Looking to the economic development of the Niagara Falls region, New York's Empire State Development Corp. and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority have issued a Request for Proposals to privatize operations at Niagara Falls International Airport.
Pilots on the US Airways seniority list should fly all regional jets flown under the U.S. Airways Express brand name, according to the pilot union leadership at the mainline carrier. The declaration follows a lengthy study of regional jet proliferation by the US Airways chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which hopes to improve its bargaining position before its current contract becomes amendable in 2003.
Stan Mackiewicz, president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA), will spearhead an ab initio maintenance training program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach, Fla., campus. Mackiewicz will continue his involvement with PAMA, and support the transition to a new chief operating officer.
Legislation that allocates federal funding for the FAA budget, the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and other initiatives continues to be the focus of a congressional tug of war. The House and Senate will now attempt to reconcile their respective bills, and have agreed to provide a ``list of conferees'' to discuss the issue. The House version is a comprehensive bill pushed by Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.); the Senate's is a simpler 60-day extension of the AIP, which expired on August 6.
Defunct maintenance provider SabreTech has been charged with felony murder and manslaughter in connection with the May 1996 crash of a ValuJet Airlines DC-9-30 that killed all 110 aboard. According to state and federal indictments filed in Miami, SabreTech is responsible for mislabeling and mishandling oxygen generators that ignited in the aircraft's cargo hold, causing a catastrophic inflight fire.
Raytheon Aircraft Services, Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s FBO, is expanding its facilities at Tampa International Airport and the Atlanta area's Fulton County Airport. The Tampa operation will add 40,000 square feet, including space for aircraft maintenance and avionics repair. Fulton County's 50,000-square-foot expansion will provide space for a jet maintenance hangar, storage hangar, and work areas for major refurbishment and avionics upgrades, as well as office and meeting space for customers. Fulton County also will become a Hawker Authorized Service Center later this year.
Superior Air Parts of Dallas and Mattituck Aviation of Mattituck, N.Y., have formed a strategic alliance for the design, manufacture, assembly and sale of an air-cooled piston aircraft engine.
AlliedSignal has successfully run its first AS900 turbofan, the engine selected to power Bombardier's Continental business jet and BAe Avro's proposed RJX regional airliner. Certification of the 7,000-pound-thrust-class engine is planned for first quarter 2001, following a 7,000-hour test program involving 12 development engines.
When Cessna decided to build a business aircraft that would be much more sophisticated than any previous Citation and one-half again more expensive, the firm knew that customers would demand a proportionately high level of product support. ``Cessna decided to put together a team dedicated to just this aircraft, one that would be up and trained prior to the first customer delivery,'' explained Bill Plucker, one of Team X's founders. Staff members would handle customer calls on a 24/7 basis to provide continuous support around the clock, around the world.
Westchester County Airport's latest ``Airport Monitor,'' a monthly review of aircraft operations and noise complaints, shows that a small group of citizens are responsible for a significant number of noise complaints. Of 617 complaints recorded in June, 12 households were responsible for at least 26 percent of the calls. The most prolific caller complained 59 times, while the other 11 households called in at least 10 complaints each. HPN, which has a voluntary flight curfew between 12 midnight and 6:30 a.m., logged 74 complaints about nighttime operations.
Runway incursions at U.S. airports increased in 1998, and an FAA program designed to address the problem has been ineffective, according to a recently released government report. The DOT's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says runway incursions rose 11 percent to 325 incidents from 1997 to 1998, attributing 65 percent of the incidents to errors by general aviation pilots.
Decreased demand for military helicopters has led Sikorsky aircraft to consolidate its Connecticut operations and eliminate 1,100 jobs before the end of the year. The manufacturer says the move will strengthen its position in the future marketplace, ``which during the past decade has shifted from a U.S. government-driven market to a global market with an international and commercial base.''
Barely four months after starting construction of a corporate hangar that will house Texas Instruments' flight department, the principals at McKinney Aerospace in McKinney, Texas, wielded shovels again -- this time breaking ground for a new headquarters facility and a larger hangar.
Tronair's latest bead breaker is a heavy-duty model for tires on larger corporate jets. Its spoked-wheel design makes wheels accessible for the removal and installation of locking rings and bolts. Tires can be rotated at any point during the bead-breaking process. A single manifold block houses the controls, and the bead-breaking cylinder can be operated hands-free by use of a foot-pedal, air-control valve. This new bead breaker can be used with tires from 28 to 54 inches in diameter and in widths up to 24 inches. Price: $25,000 Tronair
Air Methods, a provider of aeromedical transportation and technology, has won a five-year contract to provide and manage aeromedical transportation for the Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Neb. Service will be provided by a Bell 407 that is already part of the Denver company's 43-helicopter fleet. Air Methods also is outfitting a medical interior system for Aero Asahi's MD Helicopters Explorer, which will be Japan's first air medical helicopter. Air Methods Product Division Vice President Michael G.
Aircraft lessor and spare parts supplier International Airline Support Group (IASG) of Atlanta, Ga. is expanding its regional airline business with an agreement to sell surplus Comair Embraer Brasilia parts on consignment. IASG now sells parts and entire aircraft , including two Brasilias operated by the defunct Westair. One has since been sold to Australian operator AirNorth, while sale of the other aircraft is pending.
Air Routing International and the U.S. Customs Service are partnering on a project to collect feedback from the business aviation community on the agency's performance during customs' inspections of aircraft.
A proposed noise ordinance that would prevent additional Stage 2 aircraft from basing at Southern California's Van Nuys Airport has been adopted by the Los Angeles airport board and sent to the Los Angeles City Council for action. The proposal also would limit transient Stage 2 aircraft operations to 30 days per year at the airport, with the exception of aircraft undergoing heavy maintenance work or repairs. Those aircraft would require approval from the airport manager prior to conducting takeoffs and landings.
Raytheon Aircraft is forming Raytheon Air Charter and is transferring Raytheon Aircraft Services' charter and management operations to the new company.
For the third year, Avfuel Corp. is offering a $2,000 scholarship that will be awarded to a participant in its Avfuel Trip Refuel Incentive Program. The winner will be announced at the NBAA convention in Atlanta in October.
The skies will be getting more crowded -- or at least the aircraft in it will -- according to a recently released forecast from ICAO. The organization projects the number of worldwide airline passengers to grow four percent this year, five percent in 2000 and about six percent in 2001. These figures vary by region, with the largest growth expected in the Asia/Pacific region, after a year of economically induced downturn, and the slowest in what ICAO refers to as the mature North American airline market.
