ARINC INC. and Orincon Technologies, Inc. entered a teaming agreement to market, install and support the Ground Safety Tracking and Reporting System (GSTARS) to civil and military airports. GSTARS, being tested at Long Beach Municipal Airport in Long Beach, Calif., is scheduled for installation at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Fla. this fall. The system is designed to increase the situational awareness and tracking of ground traffic for air traffic controllers and alert them to potential runway or taxiway incursions.
Faced with possible changes in federal regulations governing fractional ownership, the National Air Transportation Association last month formed a working group to develop recommendations about the direction of such programs. NATA members, including fractional ownership, aircraft management and charter operators, are split on how fractional ownership programs should be governed, whether under the current Part 91 or some form of Part 135.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT selected the PS Engineering PMA-7000 audio panel as standard equipment on its 1999 M20R Ovation and M20M Bravo models. The unit, upgraded from the PMA-6000 audio panel, includes audio warnings, digital recording, a cellular phone interface and larger buttons. It allows the pilot and copilot to simultaneously monitor and broadcast on separate frequencies.
Fairchild Aerospace chose GE Aircraft Engines' CF 34-8D turbofan to power the new 728JET family of regional jets, giving GE a bigger slice of the regional jet market than it already enjoys. The CF 34-8C version is the powerplant for Bombardier's new Canadair RJ-700 and earlier CF-34 models power existing Canadair RJs already in service with carriers such as Comair and Lufthansa CityLine.
DUNCAN AVIATION installed and certified an AlliedSignal Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) in a Hawker 800A aircraft. In addition, the Lincoln, Neb. aviation services provider installed the Sundstrand Mark VI GPWS in a Falcon 10.
A concerted lobbying effort by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association paid dividends Thursday as Congress passed H.R. 3824, which exempts the aviation industry from the provisions of the Fastener Quality Act.
BOMBARDIER achieved two milestones at the end of July, winning Transport Canada type certification of its Global Express business jet (see article below) and delivering the first Model 45 Learjet to enter customer service.The Model 45 won its certificate of airworthiness in May and the first customer unit was leased back to the manufacturer for use as a demonstrator. The second aircraft, S/N 010, was handed over July 28 to Hytrol Conveyor, Jonesboro, Ark., a manufacturer of conveyor belts and long time Learjet operator.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-89-AD; Amdt. 39-10618; AD 98-13-27) - requires a one-time inspection to detect discrepancies of circuit breaker panels 10VE and 11VE, follow-on corrective actions, modification of the contact points, and installation of a high capacity fuse. This amendment also requires replacement of power relays 32HB and 36HB on relay panel 22VE with new parts. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
TRIMBLE AVIONICS introduced the TrimView 500, a large-format, color multi-function display for general aviation aircraft. The TrimView 500, part of Trimble's TrimLine avionics family, includes a five-inch diagonal active matrix color LCD display that has a 120-degree view angle.
Federal Aviation Administration last week delayed until Jan. 1 its issuance of new operations specifications for Part 135 operators of aircraft altered for cargo carriage. FAA initially planned to make the operations specifications changes beginning last week and the National Air Transportation Association had advised members that they could delay the effectiveness of those changes through a petition for reconsideration (BA, Aug. 3/47).
FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION appointed James Burin, former director of the U.S. Navy School of Aviation Safety, as deputy director of technical projects. Burin will organize and oversee safety committees and manage safety-related research for FSF. Burin retired from the Navy as a captain after 30 years of service with 6,200 flight hours and 1,400 landings on aircraft carriers. He was responsible for the annual training of 650 U.S. Navy, Marine and Coast Guard safety officers.
FAA's use of emergency revocations increased this decade following a policy change in 1990 that the agency would immediately revoke certificates in cases of "demonstrated lack of qualification," the General Accounting Office reported last week.
EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY has scheduled an Industry/Career Expo Nov. 4-5 at the university Fieldhouse in Daytona Beach, Fla. The exposition will host more than 100 aviation/aerospace, business, engineering and high-technology employers, including Cessna, New Piper, Executive Jet Aviation, Learjet, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and a number of regional and major airlines. For more information on the two-day event, contact Embry-Riddle's Career Services Office at (904) 226-6050.
OF GULFSTREAM'S AGREEMENT to acquire K-C Aviation from Kimberly-Clark for $250 million, Forstmann said, "We regard this as something of a coup," noting the strong interest by other bidders in acquiring K-C's highly acclaimed completion and maintenance facilities in Dallas, Appleton, Wis. and Westfield, Mass. He said Gulfstream reached an agreement with Kimberly-Clark less than four weeks after entering the bidding because "we were faster" than the competitors.
FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP is "driving the [business] jet market," according to the chief economist for The CIT Group/Equipment Financing. CIT, which last week forecast a market for 330 new jets next year, estimated that fractional ownership will account for 15 percent of the new corporate market in the U.S. by 2000. While the potential market for fractional ownership is still unknown, CIT added that certain forecasts indicate "that this niche has barely begun to develop." See article below.
ED STIMPSON, vice chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and chairman of the industry-sponsored GA Team 2000, last week was awarded the Experimental Aircraft Association's Freedom of Flight Award. Past winners of the award include Chuck Yeager, Cliff Robertson and Neil Armstrong.
EUROCOPTER Model AS-350B, BA, B1, B2 and D and Model AS-355E, F, F1, F2, and N helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-25-AD; Amdt. 39-10635; AD 98-14-01) - requires inspections of the main gearbox suspension bi-directional cross-
PROFESSIONAL FLIGHT MANAGEMENT (PFM) and Advanced Aviation Services International, Inc. (AASII) formed a teaming agreement to jointly promote their products. PFM, which produces flight operations software, will interface its programs with AASII's maintenance management software. The program will provide a comprehensive maintenance planning service tailored for corporate aircraft.
Raytheon Systems Co. finished installing all 25 reference stations for Phase One of a three-phase Wide Area Augmentation System, the company said last month. Francis Marchilena, executive vice president of Raytheon's command, control and communications systems unit, said master stations in Virginia and California and four radio frequency uplinks - one in Maryland, two in California and one in Washington state - have been installed and accepted by FAA. The 25 reference stations are placed throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Citing a strong economy and a boom in the fractional ownership market, The CIT Group/Equipment Financing predicted a market for 5,310 new and used business aircraft valued at a record $18.2 billion for 1998 and 1999. CIT, which last week released its Third Annual Corporate Aircraft Outlook, said, "In this environment of favorable interest rates, rising investment and healthy consumer confidence, it is no surprise that corporate profits soared once again, marking the sixth consecutive year of positive growth.
CESSNA delivered five Skyhawks to Le Tourneau University in Longview, Texas. Le Tourneau, which has more than 200 students in its flight training program, estimates that the Skyhawks will fly more than 1,300 hours annually.
THE FIRST BOEING BUSINESS JET, the long-range business version of the Next- Generation 737-700, rolled off the production line July 26 and is expected to complete its first flight in late August or early September. Boeing Business Jets has orders for 29 of the aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fall.
GALAXY AEROSPACE'S first Galaxy flight test aircraft has achieved speeds of up to .93 Mach, .01 Mach above the maximum speed required for certification, the company said last week. The flight test program, which now includes two aircraft, has accumulated more than 300 hours in 100 flights. The second flight test aircraft is being used for performance testing and certification work. Recent tests include simulation of various control system malfunctions, such as jammed ailerons and elevators.
THE MERGER last month of Piedmont, Hawthorne Aviation and American Beechcraft creates the second largest chain of fixed-base operations in terms of the number of locations. The new entity, however, is not expected to compete directly with the largest chain, Signature Flight Support, since the Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation bases are mostly regional and the company has a larger interest in the airline overhaul business. See article below.
