluminum systems for the Baron 58, Bonanza B36TC and A36.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT recently produced the 2,500th Citation business jet equipped with Honeywell avionics, and to celebrate the event Honeywell said it will fund a new scholarship in the name of Cessna Chairman Russell W. Meyer, Jr. The $10,000 scholarship will be awarded annually by Honeywell to a qualified student pursuing a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer science or computer engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz.
The Federal Aviation Administration's proposal to require installation of certain ice protection systems on MU-2 aircraft is redundant and ignores earlier corrective actions, according to the National Air Transportation Association.
ACL TECHNOLOGIES, a subsidiary of United Industrial Corp. of New York, won a $6.7 million contract to move all equipment being transferred from the McClellan Air Force Base Logistics Depot in Sacramento, Calif., which is being closed, to the depot at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah. The contract will be completed over a one-year period and will include the certification, tear-down, packaging, moving, installation and recertification of thousands of pieces of government equipment.
Howard Wesoky was named FAA's first chief scientific and technical adviser for environmental issues related to aircraft operations, including noise, sonic boom and engine emissions. Wesoky spent 34 years at NASA, most recently as team leader for environmental compatibility assessment in the Office of Aero Space Technology.
The Office of Management and Budget, which late last month completed its review of upcoming Federal Aviation Administration budget recommendations, apparently is recommending that Congress modify airport funding formulas to include increases in Airport Improvement Program funding and passenger facility charges, sources say. But the OMB also apparently wants Congress to reduce, or even eliminate, the amount of "entitlement" money slated for large and medium-sized hub airports, the sources say.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said the agency will not use de-identified digital flight data recorder information to undertake enforcement actions "except in egregious cases." The rulemaking will follow, Garvey said. The new policy is similar to FAA's position during a three-year test of the Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program in cooperation with major airlines and pilots unions. Garvey said the safety benefits derived from using the data "are in the public interest."
BRADLEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT will hold a public meeting Dec. 17 as part of the environmental assessment ("mini noise study") now under way at the airport. Officials plan to provide noise monitoring data, as well as illustrations of aircraft radar tracks from the testing period. Potential Runway 6-24 departure procedures also will be discussed. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Connecticut State Fire Academy's cafeteria, which is located at the airport on Perimeter Road near the New England Air Museum.
THE CROATIAN Ministry of Interior ordered one Canadair 415 amphibious aircraft and took an option on another. The aircraft on firm order will be delivered next summer. Croatia already operates two CL-215s and a CL-415. "We are delighted Croatia recognizes the effectiveness of the Canadair firefighting aircraft by placing this order," said Tom Appleton, president, Amphibious Aircraft, for Bombardier Aerospace.
MERCURY AIR GROUP announced appointment of a new chief executive officer and said it had been approached by a possible corporate suitor. See article below.
National Business Aviation Association established requirements for non-NBAA-member companies to participate in its Blocked Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, which allows aircraft operators to ask vendors to withhold their aircraft registration numbers from flight tracking information provided to third parties. NBAA developed the BARR program in February after a number of members voiced concern about the public release of their Aircraft Situational Display Information (ASDI).
WAYFARER AVIATION, continuing to grow its managed aircraft fleet, added nine new planes in the last nine weeks, bringing the total to 31. Four of the nine aircraft - a Model 55 Learjet and Gulfstream II-SP based at White Plains, N.Y., a Gulfstream II based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and a Challenger 604 based at Bedford, Mass. - will be certified for charter use. Wayfarer also is adding a Gulfstream III, Gulfstream IV, Falcon 50 and a Bell Helicopter Model 230 that will be based in the Northeast and available for charter early in 1999. A Hawker 800 based in Milwaukee, Wis.
Clayton M. (Clay) Jones, executive vice president of Rockwell Collins, will take over as president of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based avionics manufacturer Jan. 1, succeeding John D. (Jack) Cosgrove, who will retire on that date. Cosgrove joined Collins Radio Company (the predecessor company to Rockwell Collins) in 1956 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University. He was named president two years ago after six years as president of the Collins Avionics&Communications Division.
Trans World Airlines plans to order more than 250 new aircraft, including similar-sized planes from Boeing and Airbus. The carrier signed letters of intent to acquire 50 Boeing 717-200s for delivery beginning in February 2000; 50 Airbus A318 aircraft for delivery beginning in 2003; and 25 Airbus "A320 family" aircraft for delivery beginning in 2005. In addition to the firm orders, TWA took options on an additional 50 717s and 75 A320 family airliners.
Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures, Inc., which is developing the Jetcruzer 500 single-engine turboprop, moved its operations into a 200,000-square-foot factory and headquarters building at the Long Beach, Calif., Municipal Airport.
United Express affiliate Atlantic Coast Airlines will use Miami Airport-based Pan Am International Flight Academy to train pilots on simulators for the carrier's Canadair RJ 200s under a recently signed contract. The 10-year exclusive contract also calls for PAIFA to develop a 30,000-square-foot training complex near ACA headquarters in Loudoun County, Va., that would be completed during the fourth quarter of next year.
Laurent Beaudoin, chairman, chief executive and president of Bombardier Inc., who has headed the Canadian manufacturer for the past three decades, said last week he is bestowing two of those titles on Robert Brown, who has been president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace.
PHIL DOHERTY was promoted to general manager of Signature Flight Support's Albany, N.Y. operations. Doherty has been with Signature for 12 years, most recently as area human resources manager in Boston, Mass. He also has served as operations manager, fueling supervisor and training manager for Signature. Doherty, a commercial rated pilot and certified flight instructor, has more than 2,000 hours in both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT appointed John "Cy" Farmer general manager for its West Palm Beach, Fla. fixed-base operation. Farmer, a 20-year aviation industry veteran, will oversee the expanded PBI activities, including service as a Signature regional maintenance center. He previously was general manager for Raytheon Aircraft's Fulton County Airport (Atlanta, Ga.) operation.
Although as few as 15 aircraft may be affected, Federal Aviation Administration last month issued a priority airworthiness directive ordering owners of about 2,500 Cessna 340A and 414A aircraft to determine whether they've installed a faulty part in the engine exhaust system and, if so, to remove that part before further flight. FAA said the faulty part, a WYE tube, part number (P/N) 9910299-25 or P/N 9910299-26, would have been installed since May 8.
AMR CORP. was completing several weeks of facility tours for six potential buyers of its AMR Combs fixed-base chain last week and the company now plans to cut the field from six to "a smaller number" and begin negotiations in the near future. "I would expect we're two weeks away" from reaching an agreement, a senior executive told BA Friday, adding that officials hope to have a deal in place before the holidays.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL is offering a new course that covers ground proximity warning system and traffic alert and collision avoidance system technologies. The course, which uses enhanced multimedia with 3-D animation, discusses the history of GPWS requirements; GPWS components and procedures; the alerts, warnings and specific threats they indicate; and characteristics of enhanced GPWS, including terrain database, advanced warnings and look-ahead capabilities.
