Avfuel added BizJet International Sales&Support of Tulsa, Okla. and Diamond Air Jet Center of Yuma, Ariz. to its dealer network. BizJet specializes in aircraft maintenance, painting and interior services. Diamond Air offers fueling, flight instruction and charter services.
Sikorsky Aircraft, which had offered a military version of its S-92 helicopter to Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, has withdrawn from the competition. That leaves EH Industries' EH-101 as the only entry to replace the Japanese Navy's MH-53E minesweeper/transport helicopters. Sikorsky withdrew from the competition because work on the military version of the S-92 wouldn't be done in time for the Navy's deadline, according to Mitsubishi Training Corp., a Sikorsky sales agent in Japan.
FlightSafety won FAA certification to install the Enhanced Vision System on the Gulfstream V full flight simulator at its Savannah, Ga. learning center.
The Transportation Research Board recommended that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shelve its plans for the $69 million Small Aircraft Transportation System and "recommit the program to other, more achievable goals."
The de facto ban on flight training of new foreign-national students in U.S. schools could drag on for months as the Department of Justice goes through a formal rulemaking process to set up an approval procedure for flight students, according to industry officials. U.S. schools stopped training foreign nationals in November after Congress included a measure in the Aviation Transportation and Security Act that requires up to a 45-day DOJ review of prospective non-U.S. students who seek training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more.
Honeywell and Thales Avionics Ltd. received approval from Inmarsat for their Swift64 speed data-capable airborne satellite communications systems. The companies said the new system increases data rate delivery nearly 25 times, from the present 2.4 kilobits per second (kbps) to as much as 64 kbps. The speed improvement is accomplished by adding a new HS-600 high-speed data unit to a Honeywell/Thales MCS satellite communications system. The manufacturers are accepting orders and plan to begin deliveries in June, about one year earlier than originally anticipated.
Bryan Moss, vice chairman of Gulfstream Aerospace, has decided to "indefinitely postpone" his previously announced plans to retire from the company (BA, Jan. 14/26). "Gulfstream is pleased that it will continue to benefit from Bryan's vast industry knowledge, plus his extensive contacts and experience selling business jets," said President Bill Boisture. "Gulfstream has a significant number of worldwide opportunities and Bryan will make invaluable contributions to our continuing growth and success," he said.
Meggitt Avionics/S-TEC launched a new MAGIC 2100 digital flight control system designed for twin turboprop aircraft. The 2100 DFCS is a three-axis, fully digital, attitude-based flight control system that the manufacturer said "brings jet functionality to the twin turboprop market."
U.S. EMPLOYEES OF FAIRCHILD DORNIER PETITION COURT - U.S.-based former employees of aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier filed a petition in federal court in Virginia that asks for an involuntary bankruptcy declaration against the German manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiaries.
General Aviation manufacturers hope a measure in the recently enacted Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 will give them another tool to close sales that may be held up by buyers' concerns about the uncertain economy. The measure provides businesses with an additional 30 percent depreciation allowance in the first year for transportation assets acquired between Sept. 10, 2001 and Sept. 11, 2004.
Pentar Avionics of Seattle, Wash. sold its test equipment division to Minnesota-based Ideal Aerosmith, Inc., a company that specializes in motion control systems and custom engineering for the aerospace, automotive and petroleum industries. The deal transfers all of PENTAR's test equipment, technologies and customer base to Ideal's existing automated test equipment business. Ideal will keep PENTAR's key test equipment division employees and their facilities in Seattle and Shawnee, Kan. PENTAR will maintain a sales and support office in Kansas.
REP. JOHN MICA'S (R-Fla.) $5.5 billion general aviation relief bill has cleared some crucial behind-the-scenes hurdles and supporters are hoping that it will reach the House floor in coming weeks. The bill, which passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in late February (BA, March 4/106), has received a nod of approval from the leadership of both the Banking and Budget Committees. Budget Committee blessing was particularly important since the bill's direct compensation had not already been set aside in the overall federal budget.
Raytheon Aircraft Company won a contract for seven additional T-6A Texan II primary trainers for the U.S. Navy, the latest installment in a program that is expected to stretch over more than two decades.
ENVIRONMENTAL STREAMLINING TAKES STEP FORWARD IN HOUSE BILL - After ironing out the concerns of some key legislators, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week approved by voice vote a bill designed to streamline the environmental review process to help reduce the time it takes to complete an airport expansion project. The bill, the Airport Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2002, was one of three that the Committee passed Wednesday and the House aviation subcommittee cleared April 17.
FlightSafety International's Houston training center received FAA's Level D certification for two Embraer Regional Jet ERJ 145/135 full flight simulators located at the Houston/Hobby Airport Center. The company also received Level D certification for the VITAL-9 visual system, which is installed on an ERJ 145 simulator at the St. Louis training center at Lambert International Airport. The VITAL visual system "provides sharper, more textured and detailed scenes" in the simulator, FlightSafety said.
SIKORSKY PULLS S-92 FROM JAPANESE PROGRAM - Sikorsky Aircraft, which had offered a military version of its S-92 helicopter to Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, has withdrawn from the competition. That leaves EH Industries' EH-101 as the only entry to replace the Japanese Navy's MH-53E minesweeper/transport helicopters. Sikorsky withdrew from the competition because work on the military version of the S-92 wouldn't be done in time for the Navy's deadline, according to Mitsubishi Training Corp., a Sikorsky sales agent in Japan.
NEW ORLEANS LAKEFRONT AIRPORT SEEKS PRIVATIZATION TO BOOST BOTTOM LINE - New Orleans Lakefront Airport moved one step closer to entering the FAA pilot privatization program, a move some say could save the city as much as $34 million over the term of the 50-year lease to a private operator. Only one airport, Newburgh, N.Y., Stewart International, has privatized under the program.
Cirrus Design Corp. raised prices for its two single-engine models. Base price of the 200-horsepower SR20 went from $197,600 to $207,800, while the base price for the 310-horsepower SR22 rose from $276,600 to $289,400.
COLLINS NAMES TWO TO NEW COMMUNICATIONS POSTS - Rockwell Collins appointed two industry veterans to new communications jobs last week. Pat Zerbe, who joined Collins four years ago, was named director, corporate communications. She will be responsible for business and financial media activities, as well as advertising, internet and international trade shows. Zerbe, who spent 13 years at Raytheon Aircraft, was most recently director of strategic communications at Collins. She is a licensed pilot.
Compass Aerospace Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., completed its out-of-court restructuring with agreements with its senior lenders, bond holders and equity partners. The company said CSFB Global Opportunities Fund, which previously had purchased substantially all of Compass Aerospace Corporation's outstanding bonds, has now exchanged the bonds for equity and become Compass' majority stockholder. "Over the last two years we have been able to reduce the debt of Compass by over 80 percent," said John R. Reimers, president and chief executive of Compass.
The bad news kept coming last week for German aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier as another customer said it is thinking about dropping orders for more than 30 aircraft and U.S. employees of the company filed suit against it. See article on Page 200. Atlantic Coast Airlines, which had ordered a total of 65 328JETS and taken delivery of 33, said it is in discussions with Fairchild Dornier regarding the status of the remaining regional jets on firm order.
GENERAL AVIATION manufacturers hope a measure in the recently enacted Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 will give them another tool to close sales that may be held up by buyers' concerns about the uncertain economy.The measure provides businesses with an additional 30 percent depreciation allowance in the first year for transportation assets acquired between Sept. 10, 2001 and Sept. 11, 2004.
Hartzell Propeller will provide China's Hafei Aviation Industry with a four-bladed lightweight series turbine propeller system. The 96-inch propellers will be installed on the Y12E aircraft, the newest in Hafei's line. The aircraft, a high-wing twin turboprop designed for commuter and utility operations, is an update of the Y12. Hafei received a Chinese type certificate for the aircraft last December and is seeking FAA certification.
Compass Aerospace Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., completed its out-of-court restructuring with agreements with its senior lenders, bond holders and equity partners. The company said CSFB Global Opportunities Fund, which previously had purchased substantially all of Compass Aerospace Corporation's outstanding bonds, has now exchanged the bonds for equity and become Compass' majority stockholder. "Over the last two years we have been able to reduce the debt of Compass by over 80 percent," said John R. Reimers, president and chief executive of Compass.
Model 328-100 and -300 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-318-AD) - proposes to require inspecting the identification plate on the fire extinguisher bottle of the auxiliary power unit (APU), and replacing the actuating cartridge of the fire extinguisher bottle with a correct actuating cartridge, if necessary. This proposal also would require removing the fire extinguisher bottle equipped with the actuating cartridge from the APU, and reinstalling the fire extinguisher bottle equipped with the correct actuating cartridge into the APU.
