Bombardier will cut 800 more positions at its Wichita manufacturing plant and completion center in Tucson, Ariz. as part of its plans to reduce production dramatically. The layoffs, announced last week, come in addition to some 3,800 jobs that the Canadian conglomerate already had begun to eliminate (BA, Oct. 1/155).
The FAA has approved two runway development projects at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, projects that studies show will allow 28 percent growth of operations in good weather during the next 10 years. An all-new 8,000-foot runway in the plan will allow for simultaneous operations on what would be three north-south runways (18/36). A 2,000-ft. extension of an existing east-west runway (9/27) to 12,000 feet will help the airport qualify for nonstop flights to Asia, a long-time goal.
While aviation interests are lobbying Congress to pass special legislation providing financial help for businesses hurt by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the Small Business Administration is processing applications and issuing loans to companies that can show their business has been harmed by the attacks or the subsequent government restrictions on air travel.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued an emergency airworthiness directive to owners and operators of Eurocopter France (ECF) Model AS350 and AS355 helicopters warning of the discovery of cracks in the skin of a tail rotor blade. That condition could result in failure of a blade, severe vibration, loss of the tail rotor gearbox and subsequent loss of the helicopter, FAA said. The AD requires visual checks before further flight and every 10 flight hours thereafter of each blade skin in the area of the trailing edge tab for a cracks.
CESSNA promoted David Porter to vice president, business process and Mike Pool to vice president, Six Sigma. Porter, who will report directly to Cessna CEO Gary Hay, will oversee process-based management implementation. He joined the company in 1998 as director of parts, service and customer accounting. Pool will head up the expansion of Cessna's Six Sigma program. He joined Cessna in December 2000 and most recently was director of activity-based costing. Pool has more than 20 years of experience with program management, operations management and finance.
EMBRAER said that only 21 of 147 of its ERJ 135/145 aircraft in operation over Europe are not fully compliant with new Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) requirements that go into effect Jan. 24. The new rule established minimum vertical separation for flight levels above 29,000 feet at 1,000-foot intervals, down from 2,000 feet previously.
SOME FEDERAL FEES and taxes on aircraft have increased, including the passenger segment fee and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service aircraft clearance fee. The segment fee increased from $2.75 to $3 per leg beginning this year, but the transportation tax remains at 7.5 percent. National Air Transportation Association reminded its members that an Internal Revenue Service memorandum has determined that the segment fee should be assessed per passenger, not per aircraft trip.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION continued its efforts to avert a complete shutdown of VFR access to airspace around Salt Lake City during the Winter Olympics next month. FAA has announced plans for a 45-nautical-mile flight restriction zone around Salt Lake City International Airport covering the surface to 18,000 feet msl for 19 days beginning Feb. 6.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION cheered the Bush Administration's decision to revoke a proposed "blacklisting" rule that would have prevented companies from receiving government contracts if they were not in compliance with a range of laws. AIA said the contractor responsibility rule, proposed by Clinton Administration in December 2000 but stayed by the Bush Administration in April, would have cost the industry millions of dollars and impeded the war on terrorism. The Federal Acquisition Regulations Council last month decided to permanently revoke the rule.
FAA selected Max Shauck of the Baylor University Department of Aviation Sciences and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University as the 2001 winners of the agency's Excellence in Aviation awards. FAA recognized Shauck for three decades of aviation research and academic work. "Working with government, academia and industry, he has made valuable contributions to discovering alternative fuels for this nation's general aviation fleet," said FAA Administrator Jane Garvey.
FAIRCHILD AIRCRAFT Models SA226 and SA227 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-47-AD) - proposes to supersede AD 2001-20-14, which currently requires replacing the brake shuttle valves with parts of improved design and installing a shield over the hydraulic lines on certain Fairchild Aircraft SA226 and SA227 series airplanes. AD 2001-20-14 also requires replacing the rubber fuel hose with a metal device for certain SA226 series airplanes. AD 2001-20-14 resulted from a report of a wheel brake system malfunction caused by a faulty brake shuttle valve.
Illustration: Graph: Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for November 2001 (see related graphs on Pages 21 and 22 of the hard copy of this issue.) Used Retail Deliveries Nov. 1998 Nov. 1999 Nov. 2000 Nov. 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 49 26 13 47 40 28 40 24 20 64 30 16 America Jet Outside 6 1 4 3 2 2 8 3 1 1 2 2 N.
A Challenger 604 business jet carrying two top executives of a U.S. farm equipment manufacturer, and three pilots, crashed on takeoff from Birmingham, England Friday, killing all aboard.
PRELIMINARY INFORMATION indicates deliveries of new turbine business aircraft in 2001 could exceed the tally of 904 units delivered in calendar 2000. According to information compiled by AvData, Inc. of Wichita, Kan., 667 new jets and 225 new turboprops were delivered to users throughout the world in the year just ended. Since provisional numbers for November and December are expected to increase, the total will probably exceed 910 new aircraft, AvData said. Cessna led the pack with 282 Citation business jets delivered.
HONEYWELL Models LTS101-600A-2 and LTS101-600A-3 turboshaft engines; and LTP101-600A-1A and LTP101-700A-1A turboprop engines (Docket No. 99-NE-17-AD; Amendment 39-12557; AD 2001-25-04) - requires replacing certain fuel controls that have beryllium-copper bellows with improved fuel controls that incorporate Inconel 718 stainless steel welded bellows. This amendment is prompted by a report of an uncommanded power loss on a Textron Lycoming LTS101 engine due to a corrosion-damaged fuel control bellows.
CFE COMPANY Model CFE738-1-1B turbofan engines (Docket No. 2001-NE-28-AD; Amendment 39-12570; AD 2001-26-06) - requires the removal of certain fan rotor disks from service. This amendment is prompted by a report from a forging manufacturer of a metallurgical inclusion (contaminant) found in a forging made from a certain ingot of titanium. Fan rotor disks for model CFE738-1-1B engines have been manufactured from this same ingot and are suspect for metallurgical inclusions.
JEFF PACKER joined Keystone Aviation, LLC, d/b/a Million Air SLC, as business development manager. Packer, a commercial pilot and flight instructor, has a background in sales, marketing and customer service, most recently with Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kan. and CompUSA. The Salt Lake City, Utah company specializes in aviation charter, aircraft maintenance and aircraft sales, and also operates facilities in West Jordan and Provo, Utah.
CAE last week completed its acquisition of SimuFlite Training International, positioning itself as a major player in the business jet training market (BA, Jan. 1/3). The companies last month announced the definitive agreement under which CAE would buy SimuFlite from GE Capital Commercial Equipment Financing for $247 million. The SimuFlite purchase was CAE's third significant flight training acquisition in a year. It also bought Schreiner Aviation Training of The Netherlands in August and the former Reflectone facility in February.
The Department of Transportation is considering a special "set-aside" of money for air ambulances, air tour operators and other carriers that may not otherwise receive adequate compensation for their losses stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Congress directed DOT to provide up to $4.5 billion in direct compensation to air carriers under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act that was adopted shortly after the terrorist attacks
An airport advisory group in South Carolina is considering plans that call for closing down two general aviation (GA) airports, consolidating them into a new facility. An airport advisory committee for Horry County has called upon Delta Airport Consulting to conduct an FAA-funded study of the county's airports as part of the county's long-range aviation planning, and is considering Delta's plan to replace two airports. "It's forward-thinking we seldom see from municipal bodies," said Delta project engineer Ed Beale.
DASSAULT Model Mystere-Falcon 50 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-335-AD) - revises an earlier proposed AD applicable to certain Dassault Model Mystere-Falcon 50 series airplanes, that would have required repetitive tests of double-skin feeder tanks for fuel leaks, and corrective actions, if necessary. It also would have required modification of seals in the feeder tanks, which would have terminated the repetitive leak tests. That proposal was prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign airworthiness authority.
TAG AVIATION expanded its services in the San Francisco Bay area to provide round-the-clock availability for transient maintenance. TAG launched its 24/7 "Blue Light" maintenance service in White Plains, N.Y. in early 1998.
MICHAEL HELTON was appointed aviation division director for the industrial project group at the Haskell Company. He will be responsible for project direction and customer relations with clients such as FlightSafety International, Gulfstream and Jet Aviation. Helton joined Haskell in 1996 and was most recently director of project development.
ROLLS-ROYCE 250-C20 series turboshaft and 250-B17 series turboprop engines - makes a correction to AD 2001-24-12 applicable to Rolls-Royce 250-C20 series turboshaft and 250-B17 series turboprop engines, that was published Dec. 4, 2001. The AD number being superseded was inadvertently omitted under the heading of the AD. This document corrects that omission. In all other respects, the original document remains the same. Effective date is Dec. 19.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp., which has been led by its founder for more than 50 years, announced several changes in its corporate management "designed to position the company for its continued aerospace industry leadership," the White Plains, N.Y. firm announced. Leonard Greene, who founded the company in 1946, named his son, Randall (Randy) Greene, 56, president and chief executive. The senior Greene, who has held those titles since the company's inception, will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
