Brian Rowe, former head of GE Aviation, died February 22. He was 75. Rowe joined GE in 1957 and later led the CF6 engine program. He was named head of GE Aviation in 1979. Rowe launched the CF34 turbofan for business and regional jets, the F110 for the F-16 fighter and the CF6-80C2, which powers the Airbus A300/A300-600/A310 series, the Boeing 747-300/400, MD-11 and Lockheed Martin C-5.
Fluid dynamics
March 23, 2007 - 12:08pm
Mach 1, a Southern California aircraft broker, and two of its principals, Brian Doherty and John Mouyos, plan to appeal a jury’s decision that they are liable for fraud, according to their attorney. A Southern California Superior Court jury recently ordered the defendants to pay more than $30 million in damages to Jet Source, an FBO and aircraft sales firm at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif.
January 30, 2007 - 10:05am
Safire Aircraft of Opa-Locka, Fla., announced last month that wind-tunnel testing at the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory’s subsonic Kirstin Wind Tunnel had validated the design of the very light twinjet.
January 30, 2007 - 4:14am
AvAero of Safety Harbor, Fla., announced that Falconbridge Mining is the first customer for the FuelMizer aerodynamic modification of the Boeing 737-200/300. AvAero, which received FAA approval in April last year, EASA certification in August last year and Transport Canada approval last month, claims the FuelMizer will decrease the twinjet’s fuel burn by an average of 4 percent.
January 16, 2007 - 10:32am
A Flight Options Beechjet 400A (N691TA) yesterday afternoon experienced a dual-engine flameout en route from Indianapolis International Airport to Marco Island Airport, Fla., while on a positioning leg. The crew declared an emergency and landed safely at Jacksonville International Airport. This marks the second such Beechjet incident at the Cleveland-based fractional provider.
January 10, 2007 - 10:11am
Investigations into two accidents involving Eurocopter AS 350A and AS 350B2 helicopters led the NTSB to determine that the hydraulic pump drive belt (P/N 704A33690004) prematurely failed in flight. Additionally, an inquiry into the FAA’s Service Difficulty Report database found that 43 failures and/or replacements of hydraulic pump drive belts with that part number occurred from February 1995 to the present.
January 10, 2007 - 10:05am
French engine manufacturer Snecma has revealed plans to develop a turbofan engine to power business and regional jets. It has started developing a core engine demonstrator called the SM-X that, if a full development program is launched, would yield a powerplant producing between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds of thrust. Ground testing of the core is set for the second half of next year.
January 10, 2007 - 9:47am
Four reported incidents of in-flight loss of hydraulic fluid led to an emergency AD being issued Friday for the 139 in-service Premier Is. None of the incidents led to any mishaps, according to Raytheon Aircraft. The problem has been traced to the failure of a hydraulic tube assembly in the left engine. The directive requires a visual inspection of the affected part before further flight and thereafter at intervals of 50 hours.
December 18, 2006 - 5:26am
Engine manufacturers are showing renewed interest in the 10,000-pound-thrust segment. They see the aging of the General Electric (GE) CF34-3B, the only engine in production in the class, and at least two companies–Snecma and Pratt & Whitney Canada–are eyeing future large business jets, the size of the Bombardier Challenger 600 series, as potential applications. Meanwhile, GE is modernizing the CF34-1 for the Challenger 601.
December 15, 2006 - 11:01am
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) warned its members of a new requirement imposed by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Heavy Weights and Measures Division. According to NATA, the state has decided to apply legal standards for self-serve auto fuel pumps to aviation facilities.
