Banyan Air Service, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has named Geoffrey Heck as vice president of customer and line service. Heck has over 15 years of aviation experience, and was most recently the general manager for Signature Flight Support in Minneapolis.
CitationShares -- the fractional ownership partnership between TAG Aviation and Cessna -- has ordered Safe Flight 50 N1 computers for use in its planned Citation fleet.
The tires looked just fine during the preflight. The tread was good, there were no nicks or cuts, no flat spots, and they didn't look low on air. More important in my mind was the condition of the wheels, brakes and struts, and a quick visual inspection of these items yielded no discrepancies either.
Stage III Technologies plans to begin FAA acoustic flight tests in March for its Gulfstream II and III Stage 3 hush kit ejector and associated hardware. ``Our team of scientists and engineers is quite confident that we have solved the noise problem and that we will pass the Stage 3 noise test in March,'' said Chairman Todd Stimmel. The company hopes to receive an STC before year-end. The hush kit would be the first Stage 3 assembly available for older model Gulfstreams. Dallas Airmotive has the exclusive marketing rights to the hush kits and will coordinate installations.
Pilot hiring by fractional aircraft providers soared last year, according to AIR, Inc., the Atlanta-based firm that monitors pilot hiring. AIR said fractionals hired 1,363 pilots in 2000, a 134-percent increase over the 581 pilots hired by fractional providers in 1999. Overall, the industry hired a record 19,027 pilots last year, an increase of nearly 21 percent over 1999.
Edited by Paul RichfieldKerry Lynch, in Washington, D.C.
Photograph: Norman Mineta While some of George W. Bush's choices for Cabinet posts have created a stir, Norman Mineta is being lauded by leaders in government and industry alike as perhaps the most qualified person ever nominated to head the DOT. Mineta, a Democrat, had been serving as commerce secretary in the Clinton administration when selected by Bush. He is well known for having helped set transportation policy as a congressman and as a member of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission.
FlightTime, a charter operator based in Waltham, Mass., signed promotional and marketing agreements with two professional golfers for the company's ``Freedom Plan,'' which ``enables travelers to enjoy the benefits of private jet ownership without an up-front, long-term capital investment,'' FlightTime said. Professional golfers Doug Tewell and Mike Weir bought 75-hour and 100-hour packages, respectively, that permit them to fly that many hours each year.
The Helicopter Association International, Alexan-dria, Va., has named the following technicians as award recipients: Doug Boody of Sikorsky for the Aviation Maintenance Tech-nician award; Karl Esben-shade of Rocky Mountain Helicopter for the Repair Specialist award; and Joseph Kuhn, director of maintenance at Maryland State Police, for the Helicopter Maintenance award.
Horizon Air has taken delivery of the first of 15 firm and 15 optional Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprops. Service entry is expected by the middle of this month, following the completion of FAA-mandated proving runs for the 70-seat aircraft. Seattle-based Horizon Air is the U.S. launch customer for the Q400, which has enjoyed stronger sales in Europe. This year, Horizon plans to replace its older 37-seat Dash 8-100s with newer Q200s of the same size.
The Canadian government plans to back Bombardier's planned sale of up to 150 regional jets to U.S. carrier Air Wisconsin, escalating the ongoing Brazil-Canada dispute over aircraft export subsidies. If all options are exercised, the sale is valued at $3 billion. The action follows a December 2000 World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that cleared Canada to retaliate against Brazil for the latter's continued use of ProEx (PromoteExports), a government backed, low-interest loan mechanism Embraer has used to promote sales.
Concern over pilot fatigue has led the FAA to mandate a maximum 16-hour duty day for all pilots in domestic service under FAR Parts 135 and 121. The Air Line Pilots Association says the ruling (handed down by FAA Deputy Chief Counsel James W. Whitlow) falls short of its goal, and plans to continue to press for a 12-hour duty period and ``other limitations'' to prevent pilot fatigue.
The avionics subsidiary of freight giant United Parcel Service (UPS) expects to offer precision instrument approach capability using the FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) before the end of the year. The onboard equipment is expected to provide continuous horizontal and vertical guidance to 250-feet agl (50 feet above Category I ILS minimums), even at airports with no published precision approach procedure.
SkyWest Airlines, the St. George, Utah-based regional carrier, has placed firm orders for 64 new Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ200s), with options for 64 more. The $1.43 billion deal (firm orders only) raises SkyWest's total number of CRJ orders to 248, including 100 firm, 119 options, and 29 conditional orders. SkyWest already operates 16 CRJs and 91 Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops, and says the new CRJ orders will accommodate planned expansion of its code-sharing agreement with United Airlines.
Regent Aviation's owner, William Bieber, has agreed to sell controlling interest of the FBO at Minnesota's St. Paul Downtown Airport to Dr. Glen Nelson, vice chairman of Medtronic. John LaFontsee, Regent president, said the existing management will remain in place, and the sale would enable the FBO to expand and add larger aircraft to its charter operation. Regent Aviation provides fuel, maintenance, hangar space and charter/management services.
Of all the helicopters produced by Sikorsky during the last 60 years, perhaps none has been as important to the advancement of the civil rotorcraft industry as the S-61. Although the versatile twin-turbine commercial helicopter first flew 40 years ago, more than 80 percent of the 136 civil S-61s built by Sikorsky through 1980 remain in service today, flying for airlines, offshore oil support companies, and logging and utility operators.
The FAA has selected three U.S. military airports for conversion to civil-only or joint-use status, as part of a program designed to increase system capacity and reduce air traffic control delays.
Stevens Aviation is constructing a 43,000-square-foot hangar and maintenance facility at Jefferson County Airport (BJC) in Denver. The $2.8 million project includes 9,400 square feet of shop and office space that also will serve as the FBO's maintenance and avionics operation. The project also calls for the construction of 26,250 square feet of additional hangar space earmarked for transient aircraft storage. Stevens expects to break ground on the site by March.
Once all the dimples were deliberated, chads charted and George W. Bush declared winner of the Florida vote and, thereby, the presidency, a bellow began to emanate from Washing-ton, echoing all the way to the Grand Canyon and back again. Steve Bassett was shouting for joy, for redemption. His man had won; or more precisely, his enemy had lost.
Finnair says it has ``started a process'' to create a new regional carrier for the Baltics, and as a link between Estonia and Finland. At least some of Finnair's nine ATR-72-200s are likely to fly for the new venture, which has been named Aero Airlines -- the name Finnair took when it first flew in 1923. Aero's ownership structure has yet to be finalized; Finnair says it is searching for Estonian partners to fulfill the requirement that local interests maintain majority ownership.
Edited By Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield, in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Dan Catalano says he hates the lasers most of all, because they make his corneas sting. Kids buy them at the mall or through ads in the backs of magazines, and zap him from cars, apartment windows and speeding motorcycles as if he was a flying monster in the video arcade.
As expected, Bombardier's new 70-seat CRJ700 regional jet has received a common type rating with the smaller CRJ100 and 200 series from Transport Canada. The FAA is expected to follow suit shortly. The common type rating will result in reduced costs for operators, since crews can be assigned to the 100, 200 and 700 series aircraft with minimal additional training and no simulator sessions required. Bombardier says it has 182 firm orders for the CRJ700 and that customer deliveries will begin this quarter.
L-3 Communications has donated its 50,000th flight recorder to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. L-3's Aviation Recorders division manufactured the unit, which combines a flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The data recorder is slated to be on display for visitors to the museum's air transportation exhibit.
Edited By Paul RichfieldMike Vines, in Zhuhai, China
The embryonic Asian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) is expected to name a board of directors when the group meets next in Beijing, People's Republic of China later this month. Once active, the ABAA plans to be business aviation's primary voice with Asia's various civil aviation authorities and other government agencies. It also plans to promote business aviation in the region while encouraging safety and efficiency.
Aerospan.com, Chicago, has appointed Duncan Alexander as its CEO. Air Group, Los Angeles, has appointed Elizabeth Larson as its new West Palm Beach, Fla., director of client services.
