Pratt&Whitney Canada Chairman and Chief Executive Officer L. David Caplan will retire as CEO on April 1, to be replaced by Gilles P. Ouimet, the company's current president and chief operating officer. Caplan's retirement caps a 40-year career at Pratt and Whitney, with the last 15 spent as CEO. He will continue to serve as chairman at least until March 31, 2001, at which time the company plans to ``reevaluate the situation,'' extending Caplan's tenure or appointing a successor.
NASA has opened a new ``virtual control tower'' at its Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Northern California. Known as FutureFlight Central, the facility is intended to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations both on the ground and in the air. A simulator training device, FutureFlight Central enables up to 12 air traffic controllers to direct traffic at virtually any commercial airport in the world. According to recent remarks by U.S.
The industry is responding to the ATC squeeze with a variety of high-tech -- and low tech -- strategies. For example, NASA and Honeywell recently demonstrated a new technology that could solve a significant problem at airports served by parallel runways. Called Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing (AILS) and Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches (CASPER), the systems expand on existing communication and navigation technology to allow airplanes to land safely in bad weather on parallel runways spaced as closely as 2,500 feet apart.
Although it is considered a derivative model, Eurocopter's new EC 155 medium twin only barely has a foot in the past. Not since the original Dauphin got a second engine and a major rework in the mid-1970s has the line made such an evolutionary leap.
Two White Plains, N.Y. (HPN)-based operators of HUD-equipped Falcon 2000s are vying to become the first corporate flight departments certificated for CAT III operations. Citigroup and IBM have submitted documents to the FAA for CAT III operational approval, and other operators are expected to follow suit. The Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics head-up guidance system in the Falcon is certified for CAT III operations, but individual operators also must obtain FAA approval.
Alas, there are numbers and statistics in this month's column, but don't turn the page just yet. The numbers we'll be talking about are rich with surprises, and understanding what these numbers mean can help you improve the safety of your operation. Bob Breiling, president of Robert E. Breiling Associates in Boca Raton,
Advanced Wing Technologies (AWT) of Canada will build the El Gavilan 358 utility aircraft in Canada under a new agreement between the two manufacturers. AWT will have ``world marketing rights'' for the single-engine piston aircraft, which is designed as a cost-effective replacement for aging Cessna 206s, de Havilland Beavers and other utility models. Bogota, Colombia-based El Gavilan will continue to market the seven-seat aircraft in South America and produce some parts to be shipped to AWT's Richmond, British Columbia plant for final assembly.
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.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale's aviation technologies department opened a new 10,000-square-foot helicopter laboratory at Southern Illinois Airport. The facility can house 13 helicopters and will be used to help train students in the school's helicopter maintenance program.
Advanced survival training for pilots, flight attendants and passengers is available from Survival Systems Training's new training facility at Groton-New London Airport in Connecticut.
New York City became the most-popular urban destination for rotorcraft almost as soon as the first heliport opened in Manhattan a half century ago. Since the 1940s, New York's forward-thinking government leaders have viewed helicopters as key to the metropolitan area's transportation infrastructure. However, nowhere has the struggle to ensure that helicopters have an adequate number of places to land been more dramatic than in the core of the Big Apple.
Nearly all of the 800 members of the Air Traffic Specialist Association of Canada (ATSAC) have approved strike action if ongoing negotiations with Nav Canada fail. The union's membership -- which includes flight service specialists working at 79 airports across Canada -- has worked without a contract since April 1998. Key issues are job security, wages and working conditions. The Canadian government recently appointed George W. Adams, a federal commissioner, to assist with the talks.
SimuFlite Training International inaugurated its CARE line, offering 2 4/7 help for pilots and maintenance technicians. The company is upgrading the visual systems in its Level C simulator fleet, a process that will be completed by first quarter 2001.
Raytheon has pushed back the planned FAA certification date of its new Premier I business jet until the spring. The Wichita-based manufacturer had hoped to complete certification of its first jet before the end of 1999. ``It was an aggressive schedule, a lofty goal,'' says Raytheon spokesman Kevin O'Hara. ``We are blazing new trails with the composite fuselage, and it took longer to do some things than we first thought.''
Amid financial troubles, Montreal-based InterCanadien ceased operations abruptly on November 28, 1999, stranding hundreds of passengers in dozens of remote communities throughout eastern Canada. InterCanadien owes around $40 million to code-share partner Canadian Airlines, itself embroiled in a takeover battle with Air Canada.
One-time FAA Acting Administrator Barry Valentine has joined GAMA as senior vice president for international affairs. The group says Valentine will focus largely on foreign regulatory issues, including trade and certification barriers, although he'll do some work on domestic aviation issues, presumably leveraging his relationships at the FAA and other agencies. GAMA Chairman Ed Bolen said the trade group will benefit from Valentine's ``understanding of the industry and international regulations.''
Sikorsky Aircraft offered assistance to earthquake survivors in Turkey by sending 275 tents aboard a chartered Antonov AN-124 aircraft. Company President Dean C. Borgman personally presented the gift to Turkish relief officials.
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.
Garmin International has introduced two new panel-mount GPS units to complement an aircraft's existing avionics package. Both the GNC 420 and GPS 400 offer GPS technology and a full-color, moving map display. The GNC 420 also includes a 10-watt comm radio and is certified for non-precision approaches. The manufacturer says the new units are designed for pilots with ``limited needs and a desire to spend less'' while still having the latest technology. Price: GNC 420, $7,995; GPS 400, $6,795 Garmin International
The FAA Aircraft Registry in Oklahoma City registers aircraft and records aircraft security interests. It is understaffed by a dedicated group of people who are in the process of trying to run an operation transitioning from Stonehenge-era technology. The long overdue ``Electronic Document Management System'' promises to bring the 20th century's great achievement -- electricity -- to the Registry. The Registry struggles with archaic legal constraints as well. It can register aircraft owned by: (1) Citizens of the United States;
Flight departments having a fuel sales agreement with Mercury Air Group can order fuel on-line through Mercury's new Web site. The site is password-protected and allows customers to order fuel, know the price they're paying and have it awaiting their arrival at airports throughout the United States and Europe.
Jet Aviation launched a new service, ``Private Fleet,'' which the company is billing as an alternative to fractional ownership. The core of the program is a fleet of seven Gulfstream IIs and IIIs with similar equipment, exterior paint and interiors. ``Businesses that are attracted to the benefits of fractional aircraft ownership will find that our new Private Fleet charter service has even greater appeal because it is more cost effective and offers greater flexibility,'' Jet Aviation Chairman Thomas Hirschmann said in announcing the program at the Dubai Air Show.
