Edited by Paul RichfieldDavid Rimmer, in Atlantic City, N.J.
Atlantic City Mayor James Whalen said he would ``close Bader Field [AIY] tomorrow if I could,'' but is prevented from doing so by the FAA until 2006. Whalen's comments were in response to recent AOPA criticism of conditions at the embattled airport. He called the group's complaints ``absurd,'' adding that Bader ``is not in deplorable or deteriorating condition.''
Chautauqua Airlines will operate at least 15 Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets under TWA's flight code under a 10-year agreement between the two airlines. All 15 of the 50-seat RJs are expected to be in service at TWA's St. Louis hub by the end of 2001, and Chautauqua parent Wexford Air Holdings retains options on 15 additional ERJ-145s. TWA says the contract will not affect its long-standing relationship with Trans States Airlines, or Chautauqua's US Airways Express contract.
Edited by Paul RichfieldMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
Farnborough Aircraft of the United Kingdom has launched the F.1, an all-composite, single-engine turboprop. Designed to compete with the Piper Malibu Meridian, Socata TBM 700 and Pilatus PC-12, the five/six-seat aircraft will be pressurized, and powered by a Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6-60A (850 shp) engine.
IFR operations from small airports always present challenges; add mountainous terrain and you can have real trouble. Most of us operate out of small, non-tower airports from time to time and have to deal with remote ATC facilities, void-time IFR clearances, or picking up a clearance once airborne. None of these situations is particularly comfortable. On a void-time clearance, the idea, as you know, is to call an ATC facility on a land-line, and to pick up your clearance along with the clock time at which your clearance expires.
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.
Saying the nation's aviation system is ``in desperate need of change,'' Congressman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced an impasse in negotiations with the U.S. Senate on use of the Aviation Trust Fund. The impasse not only delays further discussion of the fund until 2000, but will also likely delay passage of a bill funding the FAA for the next fiscal year.
B/CA obtained a copy of a DOT/FAA draft revising procedures for PDCs. The draft, dated October 21, 1999, issues new procedures for issuing departure clearances. Listed as 7110.113A, it states that flight plans that have revisions or amendments will not be sent via PDC. Additionally, local procedures and responsibilities for handling PDCs will be developed to include a review of proposed clearances received via the Terminal Data-Link System to ensure accuracy and route integrity.
Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y., recently handed out its noise abatement awards to based operators that practiced quiet flying at HPN during 1998.
Citing her ``strategic vision, leadership, innovation and effectiveness,'' Gulfstream Aerospace Chief Financial Officer Chris A. Davis was awarded a 1999 CFO Effectiveness Award for her contributions to revenue growth at the aircraft manufacturer. Sponsored by CFO magazine and Arthur Andersen, the annual awards recognize notable achievement in 12 CFO specialties.
Photograph: Dallas Airmotive is the marketing arm for Stage III Technologies' hush kit for the G-II, G-IIB and G-III. Dallas Airmotive Environment can be perceived as the major challenge for the aviation industry in the coming years. Noise and emissions are major concerns to [national] populations and have led to numerous political actions in those domains, internationally, regionally and locally.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is pushing for mandatory installation of GPWS on cargo and large propeller-driven aircraft flown by Canadian commercial operators. The subject arose during a recent Coroner's Inquest into a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accident that occurred last January on Mayne Island, British Columbia, which ALPA says could have been prevented had GPWS equipment been aboard the aircraft.
Edited by Paul RichfieldDavid Rimmer, in Atlantic City
The AOPA's Expo '99 in Atlantic City drew the usual mix of pilots, airplanes, regulators and equipment vendors --plus something unusual: the ire of the host city's mayor. While most mayors welcome the revenue generated by nearly 10,000 visiting conventioneers, Atlantic City's James Whalen apparently took exception to AOPA officials' comments on the sorry state of Bader Field, location of the Expo's static display. In response, the city reportedly arranged a surprise visit from the fire
FlightSafety International is building two new facilities, including a 110,000-square-foot center at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport and a Dassault Falcon Jet maintenance technician training facility in Little Rock, Ark. FSI's Savannah-based On-Board Safety and Flight Attendant School has been expanded to include a plunge pool for evacuation training and additional classrooms and simulator bays.
While it's far too soon to speculate on causes, the crash of SunJet's Learjet 35 carrying pro golfer Payne Stewart and five other passengers and crew has created a heightened awareness of pressurization system problems, emergency procedures and high-altitude physiology.
An FAA proposal requiring damage-tolerance-based inspections of aging regional airliners in scheduled service has met with disapproval from the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), a trade group representing FAR Part 135 operators and FBOs. As an alternative, NATA has asked the FAA to identify which aircraft have existing inspection programs that match the spirit of the proposed rule, and allow those programs to suffice.
U.S. regional airlines continued to grow in the second quarter, despite increasing gridlock at airline hubs and anticipation of an airline industry downturn. According to the Regional Airline Association (RAA), regional airline revenue passenger miles increased to 5.2 billion during the quarter, a 23-percent increase over the same period in 1998. Passenger enplanements reached 19.9 million in the second quarter, compared with 17.5 million in second quarter 1998.
Jet Aviation's Teterboro maintenance facility recently performed the first field removal of a BMW Rolls-Royce BR710A1-10 engine from a Gulfstream V. The aircraft -- which belongs to one of Jet Aviation's management clients -- was taxiing for takeoff at TEB when the crew received an engine vibration warning. Inspection revealed small metal deposits in the engine's front bearing assembly, perhaps from the bearing housing. The engine was shipped to Rolls-Royce Canada for disassembly, inspection and repair.
The Society of Automotive Engineers' Aviation Maintenance Committee will integrate the Airframe/Engine Maintenance and Repair (AEMR) Conference at 2000's World Aviation Congress in San Diego.
Boeing hopes the U.S. Air Force will choose its Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) as a replacement for the aging Boeing and Douglas narrowbodies now used to transport senior commanders. ``The defense budget has approval for VIP airplanes for the Commander-in-Chief [CINC] Central support contract, but no RFP [request for proposal] has been made,'' says Fred L. Kelley, spokesman for the BBJ program. ``We know there is room for some leases, and at least one outright purchase, and we want to be considered.''
Alaska's Fairbanks International Airport has been a hotbed of cold weather research of late, as evidenced by visits from a variety of aircraft test programs. Bombardier's Global Express and Cessna's Citation Excel came up for cold weather trials, and General Electric's Boeing 747 test bed arrived equipped with the new CF34-8C powerplant that will power the new 70-seat Canadair Regional Jet. Lockheed Martin's new C-130J, Boeing's new 757-300 and IPTN's CN235-200 are other recent visitors.
Nav Canada reported a C$7 million ``excess of revenue over expenses'' for its financial year ended August 31, compared with a C$6 million excess during its last fiscal year. The private company, which runs Canada's air traffic control system, says the result reflects the transition to a 100-percent user fee system. Criticized for earning a profit last year, Nav Canada reduced its fees by an average of 11 percent in September, and has pledged to spend the excess on infrastructure.
Aerospatiale Matra of France and Germany's DaimlerChrysler have agreed to merge their respective aerospace businesses, creating the world's third-largest aerospace company behind Boeing and Lockheed Martin. To be called the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space (EADS) company, the new venture will control a number of Europe's largest aerospace ventures, including Airbus Industrie, Arianespace, and Eurocopter.
Even before World War II ended, forward-thinking aircraft builders were anticipating an era when the turbojet, which had been developed and flown initially on military aircraft in the late 1930s, would be used to propel commercial transports at unprecedented speeds, thus, dramatically reducing block travel time, particularly on long-range airline flights. The first milestone in that quest occurred 50 years ago when Britain's de Havilland D.H. 106 Comet, the world's first civil jetliner, took to the air on July 27, 1949.
Australia's Kendell Airlines has selected GE Engine Services to maintain and service the GE CF34-3B engines that will power its ordered fleet of 50-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ). The service will be conducted at GE's plant in Arkansas City, Ark. Kendell parent Ansett Australia ordered 12 CRJs in October 1998, and holds options on 12 more. The aircraft supplement Kendell's Saab 340 fleet, while enabling Ansett to phase out its four BAe 146-300s.
