Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, Inc. reported sharply lower earnings for the quarter and nine months ended Oct. 31. Revenues rose more than 30 percent to $5 billion (C.) for the quarter, but the manufacturer reported a net loss of $368 million. That compares with revenues of $3.9 billion a year earlier and net income of $226 million. For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Bombardier's revenues jumped 32 percent to $14 billion, compared with $10.5 million a year earlier.
ADDING INSULT TO INJURY, only one Grand Canyon tour provider, who operates under Part 121, has received any emergency funding from the Air Transportation Safety and Stabilization Act, Bassett said. The other Grand Canyon operators, who fly under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, have not received a dime, he said, while the Transportation Department continues to ponder how to divvy up the remaining funds available under the legislation (BA, Oct. 29/197).
DR. ASSAD KOTAITE was elected to a 10th consecutive term as president of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). His new term runs to 2004. His association with ICAO began in 1953 when he was named by Lebanon to serve as a member ICAO's Legal Committee. He represented Lebanon on the ICAO Council from 1956 to 1962 and from 1965 to 1970. Kotaite was first elected president of the ICAO Council in November 1975 and assumed office in August 1976.
COMAIR completed the reinforcement of cockpit doors in all 99 of its aircraft, the Delta Connection carrier said last week. The carrier operates a fleet of 92 Canadair Regional Jets and seven Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops. The design for installation of security bars was developed through a combined effort that included the engineering departments of regional carriers, FAA, manufacturers of regional aircraft and the Regional Airline Association.
ROLF SMITH was appointed regional vice president, sales and acquisitions, at Privatair's new sales office in Van Nuys, Calif. He has more than 14 years' experience in aviation sales in Southern California.
GOODRICH CORP. signed an agreement to serve as the exclusive worldwide distributor of Hi-Temp Insulation products. Hi-Temp Insulation, which has been in business for nearly 30 years, designs and manufactures thermal and acoustic products for commercial, military and space applications. The company has more than 450 employees and annual sales of $32 million. Goodrich will distribute more than 200 of Hi-Temp Insulation's products.
THE UNITED STATES AIR TOUR ASSOCIATION appealed to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey again last week, asking her to suspend operational caps and curfews on air tour flights at the Grand Canyon. USATA raised that issue with Garvey in a Sept. 5 letter, and again on Sept. 28, arguing that it made no sense to penalize operators who have upgraded their fleets with quiet technology aircraft and adopted other noise reduction strategies. Since the Sept.
An independent NASA panel concluded that there are "no known aeromechanics phenomena" that would prevent the safe development and deployment of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and recommended flight testing be resumed without delay. The 12-member panel, made up of experts from government, academia, and industry, was formed in response to a May 24 request by Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cook, vice commander of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), to assess tiltrotor aeromechanics phenomena that might adversely affect the safety or performance of the V-22.
THE AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION set a new East Coast attendance record at this year's AOPA Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with a crowd of 9,886. That figure beat the previous East Coast record set in 1999 in Atlantic City, N.J. and is 2,500 more than AOPA's last Florida Expo in Orlando in 1997.
THE BEST WAY for the airlines to stimulate business flying is a huge cut in structured business fares, according to UBS Warburg analyst Sam Buttrick. "We are unimpressed with airline executives sitting around waiting for the economy to recover to restore business travel," he said. "It's more than the economy, Stupid." While the cuts would hurt in the short term, the airlines could produce more revenue in 18 months than under the "current gouge and discount structure," Buttrick said.
RAYTHEON Beech Models 1900, 1900C (C-12J), and 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-04-AD; Amendment 39-12495; AD 2001-22-16) - supersedes AD 95-02-18, which requires repetitive inspection of the engine truss assemblies for cracks, repair or replacement of any cracked engine truss assembly, and installation of reinforcement doublers. This AD requires engine truss assembly replacement, periodic inspections and replacements, and the eventual incorporation of a cowling support installation kit as terminating action.
QUALCOMM introduced the latest take on enhancing aviation safety and security by demonstrating new applications for its MDSS Globalstar Satellite Communications System at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is investigating "an elevator control anomaly" that occurred Nov. 13 during the flight of an Aero Commander 200D. The aircraft, N28PC, was substantially damaged in flight. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, said five minutes after taking off from the West Houston, Texas Airport in visual meteorological conditions, the aircraft began to vibrate, accompanied by "stick shaking." The pilot reduced power and made an emergency landing at the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport near Spring, Texas.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION will delay the effective date of a rule that amends the procedural regulations for certifying changes to type-certificated products. The agency originally set a Dec. 10, 2001 compliance date for transport category airplanes and a date of Dec. 9, 2002 for all other category aircraft. FAA has now decided to delay implementation until June 10, 2003 "for all categories of aircraft, engines and propellers" in order to ensure a uniform application of the rule, the agency said.
THE GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION board of directors elected Ray Siegfried chairman for 2002. Siegfried is the chairman and CEO of the NORDAM Group. Bill Boisture, president and COO of Gulfstream Aerospace, was elected vice chairman.
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES LTD., Model 1124 and 1124A, and Model 1125 Westwind Astra series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-200-AD) - proposes to require a one-time inspection of the attachment bolts installed on the engine inlet cowl and aft nacelle attachment flanges to verify correct part numbers of the bolts, and replacement of any discrepant/incorrect bolt with a correct attachment bolt.
CONOCO, INC. AND PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. boards of directors approved "a merger of equals" and signed a definitive merger agreement. The new company, which would be known as ConocoPhillips, will be the third-largest integrated U.S. energy company based on market capitalization and oil and gas reserves and production. Worldwide it will be the sixth-largest energy company based on hydrocarbon reserves and the fifth-largest global refiner. Phillips has been a major player in the aviation fuels market for decades.
DPI LABS is entering the rapidly expanding aviation security market with Safe-Link. The voice and data distribution system protects communication within an aircraft and prevents interception of sensitive information before and after encryption, DPI said. Gulfstream currently uses Safe-Link in military and high security aircraft it manufactures, and the system is available for commercial use.
ROBIN BRIONES was named vice president and general manager of TransContinental Avionics' online pilot shop, www.tcapilotshop.com. Briones formerly owned and operated Continental Avionics in Santa Ana, Calif.
THE U.S. CENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT COMMISSION signed a memorandum of agreement with the First Flight Centennial Commission of North Carolina to jointly promote the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight in 2003. The agreement will allow North Carolina activities to receive the U.S. Commission's national outreach support. The FFCC of North Carolina, in turn, will help promote the national celebration, "Centennial of Flight: Born of Dreams. Inspired by Freedom."
HONEYWELL TFE731-2, -3, and -4 series turbofan engines - supersedes two existing airworthiness directives, applicable to Honeywell TFE731-2, -3, and 4 series turbofan engines. Those ADs currently require removing certain fan rotor discs from service in accordance with a draw-down schedule, and establishing new fan rotor disc life limits. This amendment requires stricter life limits for certain fan rotor discs.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10229 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 145.47(b) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit GE Celma to use the calibration standards of the Instituto Nacional de Mertologia, Normalizacao Qualidade Industrial in lieu of the calibration standards of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology to test its inspection and test equipment. Grant, 10/02/2001, Exemption No. 6546C
Thales Avionics' Head-Up Flight Display System (HFDS) received FAA and Transport Canada certification for installation on Bombardier's Global Express business jet. HFDS, made up of a computer system, an optical projector unit and a combiner, displays data from several systems, such as the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System and the Electronic Flight Instrument System, in the cockpit to "provide guidance during all phases of flight such as takeoff, cruise and approach, and during recovery from unusual aircraft attitudes," said Bombardier.
EADS SOCATA delivered its first TBM 700B freighter to Quest Diagnostics. The manufacturer has a contract to deliver five more aircraft to Quest, a national laboratory network. The freighters will be used to transport perishable patient specimens between laboratory locations. "We are modernizing our fleet to improve patient care. We selected the TBM 700 Freighter after an extensive review process, based on its sturdiness and its low cost of operations," said Albert A. Murrer III, Quest Diagnostics director of flight operations.
Gulfstream Aerospace has consolidated some responsibilities among its senior executives as part of a force reduction by the Savannah, Ga.-based manufacturer.
