Naples Airport (APF) is soliciting public comments on a proposed ban of Stage 2 jet aircraft that would take effect on January 1, 2001. The airport already has a mandatory Stage 1 prohibition, a voluntary Stage 2 and Stage 3 restriction and an engine maintenance run-up ban between 2200 and 0700 hours. Comments on the proposal are due by August 21, to the attention of Lisa Blanc-Hutchings, in care of City of Naples Airport Authority, 160 Aviation Dr. N., Naples, Fla. 34104-3568 or via fax at (941) 643-4084.
Where would you turn for emergency cockpit lighting? Obviously flashlights are great -- as long as the light doesn't burn out and you remembered to change the batteries recently. Flite Lite is a small, inexpensive and reliable source of emergency lighting. Chemically activated, this compact, adhesive-backed light is bright enough to read charts and view instruments by, while keeping your hands free. Flite Lite is non-flammable and non-toxic and provides up to two hours of illumination.
DeCrane Aircraft Holdings has completed its acquisition of aircraft seating manufacturer ERDA, Inc. The Peshtigo, Wis.-based company joins Dettmer Industries in the new seating division of DeCrane's Aircraft Cabin Management Group. According to DeCrane executive Jeff Nerland, the company plans ``significant future investments in ERDA,'' including an eventual doubling of the company's manufacturing capacity. As many as 100 new jobs may be created as a result of the acquisition.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) tapped American Port Services Inc. (AMPORTS) to provide ``fee based'' airport management services at Teterboro Airport starting in September. Under the terms of the five-year, $25 million contract, PANYNJ will pay AMPORTS a management fee, but will retain all airport revenues. Port Authority Chairman Lewis Eisenberg says the new arrangement will help make the airport ``a better neighbor'' and will make more money available for renovation and refurbishment of airport facilities.
As fatigue and sleep debt increases as a major factor in incident and accident prevention, more studies are appearing to assist flight crews and their flight departments in the management of crew rest. The challenge in such a program is the difficulty in quantifying and determining when fatigue and sleep debt reach a true level of performance impairment and then dealing with it. For example, when we need nutrition, we feel hungry and when we need fluids, we are thirsty. Both sensations are quickly relieved by ingesting food and water.
If bird-chasing border collies are out of your budget, the new Prowler Owl from Bird-X may be the solution to your bird problems. Poised in a hunting position, with 44-inch flapping wings, moving head and body, the Great Horned Owl lookalike should strike fear in the hearts of pigeons, starlings and geese, as well as other birds and rodents. The Prowler Owl sports a hard plastic seven-inch head, 28-inch body and can be mounted on a 0.5 inch diameter pole to keep your airport or heliport from looking like a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Price: $59
You're going to learn a lot more about runway incursions over the next 12 months than you really want to know, but the lessons won't be optional. The FAA, with plenty of support from Capitol Hill and the NTSB, is undertaking a major effort to reduce the potential for catastrophic runway incursions, and that effort will involve you in a number of ways.
South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) chief Trevor Abrahams faces fraud and corruption charges related to the alleged sale of airline transport pilot license (ATPL) written examination questions and pilot certificates to the public. The action follows the confession of one SA Airlink pilot, who said he had bought his ATPL from CAA officials. Also arrested were two other CAA employees and five other pilots.
Embraer's ERJ-140 flew for the first time in June. The 44-passenger regional jet features ``96 percent commonality'' and the same type rating as its smaller and larger Embraer cousins -- the ERJ-135 and ERJ-145. The manufacturer has not announced any orders for the new aircraft since its official launch in September 1999. Embraer has priced the ERJ-140 at $15.2 million and says it will be ready in first quarter 2001.
Piedmont Hawthorne has acquired Associated Air Center, a Dallas-Love Field-based completion and maintenance center and FBO. Associated is a factory-designated Boeing Business Jet and Airbus A319 Corporate Jet completion center and also provides heavy maintenance service for commercial aircraft. Piedmont says it plans no operational changes at its new division, which will remain under the direction of current Associated President Roy Gilbreath. The completion business will retain its name while the FBO will be renamed Piedmont Hawthorne.
Bombardier Aerospace has acquired online reservations service Skyjet.com for an undisclosed sum. Formed in 1997, Skyjet.com offers real-time availabilty, online booking and recently introduced an auction service to fill empty legs. Bombardier Business Aircraft President Rob Gillespie says the move helps the manufacturer assume ``a leadership role in the growth of the charter industry.'' No changes in Skyjet.com staff are planned and the operation is expected to remain in Washington, D.C. (See page 54 for additional information.)
Kissimmee Airport employee Tim Shea has vacated his position as director of aviation. Shea says he is leaving the position to seek other career opportunities and spend more time with his family. The city of Kissimmee is conducting a nationwide search for a replacement.
A Brazilian Court has ordered Northrop Grumman (NG) to pay $1.1 million to the families of 45 people killed in the October 1996 crash of a TAM Airlines Fokker 100. Brazilian investigators attributed the accident to inadvertent deployment of one of the aircraft's NG-manufactured thrust reversers shortly after takeoff, on a flight between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. A total of 96 people died in the crash, including three on the ground.
Pressure to stem the rise of runway incursion incidents at U.S. airports has led the FAA to adopt a number of procedural and hardware changes affecting pilots and air traffic controllers. The changes seek to improve pilot-controller communications, while obligating the U.S. to adopt ICAO procedures familiar to pilots whose first language is not necessarily English.
James C. Walizer is now a member of the aircraft manufacturer's field service representative team. Walizer has extensive experience maintaining Falcon jets for the U.S. Coast Guard.
The overall forecast for the global economy remains robust for 2001 with growth continuing in most major economic regions and inflation remaining under control. That said, the near-term forecast does include higher risk than did last year's outlook, in part because of early signs of inflation in the super-charged U.S. economy, which is in the longest period of sustained economic growth ever recorded.
Eurocopter says it has sold the first EC135 helicopter for use in U.S. law enforcement to the Broward County Sheriff's Office in South Florida. The new helicopter is scheduled for delivery in September and will augment three Eurocopter AStars in the Broward fleet. Shreveport, La.-based Metro Aviation will complete the helicopter, which will be outfitted with such options as a rescue hoist, Night Sun, forward looking infrared radar (FLIR) and LO-JACK tracking systems.
Veteran FBO executive and consultant Randy D. Bisgard has been appointed vice president of the Denver office. The company provides aviation business valuation and consulting services.
Photograph: Cape Air operates 48 Cessna 402Cs in the Northeast, Florida and the Caribbean. All are approved for single-pilot IFR flight. The company's highest-time aircraft has 18,000 hours. Despite all the talk about regional jet proliferation and the death of the 19-seat turboprop market, one operator continues to buck convention and even thrive with a fleet of 10-seat piston twins. The subject is Hyannis, Mass.-based Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines, America's largest unaffiliated regional carrier.
New e-business entrant AviationX has abandoned plans to become a multi-level aviation exchange, and has shifted its focus toward providing software applications for the regional airlines. The change could be indicative of a larger trend among aviation e-business ventures: the uphill battle independents face when confronted with competing systems backed by industry giants with influence over hundreds of their own suppliers.
