Through their GPS steering mode, the System FortyX and FiftyX autopilots now available from S-Tec Corp. can fly 429 digital composite roll steering commands output from GPS navigators. The FiftyX is a two-axis autopilot that has altitude hold with altitude trim, vertical speed command and pitch trim annunciation, while the FortyX is a single-axis autopilot.
Pratt&Whitney Canada (P&WC) and Pilatus Business Aircraft have signed an agreement regarding the new Pilatus PC-21 trainer, which P&WC President and Chief Operating Officer Gilles Ouimet describes as ``a follow-on to the PC-7 and PC-9.'' To ink the deal, Ouimet flew from Quebec to Greenland aboard a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop, to be met by Pilatus Chief Executive Oscar Schwenk, who had flown from Switzerland via Iceland aboard another PC-12 with Pilatus Vice President Jim Roche and test pilot/flight operations manager Hans Galli.
Europe's Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) is seeking to make age 65 the standard retirement age for commercial pilots among its 29 member states. According to a JAA spokesman, France intends to apply for a ``national variant'' concerning the rule, in hope of maintaining age 60 as the mandatory retirement age. Under the proposed JAR-FCL 1.060, one pilot of a two-man crew may be as old as 65, provided the other is under 60.
Raytheon has appointed Hansel E. Tookes II as president and chief operating officer of Wichita-based Raytheon Aircraft. The company says Tookes, 51, will become CEO of Raytheon Aircraft in six months, and be named chairman following Art Wegner's retirement in approximately one year. A former naval aviator, airline pilot and longtime United Technologies executive, Tookes has been president of Pratt&Whitney's Large Military Engines Group in West Palm Beach, Fla., since 1996.
Fairchild Aerospace (Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany) -- Professor Gunter Kappler was named senior vice president of engineering, replacing Reinhold Birrenbach, who moved on to an advisory role after 38 years with Fairchild and Dornier. Scott Bradbury was chosen as director of maintenance programs at the company's San Antonio headquarters.
The AOPA says it recently ``countered a quiet attempt to have Congress require new, $2,500 Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) on general aviation aircraft.'' According to the Frederick, Md.-based lobby group, Litton Industries began pushing for new legislation mandating its new, 406-MHz ELTs in the wake of the crash of John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s airplane. AOPA President Phil Boyer says all ELTs could be rendered obsolete if ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) development proceeds as expected.
The FAA has extended to October 18 the comment period for an NPRM (FAA-1999-5401) requiring costly inspections of aging regional airliners. The National Air Transportation Association is taking credit for the action, saying the additional time will allow the FAA to ``permit the industry to conduct a complete economic analysis and develop meaningful alternatives to this crucial proposal.'' NATA represents FAR Part 135 operators and FBOs.
P&WC plans to reduce its work force by 700 before the end of 2000, with the first 300 layoffs occurring this fall. The action is a response to ``several customers delaying orders,'' and as a way to cut costs, the company says. P&WC laid off a number of employees in 1998, but says less than 20 percent were ``involuntary departures.'' P&WC parent United Technologies has announced significant layoffs at all of its aerospace holdings, including Pratt&Whitney, Sikorsky Aircraft and Hamilton Sundstrand.
The NBAA believes new noise restrictions proposed for Van Nuys Airport by the local Board of Airport Commissioners are not justified, and has urged the group to reconsider its position. According to NBAA President Jack Olcott, the Board's report does not ``contain any meaningful analysis of the potential adverse consequences of the proposed restrictions,'' and could cause a ``chilling effect'' on the business aviation community.
AlliedSignal's annual ``Business Aviation Market Outlook'' will be released amid its usual fanfare at this month's NBAA Convention and is expected to show the market for traditional business aircraft under 100,000 pounds MTOW cresting in 2000 and remaining ``at or near record levels'' before climbing again toward the end of the decade. The biggest growth is anticipated among new aircraft and fractional owners in North America and Europe.
The FAA, along with airline industry officials, has concluded that ineffective coordination, poor communication and the lack of a standardized approach to traffic management (TM) within the ATC system has caused many of the mounting flight delays experienced this summer. These were the findings of the National Air Traffic Management Evaluation, which was conducted between July 19 and August 6 by a team of nearly 90 people drawn from the FAA and the Air Transport Association.
The NBAA has published its 2000-2002 Airport Noise Summary, to alert operators about the noise sensitivity of various airports. The 38-page document includes some 655 airports, each with published procedures ranging from noise abatement profiles to avoiding specific noise sensitive areas.
Jobseekers may want to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU) ``Career Expo '99,'' to be held on November 3-4 at its Daytona Beach, Fla., campus. More than 100 aviation/aerospace, business, engineering and high-technology employers are expected to participate, including Cessna, Boeing, Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins, United Parcel Service, several airlines and government agencies. For more information, call (904) 226-6050, or visit ERAU's Web site at www.db.erau.edu.
Cirrus Design has agreed to acquire warrants for up to 19.3 percent of Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS), which makes the parachute system installed on the new Cirrus SR-20 aircraft. To receive the warrants, Cirrus must buy 1,150 BRS parachute systems over the next five years, business worth around $12 million to the St. Paul, Minn.-based company. Mark Thomas, BRS' president and chief executive, says the two companies have discussed the arrangement since August 1998, and it could lead to Cirrus acquiring a larger stake in BRS later.
Shortly after Congress returned from its summer recess on September 8, work was to begin on ironing out the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill to take the Aviation Trust Fund off budget. The resulting compromise legislation, if approved by both houses and signed by President Clinton, could clear the way for the release of billions of dollars that have been collected for aviation use but which have remained unspent for years.
Adelaide-based Surveillance Australia -- a division of National Jet Systems --has acquired two additional Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8Q-200 turboprops for maritime patrol missions. Prior to delivery, Toronto's Field Aviation will equip the two aircraft with long-range fuel tanks, enlarged windows, a Raytheon SV1022 search radar, FLIR and a daytime TV camera. The new additions will join three similar aircraft flown from bases at Broome, Darwin and Cairns, enforcing Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone out to 620 nm from the coast.
FlightCam (www.flightcam.net) is a new Web site that hosts real-time images of sky and runway conditions at rural airports in Alaska's interior. The project created by Jim Buckingham, a University of Alaska Fairbanks Ph.D. candidate, is now using remote video at three airports chosen for their lack of weather reporting and high commercial traffic: Anaktuvuk Pass, Kaltag and Ruby. A variety of government and industry groups are supporting FlightCam, including the FAA, the DOT, the NWS and at least three FAR Part 135 operators.
Alaska-based Temsco Helicopters wrecked three Astar helicopters on the afternoon of September 10, with the most serious injury a broken ankle. The first Eurocopter AS-350 crashed in whiteout conditions at the 4,500-foot level of the Herbert Glacier, around 20 miles north of Juneau, injuring all six aboard. According to the NTSB, a second Temsco AS-350 sent to effect a rescue rolled over while attempting to land, but its two pilots escaped uninjured. A third Temsco AS-350 picked up the pilots from the second helicopter only to crash, injuring all aboard.
Cutter Aviation at Deer Valley Municipal Airport is expanding to include 40,000 more square feet of hangar space (allotted among three hangars) and 12,000 square feet of office space. There will be room for 90 additional tiedowns. Completion of the project is anticipated for early 2000. Currently, the facility offers maintenance, charter, aircraft sales, avionics, parts, rental cars and catering.
The new international headquarters of Corporate Jets at Allegheny County Airport is fully operational with charter, aircraft management, flight operations, safety, maintenance and air medical services. The 20,000-square-foot building consolidates all of the company's general aviation services under one roof. Classrooms for staff and pilot training are available.
