VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION is conducting a study of optimal airport development in Eastern Virginia. Over the next several months, the department plans to identify which of four options represents the preferred airport system for the region - status quo, commercial operations at Richmond and Norfolk, commercial operations at Richmond and Newport News, or construction of a major regional airport with redefined roles for the three existing airports.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 90, 100, 200 and 300 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-92-AD) - adopts a new AD applicable to nearly 5,000 Beech Aircraft/Raytheon Aircraft turboprops. The AD requires checking the airplane's maintenance records from Jan. 1, 1994 up to and including the Aug.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model BAe 146 and Model 146-RJ Avro series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-02-AD) - adopts a new AD requiring repetitive detailed visual inspections of the top wing skins for stress corrosion cracks, damage or missing surface protective finish of the metallic surfaces; and repair, if necessary. FAA said the AD was prompted by reports of stress corrosion cracks found on the top wing skin during routine inspections on three airplanes. The agency said the problem is due to aluminum from a discrepant production lot.
BFGOODRICH added a 12-foot by 40-foot autoclave at its facility in Prestwick, Scotland. The new autoclave, the largest in Scotland, is part of the company's 60,000-square-foot facility that specializes in the repair and overhaul of aircraft engine nacelles and thrust reversers. The $1.7 million autoclave uses a gas radiant system that has a maximum temperature of 450 degrees and operates at 75 pounds per square inch. It is used for pressure bonding of composite materials.
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF. reissued a Request for Qualifications last week for a Base Asset Management Team that would be responsible for most aspects of property management at the former U.S. Marine Corps base at El Toro. Statements of Qualifications are due by 1700 on Aug. 14. The county said it "anticipates that a ranked slate of firms will be presented to the board of supervisors in mid- to late September and that a proposed contract with the selected firm will be considered by the board no later than Oct. 6."
BOMBARDIER won a contract from the Department of Civil Protection of the Government of Italy for two Canadair 415 amphibious aircraft with options for two more. The aircraft will enter service this month. The firm order will increase the Italian 415 waterbomber fleet to 10 aircraft. The Department of Civil Protection began operating the Canadair 415 in spring 1995 and since has logged 6,575 hours and completed more than 22,200 drops with the aircraft.
HOUSE LEADERS Friday introduced their version of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 1998, the companion bill to legislation approved Tuesday by the Senate Commerce Committee.The bill, which closely resembles the Senate legislation, has strong support in the House - initial co-sponsors include the chairmen of the House Transportation, Resources and Agriculture Committees as well as the aviation and national parks subcommittee leadership.
Shipments of new general aviation aircraft rose sharply in the second quarter and first half and billings have been running in excess of $1 billion per quarter for more than a year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said Friday.
Senate Commerce Committee last week approved a comprehensive aviation package that would set the parameters for regulating the air tour industry, reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration programs for four years and require the agency to revoke airman or airframe and powerplant certificates from individuals convicted of violating bogus parts laws.
SEAPLANE PILOTS ASSOCIATION tapped Mike Volk to be its new executive director, succeeding Robert Richardson who is retiring. Volk, a commercial pilot with instrument and SES ratings, has been a member of SPA since 1996 and spent three years with the Kenmore Air Harbor seaplane fixed-base operation. Richardson headed the Helicopter Association of America, now Helicopter Association International, for a number of years before joining SPA.
JENNIFER A. BANKS, a recent graduate of Auburn University's Aviation Management program, joined the staff of the National Air Transportation Association as a government and industry affairs specialist.
A SENATE PROVISION to increase the number of airline slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National and Chicago O'Hare airports concerns industry leaders, who fear it would further limit access for general aviation. The provision specifies only the conversion of unused military slots to commercial use. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), the architect of the slots language, however, mentioned the transfer of both military and general aviation slots in his arguments for the provision.
BRITISH AEROSPACE H.P. 137 Mk1 Jetstream Series 200 and Jetstream Model 3101 airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-53-AD; Amdt. 39-10591; AD 98-13-03) - supersedes AD 82-20-04 R1, which requires repetitively inspecting the main landing gear hinge fitting, support angles, and attachment bolts and repairing or replacing any part cracked beyond certain limits. This AD requires installing improved fittings as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. It also incorporates the Jetstream 3101 airplane into the applicability section of the AD.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. said both revenues and earnings rose in the second quarter and first half and sales of both the company's business jet models remained strong.
COMSAT CORP. won a five-year, $57 million satellite communications contract with FAA to provide satellite and ground communications services that will be used to support FAA's new Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The contract has options that could extend the agreement for an additional five years and boost the total value to $120 million.
Crossings Aviation, a fixed-base operation headquartered at the Tacoma Narrows Airport in Gig Harbor, Wash., expanded its FBO activities with the acquisition of Bertea Aviation in Newport, Ore. last month. Crossings is an affiliate of Harbor Air - an Alaska Airlines feeder in the Northwest - and both are owned by Richard Boehlke, president and chief executive officer, who spent more than 20 years in the nursing-home and managed-care business before turning his attention to the aviation industry.
CHAD WINNINGS was appointed aircraft sales representative for Chrysler Pentastar Aviation. Winnings previously served as an aircraft sales representative for an aircraft dealer in Indianapolis, Ind.
A BRITISH COURT ruled against corporate jet operators in a dispute over changes in the way takeoff and landing slots at London's Heathrow Airport are allocated. Previously, corporate operators had been allowed to use unallocated "opportunity slots" on short notice when they became available during the day. Changes instituted in May, however, required corporate operators to apply for unallocated slots more than a week in advance. The airport claimed the previous system of parceling out the slots on short notice was a factor in disrupting flight operations.
FORMER EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR SHOW organizers have expanded the three-day conference and exhibition to include the commercial air transport sector and renamed the event the Air Transport and Business Aviation show. Air Transport and Business Aviation '99 is scheduled for May 20-22, 1999 at Dusseldorf-Express Airport in Germany.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION President Ed Bolen last week commended Senate appropriators for recommending nearly $9.9 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration next year, saying the fiscal 1999 money "looks outstanding." Despite Clinton Administration claims that the current tax structure is inadequate and a user fee system is necessary because FAA could suffer a $12 billion shortfall through 2002, Congress continues to adequately fund the agency, Bolen said.
FLIGHT SERVICES GROUP opened new regional aircraft management divisions in the Southwest and Southeast. J. Tyler Morris, vice president and regional manager, will oversee the new Southwest office in Fort Worth, Texas. George Schlotthauer, senior vice president of aircraft management, will manage the new Southeast center, which is based at Palm Beach, Fla. International Airport. FSG manages 38 aircraft at 14 bases in the U.S.
AERMACCHI Models F.260, F.260B, F.260C and F.260D airplanes (Docket No. 97-CE-143-AD; Amdt. 39-10597) - requires marking the airspeed indicator to indicate the correct flap operation range and stall speed of the airplane. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Italy. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent the airplane from stalling at an airspeed higher than anticipated, which could result in loss of control of the airplane. FAA estimates that the AD will cover 60 airplanes.
The U.S. Air Force and Raytheon Aircraft completed the first flight of a production T-6A Texan II Joint Primary Aircraft System Trainer Tuesday with a 1.8-hour mission.
Eurocontrol reported successful flight demonstrations in May and June of real-time four-dimensional (time-plus-position) trajectory displays in the cockpit. The feasibility trials were part of Eurocontrol's PHARE (Program for Harmonized Air Traffic Management Research) project with the national aviation research agencies of France, Germany, The Netherlands and the U.K., which seeks to demonstrate advanced integrated air/ground air traffic management technologies for 2010 and beyond.
