Fairchild Dornier's U.S. headquarters is relocating from San Antonio to Virginia. The new 40,000-square-foot digs in Fairfax County will initially house 50 staffers from the manufacturer's customer business team, which includes a variety of sales and sales support functions as well as some product support personnel. Fairchild Dornier Executive Vice President Barry Eccleston says the new location offers proximity to increased air transportation options, other worldwide aerospace companies and the Dulles headquarters of a major airline customer -- Atlantic Coast Airlines.
Canada's Field Aviation has opened a branch office in Beijing, China. The new office will provide parts and aircraft sales, technical support and maintenance assistance to commercial and corporate aircraft operators in the region.
The prime rule of aviation training is: Train the way you fly and fly the way you train. The rule, taken at face value, seems to be self-evident. Who could disagree? Yet many of the accidents that befall operators of turbine aircraft provide evidence that we don't always fly the way we train. Indeed, the circumstances of some accidents suggest we often spend a great deal of time training for the wrong mission, or training for unlikely events, or training to the wrong set of standards.
The People's Republic of China has ordered two Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopterS for use in search and rescue missions. The Chinese government has been an S-76 operator since 1984
Fairchild Dornier, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, has promoted the following employees: Manfred Leimkuhler, vice president and assistant general counsel Germany; Milan Racic, vice president and assistant general counsel USA; Peter Platsch, vice president of procurement and service contracts; David Nixon, vice president of contracts management.
Edited By Paul RichfieldPaul Richfield, in Long Beach, Calif.
Did you know that the captain and copilot must both be type-rated to fly a jet in Brazil, the French don't allow pilots over age 60, trans-oceanic flights at 0.84 Mach can be planned with a ``whiz wheel,'' and Durty Nellies is the best place to visit in Shannon, Ireland?
Fort Wayne International Airport's (FWA) Authority Board has approved a 20-year master plan that calls for an additional parallel runway, control tower and a 1,000-foot extension to the crosswind runway. The $140 million plans were submitted to the FAA for consideration, and if approved, federal funds are expected to pay for 90 percent of the construction costs.
Bombardier has named Istanbul's Kontinental Aviation exclusive sales agent for Learjets in Turkey. The manufacturer also said it has delivered two Q300s to Qantas regional subsidiary Eastern Australia Airlines. The aircraft will be used on the carrier's high-frequency service between Sydney and Canberra
The U.K.'s Civil Airworthiness Authority has certified Eurocopter's EC 135 for Single Pilot IFR (SPIFR) operations. The certified aircraft are fitted with Thales (the former Sextant) MEGHAS avionics glass cockpits. Eurocopter boasted that single-pilot certification was unavailable on the aircraft's two direct competitors.
A new agreement between United Airlines and Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings' United Express division has led the regional carrier to firm up orders for 60 additional Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ). Under the terms of the 10-year deal, United will assume responsibility for Atlantic Coast's inventory management as well as determining the schedules and destinations the carrier will serve.
The NTSB has issued a series of recommendations following its investigation into the cause of a Learjet 35 accident killing golfer Payne Stewart and five others. While unable to ascertain precisely why the aircraft experienced pressurization difficulties, the Safety Board did recommend renewed emphasis on the causes, effects and solutions to hypoxia.
Sigma Tek has designed the 1U619-002 electronic radio control panel to replace the existing mechanical panel in Cessna Citation Is, IIs and IIIs. The features include an all electronic, drop-in replacement for the mechanical controllers, no major wire changes, improved preselection of VHF comm frequencies and 10 frequency memories. The units are TSOed and have a built-in self-test with a diagnostic code display. The units will be available this spring. Price: $25,970 Sigma Tek, Inc. 1001 Industrial Rd. Augusta, Kan. 67010
Edited By Paul RichfieldMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
An AgustaWestland EH101 helicopter variant operated by Britain's Royal Navy crashed off the coast of Scotland on October 27, 2000; its five crewmembers were rescued. The Merlin HM Mk.1 was conducting a sonar-dipping exercise at approximately 100 feet when it suffered a power loss and fire in its Number Two engine, according to a company spokesman, who said the helicopter rolled inverted before hitting the water.
CompletionAir, located at the St. Louis Regional Airport, has opened a 134,000-square-foot completions hangar with the ability to accommodate six Boeing BBJ size aircraft. The new center will concentrate on narrow and widebody aircraft completions for executive/VIP/head-of-state customers and is exploring the possibility of performing maintenance and interior completions on Bombardier and Gulfstream aircraft.
GE Aircraft Engines, CFM International and computer giant IBM have become Founder's Council sponsors of aerospace Web portal AviationNow.com. The companies join Aerospan.com, MyAircraft.com, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Falcon Jet and Pratt&Whitney Canada on the site, which features real-time news, professional information and e-business targeted at more than a million aviation professionals and enthusiasts. AviationNow.com and B/CA are divisions of McGraw-Hill's Aviation Week.
Sandel Avionics has introduced its Class-A Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) with a self-contained, integrated color display. The system provides forward-looking predictive terrain conflict warnings by comparing its database to positioning information provided by an interconnected GPS receiver and altitude data. The three-inch display eliminates the need to ``timeshare'' radar, EFIS or MFD displays. Sandel said the installation time required ranges from 30 to 50 hours and the unit's reliability exceeds 12,500-hour MTBF. Price: $34,500
Airbus Industrie of North America Chairman Jack Schofield is retiring in March after eight years with the manufacturer. A long-time aerospace executive, Schofield joined Pratt&Whitney in 1963, rising to president of United Technologies division UTC International prior to joining Airbus in 1992. No successor to Schofield has been named.
Aero Services Executive of France has ordered an Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ). The aircraft will be made available for charter flights with delivery expected this summer.
I would like to add a few observations to Richard Aarons' excellent coverage and analysis of the U.S. Air Force C-130 accident at Jackson Hole (Cause&Circumstance, December 2000, page 86). Once again, the mishap crews were ``highly qualified'' and ``well respected,'' etc., which begs the question, Then why did they make the mistakes that killed them? It raises another question that doesn't get asked often enough in accident investigations: What would similarly experienced Air Force crews have done in this situation?
The Schreiner Aviation Group of the Netherlands ordered two MD Explorer helicopters. The light-twin helicopters will be used for aeromedical transportation.
