FLIR SYSTEMS introduced a new airborne imaging product for law enforcement use. The Ultra 7500 provides around-the-clock, high-altitude, long-range search and surveillance capability from rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. Equipped with a low-light TV camera and a laser illuminator option, the product can track moving vehicles and people to help police aviation units.
A new proposed FAA Technical Standard Order for child restraint systems on aircraft is available for public review and comment. The TSO (TSO-C100b) requires minimum performance standards as set by the Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. Aerospace Standard Document No. AS 5276/1, "Performance Standard for Child Restraint Systems in Transport Category Airplanes" with FAA amendments as outlined in the TSO. The documents detail safety requirements such as passenger seat lap belts with fixed rigid bar anchorages and fireproof cushions and upholstery.
AN INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP has asked for more time to draft recommendations for a new rule governing extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) in U.S. airspace. A year ago, FAA tasked the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee with developing an ETOPS proposal for both Part 135 and Part 121 operations by June (BA, Aug. 28, 2000/96).
ROLLS-ROYCE signed a $10 million contract with the Brazilian government to deliver Gem turboshaft engines and spare parts. The parts will be used in Brazil's fleet of 14 Westland Super Lynx Mk 21A naval helicopters, which are used for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue and transport. The contract is financed through a plan that allows the Brazilian defense procurement agency to buy equipment under a credit agreement with the French bank, Paribas.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL recently won FAA certification for its Premier I full flight simulator at the company's Raytheon learning center in Wichita, Kan. The simulator received FAA Level C approval with Level D expected following additional flight-testing and data collection. FlightSafety Simulation in Tulsa, Okla., designed and built the new Premier I simulator. Raytheon began delivery of the Premier I aircraft in June.
John Pope, one of the first employees of the National Business Aircraft Association who was instrumental in the association's growth for more than 20 years, will be honored as the first recipient of the NBAA Staff Lifetime Achievement Award at the group's convention next month in New Orleans, La.
The Beech King Air that crashed on January 27 - killing eight Oklahoma State University (OSU) basketball team personnel and two pilots - apparently lost electrical power at about 23,000 feet before crashing into hilly, snow-covered Colorado countryside about 11 minutes later, a report issued Tuesday shows.
General Dynamics continued its aggressive acquisition campaign last week, agreeing to purchase Motorola's Integrated Information Systems Group for $825 million in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities and ongoing obligations. The Motorola unit, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a major provider to defense and government customers of products and systems for secure communications, information assurance, situational awareness and integrated communication systems. The unit has 3,000 employees, including 1,100 degreed engineers.
The Customs Service this month proposed some long-awaited changes to its southern border crossing program and outlined plans to make permanent a second program designed to ease crossings from Canada.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION petitioned the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to allow Richards-Gebaur Airport in Kansas City, Mo., to close. "AOPA is arguing that FAA should follow the letter of the law before it permits a federally obligated airport to close," said Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president for regional affairs.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION is fighting a proposal circulating in Congress that would change the jet fuel tax structure to make the end user, rather than the producer, responsible for the tax.Currently, the producer is responsible for the tax remittance, but must divide out the difference between the 24.4-cent-per-gallon charge on kerosene and the 21.9-cent-per-gallon levy on jet fuel, a form of kerosene.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Experimental Aircraft Association have differing views about the severity of a runway incursion incident that occurred during this year's EAA convention in Oshkosh, Wis. According to a preliminary NTSB report, an American Trans Air Boeing 727 "maneuvered abruptly during takeoff roll on Runway 9 at Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, Wis. to avoid a Smith Lancair 360 that was taxiing for takeoff west" on the same runway.
British European confirmed its order for 12 Avro RJX-100s with options to purchase eight more from BAE in a deal valued at more than $600 million. Deliveries of the aircraft are scheduled to begin in April 2002. The airline, headquartered in Exeter, England, currently flies BAe 146 aircraft and the addition of the RJX will give the airline more network development potential, said Jim French, managing director.
The New Piper Aircraft, Inc. unveiled a plan to overhaul its customer service as part of its new eight-phase customer relations management system. The Piper Unlimited Liaison via Standards of Excellence (PULSE) customer center is the core of a new strategy to track every contact and communication between Piper, dealers and customers.
FAA this month extended the existing system of allocating takeoff and landing slots at New York LaGuardia Airport until Oct. 26, 2002. The agency proposed extending the system when it presented five longer-term options for relieving congestion into the airport (BA, June 11/272). The current "slot lottery" system was set to expire Sept. 15, but FAA said it would hold a new lottery Aug. 15 (Wednesday) to reallocate a small number of unused slots. FAA said the extension of the existing system would give it time to come up with a permanent solution.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL received a 10-year VARIG Brazilian Airlines contract for pilot training services. FlightSafety will provide an advanced ERJ-145 full flight simulator and related aircraft-specific training courseware. The contract also includes training support services and a Boeing 737-700/-800 simulator. Training will begin next month with the installation of an Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet simulator, built to FAA's Level D standard, in Rio de Janeiro.
A federal district judge in Orlando, Fla. dismissed arguments raised by the National Business Aviation Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association against a Stage 2 jet ban at the Naples, Fla. Municipal Airport (APF), eliminating a judicial barrier to the Naples Airport Authority's plans to implement the ban.
JULIE DIAMOND was named vice president of aircraft charter sales, Western Region, for Executive Jet Management of Cincinnati, Ohio. Based at the Van Nuys, Calif. Airport (VNY), Diamond "will be developing new West Coast charter markets, with emphasis on the financial, technology and entertainment industries," according to EJM. A 12-year veteran of the aviation industry, Diamond joined Jetwest International at VNY in 1989 where she rose to the position of vice president of sales and marketing. She joined the Air Group in 1995, where she was charter sales manager.
The pilot of a McDonnell Douglas Helicopters, Inc. 520N owned by the Los Angeles Country Sheriff's Department was forced to make an emergency landing last month after experiencing a problem with the anti-torque control system, a malfunction that has confronted other members of the Sheriff's Department aerial unit.
All three people aboard a German-registered Falcon 20 were killed Aug. 4 when the plane hit terrain near Narsarsuaq, Greenland. The aircraft, D-CBNA, was enroute from Europe to Canada when the accident occurred. Dassault Falcon Jet said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of Denmark is handling the investigation. The manufacturer said the aircraft was on final approach to Narsarsuaq Airport when it flew into a 700-foot mountain about 4.5 nautical miles from the field.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION published new regulations Aug. 9 governing antidrug and alcohol misuse prevention programs for specified aviation personnel, but the changes are primarily administrative in nature and are designed to bring FAA standards into compliance with Transportation Department changes in drug and alcohol compliance procedures, published Dec. 19, 2000.
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY, Dayton, Ohio, will host a Wright Brothers symposium, "Following the Footsteps of the Wright Brothers: Their Sites and Stories," on Sept. 28. The symposium will examine the impact of various sites where the Wright brothers lived and worked on their lives and the development of powered flight. For more information, contact Karin Nevius at (937) 775-5512 or Damien Chaffin at (937) 775-5512 for registration details.
WHILE ENGINEERS are still in short supply, Clay Jones, president and CEO for Rockwell Collins, says the recruitment crunch appears to be easing. "The dot.com melt-down has done wonders," Jones said, adding that Collins has half the engineering openings that it had just a few years ago. Specialized engineers still are a "scarce resource," but he said "it is better now than it was two years ago."
FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT near Minneapolis-St. Paul would be expanded to accommodate larger business jets under a proposal announced Friday by the Metropolitan Airports Commission. In addition, the MAC is considering changes to its Ordinance 51, which limits the weight of airplanes eligible to use the airport. Plans call for extending Runway 9R/27L from 3,900 feet to 5,000 feet and Runway 9L/27R from 3,600 feet to 3,900 feet, and building new hangars on the south side of the airport.
THE AIR FORCE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION Board of Trustees named Ross Perot, Jr. chairman. Perot, president and CEO of Perot Systems, also will continue his role as the foundation's chairman of the site and design committee. He will focus on gaining final design approval and construction of a memorial for the only military branch without one in Washington, D.C.
