Columbia Air (Groton, Conn.) -- Bridgette A. Barker joins the full service FBO as dispatch supervisor and also will handle public relations for the company.
Van Nuys, Calif.-based Petersen Aviation added three aircraft to its charter fleet, including a managed Canadair Challenger 601 and two owned Raytheon Hawker 1000s. The two aircraft join an existing fleet of two Gulfstream IVs, one Gulfstream IVSP, a Raytheon Hawker 800 and a McDonnell Douglas MD-900 helicopter.
SkyWest Airlines has extended its code-sharing arrangement with Delta Air Lines through June 2010. As part of the agreement, the St. George, Utah-based airline has agreed to acquire 20 additional 50-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs), with options for 20 more. The 20 aircraft will be based in Salt Lake City and operated as Delta Connection flights. SkyWest also operates as a United Express feeder on the U.S. West Coast, primarily with its fleet of Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops.
FlightSafety International (Flushing, N.Y.) -- Rudy Toering has been promoted to managing director, European sales based at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. June Spencer joins the European sales team as U.K. sales manager, from the training organization's Houston Learning Center. Lidia Rudd is named product marketing manager at the Paris center.
The GPS Wide Area Augmentation System is experiencing more delays, and it now appears that commissioning will take place at year-end, approximately three months later than the most recent schedule. A ``system glitch'' during a 60-day test run caused the delay. Although not Y2K related, the problem appeared over the New Year's weekend, and related to algorithms that govern communication between WAAS ground stations and the geostationary satellite that broadcasts WAAS corrections.
ASA's two, updated Airframe textbooks are part of a four-book Aviation Maintenance Technician Series to help prospective AMTs prepare for their FAA knowledge exams. They also are a handy reference for basic technical information. Airframe, Volume 1 covers all aspects of aircraft structures, while Airframe, Volume 2 covers aircraft systems and inspection. Other books in the set focus on general aeronautical information and powerplants. Price: $29.95 for Volume 1 or 2; $139.95 for the entire set Aviation Supplies and Academics, Inc.
Pilot Jim Corey of Juneau, Alaska-based Silver Bay Logging received the Flight Safety Foundation's (FSF) Heroism Award for his role in rescuing an injured worker stranded at a remote logging site in southeast Alaska. According to accounts of the rescue, Corey volunteered to search for the man in dark, rainy skies over mountainous terrain flying a VFR-only MD 500 helicopter. After several attempts, Corey and other rescuers located the injured worker and were able to fly him to safety. The man has since recovered completely.
In the 21st century business paradigm, where the forces of change course at the speed of light, author and wag Tom Peters (of Peter Principle fame) opines that we will have to ``re-invent'' ourselves on the order of once every six months.
Continental Airlines has acquired a minority stake in Gulfstream International Airlines, a privately held Beech 1900C operator that has provided regional feed as a ``Continental Connection'' carrier for the past three years. In December 1999, Gulfstream initiated service from San Juan, Puerto Rico to St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten and St. Kitts, with new service to Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands slated to begin this month. Gulfstream says closer ties with Continental will not affect its code-share deals with other carriers.
GE Capital Aviation Training (GECAT) and Cathay Pacific Airlines are teaming up to provide airline flight training at Cathay's Hong Kong International Airport training facility. GECAT will market the facility's excess simulator time as well as add four new simulators in the next two years.
American Airlines pleaded guilty to a federal charge of illegally storing hazardous materials at Miami International Airport -- the first time a U.S. carrier has accepted responsibility in a hazardous-waste case. The felony charge stems from a July 1995 incident where a drum of flammable Dioxital spilled and caught fire; American employees in Miami stored the remaining 100 pounds of the material for more than three years.
Flight-testing of a new, graphical real-time weather information service began aboard a Federal Express MD-11 en route from Newark to Memphis. NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia is spearheading the research project -- known as Aviation Weather Information (AWIN) -- with assistance from Rockwell Collins, Honeywell, Litton/WSI, the FAA, U.S. Air Force, component-maker Penny and Giles and other organizations. AWIN relies on proven technology including Microsoft Windows NT software, a laptop computer and a network server using standard communications protocols.
Bizjet International (Tulsa) -- A reorganization has resulted in the following promotions: Mike Seney to vice president of the company's aircraft division; Mike Coate to vice president of sales and service; Keith Rash to director of Gulfstream sales and service; Jim Foreman, Gulfstream customer service manager; Tom Teater, to director of maintenance; Larry Siegrist to director of engineering, interior completions; Stacy Neis, director of interior completion sales; Dean Eechaute to Learjet program manager; Pete Cranick, Falcon program manager; Jon Kvelums, Challenger progra
Cutter Aviation is on the verge of opening its new FBO at Santa Monica Airport in Southern California. The facility will feature new Piper and Aviat aircraft sales, used aircraft sales, and parts and maintenance for Cessna, Beechcraft, Piper, Aviat and Mooney. Sales and service of Lycoming and Continental engines, and Bendix/King and Garmin avionics also is planned, the company says. Due to local restrictions, fuel will not be sold, however. Brad Martin, a 27-year industry veteran who most recently served with Airstar Air Group, will manage the SMO operation.
One of the best-known names in the FBO world, Showalter Flying Service has broken ground on a new, $1.8 million executive terminal at Orlando Executive Airport.
Production of the ubiquitous Fairchild Metroliner is coming to a close after three decades, more than 600 airframes delivered and countless ringing eardrums. Derisive nicknames like ``San Antonio sewer pipe'' and ``death dart'' aside, the Metro became one of the most popular and reliable twin turboprops ever to see service. Though no longer a top-billed star in the United States, Metros maintain a presence around the world, in both civil and military roles.
The FAA and U.S. Department of Agriculture have published a new manual to help manage wildlife hazards at airports. According to the FAA, aircraft-wildlife collisions cost $300 million, resulting in 500,000 hours of aircraft down time. The new book provides operators with plans for wildlife hazard risk assessments, employee training and management plans required to deal with the dangers. In an agreement with the FAA, the USDA's Wildlife Services office will provide assistance to local airports that have wildlife hazards.
An ``investment alliance'' led by former Allison Engine owners Clayton, Dubilier&Rice (CD&R) and Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) has acquired Fairchild Aerospace in a cash and debt-financed deal worth $1.2 billion. The much-awaited announcement follows Fairchild's receipt of $350 million in European Commission (EC)-backed loans from German banks, an arrangement contingent upon Fairchild's ability to raise at least $300 million in additional financing.
Aviation Sales Co. (Miami) -- Michael C. Brant joins the aircraft maintenance and inventory supplier as chief financial officer. Michael Wilkinson is named vice president of the company's new regional airlines division.
Corrosion is the undesired removal of metal -- its destruction -- through chemical and electrochemical processes. It takes many forms, but the result is the same: loss of material and, therefore, loss of the original design aerodynamic and structural properties. The process is most colorfully defined in The Random House Dictionary as ``a gnawing away.'' Similarly, it defines corrode as ``to eat away gradually as if by gnawing, especially by chemical action.'' The electrolytic or galvanic action that occurs is similar to what takes place
