Tokyo's Excel Air Service has taken delivery of the first Mitsubishi MH2000, which is touted as Japan's first indigenous helicopter. The MH2000 accommodates eight passengers and two pilots, and is powered by two MG5-110 turboshaft engines with a maximum takeoff power of 876 shp each.
Landing gear maker Messier-Dowty is forming a U.S.-based subsidiary in the Seattle area, to be closer to ``North American prime contractors,'' principally Boeing. Former Boeing engineer Scott Perkins will head the new venture, which will be staffed by 10 to 20 people, mostly engineers. Part of the Snecma Group, Messier-Dowty has operating subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and Canada that employ 2,600 people.
Canadian aerostructures supplier Avcorp has extended its relationship with Bombardier to include an unspecified number of horizontal stabilizers for new 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs). According to Avcorp spokesman A. Dale Hunt, the previous contract covered 400 shipsets, the new contract should cover ``the next batch of aircraft,'' and production will continue at the rate of 11.5 shipsets per month. Vancouver-based Avcorp has built 1,100 horizontal stabilizers for all Bombardier aircraft except the Global Express, which has a composite horizontal stabilizer.
Bombardier Aerospace is soliciting orders for a 90-seat version of its Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), but a firm launch decision appears unlikely before the end of the year. The Canadian manufacturer says it expects strong interest among existing CRJ customers, and emphasized European operators faced with mounting delays and other constraints. Additionally, the company says it will be able to get the CRJ 900 to the market ``faster and cheaper'' than rival manufacturers, or two years after the decision to go ahead with the program.
Piedmont Hawthorne has acquired Corporate Wings' FBO at the Greater Rochester Airport (ROC), bringing its total number of locations to 25. Piedmont will offer fueling, deicing, on-call repair and GSE maintenance. Piedmont Hawthorne was created in the 1998 merger of Piedmont Aviation, Hawthorne Aviation, American Beechcraft and Transportech. The Carlyle Group -- a Washington, D.C.-based merchant bank -- is Piedmont Hawthorne's majority owner.
Boeing has acquired The Preston Group, a developer of aviation software based in Australia. The company's major products are its Total Airspace and Airport Modeler and Terminal Management System.
Despite increased awareness, wake turbulence continues to be a problem. For example, NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System Wake Turbulence Database Report was updated on August 20 with 31 new reports from flight crews who encountered, or were affected by, turbojet wake turbulence. These report narratives displaced alike number of older records and underscore the fact that wake turbulence encounters continue to be a deadly threat to aviation.
Aviation tax expert Nel Sanders joins the consulting firm after leaving the NBAA where she was senior manager, tax issues. Sanders will specialize in business aviation tax, finance, accounting and cost issues for the firm.
ATC is required to apply no less than the specified minimum separation if you are operating behind a heavy jet (aircraft capable of takeoff weights of more than 255,000 pounds) and, in certain instances, large non-heavy aircraft (Boe- ing 757).
Flight Level Corp. has just released an upgrade of its electronic aviation logbook. The Microsoft Windows-based FlightLevel LogBook 2000 includes the following additions and/or improvements: complete new ICAO, FAA aircraft database; complete and current airport database; database merge capability; compound filtering by any column, date range, aircraft type or N number; and custom print options. Record entry allows copying flight time to any field (PIC, X country, day, night). Price: $49 as an upgrade; $99 for first-time users Flight Level Corp.
-- DC-8-71 suffered an engine compression stall during its departure from ORD. A landing aircraft on an intersecting runway is thought to have created the wake. -- Airbus A320 on an ILS approach at ORD encounters wake turbulence. The aircraft rolls 40 degrees left. The flight crew regained full control. One flight attendant was injured. -- Canadair Challenger on approach at ORD experienced wake turbulence resulting in an uncontrolled roll of 45 to 60 degrees. The preceding aircraft was a Boeing 757. The crew executed a go-around.
In a bid to keep more flight instructors active, the AOPA has petitioned the FAA to change its FAR Part 61 regulations regarding CFI currency and renewals. The AOPA proposes removing the expiration date from the instructor certificate, while instituting a three-month ``grace period'' for certificate renewal. According to the AOPA's Dennis Roberts, the changes ``will encourage more instructors to return to flight training,'' while also ``reducing the strain on the FAA's resources.'' The FAA processes some 39,000 CFI renewals per year.
Rolls-Royce CEO John Rose has been elected president of AECMA (the European Association of Aerospace Industries). The organization now has representation in all 15 nations of the EU with the addition of five new association members.
EXTEX of Mesa, Ariz., and Phoenix-based Chromalloy Arizona will cooperate on several levels to support the Allison 250-powered helicopter market. Chromalloy has agreed to repair EXTEX first-, second- and fourth-stage turbine nozzles for C20, C20R and C30 engines, while EXTEX will supply Chromalloy with ``proprietary components'' for use in the repair of OEM nozzles. According to George Hicks, EXTEX's regional manager, the deal will be of particular interest to offshore operators faced with fluctuating crude oil prices.
Alfred Taufer joins the company as marketing director. A multi-rated pilot, Taufer will be responsible for the Latin America and Middle East territories.
Talk about black hole approaches. Quito, Ecuador's Mariscal Sucre airport, albeit at an elevation of 9,223 feet, lies in the bottom of a basin ringed by the Andes Mountains, some of which top 19,500 feet. At 11:30 p.m. on May 3, 1995, the Quito basin weather was VFR, but coal-mine dark underneath a high cloud deck. The surrounding terrain was completely invisible.
Automotive Air Charter, the joint venture between General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, flew its first charter flight on October 2 aboard a Hawker 800XP owned by DaimlerChrysler Aviation. Company officials say customer response to the FAR Part 135 charter operation has been encouraging, citing Gulfstream V charters to Sydney, Australia and Johannesburg, South Africa planned for the winter holiday season.
AlliedSignal predicts the market for traditional business aircraft will remain strong in the short term, but crest in 2000 before climbing again toward the end of the decade. According to the company's eighth annual ``Business Aviation Market Outlook,'' this perception is driven by the impact of new and derivative aircraft models, and by the expansion of fractional ownership.
Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) is planning a ``massive expansion'' into business aviation training, originating with its SimCom unit in Orlando. SimCom recently signed a long-term agreement with The New Piper Aircraft, for recurrent and transition training at the Piper plant in Vero Beach, Fla. The deal covers five piston aircraft and the new Malibu Meridian turboprop, whose simulator will be online before the end of 2000. SimCom also has added a Cessna Citation II simulator, and will offer type-rating courses for 500-, 550-, 550S- and 560-series Citations.
Mesaba Holdings has named Paul F. Foley as the new president and CEO of Mesaba Airlines. Foley joins Mesaba from FAR Part 121 freight carrier Atlas Air, where he has served as vice president of operations support since 1996.
Jeppesen will establish an ``international trip planning'' organization at Executive Jet's NetJets flight operations center in Columbus, Ohio. Under the three-year contract, Jeppesen will staff the center on a 24-hour basis, while providing it with its newly developed TPS-2 Trip Planning System. Jeppesen says the TPS-2 can process overflight rights, landing permits, fueling requests, trip kit orders and other international handling details.
Flight Options, the Cleveland-based fractional operator, is installing Norstar's CT-1000 Electronic Flight Bag in all of its aircraft. The system is designed to create a ``paperless cockpit,'' offering flight crews up-to-date charts utilizing JeppView, Jeppesen's electronic chart service. Additional applications include weight and balance calculations, takeoff and landing performance, moving map displays, weather forecasts and checklists. Flight Options also announced plans to add Gulfstream IV aircraft to its fleet in Spring 2000.
To freshen up before touchdown, executive passengers can step into a Steam Bath/Shower available now from CoreMax Aerospace for long-range executive aircraft. The unit, which can be custom built to ``virtually any shape, size and color,'' has a typical installed weight of 175 pounds. (Size and designer-specified amenities will vary.) Users control the temperature inside the enclosure, which can reach 115F in about eight minutes. Price: Varies according to size, design and shape of shower enclosure CoreMax Aerospace
