Fairchild Aerospace (San Antonio) -- The aircraft manufacturer announced two staff changes: Edward M. Methot is vice president of training and customer flight operations for the Fairchild 328JET and 728JET family of 30- to 100-seat regional jets and airliners. Mark T. Provost is director of support engineering.
GPS holds promise for freeing helicopters from an IFR infrastructure built for fixed-wing aircraft. Helicopters are marvelously capable flying machines. Sure, fixed-wing aircraft generally fly faster, farther and higher. But helicopters have one unique advantage -- the ability to hover. ``Airplanes land and then stop; helicopters stop and then land,'' the saying goes.
Flight Services Group (Stratford, Conn.) -- Robert L. Smith joined the company as vice president of aircraft flight services. He will be responsible for aircraft owner support and services for FSG's fleet of managed aircraft.
MedAire, Inc. (Phoenix) -- Adele Lee Darr, RN, MSN, Ph.D. was appointed vice president and administrative director of education services for this aviation/medical training company.
Aviation Insurance Association (Bloomington, Ind.) -- Timothy K. Bonnell, Sr., CIC, founder and president of Professional Insurance Management of Wichita, was elected president of this organization of aviation insurance professionals.
Wayfarer Aviation, the Westchester County Airport-based management firm, added three cabin-class aircraft to its management fleet this summer. The additional aircraft are a Fort Lauderdale-based Gulfstream IV, and two Falcon 900s, one based in the New York area, the other in Houston, raising the number of aircraft in its fleet to 42. StarShares, Wayfarer's fractional ownership program, now operates five Raytheon King Airs and has plans to add two additional aircraft by year-end.
CCAir (Charlotte) -- Tim Coon was appointed president and CEO of CCAir, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, operating as U.S. Airways Express from U.S. Airways' Charlotte hub.
Waukesha, Wis. -- The Waukesha County Airport is leasing private/corporate hangar lots, which are part of an eight-hangar complex known as the Crites Field Commerce Center. Tenants can build hangars varying in size from 120-by-120 feet to 200-by-200 feet. Rates are set at $0.17 per square foot through this year, with an annual CPI adjustment in succeeding years. Hangars include space for amenities such as offices, conference room, kitchen and restrooms.
The Fairchild Aerospace 328JET has received both FAA and JAA certification, clearing the way for full production of the 32-seat regional jet. The four 328JETs used in the certification test program have accumulated 1,560 flight hours since the aircraft first flew in January 1998. Of these, 1,100 hours were spent testing; the remainder were ferry and demonstration flights. ``The FAA and JAA work in concert on international programs, but each has specific requirements that must be met in addition to common requirements,'' Fairchild says.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance systems may be divided into two categories: ``A'' for addressable and ``B'' for broadcast. ADS-A systems, the addressable variety, are designed to be one-on-one, air-to-ground data-link communication systems, serving as ties between individual aircraft and ATC facilities. An ADS-A system aboard an aircraft waits for a message request from ATC computers and then responds with the appropriate answer.
TAC Air (Shreveport, La.) -- Walter Kamb is the new facility manager, oversee- ing line-service operations, including refueling aircraft and air-craft maintenance.
The FAA has proposed new rules requiring pilots of more than 30 different aircraft types and variants to activate pneumatic deicing boots at the first sign of ice formation, or upon alert of the ice detector system, whichever occurs first. Covering an estimated 3,018 aircraft, the proposed rulemaking is a reaction to recent fatal aircraft accidents in which airframe icing was determined to be a factor, and subsequent research by the FAA and other government agencies.
Facing mounting losses and customer dissatisfaction, Greensboro, N.C.-based Eastwind Airlines has ousted its top management, including President and CEO Terry Hallcom and vice presidents Scott Glasser and Michael Kopays. One-time President Herman Gillis was named acting chief executive, and former Marketing Vice President Chris Dimitriyadi -- recently fired by Hallcom -- will return to the ailing carrier to oversee sales. Eastwind dropped Boston, Pittsburgh and St.
The FAA has ordered the immediate grounding of around 60 Eurocopter MBB-BK 117 helicopters, pending inspection and/or replacement of the torsion-tension (TT) straps that connect the rotor blades to the main rotor hub. The action stems from the July 17 crash of a BK 117 B-2 operated by Hermann Memorial Hospital System near Fresno, Texas. The aircraft fell from the sky after its four rotor blades separated, killing all three aboard.
Bell Helicopter Textron has acquired Edwards and Associates, a used helicopter dealer and parts manufacturer specializing in Bell equipment, for an undisclosed price. Through its Aeronautical Accessories division, Bristol, Tenn.-based Edwards builds and sells wire-strike protection systems, rescue hoists, windows, skid gears, interior replacement trim and complete customization kits. The company also repairs rotor blades at its Rotor Blades subsidiary, and both business units are included in the sale. In 1998, Bristol reported $47 million in sales.
The lobby group that represents the 25 largest U.S. airlines has petitioned the DOT to report flight delays caused by the FAA's ATC system. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Air Transport Association (ATA), consumers have no real way of comparing airline performance, since the DOT's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report fails to specify which delays are caused by factors beyond the airlines' control.
Teledyne Controls introduced the Wireless GroundLink data transport mechanism for moving data between an airline's aircraft and its flight operations centers.
Once you determine your needs for software, then it's time to shop. Here's some advice from Wayfarer Aviation's Paul Class, flight service manager: ``Spend time with each prospective software program and learn it, or enough about it to see if it will cover your needs. Frequently, when shopping for business software, you wind up asking yourself, `How can I change my business to accommodate this program?', when idealistically, you want it to work the other way, for the software to enhance the way you're currently running your business.
If modern telecommunications has made the world a global village, then the Internet now has virtually all the villagers connected. But long before you could phone, fax or e-mail anyone almost anywhere, the airplane made reaching the four corners of the world easier, reducing the travel time between continents from weeks to days and, eventually, hours.
On July 10, the Cargo Airline Association (CAA), in concert with the FAA, conducted the first, large-scale operational evaluation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance -- Broadcast (ADS-B) technology in the United States. Eleven air freighters, operated by Airborne Express, FedEx and UPS, along with 13 FAA, NASA, military and general aviation aircraft participated in the one-day operational evaluation, with the main goal of funneling closely spaced aircraft onto parallel ILS approaches at the Wilmington, Ohio, test airport.
Atlantic Aviation (Wilmington, Del.) -- The company announced three staff changes. Jay H. Hamby was named general manager of flight support for the Chicago facility at Midway Airport. Karen D. Montalvo came aboard as Atlantic sales and marketing manager. Mark Whitman is the new regional sales manager.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) gave its support to increased government scrutiny of wiring in aging aircraft. Through the Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ATSRAC), government and industry representatives are researching how age affects aircraft systems. The group's initial wiring tests were non-intrusive, but will not stop there, according to Jim Shaw, the union's ATSRAC representative.
The AE3007 family, now halfway toward one-million flight-hour mature engine status by year-end, has progressed beyond early engine growing pains. Eighty percent of the 500,000 flight hours have being racked up by the AE3007A that powers the Embraer EMB-145, thereby reducing the exposure of the Citation X operators to unforeseen engine maladies. Rolls-Royce's reliability goal for the Citation X's AE3007C is two inflight shutdowns (IFSD) per 100,000 flight hours.
Trenton, N.J. -- Mercy County has designated Ronson Aviation as the administrator for U.S. Customs services at Trenton Mercer Airport. Customs will be a user-fee-based operation, and a fee will be charged for all services. The office will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Edited by Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield, in White Plains
Geneva-based TAG Aviation Group has acquired Wayfarer Aviation, creating one of the world's largest charter and management firms with more than 125 aircraft at 50 locations worldwide. Wayfarer President Jim Christiansen says the search for a merger partner began around eight months ago, after determining that the future of the business was tied to growth.
