HONEYWELL PICKS BOEING SPACE EXEC TO RUN ENGINE BUSINESS - Russell D. (Russ) Turner, a former psychology professor and senior executive of Boeing's United Space Alliance business in Houston, Texas, was selected last week to head Honeywell's Engines, Systems & Services business.
LOTT: SECURITY LOAD SHOULD BE SHARED BY GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC ALIKE - Increasing security costs have become too much of a burden and the problem should be addressed by spreading the responsibility more equally and also resisting the tide of unnecessary requirements, said Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate aviation subcommittee, last week.
Max-Viz's EVS-1000 enhanced vision system won temporary certification for evaluation on a demonstrator Falcon 900EX until the end of December. The certification permits Dassault and customer pilots to evaluate the system for effectiveness in viewing terrain and obstacles in a variety of conditions. The EVS images are displayed on the Honeywell FMS 820 center pedestal control display unit as well as on a display mounted on the co-pilot's side panel.
GA GROUPS UPSET BY LATEST DHS AVIATION THREAT WARNING - General aviation lobbying groups were steamed Friday by an advisory from the Department of Homeland Security suggesting that there was a new threat of Al-Qaida using small aircraft to conduct terrorist attacks.
GAMA TAPS JONES TO SUCCEED BOISTURE AS CHAIRMAN - The General Aviation Manufacturers Association named Clay Jones, chairman, president and chief executive of Rockwell Collins, to be chairman, succeeding Bill Boisture, who resigned that post last week after he stepped down last month as president of Gulfstream Aerospace (BA, April 14/167). Boisture joined the GAMA board in 1999 and chaired the International Affairs Committee in 2000 and 2001. GAMA said he also was instrumental in the creation of the GAMA Security Committee.
The House Ways and Means Committee this week is slated to vote on a tax package that includes a measure that would accelerate the bonus depreciation schedule for new aircraft and other purchases from 30 percent to 50 percent through 2005. Accelerated depreciation was one of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association's top priorities discussed during its annual industry review in February (BA, Feb. 17/71).
Before the Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory late Thursday warning of the dangers of small airplanes, the Transportation Security Administration's Aviation Security Advisory Council set up a working group to develop a series of recommended standards for general aviation airports where TSA does not already have a presence. TSA officials stressed that they are not looking to regulate the airports, but want a series of government-endorsed, voluntary standards for enhancing security.
William D. (Bill) Hall, 77, former editor of Aerospace Daily, died last month at his home in Alexandria, Va. A native of Erwin, Tenn., Hall was a journalism graduate of the University of Tennessee who served as a reporter with United Press International in Knoxville, Tenn. and New York early in his career. He relocated to the Washington, D.C. area in the late 1960s and spent nearly 25 years with American Aviation, Ziff-Davis and McGraw-Hill editing the well-respected Aerospace Daily newsletter.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission is planning a special meeting May 15 to discuss the future of the funding and rental rates at the five reliever airports in the Twin Cities area - St. Paul Downtown, Flying Cloud, Anoka County/Blaine, Crystal, Lake Elmo and Airlake. The agenda will include consideration of a Northwest Airlines proposal to eliminate the subsidy the MAC contributes to run the airports - part of an effort by the carrier to reduce the fees it pays at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42-500 series airplanes, and Model ATR 72-102, -202, -212, and -212A series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-73-AD; Amendment 39-13122; AD 2003-08-10) - requires replacement of insulation blankets constructed of metallized polyethyleneteraphthalate (MPET) located from Sections 11 through 16 of the fuselage with new insulation blankets constructed of Terul 18TM.
Air Charter Guide redesigned its web site, www.aircharterguide.com, to streamline its online booking system. The booking system offers access to charter aircraft worldwide and provides information for first-time charter buyers such as choosing an airport, choosing an aircraft, finding catering and arranging ground transportation.
OLCOTT URGES ASHCROFT TO FIX FLIGHT-TRAINING CHECK PROCESS - National Business Aviation Association President John Olcott urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to fix the process of checking the backgrounds of foreign pilots seeking flight training in the U.S., calling the current system complex, ineffective and unreliable.
Aircraft Electronics Association named Barry Aylward, co-owner of Kitchener Aero and Mid-Canada Mod Center, member of the year and Sandia Aerospace associate member of the year. Kitchener Aero, in Breslau, Ontario, Canada, and Mid-Canada Mod Center in Toronto both provide modifications on a variety of aircraft, from single-engines up to Boeing airliners. Aylward serves on AEA's board of directors as Region VI vice president and as a member of the Strategic Planning committee. Sandia designs, develops and provides avionics products and assemblies.
Hartzell Propeller is offering a new propeller conversion for the Piper Comanche 260C aircraft. The new 77-inch-diameter propeller conversion kit is compatible with both the normally aspirated Lycoming IO-540-N1A5 and the turbocharged IO-540-R1A5 engines that power the 260C model. The new propeller is designed with a blade twist distribution that Hartzell says maximizes low-speed thrust while maintaining or increasing cruise performance.
Diamond Aircraft selected the Garmin G1000 integrated avionics system as the standard avionics suite for the DA42 TwinStar aircraft. The avionics package include a 10-inch primary flight display and a 10-inch multi-function display in landscape orientation.
Both occupants of a Pitts S-2B aircraft were killed April 26 when the airplane crashed near Boulder, Colo. A preliminary report said the aircraft, N399DB, was performing aerobatics when it crashed under unknown circumstances southeast of Longmont Airport.
OIG SAYS FAA'S ESTIMATES OF CLOSE CALLS IS TOO LOW - DOT's Office of Inspector General (IG) questions FAA's ranking system of operational errors (OEs) - failure of air traffic controllers to maintain separation standards between aircraft - and runway incursions, saying it doesn't accurately reflect the severity of those incidents and understates the number of close calls. OIG's skepticism was part of a report it released reviewing FAA's progress in reducing OEs and runway incursions.
Midcoast Aviation won supplemental type certificate approval from FAA for a composite wing fairing for the Falcon 20 and 200 model business jets. Midcoast said the original aluminum fairings on the 460 Falcon 20/200s still in service are subject to the recurring inspection requirements of AD 98-13-15. Installation of the composite fairing "completely negates the AD's inspection requirement, which means reduced cost and downtime for operators," said J.P. Michenon, vice president of operations support.
FRED ROBINSON NAMED CHIEF PILOT AT EJM - Executive Jet Management, one of the world's largest providers of aircraft management and charter services, named Frederick Robinson chief pilot. Robinson, who has 39 years of experience as a pilot and supervisor, will be responsible for supervising more than 300 pilots employed by EJM.
TBM 700 CRASHES DURING LANDING ATTEMPT - The pilot of a Socata TBM 700 was killed and the aircraft was destroyed when it crashed into a telephone pole during an approach to the Mobile, Ala. Downtown Airport (BFM) April 24.
