The FAA has proposed a $1.32 million fine against Colvin Aviation of Athens, Ga., for deliberately conducting commercial passenger and cargo flights after the agency revoked its operating certificate. The FAA issued an emergency order revoking Colvin Aviation's certificate on November 18, 1998, amid allegations that the company falsified flight records and flew unairworthy aircraft. The agency withdrew the revocation order on December 3, 1998, as part of a settlement agreement and consent order negotiated with the operator.
Honeywell's Primus Epic avionics system has been chosen for the new Bell/Agusta AB139 twin-engine helicopter. Primus Epic is based on the Boeing 777 avionics package and will be offered to buyers in VFR, three-axis IFR, four-axis IFR or military search/rescue configuration. AB139s also will be equipped with Primus II comm/nav/ident radios and a digital autopilot. Bell/Agusta will market both civil and military AB139 variants, with assembly split between the United States and Italy.
The Christie Battery System (CBS) now provides more accurate and timely battery maintenance information with the introduction of its enhanced Proease DATAFX. The enhanced DATAFX now features a larger screen that enables users to monitor cell voltages, current and fault conditions simultaneously. DATAFX works in conjunction with the CBS and a Windows 95-based software package to file service data, provide FAA reports and reduce time spent on documentation tasks by 10 to 40 percent.
Once a business gets over the basic need, method and cost equation to settle on the use of business aircraft, all the other issues can be reduced to one key concern: dispatch reliability. A successful flight department, share ownership, charter operator or air carrier needs to make certain that the airplane is ready to move its contents when and where expected. Dispatch reliability depends heavily on maintenance.
Garrett Leather offers an extensive selection of leather for aircraft interiors. Its European upholstery leather, sold by the square foot, is available in over 200 different colors. The company also has a line of specialty products, including embossed patterns, ``hair-on'' Steerhides and perforated patterns, sold by the square yard. New this summer is Garrett Welt, made from Garrett's own leather line and available in a wide selection of colors. Price: Varies Garrett Leather 1360 Niagara St. Buffalo, N.Y. 14213
Increasing aircraft utilization numbers indicate that corporate flight department staffs are working longer and harder than ever. Fortunately, the 1999 B/CA salary survey reveals they are being rewarded well for their work. Corporate aviation compensation -- both in terms of salaries and bonuses -- is rising across the board for flight department em-ployees, with most aviation professionals enjoying double-digit salary increases since 1998.
Colin Steven is the manufacturer's new regional vice president, Northern Europe Sales, and Keith Nadolski, a veteran manager of FBOs and aircraft sales, joined the company as division vice president of North American sales, Southern and Western United States.
Aircrews can keep in touch with e-mail without the extra weight of a laptop computer with Sharp Electronics' new TelMail. TelMail offers e-mail access from anywhere in the world without bulky wires or telephone adapters. Weighing in at only 8.5 ounces and lasting 50 hours on two AA batteries, TelMail also has all of the functions of a Sharp organizer. Those who purchase a TelMail before September 15 and initiate monthly service will receive a $50 rebate on their purchase. Price: $150, plus $9.95 per month for e-mail service Sharp Electronics Corp.
Conair Aviation will begin construction this month on a $50 million hangar facility equipped to handle up to eight narrow-body airliners at once. The 250,000-square-foot structure will enable the company to gain a larger share of the commercial aircraft maintenance market, while supplementing its existing 180,000-square-foot facility. British Columbia's provincial government has loaned Conair $17.5 million to help fund the project, which ultimately will see the creation of up to 800 jobs.
The company has announced several management changes: Rob Brooks vice president, technical operations; Richard Zalac to director of engineering; and Howard McEachern to director of operations at its Montreal maintenance and aircraft completion facilities. In newly created positions are Nigel Argent as director, sales and marketing of Execaire's Business Unit in Toronto, and Chris Heredia as general manager of Innotech Aviation in Vancouver.
Under pressure from lobby groups, the European Joint Aviation Authorities' (JAA) technical operations committee has rewritten a notice of proposed amendment on extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) for business aircraft. The proposed amendment allows commercially operated business jets under 45 tonnes (100,000 pounds) MTOW to fly up to 120 minutes from the nearest diversion airport. This is extended to 180 minutes once special aircraft systems and crew procedure requirements have been met.
Mesaba Airlines President and CEO Brian K. Bedford has resigned to become president and CEO of Indianapolis-based Chautauqua Airlines. John Fredericksen, Mesaba's vice president and general counsel, will serve as acting CEO and is a candidate in the search for Bedford's replacement, the airline says. Bedford will retain a seat on Mesaba's board of directors.
Avidyne, the start-up manufacturer of Windows NT-based flight situation displays, now will offer two versions of its FSD -- the FlightMax 740, aimed at radar-equipped airplanes, and the FlightMax 440, aimed at non-radar aircraft, primarily light singles. ``We quickly realized our customers broke down into two camps -- there's either a motor on the front of their airplanes, or a radar on the front,'' says company founder Dan Schwinn.
Aircraft repair stations will be held responsible for all maintenance work that is outsourced to contractors, under new rules proposed by the FAA. The NPRM -- which affects 4,509 FAA-approved repair stations in the United States and 525 abroad -- stems from the fatal 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592, which focused national attention on the federal oversight of outsourced aviation maintenance.
Joseph J. Dini, vice president-general aviation of Finova's Commercial Equipment Finance division, was appointed president of the National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA).
Spanish aircraft manufacturer CASA will equip 300 new C-295 and CN-235 transport aircraft, and 200 in-service CN-235s with AlliedSignal avionics. The $100 million deal includes AlliedSignal's RDR1400C color weather radar, its Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, TCAS, Solid-State Flight Data Recorder, Solid-State Cockpit Voice Recorder, and Identification Friend or Foe Transponder. CASA unveiled the C-295 at the Paris Air Show in June. The military/civil transport is based on the earlier CN-235, but with 50 percent more capacity.
Saab Aircraft Leasing (SAL) says its portfolio now stands at 314 Saab 340s and 2000s, with just four aircraft not in revenue service. The balance of the fleet is leased to 27 airlines in 17 countries. Speaking at a regional airline finance conference in Virginia, SAL President Michael Magnusson said 20 percent of all Saab aircraft leases will expire in three years, while the rest are long-term leases. Saab 340 and 2000 production concluded in May, finishing Saab as an original-equipment supplier of civil aircraft.
The market for used business aircraft is much like baseball slugger Mark Mc- Gwire: The burly first baseman shattered the major league home run record in 1998, but if he does not repeat the feat this year, some people will be disappointed.
A rash of galley fires and turbulence-related injuries aboard business aircraft has led the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) to call for heightened galley safety awareness. In a bulletin to pilots and flight attendants, the FSF recommends the use of ``galley checklists'' which outline procedures to ensure that galley equipment does not trigger a chain of events leading to an accident.
Tronair has introduced the 400-Hz Mobile Frequency Converter, a new ground power unit to aid in a variety of aircraft ground-support applications. Available in outputs ranging from 15 to 90 KVA, the GPU is on a mobile cart and housed in an indoor/outdoor enclosure. The unit also features low-input current distortion, built-in diagnostics with digital display, transient surge protection and automatic line-drop compensation. Price: $26,000 (15 KVA) to $39,000 (90 KVA) Tronair S. 1740 Eber Rd. Holland, Ohio 43528
Even Tommy Pfouce sitting behind the pot-bellied stove in the general store in Big Flats knows that bad weather causes more accidents than, let us say, good weather. The first tragic accident to which I was witness was at USMC Air Station Cherry Point. Two Grumman F6F Hellcats overhead entered cloud in formation. They came together with such an unmistakable sickening crunch that all eyes turned upward. One fighter corkscrewed into the ground just outside the main gate with its pilot still aboard. The other pilot bailed out safely.
Overwater flights have always been among the most-challenging missions that aircraft perform. In the earliest days of heavier-than-air flight, when range was measured in feet rather than miles, overwater trips were virtually impossible. However, as aviation matured, the ability to traverse large bodies of water became the yardstick by which the reliability and capability of both airman and air machine were measured.
