-------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas prices drop another 2 cents nationwide (I hope this is reflected in aviation fuel prices - Jim) LOS ANGELES - Dec 21, 1997 10:07 p.m. EST -- The average price of gasoline nationwide fell more than 2 cents in the past two weeks because of oversupply, an industry analyst said Sunday. "Refiners and importers keep cranking out more gasoline than we use," Trilby Lundberg said. "There is a continued imbalance over supply and demand." The overall average price, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.21 per gallon on Friday, down 2.04 cents in two weeks, according to the Camarillo-based Lundberg Survey of 10,000 stations nationwide. Prices have been falling for most of the year, except for a temporary increase in July. "Prices are now nearly 9 cents lower than Dec. 20, 1996 and have fallen about 12 cents between the end of August and now," Lundberg said. At self-service pumps, regular gasoline was $1.15 a gallon, mid-grade was $1.26 and premium was $1.34. At full-service pumps, regular was $1.56, mid-grade was $1.64 and premium was $1.71. (Self service regular is as low as 98.9 cents in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. Tennessee has one of the highest state taxes in the nation. I have not checked base operators at the airport. Jim === --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: EGT00000 Date: 12/22/97 From: JIM SANDERS Time: 08:30pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: News-929 Christmas countdown - FAA clears Santa Claus for holiday take-off WASHINGTON Dec 22, 1997 Web posted at: 11:57 a.m. EST (1657 GMT) -- Santa Claus, also known as St. Nicholas, has been given approval to make his annual rounds Wednesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced. The man in the red suit "has received FAA approval to conduct unlimited U.S. flight operations," a statement from the agency said. "A special amendment to the open skies agreements reached between the United States and 28 foreign nations gives Santa automatic land- ing rights in those countries as well, with all taxes and fees waived." An FAA team inspected Claus' sleigh at the North Pole, and pro- nounced it fit for flight "despite being approximately 16 centuries old." The sleigh has been outfitted with new, state-of-the-art navi- gational equipment, including an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System transponder, and a Global Positioning System with FAA enhancements that allow Claus to pinpoint his exact location with one meter. The improvement is expected to assure Claus that he won't land by mistake at "the houses of children who have been naughty, not nice." The FAA said that Claus' wife, an avionics engineer, adapted the equipment for use on the sleigh, and that elves will be handling ground maintenance and baggage. Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, will lead eight other reindeer pulling the sleigh through the Christmas Eve sky. The FAA said that Rudolph's nose contained weather sensors that could detect potentially dangerous conditions, alerting Claus in time to avoid them. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Eurofighter warplane gets go-ahead BONN - Dec 22, 1997 09:00 a.m. EST - Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain signed an agreement Monday to build the Eurofighter warplane, Europe's most expensive and controversial cross-border military project. Defense ministers from the four powers signed documents clearing the way for the building of 620 aircraft costing up to $70 billion, according to industry analysts. "This is the best plane at the right price," British Defense Minister George Robertson told a joint news conference after the signing ceremony at the German Defense Ministry in Bonn. Robertson, who inherited the project from the former right-wing Conservative government, rejected criticism that the Eurofighter 2000 was an obsolete concept of the Cold War. "This is one of the most modern aircraft that can be produced," he said. The Eurofighter had "the versatility to deal with the varied challenges we are going to face in the next 20 years." German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe said the agreement would help Europe's air and space industry to compete with the United States. "This will make thousands of jobs safe," he added. The project is expected to employ directly and indirectly about 100,000 in Europe at the height of production. Opposition groups in all four countries have criticized the project as unncessary and too costly at a time of shrinking budgets. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 100 million served - Delta reaches aviation industry milestone ATLANTA - Dec 22, 1997 10:28 a.m. EST - One passenger will board a Delta Airlines flight Monday and make history as the 68-year-old airline's 100 millionth customer in 1997 - the first time an airline has served that many in a one-year span. "We are pleased to be the first airline to achieve this monu- mental milestone," said Delta president and CEO Leo F. Mullin. "We thank the 100 million individuals who have flown Delta since January 1, 1997, and we look forward to serving 100 million more customers again and again." Delta will reward the lucky 100 millionth passenger with a prize package that includes unlimited air travel on Delta until the year 2000, $1,000 in American Express Gift Cheques, and a 90-day unlimited GTE Air-Land Card. That customer's fellow passengers will benefit as well, with everyone aboard the flight receiving a certificate good for one Delta coach class ticket for travel within the United States, $100 American Express Gift Cheque and a $10 GTE Air-Land Card. Delta launched its first passenger flight on June 17, 1929, and flew its 100 millionth passenger over four decades later. Less than 30 years after that milestone, the airline has boarded 100 million passengers in a single year. Delta operates more than 4,900 flights a day to 322 cities in 42 countries. On its way to Monday's 100 millionth customer, the air- line has operated over 925,000 daily departures, using 2.5 billion gallons of fuel and serving 34 million meals and 270 million beverages. === --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: EGT00001 Date: 12/22/97 From: JIM SANDERS Time: 08:30pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: News-930 No deaths reported as Bangladesh plane belly-lands DHAKA - Dec 22, 1997 5:30 p.m. - A domestic Bangladeshi airliner carrying 89 people was forced to make a belly landing near an air- port on Monday night, the official BSS news agency said. Witnesses said nearly 50 people were taken to hospital, mostly with minor injuries. An official at the airport at Sylhet in northeastern Bangladesh told reporters the plane had made several attempts to land on the runway but failed. He said it broke into pieces when it later belly- landed but did not burst into flames. "There are few people with fractures and most others bore lesser injuries," Mohammad Habibur Rahman, a newspaper reporter, told after visiting hospitals. BSS earlier quoted officials with the Biman airline as saying that all those on board the Fokker 28 were safe although there had been some injuries. The plane, carrying 85 passengers and four crew on a flight from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka to northeastern Sylhet town, made a belly landing near the Sylhet airport, the report said. "Flight BG-609 was due to reach Sylhet at 1040 p.m. (1640 GMT) from Dhaka, but heavy fog forced it to land on the belly near the airport," the agency said. A passenger, Tara Miah, told civil aviation officials in Dhaka by telephone that "no fire broke out due to the forced landing and all on board were safe, except for some people who suffered injuries." Rahman quoted a Biman official in Sylhet as saying that "the aircraft had been forced to make a belly landing on a paddy field about three km (two miles) from the airport in very poor visibility caused by thick fog." He said the plane was carrying 37 passengers, including Miah, who were travelling to Sylhet from London via Dhaka, and 47 local passengers. "The aircraft made several tries to land on the runway but failed," said an official at Sylhet airport. He was unable to say why the plane did not fly back to Dhaka. The official, who declined to be named, said the plane broke into pieces due to the impact of the forced landing. "It's sheer luck that the plane did not burst into flames. That's why the passengers had been saved from almost certain deaths," he told reporters. Earlier reports said the Fokker 28 plane had crashed at a place called Omargaon, near Sylhet. The plane is one of two Fokker 28s the airline operates. Civil aviation officials said they were conducting a rescue and search operation. "We are ferrying the injured to hospitals, trying to determine the cause of the accident, but still don't have much details," one official said. He said all the passengers were Bangladeshis. Reporters said they were not allowed near the wreckage or given the passenger list. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle, Dec. 18 - The Federal Aviation Administration says it's prepared to halt delivery of Boeing Co. jetliners if it discovers that last-minute changes in Boeing planes are creating a safety hazard. That's the warning issued today, after months of exchanges be- tween Boeing and the FAA over design changes on the interior of new Boeing jets, changes the FAA says often are made so late it's dif- ficult or impossible to carry out proper inspections. The FAA acknowledged that Boeing is making progress on the issue, but said such last-minute design changes create the risk that the FAA might not be able to certify a plane in time to meet a Boeing delivery schedule. "The FAA is satisfied that Boeing is improving its compliance - and that no unsafe or non-conforming airplanes are being delivered, but will not hesitate to stop delivery of any aircraft that it believes has safety problems," the agency said in a prepared statement. Completely Resolved Yvonne Leach, a Boeing spokeswoman on aircraft quality issues, said Boeing knows the FAA is serious, because the agency in fact earlier this year briefly delayed delivery of "a couple" of Boeing jetliners because last-minute interior changes caused inspection problems. No safety issues were involved, she said. But Leach added that Boeing on Oct. 8 submitted an action plan to the FAA outlining how it could correct the problems, and now regards them as "completely resolved." Boeing ultimately shut down its 737 and 747 assembly lines for 20 days in September and October to get back on track for inspections. The shutdowns and production snarls forced the aircraft manufac- turer to take a $1.6 billion write-off in the third quarter. It was the first time in 28 years that Boeing showed a third-quarter loss. Boeing also intends to take another $1 billion write-off next year. More on Boeing to follow ------------------------ === --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: EGT00002 Date: 12/22/97 From: JIM SANDERS Time: 08:31pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: News-931 Boeing continued--- FAA Threat Surprises Analysts Analysts on Wall Street said they thought Boeing had worked its way through problems that led to the FAA warning, but expressed sur- prise at the idea that the FAA might withhold aircraft certification. "These were major issues at their peak earlier this year, but Boeing has taken some fairly aggressive action to correct the situ- ation," said Steven Binder, who follows Boeing for Bear Stearns. Howard Rubel at Goldman Sachs said he generally agrees, but expressed surprise that Boeing had not talked with analysts about the FAA certification issue. "We worry that there might be another shoe out there about to drop," he said. The issue of last-minute design changes dates back several months to a time when FAA inspectors complained that Boeing's scramble to meet a stepped-up production schedule was resulting in "an environ- ment that's out of control," according to a letter obtained by the Wall Street Journal and reported in today's edition. Letter Alleges Compliance Problems Vi Lipski, manager of the FAA's manufacturing inspection office in Seattle, said in the May 21 letter to Wayne Haesel, quality assurance director at Boeing, that Boeing was making design changes in planes so late in construction that the FAA did not have time to inspect them and still meet Boeing delivery schedules. "Boeing continues to incorporate changes into the airplanes without transmitting the changes to the FAA," Lipski said in the letter, obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. He added that the FAA was notified of some changes, but only after there was "insufficient time to review the change for a determina- tion of compliance." Sometimes, the FAA was not notified of changes until after the plane had been delivered, he said. He called Boeing's process to ensure that planes met FAA standards "flawed." Lipski later said in a memo that he didn't mean to suggest that Boeing's process for assembling planes was out of control, but that Boeing had not told the FAA about changes at the time it should have. The FAA, he said, is mainly concerned that new aircraft meet safety standards, but Boeing lumps safety and non-safety issues together. "The time required to sort through the data will not support (Boeing's) required airplane delivery schedule," he said in the letter. Airline Impact Negligible Leach said that the FAA and Boeing routinely exchange their views on such issues. She said Boeing respects FAA inspections of its planes as a final step in assuring that only safe products leave Boeing factories. But she added that Boeing regards it as unlikely that the FAA would delay certification of a Boeing-built jetliner for any pro- longed period of time because of the penalties involved. Airlines that buy passenger planes from Boeing often pre-sell seats on planes that have not yet been delivered. If a plane is delivered late, an airline can use the penalty money to lease other aircraft to provide the pre-sold seats. ------------------------------------------------------------------- === --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: EGU00000 Date: 12/23/97 From: RAY MARSH Time: 07:40pm \/To: JIM SANDERS (Read 0 times) Subj: news-876 Greetings... -=> Quoting Jim Sanders to Murray Wallace on news-876 <=- JS> The carrier Ranger was also used for one or so of these JS> resupplies to Malta. The Wasp had to go to the Pacific JS> but the Ranger was too slow. JS> We had one U.S. Naval officer off the Ranger in JS> POW camp. He said he was shot down Dec 6, 1941 JS> :) Where? I know someone who served on a USS Ranger which I've seen at Bremerton in Washington. Is that the same Ranger or a newer one? ...from Brisbane, Australia. raymarsh@hotmail.com -+- OLMS 2.5 UNREG --- * Origin: SuperShare BBS, Brisbane QLD Australia 61-7-3300-6274 (3:640/248)