LT. GEN. DAVID J. MCCLOUD, 53, commander of the Alaskan command and Eleventh Air Force at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, died July 26 when his YAK-54 single-engine aerobatic aircraft crashed at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Also killed in the crash was Lewis Cathrow, a civilian passenger from Alexandria, Va. McCloud, who joined the Air Force in 1969 as a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School, commanded three wings - the 24th Composite Wing, Howard Air Force Base, Panama, the 1st Fighter Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
GE Capital last month increased its training sector with the acquisition of Raytheon Systems Limited's flight training business. The sale, valued at about $68.5 million, was one of two separate transactions Raytheon announced late last month as part of its "ongoing strategy to focus on core business." Raytheon also acquired AlliedSignal's Communications Systems business for about $62.5 million. The net $6 million between the two transactions will be used to reduce debt.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION warned its members that FAA principal maintenance inspectors this week are expected to begin issuing amended operations specifications with several new requirements for Part 135 operators of altered cargo aircraft. The new ops specs were part of a handbook bulletin FAA issued in June that essentially revokes field approvals for alterations performed on Part 135 cargo aircraft (BA, June 15/261).
Three Southeast aviation services companies - Piedmont Aviation Services, Inc., Hawthorne Aviation and American Beechcraft - have merged into a single entity, forming a company with annual revenues of more than $170 million and 1,200 employees. The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.- based merchant banking firm that has invested in a number of aerospace companies, is financing the merger and will become the majority stockholder of the new company, Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation. Terms of the transaction, which closed late last month, were not disclosed.
SOCATA Model TBM 700 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-58-AD) - proposes a new AD that would require modifying the oxygen generators. FAA said the AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the French airworthiness authority, the Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC). The DGAC notified FAA that operation of the oxygen generators failed on one of the affected airplanes. The oxygen generators are located under the passenger and crew seats and are pin-fired.
Raytheon Aircraft reported record sales of $639 million and operating income of $73.4 million in the second quarter of 1998. Sales improved slightly from $620.4 million in second quarter 1997, but operating income increased some 22 percent compared with the same period in 1997. Raytheon continued to increase shipments of its GA aircraft - 102 in second quarter 1998, compared with 92 in 1997 - and "improved profit margins in all of its turbine aircraft product lines," the company said.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION added two new members, Boeing Business Jets and Avidyne Corporation, bringing total membership to 54 manufacturers. Boeing Business Jets, the joint venture of The Boeing Company and General Electric, is producing a long-range business jet derivative of Boeing's 737-700 series. Avidyne, based in Lexington, Mass., manufactures integrated cockpit systems.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT began test marketing a "shared ownership" program for single-engine aircraft last month.Initial test markets include Indianapolis, Ind. and Salt Lake City, Utah, and, based on results from those areas, the company may announce a nationwide program at this fall's National Business Aviation Association convention. As envisioned by Cessna officials, two to six individuals would buy and share a single aircraft and maintenance and other support activity would be provided by Cessna's Sales Team Authorized Representatives (STARs).
STANDARD AERO, a designated overhaul and repair facility for the Allison AE3007, formed a technical advisory group for Citation X operators to review AE3007C maintenance issues. The advisory group, which comprises operators and representatives from Allison Engine Company and Cessna, initially met in June and will hold its next meeting during the National Business Aviation Association convention in October in Las Vegas. The group will identify and address key reliability, serviceability and cost issues.
ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES' Air Line Pilots Association unit reached a new tentative agreement with ASA management. The four-year accord, reached late last month, is the second tentative proposal considered by ASA pilots in the past four months. ASA pilots rejected the first agreement by a 91 percent vote. The contract, if ratified by the membership, would provide pilots more than a 30 percent increase in total compensation in the first year.
ALLIEDSIGNAL delivered the first prototype of its combined flight data and cockpit voice recorder to Eurocopter for the new EC155 helicopter. Designed for general aviation aircraft and helicopters, the new combined recorder provides one hour of cockpit audio and 10 hours of flight data in a single, nine-pound unit. The combined system is part of AlliedSignal's new recorder product line, the AR series, which also includes separate, compact solid-state cockpit voice recorders and solid-state flight data recorders for smaller business aircraft and helicopters.
CHARLTON WILLIS joined Priester Aviation, Pal-Waukee Municipal Airport, Wheeling, Ill., as an aircraft dispatcher in the charter department. Willis, 32, had been with Executive Jet Aviation, where he was an aircraft dispatcher and charter vendor coordinator for the past three years.
AMERICAN JET INTERNATIONAL, Houston, Texas, added seven pilots, bringing its total pilot roster to 25. The Hobby Airport-based charter and aircraft management provider also added three mechanics, an individual to start a parts department and a human resources representative.
AGREEMENT by Berkshire Hathaway to acquire Executive Jet, Inc. follows the best month in the history of EJI's NetJets fractional ownership program."We put 72 people or companies in NetJets" last month, an official told BA Thursday. The rapidly growing air transportation provider has been adding three to five aircraft per month.
Executive Jet, Inc. (EJI), which helped ignite the current record demand for business jets with its fractional ownership NetJets program, will be acquired next month by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in a deal valued at $725 million. The agreement between Buffett and Richard Santulli, chairman and chief executive of Executive Jet, is the second major aviation purchase by Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway, which acquired FlightSafety International less than two years ago for $1.5 billion (BA, Oct. 21, 1996/179).
The Senate Wednesday approved a provision that would lift limitations on public aircraft use for law enforcement, search and rescue and other emergency operations. The provision was offered by Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and adopted in a 56-44 vote as an amendment to the fiscal 1999 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations legislation, which the Senate passed last week.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Thursday approved by voice vote its version of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 1998, the compromise bill to regulate air tours over national parks. The legislation, H.R.4268, introduced less than a week before the committee vote, had strong support from the committee with Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), ranking Democrat James Oberstar (D-Minn.), aviation subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and subcommittee ranking Democrat William Lipinski (D-Ill.) all co-sponsoring (BA, July 20/25).
DALE POLLY joined Airwork as PT6 regional manager for Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. He will operate from his home in Elizabeth, Colo. Polly, an airframe and powerplant licensed technician, has more than 20 years of aviation maintenance experience and has been involved in corporate aviation since leaving the U.S. Navy in 1980. He previously served as director of maintenance at Wright International Express' Denver, Colo. base, at Mayo Aviation and Haggan Aviation.
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION agreed to investigate the government-subsidy dispute between Brazil and Canada concerning regional jet manufacturers Bombardier and Embraer. The WTO will create two panels, one to look into Canada's financial aid for development of the Canadair Regional Jet and the other to investigate the use of the ProEx interest-rate equalization program to boost exports of the Embraer RJ-145.
Gulfstream Aerospace outbid at least two other competitors to buy premier aircraft completion center K-C Aviation - a $250 million acquisition that will substantially increase Gulfstream's capability to perform completions on the Gulfstream IV-SP and Gulfstream V models it manufactures and simultaneously deny that completion capacity to its principal competitors in the high-end business jet market.
RMI TITANIUM CO., Niles, Ohio, signed a letter of intent with New Century Metals, Inc., Solon, Ohio, that calls for NCM to exchange all of its outstanding common shares for shares of RMI common stock. NCM manufactures and distributes titanium, stainless steel and nickel to a variety of markets including aerospace.
Britten-Norman, the Short Takeoff Or Landing (STOL) aircraft manufacturer headquartered on the Isle of Wight, will be sold to a British holding company under an agreement with Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland.
Textron posted earnings of $306 million on revenues of $5.6 billion for the first half of 1998, increases of 15 percent and nine percent over the same period in 1997. The Providence, R.I.-based conglomerate cited the performance of Cessna Aircraft in helping to boost the parent company's financial report. Textron said its Aircraft segment's revenues were up 14 percent while income rose 15 percent "due to higher results at Cessna Aircraft. Cessna posted increases in revenues and incomes, reflecting higher sales of business jets, single-engine aircraft and Caravans.
The Federal Aviation Administration, under pressure from flight attendant unions to adopt federal limits on the number and size of carry-on baggage that passengers may bring into the airplane with them, opted instead to issue an advisory circular that provides recommendations to the airlines on how to control carry-on baggage. FAA said carriers' carry-on bag policies should address the number and size of carry-on baggage, the use and handling of child restraint devices and minimize or eliminate the chances of articles falling out of overhead luggage bins.
