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BFGoodrich (BFG) plans to restructure its landing gear business, resulting in the elimination of at least 500 jobs and the ``partial closure'' of the company's Euless, Texas, plant. An offshoot of last summer's merger with Coltec Industries, the restructuring will save around $35 million annually, BFG says, along with another $25 million saved by combining the two companies' headquarters.
Quality Aviation Services of McMinnville, Ore., received the FAA's Diamond Award for making ongoing training available to its aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs). The FAA also recognized 15 Quality employees for participating in the training. Quality is a division of Evergreen International Aviation.
Why settle for marginal performance from your aircraft's most basic navigational tool? S.I.R.S. Navigation says advanced technology helps make its new Pegasus compass more accurate and easier to read. The TSOed Pegasus uses four magnets rather than the standard two-magnet design to increase accuracy. They've also filled Pegasus with silicone fluid to reduce that annoying compass ``bounce'' and provided a 140-degree display to improve readability. S.I.R.S. already produces compasses for Boeing, Airbus and Bell using similar technology.
The tables above show results of a fuel price survey of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in December 1999. 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.
While claiming aviation contributes a small proportion of man-made CO2 emissions, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) and the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA) have agreed to joint efforts at reducing CO2 emission from aircraft. Among the methods the groups will pursue: improving fuel efficiency, researching technologies for new generation aircraft and pursuit of a ``global plan'' for reducing the toxic emissions through ICAO.
U.S. regional airlines reported a 24-percent gain in revenue passenger miles during third quarter 1999, due to an increase in passenger enplanements and average load factors, which grew from 60.4 to 65.4 percent year over year. Regional Airline Association (RAA) President Walter Coleman attributed the results to ``an increasingly modern fleet, as well as timely, convenient and reliable service.'' The top three U.S. regionals -- American Eagle, Comair and Continental Express -- each carried more than 1.5 million of the 57.9 million passengers carried by all U.S.
Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) President and CEO Pedro Sors is stepping down to become a consultant to the school and its parent company J.W. Childs Associates. SimCom founder Walter ``Wally'' David will replace Sors. David had been executive vice president of PAIFA and president of its SimCom International unit since the company's acquisition in 1999. J.W. Childs principal John Childs says the change enables a transition to ``a more focused style of management'' while allowing Sors to concentrate on ``his passion for deal making.''
Swiss regional Crossair plans to give its employees nearly $32 million (CHF 20 million) in shared profits for 1999, though fleet expansion, higher fuel prices and costly delays kept earnings slightly below 1998's levels.
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (CLT) is conducting a six-month test of TransSecure, a new security system that uses ``iris-recognition'' to verify employees' identities. As part of the test, around 100 CLT employees will have a digital photo taken of their eyes, which will be crosschecked whenever they attempt to pass through security checkpoints. Contractor Spring Technologies of Falls Church, Va., says the system is more accurate than other ID verification methods, with widespread use in banking and retail, and at sporting events.
Million Air (Dallas) -- Charles R. Brown is the new vice president for base operations at the company's Monterey, Calif., facility. Penny Nelson is named marketing manager and Kent Braun is now line manager at Million Air in Palm Springs.
The FAA has approved Stewart New York International Airport's (SWF) request to continue collecting a $3 passenger facility charge (PFC) through November 2003. Stewart's authority to collect the fees was set to expire on December 31, 1999. The PFC is expected to raise about $4.6 million, which will be applied to capital improvement projects at the airport, including rehabilitation of Runway 9/27, glycol collection and expansion of the north cargo ramp. Approximately 20 corporate aircraft are based at Stewart, which is located about 60 miles north of New York City.
Citing the availability of improved international shipping and the ``ease of [shopping on] the Internet,'' Sporty's Pilot Shop closed its European retail and catalog facility in Wiesbaden, Germany. A contributing factor to the closure, according to President John Gauch, was the company's inability to locate the operation at an airport as it has at the retailer's Batavia, Ohio, headquarters. Rauch says European customers can order through a toll-free fax number or on the Internet.
Capable of using ACARS, an air-to-ground radiotelephone link, satcom telephone and/or ARINC 741 satcom ACARS, UniLink will provide Super FMS with Controller to Pilot Data-Link Communications (CPDLC) for the 21st century CNS ATM system. UASC recently achieved Inmarsat approval for the Thrane and Thrane $40,000 Aero-M and $110,000 Aero-I satcom systems, the latter being capable of CPDLC. Either system can be used to uplink weather text and graphics, as well.
CIT Aerospace (New York) -- Walter Valarezo joins the finance company's Fort Lauderdale office. The Boeing and McDonnell Douglas veteran will oversee marketing and business development in South America and Southern Europe.
The FAA has awarded FAR Part 33 type certification to General Electric's CF34-8C1 engine, selected to power the new 70-seat variant of the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), now in flight test. The event follows three years of exhaustive component and core testing, on the ground and in the air, mated to GE's Boeing 747 flying test-bed aircraft.
UASC's TAWS box, priced at $35,000, is the first system of its kind to be able to use ARINC 702 flight-plan intent bus data from an FMS to check for potential terrain hazards along the entire flight-plan route, even before engine start. UASC TAWS is capable of generating 3-D perspective, birds eye, plan view and vertical profile depictions of terrain, plus detailed shading of terrain contours to enhance situational awareness. If a terrain hazard exists, it's portrayed as a flashing yellow, star-shape symbol that's virtually impossible to miss.
Fairchild Aerospace has sold its Merlin Express subsidiary to Corporate Air of Billings, Mont., and also is looking to divest Gen-Aero and AVSAT -- its two FBOs in San Antonio. Included in the acquisition are 12 Fairchild Metro IIIs and six new Metro 23s, while Corporate retains options on four additional Metro 23s. Some details have yet to be finalized, but the deal is expected to close this month.
Priester Aviation is adding three aircraft to its charter fleet: a Cessna Citation VII and a Raytheon Hawker 700 and 400-731. The Hawkers are scheduled to replace Priester's two Dassault Falcon 20s.
The competition to attract and retain qualified pilots continues after another record year of airline hiring. According to Air. Inc.'s Kit Darby, the airlines hired nearly 16,000 pilots in 1999, with strong hiring projected through 2007 when retirements are expected to peak. While hiring by most corporate operators continues as a ``good-old-boy network,'' Darby says fractional companies are aggressively recruiting and offer ``better career prospects'' than other segments of business aviation.
The first Cessna Citation CJ2 came off the manufacturer's assembly line on January 10. The CJ2 is a derivative of the Model 525 CitationJet, with a larger cabin, a swept horizontal tail and higher cruise speeds. FAA certification of the CJ2 is planned for. The FAA recently granted Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) approval to CJs equipped with twin Honeywell/AMETEK AM-250 altimeter air data computer units. With the approval, operators will be in compliance with Eurocontrol's RVSM requirement, which will take effect on January 24, 2002.
Million Air Van Nuys has opened its rebuilt FBO at the Van Nuys, Calif., airport, six years after the Northridge earthquake destroyed it. The new FBO includes a 3,000-square-foot lobby office area and a 20,000-square-foot hangar, and plans include the construction of nine 15,000-square-foot or larger hangars by 2002. ``It was a long haul, but we finally were able to cut through all the government red tape and remodel,'' says Harold Lee, president and owner of Million Air Van Nuys.
