General Electric and Honeywell gave the European Commission a final package of actions they are willing to take to get approval for their proposed $40 billion merger, although company officials said the package is short of the EC's demands and they don't expect it to be approved. The package proposes divestitures in Honeywell's aerospace business, including a new business and regional jet engine program, air turbine starters and some avionics products. The divestitures would be worth $2.2 billion in revenue, according to the companies.
The 2000 Annual Business Turbine Aircraft Accident Review has been published, and is available from, Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc., the Boca Raton, Fla. firm that has been compiling and analyzing business aircraft accidents for decades.
Mark Donegan, president of Wyman-Gordon Company, was named president and chief operating officer of parent company Precision Castparts Corp., effective July 1. "This is an exciting time for Mark, me and PCC," said William C. McCormick, chairman and chief executive of PCC. "I have been in manufacturing for 50 years, and Mark Donegan is one of the best operational managers I have ever encountered. I have personally worked with Mark for nearly 20 years, and I am confident that he is ready to undertake these new responsibilities."
BOUNDARY LAYER RESEARCH won a supplemental type certificate from FAA for the BLR tailboom strake modification for the Bell 412 series helicopter. The modification is designed to improve handling qualities, reduce the cost of operation and improve safety of single-rotor helicopters by manipulating wind from the main rotor. The price of the modification kit is $12,250. BLR is based in Everett, Wash. For information, contact Dave George at (425) 353-6591.
A congressional panel last week questioned whether the Federal Aviation Administration's recently announced Operational Evolution Plan will go far enough to solve growing congestion problems in the U.S. and whether FAA will be able to deliver on the promises made in the plan. FAA this month outlined its 10-year OEP, which packages a host of programs designed to increase capacity in the airspace and at airports and bring online an array of new technology (BA, June 11/269).
JET AVIATION won German LBA approval to maintain Challenger 604 and Falcon 900EX aircraft at its Dusseldorf facility and Galaxy business jets at its Hannover site. The Hannover base is the first in the Jet Aviation network to win Galaxy approval.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION Friday asked the Senate Commerce Committee to allow the Department of Transportation to withhold funds from states and airport sponsors that propose closing an airport that serves as a reliever to one of the nation's most congested airports.
RIO GRANDE AIR, the only New Mexico-based regional airline, will add scheduled passenger service to Santa Fe and Ruidoso effective July 1. The carrier, which operates a fleet of Cessna Caravan turboprops, currently provides service to Albuquerque, Farmington and Taos, N.M., and to Durango, Colo.
GOODRICH CORPORATION said Bombardier Aerospace selected it to provide a potable water system as standard equipment on the CRJ900 series regional jet. The CRJ900 system is pressurized and uses bleed air from the ECS/APU, plus an air compressor to supplement or replace the supply of bleed air if necessary. Water temperature at the various outlet interfaces is controlled with localized heaters. The control panel for the system, located in the aircraft galley, contains all switches and circuit breakers for the system, as well as water level indication and warning lamps.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION appointed Christopher Bertram, a senior staff member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as assistant administrator for financial services/chief financial officer, replacing Donna McLean, who recently was confirmed by the Senate as the Transportation Department assistant secretary for budget and programs. FAA also named David Leitch, a partner in the law firm of Hogan&Hartson, as chief counsel.
Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-82-AD; Amendment 39-12243; AD 2001-11-02) - supersedes AD 99-17-08, which currently requires modifying the generator 2 excitation by removing certain diodes and installing a new 5-amp circuit breaker and suppression filter on certain Pilatus PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes. This AD is the result of FAA's determination that the A250 voltage spike suppression filter in the modification kit can cause the circuit breaker 235 to trip because of overload. In extreme circumstances, this can lead to overheating of wiring.
ASKED ABOUT the prospect of United Airlines jumping into the fractional aircraft market, Executive Jet's Richard Santulli responded, "We're not worried." The chairman and CEO of Executive Jet added that when United officials enter the fractional business they will be "playing in a different league than the league they're in now." Santulli made his remarks while traveling from Newark, N.J. to Columbus, Ohio aboard the first of his company's new Boeing Business Jets.
PREMIER TURBINES expanded its TFE731 response team to cover an area within a 500-mile radius of its St. Louis Downtown Airport operation. The field support team is a mobile unit on 24-hour call that travels to off-site locations with a specially outfitted van. Premier has ordered a trailer that will be customized for its 731 work, and the company said the combination could shuttle two complete 731 engines and all necessary tools and equipment to make repairs.
Model 737 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-146-AD) - revises an earlier AD), applicable to certain Boeing Model 737-100, -200, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes, that would have required inspection of wire bundles in two junction boxes in the main wheel well to detect chafing or damage, and follow-on actions.
In a move that raised concern among general aviation groups, the Federal Aviation Administration last week asked for comment on an array of proposals to ease congestion at New York LaGuardia Airport with options including a landing premium of up to $2,000 and rearranging takeoff and landing rights to give large aircraft first priority.
THE SENATE AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE Friday will hold a field hearing to consider congestion problems at Chicago O'Hare Airport. The hearing, to be held in downtown Chicago, comes a week after the City of Chicago and FAA held the first meeting of the O'Hare Delay Task Force. Organizers of the task force emphasized that they only would consider issues pertaining to O'Hare and not other area airports. But the general aviation representatives on the task force - the National Business Aviation Association and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association - disagreed.
JET AVIATION added a second Cessna Citation Bravo to its European Private Fleet in Zurich, Switzerland. The Bravo was painted in Jet Aviation's Private Fleet red and blue colors and was fitted with double-club seating configured for up to eight passengers. Jet Aviation's European Private Fleet comprises a Citation II, two Citation Bravos and a Challenger 601 that are wholly owned by Jet Aviation. The company also operates a Falcon 900B, Galaxy, Challenger 604 and DC-8-72 VIP aircraft for charter.
DAVID MILLER was named director of administrative services at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport. Miller formerly was general manager of Mercury Air Center at Burbank and before joining Mercury he managed fixed-base operations in Los Angeles and Houston. He also served as chairman of the National Air Transportation Association.
(Docket No. 98-CE-121-AD; Amendment 39-12255; AD 2000-25-02 R1) - clarifies information contained in AD 2000-25-02, which requires inspecting the front and rear wood spars for damage, including installing any as-needed inspection holes; and repairing or replacing any damaged wood spar. FAA incorrectly referenced the initial inspection compliance time of this AD as "whichever occurs later." The notice of proposed rulemaking contained the correct reference of "whichever occurs first." This action revises the AD to reflect the correct reference in the compliance time.
WAUKESHA County Airport in Wisconsin broke ground for a new hangar for Skycom, an avionics repair shop that has been operating out of a maintenance hangar on the north side of the airport. The hangar is the first to be built on the airport's new ramp development district just south of the terminal building. The ramp area was designed for aeronautical and commercial services. The new hangar, which will move Skycom closer to the main airport activity, initially will be 120 feet by 75 feet, but can be expanded to 120 feet by 120 feet.
SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT delivered a 300C helicopter to Aeroclube do Brasil through its Brazilian distributor EDRA Representacao Aeronautica LTDA. Based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aeroclube do Brazil provides flight training.
All five people aboard a Piper Cheyenne turboprop were killed June 3 when the aircraft crashed short of an airport in Tennessee while attempting to make a precautionary landing.
SANTULLI, whose company was managing 362 aircraft at the beginning of the month - with another 580 on order - believes Executive Jet "will be the leader forever" in the fractional business. "So far the competition has been fair," Santulli told reporters last week, adding, "As long as people play fair and square we will too." Santulli's definition of fair means that Executive Jet will be able to continue buying aircraft for the same price that manufacturers such as Raytheon, Bombardier and Cessna charge their own in-house fractional partners.
DENNIS ZALUPSKI joined Kellstrom as senior vice president-sales of the Commercial Division. Zalupski formerly was general manager of sales for GE Aircraft Engine Services Division. He spent nearly 12 years with GE in a variety of roles including managing director of GE Appliances Europe.
WINNER AVIATION in Vienna, Ohio, was appointed an authorized Mitsubishi MU-2 service center. Winner previously received factory authorizations from Raytheon/Beech, Honeywell and Twin Commander. The Northeast Ohio facility also named Tom Wyman regional maintenance sales manager. Wyman, a 25-year aviation veteran, will be responsible for all airframe, engine and avionics sales activities.
