Saying that graduates of most helicopter flight schools ``fall short of the entry level requirement'' to fly professionally, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Heliflight created a new career pilot program specifically for helicopters. Pilots who complete the program will receive their instrument, commercial, CFI and CFII helicopter ratings as well as 200 hours in Robinson R22s, making them ``eligible for flight instructor positions,'' according to the school. Heliflight also operates Robinson R44, Bell JetRanger III, Eurocopter AStar and Sikorsky S-58 aircraft.
The main objective of a medical examination is to identify risk factors as well as diagnose medical problems either suspected or unknown. Risk factors are not a diagnosis, but they do lend important insights to a potential diagnosis. Such risk factors stand alone; that is, everything else being normal, the factor increases the risk of developing cardiac disease. Therefore, it's important to recognize the following classic independent risks: hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, smoking, age, gender and, most important, family history.
SkyWest Airlines has added Robert G. Sarver, 38, to its board of directors. Sarver is chairman and CEO of California Bank and Trust, and founder of the National Bank of Arizona. SkyWest's net profits jumped 60 percent to $13.6 million in its third quarter.
Fort Worth-based Galaxy Aerospace delivered its first Galaxy business jet to TTI, Inc., an electronics distributor also headquartered in Fort Worth. The manufacturer expects to deliver about 20 Galaxies and 10 SPXs to various customers by the end of the year. Galaxy President and CEO Brian Barents says the company will produce one Galaxy per month through the summer, when the rate will increase to two aircraft per month. Galaxy also recently delivered the first Galaxy SPX completed at the Alliance Airport plant.
The largest pilot union is upset over a television network's use of cockpit voice recorder tapes from a fatal airline crash. In a January 18 program relating to the English language proficiency of air traffic controllers and pilots, ``Dateline: NBC'' broadcast the final words of the pilots of an American Airlines aircraft that crashed into a mountain near Cali, Colombia in 1995.
Comair has named Susan Burrell as president of its Comair Aviation Academy in Sanford, Fla. Former President Gary D. Green will continue as the academy's CEO. Burrell joined the academy in 1993 as director of marketing.
Savannah Air Center in Savannah, Ga., has been awarded its first major interior modification, to a Gulfstream IV. The refit includes all soft goods, some new cabinetry, new wood and finish, cabin rearrangement plus the addition of a forward lavatory and avionics upgrades to include satellite communications gear.
Columbia, Mo.-based Ozark Air Lines has received FAA certification and began operations under FAR Part 121. The regional carrier is operating two Fairchild 328JETs from its Columbia headquarters to Chicago Midway and Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. Ozark is using similar livery as its Missouri namesake, which merged with TWA in 1986.
Jacksonville's Cecil Field has been chosen for the FAA's Military Airport Program (MAP), which provides funds for the conversion of military airfields to civilian or joint-use facilities. Cecil Field, which has a 12,500-foot runway as well as three others, was decommissioned as a naval air station in September 1999 and now is being operated by the city of Jacksonville's Aviation Division. The city is promoting the facility as an ``effective base of operations for corporate and general aviation aircraft.'' The FAA now has 12 airports in the MAP.
The first SJ30-2 in production configuration is coming together at Sino Swearingen's San Antonio facility. Major fuselage components for aircraft 002 are in place, and the first set of wings is expected to be delivered from Gamesa in Spain in this quarter. First flight is now scheduled for the third quarter. A second aircraft, TF-2 -- the static test article -- also is in assembly.
CarinaStar of Hilton Head, S.C., has sold its first share -- a quarter share in a new Raytheon Beech Bonanza A36. While most fractional companies are focusing on turbine-powered aircraft flown by professional pilots, CarinaStar is selling primarily owner-flown A36s and Baron 58s. Quarter shares of the Bonanzas cost $149,500 while the Baron shares are priced at $249,500. Shareowners receive initial training at FlightSafety International and six-month recurrent training and can fly their aircraft 75 days annually. There is no limit on the hours flown in those 75 days.
Jet, the famed bird-chasing dog, is apparently doing his job. A study of bird strikes at Southwest Florida International Airport shows only four reported bird strikes in 1999, compared with nine in 1997 and 16 in 1998, before Jet's arrival. The three-year-old border collie herds birds away from aircraft without hurting them, according to airport authorities. Further evidence of Jet's effectiveness is an increase in bird strikes in April 1999, when he was away for training and recovering from an off-duty injury.
Users of Microsoft's new Flight Simulator 2000 will see a couple of familiar aviation faces when they begin flying: John and Martha King. The husband and wife team appears in the ``getting started'' portion of the simulation software. John King says he hopes the software and a new video the school has produced for Microsoft help encourage more people to participate in general aviation.
The FAA has chosen Rockville, Md.-based Computer Sciences Corp. to develop software for the agency's Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CDPL). CDPL is designed to automate certain communications between flight crews and air traffic controllers, resulting in reduced errors, improved safety and less congestion, the agency says. Initial rollout is planned for June 2003 at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center with the remainder online by the end of 2003.
Hello, Acme Flight Crew Agency.'' ``Yes, I need a Gulfstream IV first officer with a minimum of 1,500 hours in type for a trip leaving Atlanta tomorrow.'' ``No problem, I have several available. How about someone who is dual-rated in rotorcraft and current in an S-76?''
Pilots of business aircraft often wonder what would happen if they were to declare an emergency. What kind of assistance can ATC provide? Is this an invitation for the FAA to launch an inquisition into your pilot qualifications and recurrent experience status? Are you asking to have your aircraft documents, logbooks, maintenance records and repair shop put under a legal microscope? Is there a uniform standard for when and why ATC initiates certain kinds of incident or deviation reports?
Van Nuys, Calif.-based Peterson Aviation added a Gulfstream III and a Raytheon Hawker 800XP to it managed fleet. The company also added an owned Westwind II.
A classic conflict pitting Good against Bad with huge stakes at risk is lurching toward conclusion this spring in Washington. The guys in the white hats, led by Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, include a remarkably united aviation community and three-quarters of the House of Representatives. The good guys are battling for enactment of a viable long-term funding and reauthorization program for the FAA that does not include onerous new taxes on aviation users.
Edited by Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield, in Las Vegas
Conspicuous at this year's HAI convention -- a show best known for displays of the latest helicopter hardware -- was one of the earliest rotorcraft: the 1945 Gazda Model 100 Helicogyro. The brainchild of Antoine Gazda, an Austrian World War I flying ace who designed the Oerlikon 20mm cannon used by both sides in World War II, the Helicogyro em-ployed a number of advanced features.
Conair Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia will perform major repair and modification work on nine of Aloha Airlines' 21 Boeing 737-200 aircraft. The work includes lap joint modifications to all nine aircraft, and Supplemental Structural Inspection work on four of the aircraft. The first of the 737s arrived in January; completion of the last is planned for November. To support expansion of its MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) business, Conair plans to open its new, 250,000-square-foot facility in October.
Embraer has selected AeroInfo Systems of Canada to develop a Web-based maintenance program for its proposed ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 aircraft, as well as the manufacturer's existing line of regional aircraft. AeroInfo's Collaborative Reliability Management System (CRMS) will reduce operating costs and increase utilization of existing aircraft as well as shorten the certification process of new aircraft, says Richard Macdonald, president of the Richmond, British Columbia-based software company.
Michael Gregory has been named vice president and general manager of its West Palm Beach facility, a new position. Gregory, a 12-year Jet Aviation veteran, was the company's CFO. Susan Howard is Jet's new customer service manager in West Palm.
