Severe weather may have contributed to the fatal crash of a Piper PA-46-350P near Waldron, Ark., on April 4. The aircraft's sole occupant, an instrument-rated private pilot, was killed after the aircraft ``descended from dark clouds in a nose-down attitude and rotating clockwise,'' witnesses told the NTSB. The Malibu had departed Nashville (BNA) for Dallas' Addison field (ADS) on the last leg of a flight that began in New Jersey. The pilot reported icing and fuel balancing problems at FL 240, and radar and radio contact were lost soon after.
Bell Helicopter Textron has redesigned the tail-rotor assembly of its Model 407 helicopter in hope of lifting a speed limitation imposed after three accidents where tail-rotor blades severed the aircraft's tail boom. The company says a ``graduated approach'' is needed to restore the 407's full performance envelope, but a modification that includes widening the gap between the tail rotor and its gearbox by 0.86 of an inch has performed well in test flights.
Edited by Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield Sikorsky Restricts S-76 Operations
Sikorsky has advised around 80 S-76A+, C and C+ operators to use ``Category A'' vertical takeoff and landing techniques as inspectors search for defects in the engines that power the type. The ``interim procedures'' -- designed to ensure a safe landing in the event of an engine failure -- follow Turbomeca's release of a service bulletin requiring ultrasonic inspections of centrifugal com- pressors on Arriel 1S1 and 2S1 engines.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has introduced a testing program designed to help FBOs assess the knowledge and skills of line-service personnel and ultimately reduce accidents. Under the ``Safety 1st'' program, technicians must pass both a written and practical test covering general safety practices, fuel quality, aircraft fueling operations, fuel farm management, ground service equipment, airport operation, aircraft services and customer service. FBOs will administer the exams and grade the skills test, while NATA will grade the written exam.
Photograph: Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet Regional Airliners The question begs, can they build them fast enough -- regional jets that is? The order book for the 32-, 37-, 50- and 70-seaters now stands at more than 1,817, by B/CA reckoning, including options, and continues to mount. By the end of the year, these airplanes should be flowing off their respective production lines at a rate of about 25 per month.
SimuFlite Training International at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport now is exhibiting aircraft photos by Japanese aviation photographer Katsuhiko Tokunaga.
AlliedSignal has begun fielding modified starters for the BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 engines that power the Gulfstream V. The action was triggered by a series of starter failures that began as the first G-Vs entered service, and AlliedSignal has provided operators with spare starters as a precaution. ``We're going to build new starters for the whole G-V fleet,'' says Michael Timmermann, an AlliedSignal spokesman.
Jerry Trimble, operations manager of AVIA Aviation Services, a full-service FBO and FAR Part 141 flight school, bought out the company's Japanese partner Hideo Ono
Illustration: Chart: Amphibious VFR Range/Payload (ISA) Chart: Warrior (Aero-Marine) Ltd. The creators of the Centaur six-seat amphibious aircraft are in discussions with several potential investors in the hope of delivering the first 10 certificated aircraft in the next four years. The Centaur is the brainchild of Lymington, England-based Warrior (Aero Marine), and features a single piston engine, high folding wings, and a unique hull design that enables it to tolerate rougher water than traditional floatplanes.
Rockwell Collins has reinvented the sensor package of its Pro Line 21 radios to meet the demands of the future CNS/ATM (communications, navigation, surveillance/ air traffic management) environment. The heart of the Pro Line 21 CNS is its software, which is upgraded without removing the boxes from the aircraft. Individual features can be added singly or as an integrated unit, simplifying retrofit.
Edited by Paul RichfieldDavid Esler in Orlando, Fla.
When the original implementation date for RVSM in continental Europe of November 1, 2000 was found to be too ambitious, Eurocontrol proposed a fallback of January 24, 2002; however, some EU members have yet to approve the revision. Nevertheless, EBAA CEO Ferdinand Francois said, ``some 15 states have expressed their willingness to implement RVSM in advance of the [proposed] deadline, as early as March 2001.'' The message to business aircraft operators desiring to fly in European airspace at the dawn of the century should be clear.
Fairchild Aerospace has selected CASA of Spain to build the wing and empennage for the new 728JET family of large regional jets. AerMacchi of Italy and Hurell-Dubois of France will team on the nacelles for its General Electric CF34-8D turbofans, and Fairchild will build the fuselage at its plant at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Computer software at Canada's Edmonton Area Control Center allowed the Year 2000 rollover and also recognized 2000 as a leap year in recent tests. Nav Canada, that nation's corporate provider of civil air navigation services, says Edmonton's radar and tracking systems were ``fully exercised'' using simulated traffic, and no problems were encountered. ``From an engineering perspective, one of the most effective tools to flush out the uncertainty and to build confidence is test, test and re-test,'' says Sidney Koslow, Nav Canada's vice president for engineering.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority has awarded a $1.5 million contract for the first phase of construction of a new general aviation airport to replace Speedway Airport in Hendricks County, Ind. The airport will have a 3,400-foot paved runway, and a 33,000-square-foot aircraft parking area. Construction began in April, and completion of the first phase is expected by summer 2000. Subsequent construction phases will include a fuel farm, an FBO and T-hangars, though funding for these improvements has not been allocated.
Dassault has asked the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) to certify a world speed record for a recent flight by a Falcon 900EX business jet. Operated by Gestair Certidesa of Spain, the trijet flew nonstop from Toluca, Mexico, to Madrid, Spain, on February 18, covering a ground distance of 5,084 nm in 11 hours and 24 minutes. Captain Luis Gusano said the flight plan was filed to Santiago de Compostela (LEST), but redispatched to Madrid's Torrejon Airport (LETO) over the Hidra reporting point.
A onetime skeptic of the FAA's Y2K preparations will fly across the Atlantic on New Year's Eve as an expression of confidence that the national airspace system will survive the rollover. Peter DeJager, a Canada-based consultant on Y2K issues, will fly from Chicago's O'Hare International to London Heathrow on an unspecified commercial airline flight. ``No one is sponsoring the trip; he's doing it entirely on his own,'' says a DeJager spokesman.
Inmarsat introduced new capabilities that will support 64 Kbps ISDN-compatible communications using new portable units the size of a laptop computer and weighing about nine pounds
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) presented a number of awards at its annual convention, held April 21 in Phoenix. Former AMR Combs president Robert P. Anderson won the 1999 Distinguished Service Award, the association's top honor for general aviation officials; Brent S. Shiner, manager of California's Hayward Executive Airport, won the Airport Executive Partnership Award; Greg Brown, a 20-year flight instructor, aviation consultant and writer, won the Excellence in Pilot Training Award; George W.
Since business aviation represents only a small fraction of the mobile satellite business, operators sometimes find using the system frustrating. The two companies listed below provide their clients with seamless turnkey communications services and worldwide access to all four of Inmarsat's service regions. They also provide integrated billing services, and some welcome hand-holding during the installation and commissioning of satcom avionics.
The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has rejected a proposal to build additional homes in Mississauga, which lies under the flight path of Runway 06L/24R at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) had led the fight against the development, saying most of its land falls within the 30 Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) noise contour, and within the GTAA operating area. ``This decision strengthens the ability of municipalities to refuse residential developments located within the 30 NEF,'' says GTAA President Louis Turpen.
AlliedSignal has installed the first RE220(RJ) auxiliary power unit (APU) in Bombardier's new CRJ700 regional jet, along with its air inlet, exhaust system and other mounting hardware. ``This is a significant increase in responsibility from our traditional APU role,'' says Barry Gillespie, AlliedSignal's director of business and regional programs. The APU will provide compressed air for main engine starting and air conditioning and power to drive an AC generator. The APU will start at altitudes of up to FL 370, and operate as high as FL 410.
Raytheon King Air 90 operators will soon have two exotic alternatives to overhauling their Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6A engines. Selmer, Tenn.-based Phoenix Corp. has received FAA approval to replace the stock powerplants with Czech-built Walter M601E-11s engines, mated to five-blade Avia-Hamilton Standard props.
Thomson-CSF and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will establish an electronics training center in Abu Dhabi with the two partners splitting the $8 million cost. The center will have an initial capacity of 300 students per year, and will be open to citizens of the UAE and the rest of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political entity that includes Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Courses will include maintenance management, multimedia documentation, software engineering and telecommunications. Classes are scheduled to begin this September.
America's ATC system should perform properly during the year 2000 rollover, according to an FAA test held in Colorado on April 10-11. The drill and others like it are a response to fears that the FAA's aging air traffic control computers will be unable to read the double-zero signifying the year 2000, resulting in a collapse of the entire national aerospace infrastructure.
Embraer reported net profits of $102.9 million in 1998, compared with a net loss of $29.6 million in 1997. Mauricio Botelho, Embraer's president and chief executive, attributes the change to a growing volume of aircraft delivered and a reduction in production cycles and costs. Embraer invested $122.3 million in production improvements in 1998, and says its productivity per employee has grown 600 percent since the company was privatized in 1994. Around 90 percent of Embraer's $1.3 billion in revenues is derived from the U.S.
