Mike Williams is joining the company as general manager of its facility at DeKalb Peachtree Airport, and Wayne J. Lovett was named corporate secretary.
Duncan Aviation's Lincoln facility is Raytheon's newest authorized service center for all Hawker aircraft. Duncan says it has the ``in-house capabilities and trained personnel'' to perform all major inspections, including 48-month, 4,800-hour, and all structurals. The company also does major airframe repairs and corrosion inspections. Duncan also is a service center for AlliedSignal TFE731 engines, and maintains a pool of -2 and -3 rental engines for Hawker 400s and 700s.
In the beginning there was only Rolls-Royce Power by the Hour. Today, more than a dozen maintenance insurance plans offer budget protection of some sort. Coverage is available for engines, airframe components and avionics parts from primary structure right on down to tires. Labor to inspect, remove and replace all these parts is available, too. Just about the only thing not covered by somebody or another -- at least at this writing -- is the cabin upholstery and carpeting.
What goes up, must come down -- or so we've been taught to believe. So how long can the current economic expansion in the United States, which is buoying global expansion, last? Quite a while, according to David Wyss, chief economist for Standard&Poor's DRI, the economic analysis arm of B/CA's parent company, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. There are two scenarios that could lead the U.S. economy -- and likely other global markets -- into recession.
Small U.S. regionals Sunrise Airlines and Alpine Air are battling over the right to provide federally subsidized air service to two remote communities in America's desert southwest. The dispute sheds light on the DOT's Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which subsidizes air service to more than 100 U.S. cities, and will distribute around $50 million among dozens of commercial operators and airlines this year.
Chuck Dirks is the manufacturer's new regional sales manager. He will be responsible for new Caravan sales in the Eastern United States and Canada. Cessna also promoted Todd Duhnke to Citation international sales director for the Far East, Pacific Rim, Latin America and Canada. Additionally, Marilyn Richwine, who recently held the position of director of corporate affairs, was appointed vice president, corporate communications.
Mohamed Al Fayed, owner of famed London department store Harrods, is the first British customer for the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ). Airbus says it has sold 14 ACJs, which is a long-range variant of the A319 Airliner featuring an owner-specified number of additional fuel tanks. Fayed's flight department -- known as Fayair -- now operates a Gulfstream IV and a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter. Delivery of his ``green'' ACJ is planned for May 2000.
FlightSafety International (FSI) is introducing online courses for maintenance technicians this summer through its Virtual Learning Center. Although the company says the cyber-courses won't replace training received at an actual FSI service center, participants can hear lectures, ask questions and even take quizzes online. ``Principles of Troubleshooting'' is the first course in development, with additional aircraft and product-specific courses planned for the future.
Citing debts of more than $15 million, discount start-up airline WinAir has ceased operations. WinAir offered service from Long Beach, Calif., to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Oakland and Sacramento, using leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Richard Winwood founded the airline as a charter carrier, and began offering scheduled service in November 1998. At its peak, the airline offered 14 daily flights and employed around 400 people. The decision to cease operations came after a bid to secure new financing fell apart, Winwood told reporters.
Maintenance may have contributed to a July 1 landing accident involving a Bombardier Flexjet Learjet 60 at Hyannis, Mass. The two passengers and two crewmembers emerged unscathed after the aircraft ran off the end of 5,245-foot Runway 24, striking the localizer antenna and other structures. According to lead NTSB investigator Steve Demko, the pilots reported a hydraulic pressure warning light around two miles from touchdown, and found their brakes ineffective on landing.
Newly merged aircraft systems powerhouse Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking additional acquisitions in its bid to gain market share. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, company President Ray Kurlak said the aggressive strategy stems from industry consolidation, most notably AlliedSignal's recent acquisition of Honeywell and BFGoodrich's proposed merger with Coltec.
Bombardier is marketing its Flexjet fractional ownership program to European customers, though ownership isn't part of the deal. According to Flexjet Europe managing director Mark Self, the program is ``really a transportation services contract with a security deposit.'' ``We've eliminated the residual value risk, the operational control risk and the partial ownership risk,'' he says. ``Customers pay a fully refundable deposit, a monthly fee and an hourly fee.''
Low-altitude, low-energy rejected landings can lead to wheel strikes or, even, a stall. Did you know that there may be circumstances during a missed approach maneuver under which your turbine airplane simply won't go-around without first striking the ground? Or worse, that there are situations in which you can follow the go-around drill to the letter and end up stalling the airplane?
When Transportation Safety Board investigators discussed go-arounds with flightcrews, engineers and regulators, they found several imprecisely defined terms for the maneuver. In an effort to clear up the confusion, the TSB put together these definitions. Go-around -- The act of terminating an approach to land, for whatever reason, and climbing away.
Jim Siebauer has been named vice president and chief information officer. Kenneth H. Guss, previously president of Raytheon Aircraft Montek, is now president of Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory&Distribution (RAPID) Co.
Fear that the global aviation accident rate will rise with industry growth is shaping the FAA's long-term strategy for regulation and certification. This policy stems from the White House Commission Report on Aviation Safety and Security (2/97), the product of a year-long study that predicted one major airline crash per week in 10 years if the industry continues to expand at its present pace.
Once a diagnosis of a kidney stone is made, you are not legal to fly until approved by the FAA. The FAA is concerned about additional stones that might still be in your urinary system or the risk of future stones that could unexpectedly cause problems, primarily sudden extreme pain. Those who have passed a kidney stone know that such pain is totally incapacitating and does not go away until the stone has passed. Often, this takes several hours or requires surgical removal.
Charlotte-based Airline Maintenance Training (AMT) and Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) of Miami will jointly market maintenance and flight training. AMT also plans to develop two FAR Part 147 A&P schools: The first will be located in Greenville, Texas, and the second is planned for Charlotte. PAIFA specializes in simulator training on a variety of airliners, Learjet 35/36 and Citations, as well as air traffic control and flight attendant training, while AMT offers on-site maintenance instruction for Falcon and Gulfstream operators.
A new fiber-optic fuel gauge from Raytheon's Control-by-Light division and Smiths Industries Aerospace will eliminate the need for electrical connections between an aircraft's fuel tanks and its avionics and power buses. The system uses two fibers -- one to carry data, the other to provide power -- eliminating wire chafing, corrosion, lightning arcing and other problems associated with traditional fuel quantity indicating systems. The system also is said to be impervious to high radiation fields and electromagnetic interference.
``Most operators have been willing to spend the money to upgrade their avionics for RVSM, RNP-10, and other requirements, like Europe's 8.33-kHz [comm radio frequency] spacing, but a lot of us are asking when this is going to end.'' Voiced by a U.S.-based Gulfstream captain, this complaint sums up the frustration of many business aviation operators routinely engaged in international flying.
Beginning this month, Airshow TV customers can watch live television broadcasts when over-flying Europe and Canada. Airshow signed service agreements with French direct broadcast satellite service TPS and Canada's Bell ExpressVu. Both companies offer a variety of news, sports and entertainment channels for land- and air-based subscribers. The service requires installation of a new satellite antenna, and new channel cards. Airshow says it is talking with satellite providers in the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region about future service expansion.
New vice president/general managers have been appointed: Jurg Reuth-inger for Jet Aviation Business Jets in Switzerland; Norbert Ehrich, who will succeed Reuthinger in Saudi Arabia; Jamie Barrett, for the U.S. Charter Division; and Thierry Burgherr for its European Charter Division in Switzerland.
