Comair Holdings says it will continue to operate charters and manage aircraft through its Comair Jet Express and Comair Aviation subsidiaries after its acquisition by Delta Air Lines. Comair Aviation is an FBO at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Europe's Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) has certified Bombardier's derivative de Havilland Dash 8-Q400, clearing the way for SAS Commuter to begin scheduled service with the aircraft. The 78-seat turboprop has an expected cruise speed of 350 knots, and ``cabin noise and vibration down to near-jet levels,'' due to a unique noise-canceling system, the manufacturer says. Denmark and Sweden certified the Q400 in December 1999, while Transport Canada certified the aircraft earlier in the year. FAA certification of the type is expected shortly; the U.S.
Late this month, the appointed members of the Fractional Ownership Aviation Rulemaking Committee (FOARC) will gather one last time in Washington, D.C., for a final review of recommendations on how the federal regulatory framework should be reordered to address fractional ownership. The FAA must move quickly on the recommendations and publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) without delay.
The NBAA is polling members about a proposed ``professional certification'' program for corporate aviation managers. If adopted, the voluntary program would ``grant recognition to individuals who meet predetermined qualifications by an independent, non-governmental entity,'' the trade group says, adding that applicants would receive credit for formal education and/or work experience. The NBAA's Board of Directors plans to review the poll results and consider the issue at its March meeting.
Reading Regional Airport Authority donated a WWII wooden hangar to the Mid Atlantic Air Museum. The museum will move and refurbish the hangar with the help of a state grant.
Piedmont Hawthorne recently assumed operational control of the Shell Aerocenter at Canada's Calgary Inter-national Airport. The move marks the last step in Piedmont's acquisition of three FBOs from Shell Canada Products, Ltd.; the other two are in Vancouver and Toronto. All three locations now operate as Piedmont Hawthorne, but will remain branded as Shell Aerocenter fuel dealers.
With production of the Gulfstream V and Global Express in full swing, Gulfstream and Bombardier are now playing catch-up on aircraft completions. Bombardier announced agreements with the United Kingdom's Marshall Aerospace and The Jet Center of Van Nuys, Calif., to handle Global Express completions. Each facility is contracted to complete four aircraft this year, which, when combined with existing Bombardier facilities in Montreal and Tucson, will increase completion output to 46 aircraft annually.
The manufacturer promoted C. Don Cary to vice president for customer relations. Duane A. Manning is named vice president for spares sales at Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory and Distribution Co. (RAPID). Eric Jensen joins RAPID as vice president, operations.
Signature Flight Support has acquired the assets of Airway Aviation, a leading FBO at Atlanta's Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK). Airway began operations in 1989 as Air BP Atlanta, and in 1994 was sold to a group of private investors led by Mercer Dye. The company now employs 25 customer support and line personnel, and features an 8,000-square-foot canopy capable of accommodating aircraft as large as the Gulfstream IV during periods of inclement weather.
AirCell will extend its coverage to the Western and Mountain United States under a new agreement with Western Wireless. Louisville, Colo.-based AirCell, which utilizes the infrastructure of 20 other cellular companies, now claims coverage of 95 percent of the major flight routes in the Unites States. While also providing lower-cost air-to-ground communications, cellular technology enhances safety in the event of an inflight communications failure, AirCell says. Calls to 911 made on an AirCell phone in-flight are automatically routed to the nearest ATC facility.
Raisbeck Engineering's Enhanced Performance System (EPS) for Raytheon King Air B200s equipped with Hartzell four-blade propellers has received FAA approval. The system is said to improve the aircraft's takeoff and climb performance, while also reducing noise levels and allowing heavier payloads. Elements of the modification include new wing leading edges, dual aft body strakes and high flotation gear doors, if applicable. The modification costs $44,850 for standard gear models, and $61,300 for those equipped with high flotation gear.
Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook is not only the FAA's first revised book on the subject since 1977, but also signifies a change in who is expected to use the book. Originally titled Pilot's Weight and Balance Handbook, the new publication is now targeted to flight crews as well as aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs). Both groups will benefit from the presentation of basic weight and balance principles, while AMTs will find the book useful in understanding how repairs and alterations may change an aircraft's weight and c.g.
Honeywell's Michael A. Smith has been chosen to lead the combined company's $4 billion avionics business, which will be called Aerospace Electronic Systems and be based in Phoenix. Francis W. Daly will run Honeywell's commercial avionics unit, Dean M. Flatt will take charge of the military avionics side, and the leaders of all other former AlliedSignal Aerospace units will continue in their current roles, the company says. After full integration of AlliedSignal and Honeywell is completed.
Officials from the FAA and aviation groups continue to fault each other for the imminent gridlock of the U.S. ATC system. Yet, at the RTCA's annual meeting held just outside Washington, D.C., in October 1999, several hundred experts on the subject were cautiously upbeat on the future of ATC.
In our last column (November 1999, page 96), we discussed how the heart and the vascular system work and what can go wrong. We'll now take a step further into this complex system and consider specific causes of heart impairment or failure, especially under the conditions of flight. To do this we also must consider the role of our lungs and the arterial blood supply to heart muscle via the coronary arteries.
Offshore operator Tex-Air Helicopters ordered two Eurocopter AS350B2 AStars. With the AStar purchase and an existing order for four EC120 helicopters, the company will operate a total of 32 aircraft.
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa recently walked a picket line at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with pilots of Horizon Air, as a gesture of solidarity during their ongoing labor dispute with Horizon's managers. Horizon pilots voted for Teamsters representation in 1999, and are seeking their first contract. Among an assortment of allegations, Horizon's pilot union leaders claim that company President George Bagley has hired an ``anti-labor'' law firm in order to maintain employee turnover, delay contract negotiations and keep wages low.
Charles Henderson has opened Henderson Jet Services, a custom avionics installation facility specializing in corporate aircraft, based at Dallas Love Field.
The company has announced the resignation of its president Robert Fleck. KnightHawk operates scheduled air cargo flights utilizing Dassault Falcon 20s and Raytheon Beechcraft 1900Cs
Astronaut Eileen Collins is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the International Women in Aviation Conference, March 9-11 in Memphis. A U.S. Air Force colonel and veteran of three space shuttle flights, Collins became the first woman to command a shuttle mission (STS-93) in summer 1999. Women in Aviation, International also announced plans to award $230,000 in scholarships at the convention. The 21 scholarships include funds for flight and maintenance training, coursework in aviation management and other aviation-related educational pursuits.
Aircraft parts supplier AAR Corp. of Wood Dale, Ill., is expanding its Internet offerings with the creation of AAR e-Business. The new unit will consolidate the company's online products, which now include parts ordering and inventory management. AAR President and CEO David Storch says he expects the Internet to have ``a dramatic impact on parts distribution,'' particularly in ``business to business'' commerce.
January 6 marks the one-year anniversary of the introduction of Rep. Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) legislation to provide for long-term reauthorization of FAA programs and ensure that aviation user taxes are spent only for aviation projects. Shuster's bill, known as AIR-21, was enthusiastically supported by every segment of the aviation community.
