Sunrise Jet Center, an independent FBO at John Wayne Airport that now manages 80,000 square feet of hangar and office space, changed its name to Newport Jet Center. The facility is home to 14 aviation-related businesses.
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.
The STT20 Fuel Flow Transducer Simulator from Sandia Aerospace is an aircraft mechanic's tool that helps to isolate fuel-flow indication problems in fuel computer systems. For most fuel computers, ``K'' factor settings can be determined without removing the computer from the panel. The STT20 is housed in a four-by-one-inch red anodized aluminum extrusion. The fuel computer being tested provides power and ground via two of the unit's three color-coded wires. Price: $150 Sandia Aerospace 5445 Edith Blvd. N.E., Ste. 1
A majority of the airlines with long-term leases at Orlando International Airport have approved the construction of a fourth runway (17L/35R), located on the east side of the main terminal and parallel to the three existing north/south runways. Cost of the project is estimated at $202 million, and $87 million already has been spent, mainly on land. The FAA, the Florida DOT and locally issued bonds will provide the rest of the funding. The new runway will be 9,000 feet long, with a high-speed taxiway.
Italy's Piaggio plans to re-enter the U.S. market in fall 2000 with its P.180 Avanti. Details are sketchy, but a company spokesman said the six- to nine-seat turboprop could be built in the United States. The P.180 is a pusher/canard, largely composite design equipped with two Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6A-66 turboprops and Rockwell Collins avionics. Around 50 P.180s have been built since production began in 1986, and Piaggio claims an order backlog of 17 aircraft, including 10 for the Italian Air Force.
Pratt&Whitney Canada President Gilles Ouimet emerging from a Pilatus PC-12. Ouimet recently traveled from St. Hubert, Quebec to Greenland aboard a PC-12, to sign a supplier agreement with Pilatus Business Aircraft regarding a new military trainer.
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.
BMW/Rolls-Royce has introduced BR710 CorporateCare, a new cost-per-hour maintenance program for operators of the company's BR710 engines, which are found on Gulfstream V and Bombardier Global Express aircraft. Initial coverage is for five years under the new program, with options to extend or transfer coverage.
BFGoodrich has introduced LandMark, a new Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) designed to be an ``affordable solution'' for FAR Part 91 and 135 operators. When linked with an ARINC 435 EFIS system, the unit can provide a bird's-eye view of terrain, aural and visual warnings of imminent ground contact, plus displays of obstacles and runways longer than 2,000 feet.
A team of flight instructors employed by Tokyo-based Alpha Aviation won a gold medal at the 10th annual World Helicopter Championship, held recently at Nordlingen Airfield near Munich, Germany. Flying a Robinson R22, the Japanese team won the Precise Timed Arrival and Drop-Off Load event. The other events, which included Precision Flying, Landing and Slalom, were won by Russian teams flying Mi-2 helicopters.
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.
There's a lot of talk about professionalism around the corridors of the National Air Transportation Association these days as the FBO support group transforms itself from being principally a Washington-based lobby to a more business-oriented organization offering a broad range of educational services to its members under the guidance of Chairman (and former congressman) James Coyne and President Charles Priester.
Safire Aircraft of West Palm Beach, Fla., is planning two new aircraft to be powered by the new Williams FJX-2 turbofan engine. The S-26 will be a twin-engine four- to six-seat business jet priced at $800,000; the single will be a $350,000, two-place ``personal aircraft'' powered by a single FJX-2. Performance of both aircraft is projected to be 330 knots in cruise, with an NBAA IFR range of 1,400 nm. The twin's cockpit will feature a three-panel LCD, along with a synthetic vision system to be specified later.
New from Christie Electric is the CASP/2500 battery maintenance system with what the company calls a ``friendlier interface'' than that of the CASP/2000. The instrument features clearly marked front-panel function keys, a continuous scrolling display of the status of each channel and a help function. The CASP/2500 reconditions nickel-cadmium batteries and charges and analyzes all rechargeable batteries. Price: $4,495, including printer and six battery interface cables Christie Electric Corp. 18120 S. Broadway
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.
An apparent revitalization of AlliedSignal's Bendix/King product line will include a number of items designed to provide flight crews with real-time data-link weather, terrain and collision avoidance, wind-shear and turbulence information. Multi-function displays (MFDs) will be the primary hardware, with room for software upgrades as the technology evolves. ``We intend to recapture our leadership position,'' said Frank Daly, AlliedSignal's president of Avionics&Lighting, at the NBAA Convention in Atlanta.
Century Aerospace canceled ``important announcements'' it had scheduled for this year's NBAA Convention in Atlanta, to ``protect current business negotiations.'' Century President and CEO Bill Northrup says ``a lot is happening, but we feel it would be poor judgment to announce anything as of yet.'' Albuquerque-based Century is developing the CA-100 Century Jet, a proposed entry-level jet. First flight of the CA-100 is planned for second quarter 2001.
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.
Aviall is offering a $250 check to the first 50 Allison 250 operators that provide EXTEX with a ``qualified engine repair quote'' that includes its parts as an option. To qualify, operators must send a copy of their quote with an identifying engine serial number and details of the work to be performed to EXTEX, 6001 S. Power Rd., Bldg. 15, Mesa, Ariz. 85206. The quote must be presented prior to any work being done, which must be valued at $15,000 or greater. Participants are under no obligation to buy EXTREX parts.
Saying that its own regulations are overly complex and confusing, and pointing out that human error accounts for 70 percent of all transportation accidents, the FAA has proposed adopting what amounts to a one-size-fits-all flight- and duty-time rule for FAR Part 121 and Part 135. The rule the agency proposes adopting was first published in December 1995, and was one of the most controversial regulatory undertakings the agency has ever launched, if the record number of responses to the rule is a good indicator.
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.
