DASSAULT FALCON JET plans to capture the spotlight at this week's Paris Air Show with two major announcements. The French manufacturer is expected to unveil a mockup of its new Falcon 9000 business jet and announce a major order from United Airlines for smaller business jets for the carrier's planned fractional aircraft program (BA, May 28/251).
Lockheed Martin partnered with Northrop Grumman Ingalls Shipbuilding in a quest to capture a share of the U.S. Coast Guard's proposed 20-year, $10 billion Deepwater aircraft and ship modernization program. The companies formed a new entity, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, and met with the Coast Guard last week at Lockheed Martin's facility in Moorestown, N.J.
Model F.28 Mark 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-298-AD) - proposes to require a one-time inspection to detect the presence of filler plates on the engine support fittings, and corrective action, if necessary. This action is necessary to detect and correct fatigue and stress corrosion in the U-shaped upper and lower legs of the engine support fittings, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the engine support structure. FAA estimates that 22 airplanes on the U.S.
GULFSTREAM PRESIDENT BILL BOISTURE acknowledges that reaction in the Mideast to General Dynamics' acquisition of Galaxy Aerospace - which includes a long-term agreement with Israel Aircraft Industries to continue building the Galaxy and Astra SPX airframes in Israel - "was and is of some concern to us." Arab government and business customers have been a significant market for Gulfstream's products for decades. But Boisture noted that "GD made the acquisition" and "they have a well known presence" in the Middle East.
As UAL Corp. unveils the first batch of business jet orders for its new fractional ownership program, the airline giant quietly has been preparing two other legs of its business jet enterprise - a large jet charter program that will operate under Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations and a smaller aircraft charter operation under Part 135. UAL this month applied for a certificate of public convenience and necessity with the Department of Transportation for permission to launch its Part 121 operation using the Embraer Legacy business jet.
T5313B, T5317 Series, and T53 series turboshaft engines (Docket No. 2000-NE-32-AD) - proposes to require for T5313B series and T5317 series engines, initial and repetitive inspections of those compressor impellers, if installed. This proposal would also require for T53 series engines, a revised operating cycle count (prorate) for those compressor impellers if installed, and initial and repetitive inspections, with eventual compressor impeller replacement. In addition, this proposal would require the marking of those compressor impellers.
FAIRCHILD DORNIER named Wolfgang Weiss chief financial officer, effective July 1. Weiss, who will be based in Munich, Germany, replaces Rudi Lenz, CFO since 1997 and now president of Fairchild Aircraft Services, Inc. in San Antonio, Texas. Weiss had been managing director of a Bavarian company where he was responsible for marketing, sales, quality, finance and accounting.
GE ENGINE SERVICES and Industrial&Financial Systems (IFS) formed a strategic alliance to pursue the growing market for information systems in the commercial aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul industry. The two companies said they will "refine and market IFS Aviation software systems for airlines and commercial MRO providers."
MIKE BERNHOLTZ was promoted to MPI shop supervisor for Duncan Aviation's Lincoln, Neb. facility. Bernholtz, who has served with Duncan since 1991, will oversee all MPI shop activities, including scheduling, logistics and manpower.
INDIGO'S chief financial officer is leaving the company to accept a similar position with Air Wisconsin. Appleton, Wis.-based Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. said James Clarke will join AWAC as CFO. Most recently, Clarke has been CFO at Indigo, a Part 380 public charter operator that provides "regular and frequent" service with Falcon 20 aircraft between Chicago and Teterboro (BA, March 19/133).
PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS INC. said members of the Office&Professional Employees International Union Local 108 ratified the terms and conditions of a three-year agreement between PHI and its domestic pilots.
France Model SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and SA-366G1 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-34-AD) - proposes to revise an existing AD that currently requires inspecting each tail rotor blade for bonding separation, measuring the clearance between the tip of each tail rotor blade and the circumference of the air duct, and replacing the blade if necessary. This action would contain the same requirements but would allow the pilot to perform the daily visual check and would contain a damage allowance for certain blades.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL received FAA Level D and International Level 2 Qualification for its Gulfstream V simulator stationed at the company's Dallas/Fort Worth training center. Produced by CAE Electronics Ltd. in Montreal, the G-V simulator is one of five Gulfstream simulators in the Dallas facility.
Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for May 2001 (see related graphs on Pages 291 and 292 of the hard copy of this issue.) Used Retail Deliveries May 1998 May 1999 May 2000 May 2001 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 51 40 14 54 19 15 50 31 27 41 15 13 America
Model 737, 757, and 767 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-298-AD; Amendment 39-12249; AD 2001-11-07) - requires repetitive operational checks of certain motor-operated hydraulic shutoff valves to detect malfunctioning; replacement with new valves, if necessary; and eventual replacement of certain existing valves with new valves, which terminates the repetitive inspections. This amendment is prompted by reports that various intermittent limit-switch problems have caused valve failures.
A LEARJET being operated by a NASA flight crew was damaged during a training mission June 7. The Model 24A, N805NA, made a hard landing at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident said each pilot had successfully made a touch-and-go landing at the airport. On the third approach, flown by the co-pilot, the aircraft bounced twice and the co-pilot added power. The right wing dropped, so the crew reduced power and attempted to abort the takeoff.
THE RHETORIC is heating up between pilots and the airlines over flight and duty time limits. The Air Transport Association's attempts to halt an FAA rule on pilot fatigue is based on a "blatantly hypocritical collection of distortions and half-truths attempting to camouflage naked greed," Air Line Pilots Association President Duane Woerth charged Thursday. He was responding to ATA's June 12 filing asking for a stay of the rule that limits pilot work hours to 16 in any 24-hour period.
Three U.S. airports plan to install an aircraft arresting system of crushable concrete blocks designed to prevent runway overruns. The runway safety area extensions, made by Engineered Arresting Systems Corp. (ESCO), are built of cellular cement blocks and added to the ends of existing runways; they stop aircraft by decelerating them without inflicting life-endangering damage.
NICOLE CHARLAND was promoted to marketing manager for Flight Services Group. Charland will coordinate all marketing, promotions, customer service and advertising in the U.S. and work with marketing of the parent company, PrivatAir, to develop new branding and positioning in the U.S. Charland joined FSG in 1998 as a training coordinator.
Honeywell said a Falcon 50 engine retrofit program that substitutes TFE731-40 turbofans for the original TFE731-3 powerplants has won certification from U.S. and European officials (BA, Oct. 18, 1999/181). Anheuser Busch is the first company to commit to doing the Falcon 50-40 conversion. Honeywell claims the -40 engine will give Falcon 50 operators faster time-to-climb and cruise speeds, improved engine reliability and reduced cost of ownership.
Lockheed Martin won a $125 million contract to develop the En Route Communications Gateway (ECG) and field it at 21 air route traffic control centers and the FAA Academy and Technical Center. ECG will provide a gateway for processing radar data and will increase safety margins by reducing system outages, the agency said. It will replace the current Peripheral Adapter Module Replacement item with modern communications protocols and modular, expandable hardware.
HONEYWELL'S SECAN facility in France won a contract from Fairchild Dornier to provide auxiliary fuel tanks for the Envoy 7 Corporate Jet. The contract has a potential value of $50 million, based on sales of between 100 and 125 aircraft, Honeywell said. Deliveries of production fuel tanks are scheduled to begin in 2003. The tanks, which use Honeywell's new ISOCELL technology, will extend the range of the standard 70-passenger 728JET from 1,400 nautical miles to more than 4,000 nautical miles in the Envoy 7 corporate configuration.
BOTH PEOPLE aboard a Mitsubishi MU-2F were killed June 10 when their 1969 aircraft, N187AF, crashed about four miles south-southeast of the Santa Fe, N.M. airport. The aircraft was registered to Air 1st Aviation Companies, Inc. of Aiken, S.C.
Responding to concerns about potential safety problems with broken or cracked wiring in older aircraft, Honeywell is developing and marketing the Nova Wire Integrity Program (NWIP), "an integrated, and portable system to proactively test and identify faulty wiring and connections in older aircraft."
Models 99, 99A, 99A (FACH), A99, A99A, B99, and C99 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-27-AD; Amendment 39-12245; AD 2001-11-04) - requires inspection of all main landing gear (MLG) hydraulic actuators to determine the end cap part number that is installed, and replacement of any actuator that has a Part Number 4A125C32 end cap. This AD is the result of the potential for fatigue cracks to develop on the MLG hydraulic actuator end caps. The actions specified by this AD are intended to eliminate existing and prevent future fatigue cracks in the MLG hydraulic actuator end caps.
