THE LACK OF WAR RISK INSURANCE continued to be a major frustration for much of the aviation community last week. Aircraft operators, fixed-base operators and airports were notified by insurance companies that their existing war risk insurance would be canceled within a few days, with no other sources of that type of insurance available for most of those affected. Signature Flight Support learned Sept. 19 that its war risk coverage would expire Sept. 24.
MICHAEL CORKRAN was named president of the Powder Metal Group of Hawk Corp. The Powder Metal Group has six operating facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois. In his new role, Corkran will establish a new headquarters for the HPMG operation in Solon, Ohio at the company's recently acquired metal injection molding facility. Most recently, Corkran was president for North America and Asia for RELTEC Corp., a telecommunications equipment manufacturer.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA Model 206L-4, 407, and 427 helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-29-AD; Amendment 39-12443; AD 2001-13-51) - publishes an amendment adopting AD 2001-13-51, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Bell Helicopter Textron Canada (BHTC) Model 206L-4, 407, and 427 helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires visually inspecting certain driveshafts for a crack, a loose bolt or nut, or red powder residue.
Representatives from general and business aviation sectors implored Congress to help lift remaining restrictions and free access to airspace at a House aviation subcommittee hearing last week.
ANTHONY ROMAN was named western regional sales and support manager at AirLiance Materials. Roman will work with airlines and operators on materials support for engine and airframe maintenance. He was most recently an account executive for Aviation Distributors, Inc.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. selected Airshow to provide a total cabin management and source equipment solution for the Gulfstream 200 business jet, formerly known as the Galaxy. The four-year agreement calls for Airshow to provide its integrated cabin management system of switches and controllers, its AirPlay line of DVD, CD and VCP entertainment components and the Airshow 400 and Airshow Network products. Gulfstream expects to install the Airshow equipment on a minimum of 24 aircraft per year, beginning with first deliveries later this year.
JET AVIATION TETERBORO will complete construction on a new FBO terminal in New Jersey in October. The new terminal will have an expanded customer lounge and a separate pilot's lounge. A 40,000-square-foot hangar is also being built for additional storage space and the taxiway will be relocated in front of the row of hangars to increase ramp space closer to the new terminal.
A PANEL OF AVIATION GROUPS appealed to Congress last week to free the "GA 41,000 aircraft" of restrictions that prevent VFR flights from Class B airspace at 30 locations around the U.S.See article on Page 154.
PAUL F. ROSE joined Banyan Air Service, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to head up the company's sales efforts and market its services to the aviation community. Rose has more than 20 years of aviation experience, having served as manager of the avionics department at Raytheon Aircraft Services and customer service manager for Bombardier Aerospace.
First Equity Development, Inc., was retained by Mooney Aircraft Corp. as financial adviser to assist the company in the sale, or potential investment in, the Kerrville, Texas light-plane manufacturer. Mooney filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 this summer (BA, July 30/45), and most of the work force has been laid off.
JET AVIATION DALLAS at Love Field Airport is installing a new safety package to upgrade cockpit avionics and make them compliant with FAA regulations that require turbine-powered airplanes to have class A or B terrain systems installed by 2005. The package includes a Bendix-King multifunction display unit, a weather radar, a flight management system or GPS system and a multi-hazard unit with circuitry for traffic and terrain inputs to the display unit.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON Model HH-1K, TH-1F, TH-1L, UH-1A, UH-1B, UH-1E, UH-1F, UH-1H, UH-1L, UH-1P, and Southwest Florida Aviation Model SW204, SW204HP, SW205, and SW205A-1 helicopters, manufactured for the United States Armed Forces (Docket No. 2001-SW-14-AD) - proposes superseding an existing AD that currently requires establishing retirement lives for certain main rotor masts, creating a component history card or equivalent record, and identifying and replacing any unairworthy masts.
BUTLER NATIONAL CORPORATION, Olathe, Kan., filed an STC application with FAA for design and approval of an "Aircraft Cockpit Shield." The shield would "isolate and protect flight crews from unwarranted intrusion or weapon discharge," the company said.
JET AVIATION at London Biggin Hill is remodeling its main hangar to accommodate aircraft maintenance and additional services. Construction will be completed by the end of this year with the facility scheduled to be fully operational by early 2002.
AOPA PRESIDENT Phil Boyer, following up with a letter to President Bush, quoted Bush's appeal to Americans Thursday to "get the airplanes flying again all across America," and "get about the business of America." Boyer told Bush that AOPA members "would like to do nothing more than utilize the investment they have in their general aviation aircraft and get them 'flying again across all of America,' but are prevented from doing so by the prohibition on VFR flights.
DORNIER Model 328-100 and -300 series (Docket No. 2001-NM-185-AD) - proposes to require testing of the left-and right-hand potentiometer levers of the aileron flight control system, and follow-on or corrective action, as applicable. This action is necessary to prevent detachment of an aileron potentiometer lever, which could result in jamming of the elevator and/or aileron flight control systems and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 89 airplanes on the U.S.
MIKE BLAIR was named supervisor of planning for CompletionAir, East Alton, Ill. He will be responsible for planning, scheduling and tracking all project activities. Working closely with the vice president of completions, Blair will implement a company-wide database/project management system to integrate all shops, procurement, engineering and receiving. CompletionAir, founded in 2000, operates a 134,000-square-foot aircraft completion facility.
CARL JONES was named manager of quality assurance at CompletionAir. An FAA-designated airworthiness representative for both manufacturing and maintenance, Jones was director of quality assurance at JetCorp and chief inspector for Midcoast Aviation.
The business aviation community is bracing for a long-term change in its approach to security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that have clouded the freedom of flight private aircraft historically enjoyed and operators have taken for granted.
THE GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION and two major airport groups wrote key legislators last week that manufacturers and operators "have had their war risk insurance policies canceled" and are now being forced to buy new policies "at substantial premium increases for similar or even reduced coverage." GAMA President Ed Bolen said some companies, which previously carried $1 billion in war risk coverage, are now limited to $50 million - while paying higher premiums.
The airport authority overseeing Minneapolis/St. Paul International launched an interactive noise web site that officials hope will reduce local hostility toward the airport by allowing personalized noise reports.
JOHN MAYRHOFER was appointed vice president of Hi-Tec Systems. Based in the newly opened Washington, D.C. office, Mayrhofer will be responsible for aviation systems and strategic planning. He was the former head of FAA's runway safety program.
CESSNA is offering a free fuel allowance for aircraft orders from a selected inventory of 172S Skyhawk SP, 182 Skylane, T182 Turbo Skylane, 206 Stationair and T206 Turbo Stationair single-engine piston aircraft. Buyers of 172S aircraft will receive $3,500 in fuel allowance; 182/T182 aircraft will get $5,000; and 206/T206 aircraft will receive $7,500. The promotion is effective until Nov. 24.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-301 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-39-AD; Amendment 39-12440; AD 2001-19-01) - requires removal of the access panels of the upper wings to determine the manufacturing date of the panels to verify compliance with Model 301 wing specifications, and corrective action, if necessary. This action is necessary to find and fix panels that do not meet such specifications, which could result in elongation of the attachment holes in the panels due to critical design loads, and consequent reduced structural integrity of the wings.
Avfuel Corporation and Shell Aviation are teaming together to close each company's geographical service gaps to create a fueling network with 1,400 locations worldwide. The reciprocal agreement will allow pilots carrying either a Shell Carnet card or Avfuel card to purchase fuel from any of both companies' locations, said Shell Aviation. No changes in current charge card policies or terms will be made but all cardholders will receive new cards shortly before a November 2001 launch date.
