All General aviation articles – Page 604
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GV sales help Gulfstream to chalk up record results in 1997
Gulfstream Aerospace soared to record financial results in 1997 and expects the trend to continue as production ramps up for the ultra long range GV business jet. The corporation's sales virtually doubled over the year, reaching $1.9 billion, with deliveries of the GV climbing to 29 aircraft, alongside 22 GIV-SPS. ...
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Extra expects approval for 330 aerobatic aircraft in March
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH German light aircraft manufacturer Extra Flugzeugbau expects to complete certification of work on its new Extra 330 aerobatic aircraft by the end of March. The aircraft, an upgraded version of the Extra 300, has a more powerful engine and "much better manoeuvrability" for competition flying, says ...
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Tridair settles dispute with Bell
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES California-based helicopter conversion specialist Tridair Helicopters and Bell Helicopter Textron have settled a dispute over the alleged use of Tridair-developed data for Bell helicopters not covered by the 1993 licence agreement between the two companies. Under the settlement, the original licence deal will be amended to allow ...
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PAS receives
PAS, based at Gloucester's Staverton Airport in the UK, has secured a contract to provide pilotage and maintenance services to the North Midlands police air support unit. Source: Flight International
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Air Methods equips
Air Methods of Colorado has received contracts from the UK's Police Aviation Services (PAS) and Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters in the USA for multi-function interiors for installation in Boeing MD Explorers. Source: Flight International
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NBAA asks members to ground Stage 1 aircraft
Members of the US National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) are being asked to stop operating business jets meeting Stage 1 noise limits by 2005. The NBAA board has passed a resolution calling for members "to refrain from adding Stage 1 aircraft to their fleets, beginning in January 2000, and furthermore ...
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Investors rap Mesa for SJ30-2 distribution deal
Troubled US regional airline operator Mesa Air Group is coming under fire from investors for its year-old agreement to distribute the Sino Swearingen Aircraft (SSAC)SJ30-2 business jet. Wholly owned subsidiary Four Corners Aviation (FCA), a fixed-base operator located at Mesa's Farmington, New Mexico, headquarters, signed the distributorship agreement in ...
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Raytheon hands back MU-2 to Mitsubishi
Raytheon Aircraft has handed over product support for its MU-2 twin-engined turboprop to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA), so that it can concentrate on new product lines. The MU-2 production line was halted in 1986, after more than 30 years, when US manufacturer Mitsubishi Aircraft International was dissolved. Raytheon ...
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Cirrus begins SR20 certification
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Cirrus Design hopes to begin deliveries of its SR20 light aircraft early in the second half of 1998, about six months behind schedule. The company flew the first production prototype on 28 January and is aiming for certification by mid-year. The exact certification schedule will be established ...
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Fairchild Dornier wins corporate 328JET orders
Fairchild Dornier has won six orders from four customers for its 328JET in executive jet and air ambulance configurations. Tyrolean Jet Service of Innsbruck, Austria, has become the launch customer, with an order for one aircraft in its corporate version, plus one for an air ambulance, to be delivered ...
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Japanese banking crisis reins in aircraft financing
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Japan's banks are predicting an extended reduction in their aircraft financing activity in the wake of the country's banking crisis and the demise of their favoured funding vehicle, the Japanese leveraged lease. Japanese banks have historically accounted for as much as 20-25% of the world's airliner ...
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ICAO examines global aviation impact model
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is considering adopting a model developed by Dutch civil-aviation authority, the RLD, to predict the environmental and socio-political effects of aviation regulatory decisions. Richard Hancox, project manager for UK transportation modelling specialist MVA, believes that Project AERO represents "the only detailed global model ...
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Italy breaks waterbomber sales drought
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Bombardier anticipates additional orders for its CL-415 waterbomber this year, after breaking a year-long sales drought with the follow-on purchase of two aircraft by Italy's civil protection department. The company is confident that it will find customers for most of the 21 aircraft remaining from the first ...
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Durability problems threaten Lycoming piston engine
Textron Lycoming is evaluating whether to continue development of the IO-580 piston engine, following Cessna's decision to switch to the company's IO-540 to power its 206 Stationair piston single. Cessna decided to change engines after the turbocharged TIO-580 failed endurance testing. The switch-over has delayed deliveries of the 206 ...
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GEC voices fears over European mega-mergers
Ian Sheppard/LONDON A new report from GEC- Marconi highlights fears within the UK avionics sector that it may lose out in the pending consolidation of the European aerospace industry with its interests potentially swamped by those of the aircraft manufacturers within proposed mega-mergers. Senior sources at GEC, ...
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Light twin, right price
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC When Bell introduced the Model 407 light single-turbine helicopter it was essentially competing with itself, or rather with the longevity of its popular Model 206 JetRanger/LongRanger family. With the new Model 427 light twin, the company is breaking new ground, and competing with helicopters from established manufacturers. ...
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Citation deliveries
Cessna delivered 180 Citation business jets in 1997, up from 122 in 1996. Including 78 single-turboprop Caravan Is and 360 piston singles, the company shipped 618 aircraft in 199. Business-jet deliveries during 1997 consisted of 63 CitationJets; 28 Citation Bravos; 53 Citation V Ultras; eight mid-size Citation VIIs; and 28 ...
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EJM expands fleet
Cincinatti, Ohio-based Executive Jet Management (EJM) has added four business jets - a Cessna CitationJet, Citation S/II, and two Citation V Ultras - to its fleet of 24 managed aircraft. EJM, an affiliate of Executive Jet, plans to add a further 20 managed aircraft in 1998. Source: Flight International
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Insurers threaten to withdraw cover unless airlines tackle computer bug
Aviation insurers have challenged airlines to prove that their fleet avionics are free of the "millennium bug" which threatens to disrupt computer software, or lose their cover for any incidents which result from it. The issue, says a major Lloyds insurance-market underwriter, is what may happen to embedded computer ...
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AOPA criticises FAA wing-spar mandate
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) says that a proposed wing-spar airworthiness directive (AD) affecting 8,300 Aeronca and American Champion aircraft is unnecessary. The private pilots' group seeks exemptions for all non-aerobatic, lower-gross-weight aircraft such as the original Aeronca Champ and Chief and derivative aircraft such as the ...