The European Commission (EC) approved $350 million in government loan guarantees to Fairchild Aerospace for research and development of its new 728JET. The Bavarian and German federal governments are backing loans from a consortium of German banks, which are contingent upon Fairchild's ability to raise $300 million in additional financing. The manufacturer said an announcement on the additional financing was imminent. Fairchild Aerospace employs about 2,300 people at its factory in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
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.
The FAA has issued an emergency order suspending the repair station certificate of Milner Aviation Electronics of Dalton, Ga. The action stems from Milner's refusal to allow the FAA to inspect it, the company's inability to provide company manuals and training records, and violations of parts inventory and storage rules. Additionally, Milner is accused of mixing aircraft and non-aircraft parts, and of using non-calibrated test equipment.
Photograph: The Phoenix FanJet prototype may soon have company. A Belgian court has awarded Alberta Aerospace Corp. (AAC) the rights to the Phoenix FanJet trainer after a lengthy court battle with the trustees of Promavia, the aircraft's former owner. The move clears the way for FAA and Canadian certification of the aircraft formerly known as the Jet Squalus (Latin for ``shark''), which the company hopes to complete before the end of this year. ``We have a company in Belgium transferring the aircraft's drawings to CD-ROM.
A reorganization has resulted in the promotion of seven employees. Newly promoted to vice president are: D.C. Iain Glendinning, Donald (Jim) Meier, Claire M. Stewart and Jack L. Vaughn. Lonnie Thibodeaux, John Jelovic and Roger Renaud were promoted to directors. Senior Vice President Gene L. Harbula has been named the company's new senior vice president for strategic planning and corporate communications.
Shell has unveiled a new look for its Aeroshell product line. The packaging is color-coded for the different types of oil and is now packaged in stronger black bottles that are recyclable. While the exterior has changed, Shell says there are no changes to what's inside.
CIT Aerospace, the New York-based aircraft leasing and finance company, has promoted C. Jeffrey Knittel to president and Anthony Diaz to executive vice president. Knittel joined CIT from Manufacturers Hanover in 1986, while Diaz has been with the company since 1987. Both are former employees of Cessna Aircraft's financing arm.
Maytag Aircraft, a division of Mercury Air Group, has been awarded a contract to operate the meteorological service for the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
R. Gregory Geletka has been named president and CEO of the DaimlerChrysler subsidiary. Debis finances a variety of business acquisitions, including aircraft.
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.
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.
Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures (AASI) says it has the final machinery in place to begin full-scale production of the proposed Jetcruzer 500, its six-place, single-engine turboprop. Chairman and CEO Carl Chen says maximum speed cruise and pressurization tests should be completed in the first quarter, and he hopes to begin delivering aircraft later this year. Long Beach, Calif.-based AASI has sustained losses of nearly $50 million since 1990, despite a claimed $200 million order backlog.
JetBrokers' West Palm Beach, Fla., office has relocated to Signature Flight Support's facility at Palm Beach International Airport. The new phone number is (561) 687-9191.
U.K. charter operator EURO Executive Jet received charter authorization for its Cessna Citation 1. The aircraft is equipped with a dual Garmin GNS-430.
Thomas Razka has been named parts specialist and inspector. Air Services is an avionics and heavy maintenance facility serving corporate aviation and the airline industry.
Members of General Electric's (GE) unionized work force attacked the company's efforts to ``globalize,'' saying the policy exports ``jobs and misery around the globe.'' The General Electric Coordinated Bargaining Committee singled out aerospace vendor Ametek, saying the company was reportedly ``shopping for a Mexican location under pressure from GE.'' Ametek had no comment on the unions' charge.
Following the lead of their parent companies, the aviation fuel units of Exxon and Mobil have merged to form ExxonMobil Aviation. The reconstituted business will be headquartered in the United Kingdom with fueling facilities in 85 countries worldwide, including 250 international airports and 470 sites serving general aviation.
Edited by Paul RichfieldBy Mike Vines, in Langkawi, Malaysia
Out for its public debut, the flying star of the recent LIMA (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace) show in Malaysia was a home-grown, rotary-wing water bomber. The modified MIL Mi-17 features a high-pressure water hose mounted at the end of a 35-foot boom. Built by Airod Corp. of Malaysia, the boom swings out 90 degrees from the aircraft's fuselage, enabling it to fight fires in high-rise buildings.
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.
