Fairchild Corporation board of directors approved a plan under which the company's fastener businesses will be spun off into a newly formed subsidiary. The company said it intends to effect the spin-off of the fasteners segment "as soon as it is reasonably practical," adding that the action is subject to "the approval of Fairchild's shareholders, receipt of a favorable tax ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, consent of Fairchild's lenders and others, and of certain opinions." "We believe that Fairchild Fasteners will best prosper as a stand-
NEW TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION STANDARDS for aircraft mechanics published by FAA last week were sharply criticized by the National Air Transportation Association, which represents fixed-base operators and repair facilities whose employees would be among those subject to the proposed new standards. NATA called the notice of proposed rulemaking "a radical redesign" of existing standards that "goes far beyond correcting deficiencies" in the current regulations. See article below.
CORNERSTONE LOGIC, a software and engineering firm, acquired development and ownership rights for the PilotLog Series of computerized logbook programs from Air Digital Corporation. The PilotLog series - including OwnerLog, PilotLog Plus and PilotLog - is a Windows-based set of programs that allow pilots to enter information such as flight time, arrival and departure points, aircraft tail number and type, night time, instrument time and number of approaches.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE selected a modular potable water system built by BFGoodrich Aerospace Ice Protections Systems Division as standard equipment for the Canadair Regional Jet Series 700 airliner. BFGoodrich said the system is presssurized using bleed air from the environmental control system/auxiliary power unit and also incorporates an air compressor to supplement or replace the bleed air supply if necessary. Water temperature at various outlets is controlled with localized heaters.
MEDICAL INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA, INC. acquired a Learjet 36 for its air ambulance subsidiary Global Air Charter. The aircraft is one of three Learjet 36s that the air ambulance operates and the first added to its fleet since Medical Industries acquired Global in late 1997. Medical Industries estimated that the Learjet would generate between $1 million and $1.5 million in annual revenue and make the company more competitive on international flights. The company plans to base one of the Learjets in Europe.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT appointed Jim Clifford general manager of its operations in Minneapolis, Minn. Clifford previously spent 18 years with Kal-Aero, most recently as assistant to the president and vice president of operations at the Battle Creek, Mich. facility. He will oversee Signature's fixed-base operation, technical services and airline operations at Minneapolis.
A new FAA regulatory proposal - a 10-year effort to rewrite the rules governing training and certification standards for aircraft mechanics - was quickly attacked last week by National Air Transportation Association officials who complained it will drive up costs and reduce flexibility and efficiency.
HERMAN A. REDIESS was named director of the FAA's Office of Aviation Research. he has more than 30 years of aeronautical and technical research experience and for the past 18 months was chief scientist for test and evaluation at FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center. He previously spent 25 years with NASA where he served as director of research at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.
Steven B. Zaidman, who has held a wide range of executive posts in a number of FAA offices, was named to replace George Donohue as associate administrator for research and acquisitions (ARA-1). Wednesday's announcement by FAA Administrator Jane Garvey is the latest in a series of recent personnel announcements as she attempts to fill a number of key vacancies she inherited when she took the agency's top job early last August (BA, Aug. 11/65).
W. BARRY SMITH, a veteran aircraft marketing and sales executive, joined Visionaire as vice president of sales. The St. Louis-based company is developing the VisionAire Vantage, a composite-construction, single-engine business jet. Smith has held sales and marketing positions with the Cessna Citation and Canadair Challenger programs, operated his own aircraft brokerage firm in Dallas and sold fractional ownership shares for Bombardier's Business JetSolutions program.
The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday began consideration of The National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 1998, a compromise bill to further regulate the air tour industry that has received hard-won support from nearly all involved parties. The legislation, the result of months of negotiations among Senate, House, Administration, aviation and parks officials, is a departure from Sen.
Flush with the success of its multi-million dollar preferred-carrier pact with Chrysler and General Motors, Pro Air will hold a forum on July 23 to talk to other corporations interested in forging similar corporate travel agreements.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model 3101 airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-54-AD; Amdt. 39-10584; AD 98-12-31) - requires repositioning the fuel cross feed pipes in the lower center fuselage to give an overall clearance of two inches when measuring from the bottom of Frame Station 223. This AD stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent the fuel pipe from fracturing during a wheels-up landing because of the positioning of the fuel cross feed pipes.
JERRY HENRY joined Avidyne Corporation as western regional sales manager. Henry will oversee Avidyne's aftermarket sales, distribution development and customer support in 17 western states. He has a 24 years of experience with military and civilian avionics, most recently serving as general manager of Cinema Air Avionics.
FAA, the Coast Guard and DOT officials have decided not to kill the Loran C program as scheduled in 2000, but instead to upgrade Loran facilities during the transition to satellite-based navigation. Steve Zaidman, who was just named associate administrator for research and acquisition and one of the principals at last month's joint meeting, signaled the policy change last month at the RTCA Spring Forum. "It makes sense to fly it a couple of more years," he said at the time. "We should not have a drop-dead date" to decommission Loran.
DICK CROFTON was named vice president of the Business Aircraft Division for The CIT Group/Equipment Financing. Crofton has served in a variety of sales and management positions since joining CIT Group in 1975.
WAYFARER AVIATION, White Plains, N.Y., is engaged in a six-month test of a new software program developed by Mach-1 Software, Inc. of Sausalito, Calif. The system is designed to integrate Wayfarer's aviation management requirements including flight scheduling, charter sales, crew logistics, client management, maintenance operations and aircraft inspection tracking, plus inventory and financial control.
MOONEY Models M20J, M20K, M20M and M20R airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-47-AD) - proposes to require grinding the surface of the main landing gear leg bracket, inspecting this area for cracks and replacing any cracked bracket. The proposal results from the manufacture of several main landing gear leg brackets using laser pattern cutting. Brackets produced through the laser pattern process develop minor cracks at the bends, which could propagate over time.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. Chairman Ted Forstmann announced that all 5,500 non-executive, full-time Gulfstream employees were granted options to purchase 100 shares of the company's common stock at $43 per share. In a ceremony at Gulfstream headquarters in Savannah, Ga., Wednesday, Forstmann said the options were intended to "honor the men and women of Gulfstream. They believed. They dreamed. They cared.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR-42 and ATR-72 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-146-AD) - proposes to require one-time inspections to verify the correct shape of the stiffeners for the upper engine cowl and to detect wear of the aft upper fittings of the rear engine mounts, and corrective actions, if necessary. This proposal is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
RELIEF FROM PROVISIONS of the Fastener Quality Act inched closer as the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday approved legislation, H.R.3824, to recognize FAA as the sole authority on aviation fastener standards. The committee, however, included an amendment to require the Commerce Secretary to determine duplicative efforts between the Fastener Quality Act requirements and regulations promulgated by other agencies. While not controversial, the amendment drew concern from Sen.
ALLIEDSIGNAL INC. won FAA certification for its XK516 radio, "the first type certification for a commercial production high-frequency airborne communication system capable of handling both voice and data messages," according to the manufacturer.
FIRST PRODUCTION model of Bell Helicopter's 427 light twin helicopter made its first flight last month at the company's plant outside Montreal, Quebec. Two prototypes had logged more than 300 flight test hours before the first production model flew. The company said it has more than 70 orders for the 427 and anticipates certification late this year.
SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL (STI), the Melbourne, Fla. maintenance company, received Joint Aviation Authorities approval. STI plans to expand its aircraft maintenance services to operators in the Caribbean, Central and South America. STI provides a variety of maintenance and modification work, including high-end avionics and autopilot installations, on general aviation and regional airline aircraft.
