Elliott Aviation (Moline, Ill.) -- Jay Anderson joins as the company's Minneapolis service manager. Terje J. Peterson is now flight department manager in Moline.
Indigo Air, the public charter and FAR Part 135 operator using Dassault Falcon 20s, has tapped Arthur Andersen's Aviation Industry Practice for a variety of consulting services. The company hopes to launch public charter service between Chicago's Midway Airport and various New York City-area airports later this year. Indigo CEO Matt Andersen (no relation) says the consulting firm will assist with financial, fleet acquisition and regulatory advice.
A Cessna Citation X, flown by factory demonstration pilots Jim La Pine and Randy Brooks, set a Federation Aeronautique International Category C-1i airplane world speed record between San Jose, Calif., and Farnborough, England on March 4. The Citation X flew the 5,008-mile distance in 10 hours 27 minutes, including a 20-minute refueling stop in Newfoundland. Average groundspeed for the 2,813-nm first leg was 489 knots, factoring in the four-knot headwind and 504 knots for the 2,195-nm second leg.
Make It Fly Foundation (Dallas) -- Aviation veteran Ron Jackson is the Make It Fly program's new managing director. The foundation's goal is to attract more individuals to careers in aviation maintenance.
The tables above show results of a fuel price survey of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in March 2000. This survey was conducted by Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARG/US) and reflects prices reported from FBOs nationwide. Prices are full retail and include all taxes and fees. For additional information, contact ARG/US at (513) 247-1010 or on the internet at www.aviationresearch.com.
Raytheon Aircraft Services has opened its first authorized service center in Mexico in a joint venture with Aerolineas Ejecutivas. Based at Toluca International Airport, 35 miles west of Mexico City, the facility is targeting the more than 1,500 Mexico-based Beech turbine aircraft, many of which traveled to Miami, Houston and San Antonio centers for service. According to Raytheon Aircraft Services President John Willis, the new facility will conform with FAA Repair Station regulations, with all logbook entries being entered in English.
Aircraft flying through the Julian Mountain Pass in Southeastern California soon will have access to real-time weather conditions. The Bell Charitable Foundation is funding installation of an automated weather observing system (AWOS) in the pass, which will provide wind speed, direction and gusts, temperature, relative humidity and altimeter settings. Once complete, says Sacramento-based AWOS manufacturer Qualimetrics, flight crews can access the weather data by telephone or a discreet VHF frequency en route.
Australia's general aviation community is slowly recovering from the worst fuel contamination crisis in that nation's history. Around 10 percent of the estimated 2,500 aircraft affected had been returned to service by early March, and Mobil Oil Australia had paid out more than $2 million in ``interim'' compensation.
The current furor over fractional ownership is not the first time the industry has found itself grappling with the prickly issues of operational control, the definition of commercial and non-commercial operations, and the tug between rules based on safety data and rules resting on economic concerns.
Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) -- The manufacturer has appointed 20-year company veteran John-Paul Besong vice president for business electronics.
Cessna Aircraft will more than double its structural testing facilities with the opening of a new 74,000-square-foot facility in Wichita. The new building will house the manufacturer's static, cyclic, reliability and component testing for all current and future aircraft. Cessna's Milt Sills says that shortened development cycles, improved systems reliability and ensured structural integrity are among the anticipated benefits of the expanded site.
Jet Aviation Singapore received Honeywell's Line Maintenance Center authorization for the TFE731 engine and GTCP 30/36 APU series. Jet Aviation West in Palm Beach, Fla., has obtained FAA approval to upgrade AlliedSignal GNS-X FMSes installed on Dassault Falcon 900 aircraft. The STC allows the aircraft to use GPS and receive long-range INS data.
The FAA was slated to act on a rulemaking proposal that would regulate fractional ownership under a new subpart of FAR Part 91 by March 31. The rule leaves Part 91.501 intact, while also providing some relief for Part 135 operators. (See stories on pages 50 and 97). If the FAA adopts the proposal, the next step is a 45- to 60-day period set aside for an economic analysis of the rule's impact. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making could be published this summer, but observers have cautioned that it could take a year or more to get to a final rule.
CHC Helicopter is selling some of its non-offshore operations to newly formed British International Ltd. Included in the deal are CHC's passenger service in Penzance, England; Cardiff, Wales-based Veritair; and Plymouth, England and Falklands operations for the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Twelve of CHC's 350 helicopters will be sold in the transaction, including eight Sikorsky S61s and two Eurocopter AS365N2s.
An unstabilized approach may have been a factor in the March landing accident of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 at Burbank, Calif. Preliminary NTSB data show the aircraft beginning its final descent from 3,000 feet, just four miles from the airport. The airliner touched down at approximately 181 knots with a slight tailwind and overran the 6,032-foot Runway 8. Controllers had instructed the crew to remain at or above 3,000 feet until crossing the Van Nuys VOR and maintain 230 knots until advised.
Photograph: Pam Lohman, flight coordinator for Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, makes a point during one of the S&D Conference sessions. Offered under the auspices of the NBAA's Professional Development Program (PDP), the scheduler/ dispatcher certification course was unveiled in February at Las Vegas during the NBAA's 11th Schedulers&Dispatchers Conference.
Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based CAMP Systems International is enhancing Learjet 31, 35, 36, 45, 55 and 60 maintenance programs with the addition of illustrated work cards, Internet access and other options. The new cards will provide specific procedures for all scheduled inspections and maintenance tasks, including required tools, materials and references to the factory maintenance manual. Learjet maintenance programs also will be part of CAMP's planned AviSource system, which will offer Internet access to aircraft data and other optional functions.
Horizon Air temporarily suspended one of its senior check airmen who said he refused to fly an aircraft for safety reasons. The February 11 incident is a rare public example of a relatively common dilemma: What is the pilot's responsibility when concern for safety and the apparent interests of one's employer conflict?
Epps Aviation at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport near Atlanta recently hosted the Georgia Aircraft Exposition, a gathering of aviation manufacturers and service providers. Conceived by Epps' Richard Randolf, the invitation-only event featured aircraft from Pilatus, Cessna, New Piper, Raytheon, Commander and Socata.
Gulfstream says that a Gulfstream V operated by Swiss charter company GV Executive Charter has passed the 2,000 flight hour mark after less than two years of service.
American Aircarriers Support has formed AAS Aircraft Services. The new operation is headquartered at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, Calif., and will perform maintenance, engineering and modifications on narrowbody and wide-body airliners.
