KENNETH D. JAFFE was named international sales manager for Qualimetrics. Jaffe will be responsible for Pacific Rim and Africa sales. Jaffe has more than 20 years experience in meteorological marketing, forecasting and research. He previously directed the site evaluation team for FAA's Low Level Wind Shear Alert System.
THE LEADER of the Mexican Air Controllers Labor Union warned that his members will continue to strike at airports in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta unless the government agrees to its demand for a 10.5 percent salary increase, additional benefits and improved working conditions. Raul Campilla asked the Mexican Secretary of Transportation not to use desk workers as substitutes for controllers because this would be inviting a "tragedy."
MORE THAN A DOZEN Washington, D.C.-based organizations late last month urged President Bush to make aviation capacity enhancements a top national priority. In a July 26 letter, the organizations urged support for streamlining environmental review processes, expediting air traffic control modernization, and maintaining consistent investment in the aviation system.
NASA may be the next agency contemplating becoming a fractional aircraft owner. In the fiscal 2002 NASA budget, the House included an extra $550,000 "for an aircraft fractional ownership test program." The NASA budget, which cleared both the House and Senate last week, also included full funding for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program, which is designed to lower the cost of small aircraft and open access to airports in all weather conditions. See article below.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION, long a vociferous opponent of Mayor Richard Daley's plans to close Meigs Field in Chicago, is now battling to protect another lakefront airport in a major midwestern city.
Runways vs. Stadiums At U.S. Major Airports Rank Airport Delay Rate Runways 1 LGA New York - La Guardia 15.59% 0 2 EWR NewYork-Newark 8.12% 0 3 ORD ChicagoO'Hare 6.33% 0 4 SFO San Francisco 5.69% 0 5 BOS Boston 4.75% 0 6 PHL Philadelphia 4.45% 1
CLEVELAND AIRSPORTS bought its seventh Cessna aircraft at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. "We chose the Skyhawk SP because it is a great trainer [for students] and is easy to fly. We've also learned the students relate to it better," said Ken Gee, owner of Cleveland Airsports.
ROLLS-ROYCE appointed Ian Aitken president of corporate aircraft in addition to his duties as executive vice president of airlines for the Americas. Aitken will be based at Rolls-Royce North America in Chantilly, Va. and will direct the global corporate aircraft business in addition to the airline business in the Americas. Aitken joined Rolls-Royce in 1979 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, including senior vice president for airline customer business in Asia and the Pacific.
LAWYERS representing business aviation interests completed arguments against a Stage 2 non-addition rule at Van Nuys Airport in California that took effect last year. National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the National Air Transportation Association joined five businesses at VNY in filing a lawsuit in federal district court in an attempt to overturn the Stage 2 non-addition rule (BA, Sept. 4/105). The judge presiding over the lawsuit is expected to make a ruling this month.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS won a $130.8 million contract from the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program Office to build two conical microwave imager sounder weather instruments. The contract includes options for four more weather instruments with a total potential value of $298 million. NPOESS is the next-generation low-earth-orbit environmental satellite system with the first NPOESS satellite scheduled for launch in 2008. Boeing expects to deliver the first weather instrument by 2005 with the second in 2007.
SUPERIOR AIR PARTS now has SL360 engine kits available. The SL360 is an unassembled four-cylinder, 180-horsepower engine kit with new FAA-approved parts. The base price, starting at $16,490, includes technical support during the assembly process.
Israel Aircraft Industries reported sharply higher net income in the first half of the year, boosted by profits from the sale of its stake in Galaxy Aerospace (BA, May 7/213).
AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF HONG KONG posted its first profit for Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok since it began operations in 1998. AAHK posted a profit of HK$71 million (U.S. $9.1 million), compared with a net loss of HK$168 million the previous year.
R. SCOTT RETTIG was named vice president sales and marketing at BAE Systems' Avionics Group. Based in Arlington, Va., Rettig will be responsible for the development, oversight, and implementation of U.S. sales and marketing. Rettig was most recently vice president and director of marketing at Alenia Marconi Systems Inc.
Mesa Airlines rolled out the first of 20 CRJ-700 aircraft on order at its Phoenix hub late last month, part of a $2 billion deal that also includes firm orders for 20 CRJ-900s. Mesa will fly the equipment for code-share partner America West, which plans to use the aircraft largely to expand its Midwest and West Coast operations. The new CRJ fleet will offer six business-class seats, a rarity among regional airlines.
Aerospace industry experts say an aging engineer workforce - and a shortage of young skilled engineers - may pose the greatest challenge for the U.S. aerospace industry.
Model Mystere-Falcon 50 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-335-AD) - proposes to require repetitive tests of double-skin feeder tanks for fuel leaks, and corrective actions, if necessary. It also would require modification of seals in the feeder tanks, which would terminate the repetitive leak tests. This action is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign airworthiness authority.
CTL-92 Transponder Control Panels (Docket No. 2001-CE-22-AD; Amendment 39-12352; AD 2001-15-17) - requires modification of the altitude encoder inputs of the CTL-92 transponder control panels. This AD is the result of reports of noise generation within the CTL-92 transponder control panels that the transponder can interpret and transmit as a random altitude. Air traffic control (ATC) and traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS)-equipped aircraft can then interpret these erroneous random altitudes as valid altitudes.
FLIGHT OPTIONS INC. opened regional service centers at Denver, Colo. Centennial Airport (APA) and at McClellan Park in Sacramento, Calif. The Denver facility features a private two-story terminal with a 21,000-square-foot maintenance area. The two facilities are the first of several service centers Flight Options plans to build in the near future.
Aerospace Products International of Memphis, Tenn. signed an agreement with Superior Air Parts under which API will acquire regional distribution centers from Superior in Haywood, Calif.; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; St. Charles, Ill.; Allentown, Pa.; and Dallas, Texas. API also said it will be appointed a worldwide distributor for Superior's line of FAA approved replacement parts for Lycoming and Continental aircraft engines.
Despite positive sales in its aerospace segment, Honeywell International Inc. on July 24 posted a 92 percent drop in net profit for the second quarter due largely to charges the company took related to its failed merger with General Electric Co.
ALISON DOMINGUEZ was appointed quality assurance manager at Professional Aviation Associates. Dominguez has 20 years of aviation experience and was recently employed at Fokker Services, Inc.
CORPORATE JETS INC. expanded its air medical services in the western United States by adding a Bell 222UT helicopter this month. CJI now operates eight Regional LifeFlight programs at 14 base sites in the West.
NAV CANADA and the International Civil Aviation Organization will host the 2001 International Oceanic Conference from Oct. 2-4 at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. This year's theme for the annual oceanic airspace management event is "Improving Customer Service Through Advanced Technology."
