My midday meeting was 1,000 miles away and since B/CA has yet to take delivery of its Gulfstream Express BCJ EX, I bought a ticket on an early morning flight out of homeport, Westchester County Airport. It was still dark when we dozen sleepy pilgrims shuffled aboard the Comair RJ. I took my window seat and groggily watched the lighted digital clock on the terminal wall count down to push-back, which occurred right on schedule. Presently, we were climbing into a star-filled sky.
BFGoodrich, Charlotte, N.C., has appointed David Shaw to the position of president, aviation services division. In addition, Robert Dial was promoted to vice president of maintenance and quality control.
Banyan Air Service, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has named Paul Baran as service manager of its maintenance team and Mike Schooley as its avionics installation manager.
McKinney Aerospace, McKinney, Texas, has named Roman Davaloz as its new supervisor of interior installations. Davaloz was previously an interior supervisor for Bombardier Aerospace in Tucson, and also has served as an interior crews lead technician at K-C Aviation in Dallas.
Pierre Beaudoin, 38, son of Bombardier Chairman Laurent Beaudoin, has been named president of the Canadian manufacturer's business aircraft unit. Beaudoin succeeds Rob Gillespie, who becomes president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Capital, the company's financing arm head-
Road warriors with an extra $290,000 and an acre of land to spare can go from feeling like they're living on airplanes to actually living in one. Nashville-based Max Power Aerospace will convert a 727 into residential use, complete with plumbing, electricity and sliding glass entry-door in place of an over-wing exit. Mounted 30 to 40 feet off the ground, Max Aero says the 727s make the ultimate beach home, with their strong construction making them virtually hurricane-proof.
The Vance&Engles aircraft brokerage has opened a new East European office in Prague. Tomas Chlumecky will head the new office, in addition to his current efforts as area sales representative for Cessna.
GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) President and CEO W. James McNerney has left the company after being passed over for the top spot at parent company General Electric. GEAE Executive Vice President and COO David Calhoun will replace McNerney, who has been named chairman and CEO of St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M. Calhoun's first major challenge will be working closely with outgoing GE Chairman Jack Welch on the $45 billion absorption of Honeywell. McNerney was one of three top GE executives vying for Welch's job.
Raytheon has designated Stevens Aviation's Lexington, Ky., facility an authorized Raytheon/Beechcraft Service Facility, enabling it to provide factory authorized service on all Beech piston aircraft models
Northrop Grumman has been selected to supply a new air traffic control system for Nassau International Airport in the Bahamas. The new system is expected to be operational in August.
Reeve Aleutian Airways, Alaska's oldest regional airline, suspended scheduled service and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early December 2000. Company president Richard (Dick) Reeve says he considers the action a ``last resort'' in an effort to keep the legendary Anchorage-based carrier flying, though plans are to continue charter flights.
We are flying more than ever before. And either because the emerging global economy drives the need to traverse longer distances, or the accelerated pace of domestic business requires us to make more trips, we're spending longer periods of time in the cabins and cockpits of corporate jets and commercial airliners.
Premier Turbines is planning to expand TFE731 MPI services at its St. Louis Downtown-Parks Airport facility. Mark Berg, Premier engine shop manager, said the equipment being added will ensure deliveries will be accomplished in ``the timeframe promised to each customer.''
If your screwdriver can't remove a damaged screw, the X-OUT screw remover may be a solution. According to the manufacturer, the X-OUT plows into the head of the screw and turns it out with the aid of a hand drill. The bit is chucked into a standard 3/8-inch variable-speed drill set for reverse and is placed on the center of the damaged fastener. It can also be chucked into a 1/4-inch quick bit holder (not provided). The kit contains three bits designed to remove fasteners ranging from No. 6 to No.
Raytheon has joined the 69-foot composite fuselage and tail section of the first Hawker Horizon business jet, now under construction in Wichita. The next milestone in the Horizon program will be the mating of fuselage and wing, and first flight of the 10/12-passenger twinjet is slated for this year. Two Pratt&Whitney PW308A engines will power the aircraft. Raytheon is guaranteeing the super-midsize jet will have an NBAA IFR range of 3,100 nm at 0.82 Mach with six passengers, plus the ability to cross the United States nonstop regardless of wind conditions.
A new series of Internet addresses may soon be available for aviation-oriented businesses and individuals. The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which overseas technical and procedural regulation of the Internet, has approved .aero as a new domain name for the World Wide Web.
Raytheon has tapped Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's SOGEREP as exclusive sales agent for Beech, Hawker and Raytheon aircraft in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. The manufacturer also has added France to the exclusive dealer and sales territory of Corporate Aircraft, S.A. The Geneva-bas-ed company already sells Beech, Hawker and Premier aircraft in Switzerland and Italy
Pratt&Whitney Canada has delivered its 50,000th engine. The PT6A-67D has been installed on a Beech 1900D and is one of more than 13,000 PT6 engines delivered to Raytheon. The aircraft manufacturer was the launch customer for PT6 engines in 1963 when it took first delivery for a King Air. P&WC now produces seven engine families, including the PT6, PW100, PW200, PW300, PW500, PW901 and JT15D at a rate of 2,000 engines per year. At a delivery ceremony commemorating the event, Pratt&Whitney Canada President and CEO Gilles P.
TheAviationHub.com will release its Service Procurement System (SPS) in February, which enables operators to purchase fuel, FBO services, ground transportation and catering through the Internet.
The TKS Ice protection system for Cessna Caravans consists of porous titanium panels installed on the leading edges of the wings, struts and tail surfaces, a slinger ring for the prop hub and a spray bar for the windshield. When activated, the system exudes deicing fluid at a steady rate. Centrifugal action throws the fluid from the slinger ring to the root end of each blade. Two LEDs on the control panel display the operational status of the system. A contents indicator using a digital readout automatically dims for night operations.
French electronics manufacturer Thomson-CSF has renamed itself Thales with Thomson-CSF Sextant becoming Thales Avionics and the Thomson-CSF Sextant In-Flight Systems division now Thales Avionics In-Flight Systems. The manufacturer also cited copyright issues involving the Thomson name, brand confusion, the perception of the company as conservative and the desire to be thought of as more than ``simply a French defense company'' as reasons contributing to the change.
DaimlerChrysler Aviation has completed a new passenger facility at its Detroit-area headquarters complete with a new Jetway for passenger boarding. The operator says it is the first FBO to be so equipped and expects the Jetway to help attract additional large charter aircraft traffic such as those used for sports teams and other large groups. The Jetway was initiated on the auto giant's Transtlantic Star ACJ corporate shuttle from Germany and can accommodate such narrow-body airliners as Airbus A319 and 320s, MD80s, DC9s, and Boeing 727, 737 and 757 aircraft.
