United Technologies Corp. (UTC) has acquired Michigan-based component supplier Great Lakes Turbines, which will become part of Pratt&Whitney Canada's (P&WC) service center operation. The move follows UTC's recent acquisitions of suppliers Cade Industries and Dallas Aerospace; both were merged into Pratt&Whitney's Engine Services unit. Separately, China's National South Aero Engine company has agreed to build engine parts for P&WC at a new plant in Zhuzhou, China, under a new joint-venture agreement between the two companies.
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.
Worldwide, there are 5,543 published GPS non-precision approaches, 84 percent of which are in the United States, according to Jeppesen. Today, such procedures aren't just overlays of existing procedures using ground-based navaids. Stand-alone GPS non-precision approaches number 2,477, accounting for 45 percent of the total. At some airports, a GPS-based procedure may be the only instrument approach available.
Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings, parent of United Express and Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines, announced the retirement of Chairman C. Edward Acker. President and CEO Kerry Skeen becomes chairman and CEO while Executive Vice President and COO Thomas Moore is named president. Acker will remain on the board of directors.
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.''
Lufthansa German Airlines veteran Bernd Habbel has been named to head the company's press and public relations. Glenn Holder is the company's new area sales manager for North America -- a newly created position.
The FAA recently made its first change since 1976 to the General Handbook for A&P Mechanics. ASA is providing the eight-page pamphlet with all newly purchased editions of the Handbook, but is also making the changes available, free of charge, on its Web site. The Handbook and revision provide the required material for the FAA Knowledge Exam, and is a useful reference guide. Price: Free Web site download Aviation Supplies and Academics, Inc. 7005 132nd Pl. S.E. Newcastle, Wash. 98059-3153
The first hangar in the Northeast built specifically to accommodate transport-category business aircraft is nearing completion at New York's Stewart International Airport. Owned by Rifton Aviation and built by Cincinnati-based contractor Bascon, Inc., the 117,000-square-foot building will be able to house up to four Boeing Business Jets or Airbus Corporate Jets at the same time. The hangar also will have 25,000 square feet of shop and office space, and a diesel generator for backup power. Construction began in August 1999 and completion is planned for the spring.
Mesa Air Group and Bombardier have settled their long-running legal dispute over aircraft financing, trade-ins and options. Bombardier has agreed to pay Mesa $4 million in cash, plus payments totaling $5 million over the next eight months. Mesa operates 52 Bombardier aircraft (30 CRJs and 22 Dash 8s), and has two CRJs on order.
Officials at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) got creative when faced with a government directive to build a storm-water detention system. Instead of digging a large containment basin, they're building a $4.2 million, 18-hole golf course funded by a local golf course development company. Water is no laughing matter at SUS, where a new Flight Service Station is under construction to replace one destroyed by flooding in 1993. Both the golf course and the new FSS are slated to open later this year. SUS claims to be one of the few U.S.
NTSB investigators have completed their work at the South Dakota crash site of the Sunjet Learjet 35 in which golfer Payne Stewart and five others perished, and will now focus on the recovered wreckage, CVR and other aspects of the aircraft's crew and service history. The agency says the CVR recorded engine sounds and various alarms such as stall warnings, but no voices. Meanwhile, manufacturers are examining the remains of the engines and other aircraft components for clues to the cause of the October crash.
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.
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.
NASA Associate Deputy Administrator General John R. Dailey (USMC, Ret.) has been named director of the National Air and Space Museum, succeeding Vice Admiral Donald Engen, who died in a glider crash in July 1999. The Air and Space Museum is in the midst of a massive drive to fund construction of its new annex at Dulles International Airport. Admiral Engen, whom Dailey called ``a very close friend,'' was instrumental in launching the new Dulles center. Dailey has accrued more than 6,000 flight hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
Windshield wipers help us drive safely in all weather, but until now, nothing has protected them from the elements. Now, Wiper Diaper windshield wiper covers protect wipers from harsh weather and, according to the manufacturer, improve driver visibility and will help reduce costs by lowering the frequency of replacement. Price: $11.95/pair for 20-inch blades; $14.95/pair for 30-inch blades Intromark Inc. 217 Ninth St. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222-3506 Phone: (412) 288-1300 Fax: (412) 338-0497
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.
Wayne, Pa.-based aircraft component manufacturer Triumph Group acquired Lee Aerospace of Wichita. Lee manufactures windshields and windows for corporate and general aviation aircraft.
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.
Two new FlightSafety International simulators have received FAA Level ``D'' certification: A Bombardier Learjet 60 based in Tucson and a Wichita-based Raytheon Hawker 800XP. Certification is pending for a Sikorsky S-76C+ simulator in West Palm Beach, Fla., and a Raytheon King Air 90B in Wichita. The company also reports ``significant steps'' bringing training programs into conformity with JAA regulations.
Pilot union leaders from Continental Airlines told FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, that management routinely challenges its pilots over safety of flight issues. According to the Independent Association of Continental Pilots (IACP), pilot actions regarding weather and maintenance problems are often second-guessed, and a new policy requires them to clear all fuel purchases with management ahead of time.
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has published a new ``safety advisor'' on icing sponsored by the FAA's Flight Safety Research Section in Atlantic City, N.J. The 16-page booklet has the latest statistics on icing-related accidents, describes pilot actions for dealing with icing encounters, and specifies aircraft icing certification requirements. For more information, go to www.aopa.org/asf/publications.
