Midwest Express placed major aircraft orders with Boeing and Embraer in a move designed to transform the highly rated carrier's fleet from one of the oldest to one of the most modern in the industry. In addition to the original equipment manufacturers, the order is a nice piece of business for engine maker Rolls-Royce, which builds the powerplants for both the new aircraft ordered.
MORRIE GOODMAN was named vice president of communications for The Boeing Company's Air Traffic Management business unit. Goodman, who will be based in Washington, D.C., will be responsible for strategic communications planning, public relations, employee and executive communications and advertising. He formerly served as press secretary and director of public affairs at the Department of Commerce under Secretaries William Daley and Norman Mineta.
CONSTRUCTION of the Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport is expected to begin this month, even though museum officials acknowledge they don't expect to have all the money in hand to complete the entire project on schedule. See article below. Museum officials keep thinking of new ways to generate interest in and support for the new facility designed to house nearly 300 aircraft and spacecraft.
ROCKWELL COLLINS AVIATION SERVICES has expanded its Collins Avionics Services Programs to business aircraft operators worldwide. The program covers all component maintenance and reliability upgrades with services billed on a consolidated invoice based on a forecast of annual operating hours. The program is designed to increase on-wing reliability while lowering ownership costs, Collins said.
Galaxy Aerospace hopes to win certification from U.S. and Israeli aviation authorities by mid-year for a 600-pound gross weight increase for the Galaxy business jet. The increase will boost operating weight to 19,800 pounds, maximum ramp weight to 35,600 pounds and maximum landing weight to 30,000 pounds.
FAA'S FAILURE to develop regulations giving air tour operators incentives to use quiet technology aircraft is finally gaining some attention on Capitol Hill.At least one key legislator is said to be upset with the emphasis by FAA and the National Park Service on piling additional restrictions on air tour operators but ignoring congressional mandates to push the use of quieter aircraft as a viable way to reduce the noise impact of air tour flights.
STEVE KLASSEN was named avionics/instrument and satellite manager for Duncan Aviation. Klassen has more than 20 years of aviation experience, initially with Sperry Flight Systems and later Honeywell. Most recently, he managed Honeywell's repair and overhaul operations in Wichita, Kan.
The Federal Aviation Administration, armed with an independent report that showers praise on the benefits of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), set a new schedule for the beleaguered program that would allow pilots to begin using the system for precision landings at airports nationwide by the end of 2003. FAA last week sent a report to Congress on the findings of an Independent Review Board (IRB) investigation of WAAS and stated that the agency "remains committed" to the program.
PROFESSIONAL AVIATION ASSOCIATES formed a Falcon Aircraft Parts Division to specialize in Dassault Falcon 20 aircraft. PAA distributes parts worldwide to FBOs, general aviation operators and commuter airlines with a concentration on Beech, Learjet and Falcon parts.
BEARING INSPECTION INC. won a five-year contract from Israel Aircraft Industries to overhaul bearings and related components for various engines serviced by IAI. IAI's engines division, Bedek Aviation Group, maintains, overhauls and tests commercial engines and accessories.
U.S. BUSINESS AVIATION operators hope to build the appropriate relationships with Russian officials so they can take advantage of four polar routes that commercial airlines have begun to use recently. Business aircraft currently are free to transit the routes - there aren't technical or regulatory barriers - but the routes are not a practical option because the required clearances are too difficult to obtain. The routes over the polar caps have long been available for commercial use, but a recent accord with the Russians made them viable for scheduled airline flights.
Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures, Inc., the Long Beach, Calif. company that has been struggling to find the financing to complete development and certification of its Jetcruzer 500 aircraft, named aviation marketing veteran Roy H. Norris to its board of directors. Norris, 56, has held a series of executive posts with Raytheon Aircraft, Gulfstream Aerospace and Cessna Aircraft. He currently is president of The Norris Group, a consulting services firm based in Birmingham, Ala.
Federal Aviation Administration picked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to lead a team of five universities that will create a "center of excellence" to research general aviation technology and safety issues. The team, which also includes Wichita State, the University of North Dakota, Florida A&M and the University of Alaska, will establish a cooperative agreement with FAA to act as "equal technical and fiscal partners" to support research and development programs.
RICK O'QUINN joined Aircraft Belts as technical sales manager. O'Quinn has 20 years of sales experience, most recently as a marketing representative for Motorola Communications.
FAA's AIRCRAFT AND AIRMEN REGISTRY in Oklahoma City, Okla. is now making a lot of its data available on the Internet through the agency's web site, registry.faa.gov.The web site has been operating for about a year, but officials keep making more information accessible, recently adding the full airmen and aircraft databases. As of April 4 users could send an interactive query to the aircraft database to locate aircraft by type, serial number or N number.
CATHY BRADY was promoted to charter sales supervisor of the Eastern sales division for The Air Group. Brady joined The Air Group's New York office in 1998 as air charter travel manager. She also served in a number of capacities for Northeast Airways, including vice president of the charter sales division.
ANOTHER EFFORT that could lead to reduced horizontal separation between aircraft is a system being developed by Boeing designed to break up trailing vortices. The system, which has been demonstrated in ground tests, uses control surfaces to cyclically shift a small fraction of the lift between inboard and outboard sections of the wing to trigger wake instabilities that destroy vortices.
PRESIDENT BUSH showed he's following the national debate on airport congestion and flight delays, telling a national newspaper editors meeting in Washington that "what we need to do is expand the number of runways all around America." Bush said there are a "lot" of environmental regulations, some of which inhibit the construction of new runways. As for the need for a third Chicago area airport, which would require federal funding, Bush said, "I have not made up my mind yet."
Model 55 series airplanes and Model 60 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-128-AD) - proposes to require replacement of the brake valve adjustment screw with a new, improved screw, and for certain airplanes, it would also require installation of a new brake valve lever stop. This action is necessary to prevent bottoming of the valve components before contact of the brake valve lever with the stop, which could result in loss of all hydraulic fluid and consequent loss of normal braking. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.
IS RAYTHEON COMPANY getting ready again to start seeking buyers for Wichita-based Raytheon Aircraft Company? Despite an order backlog of more than $4 billion, RAC is eliminating the jobs of about 10 percent of its managerial and administrative work force, which should improve profitability and make RAC more attractive to potential buyers. See article on Page 169. Raytheon had been seeking buyers for RAC until late last year (BA, Jan. 1/1).
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer made a successful first flight of its Legacy business jet, a version of the 37-passenger ERJ-135 regional jet. The 90-minute March 31 flight was made with S/N 363, which will be used for aerodynamics and system integration tests in the certification program. The crew tested all flap and gear configurations, did stalls, flew to a maximum altitude of 39,000 feet and reached a top speed of Mach .80. The aircraft took off at its maximum takeoff weight of 48,479 pounds.
HOUSE Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) asked Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to review why the former Homestead Air Force Base in Florida is not available for civil aviation use and to determine what transportation leaders can do to ensure that other such facilities remain a viable option for expanding aviation capacity. The U.S. Air Force in January reversed a decision it made seven years ago to permit commercial aeronautical use at Homestead (BA, Jan. 22/41).
DUNCAN AVIATION received FAA supplemental type certificate approval to modify certain Citations with the Universal Avionics terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS). The STC covers installations on Citation 500, 550, S550 and 560 models. Duncan provides avionics installations and modifications at its facilities in Lincoln, Neb. and Battle Creek, Mich., as well as satellite shops at Teterboro, N.J., Van Nuys, Calif., Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, Denver, Colo. and Las Vegas, Nev.
Model CL-600-2B19 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-33-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires repetitive ultrasonic inspection to detect damage of the actuator lugs of the flight spoiler center hinge; and corrective action, if necessary. This proposal would mandate the previously optional terminating action by requiring replacement of the flight spoilers with new improved spoilers.
