- AUSTIN AERO JET CENTER has completed construction of its new 15,000-square-foot FBO terminal at the new Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) in Austin, Texas. The 24-hour FBO will have five 14,000-square-foot hangars, 65 tiedown spaces, and nine acres of ramp space.
- SAN ANGELO – MATHIS FIELD is scheduled to have non-stop service between San Angelo and Houston ‘s George Bush Intercontinental Airport through Continental Express, a regional subsidiary of Continental Airlines. The service will begin on April 2, 2000, three times daily. The flights from San Angelo are scheduled at 5:40 a.m., 11 :05 a.m., and 4:20 p.m. with arrivals in Houston at 7:10 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. Houston departures will be at 9:20 a.m., 2:25 p.m., and 8:20 p.m. with arrivals in San Angelo at 10:45 a.m., 3:50 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.
- GILMER-UPSHUR COUNTY AIRPORT was renamed last fall for a Gilmer native who set aviation records as a U.S. Air Force Pilot, the late Col. Robert “Bobby” Stephens. Honoring Stephens’ other nickname, “The Silver Fox,” the Gilmer City Council renamed the local airport Fox Stephens Field-Gilmer Municipal Airport. Stephens, a 1939 graduate of Gilmer High School, established several world speed and altitude records while flying the YF-12A on May 1, 1965, at Edwards AFB, in California. He and a copilot also broke the world air speed records held by the Russians that same year, and those records held until 1977 when the SR-71 broke them. Stephens died in 1984 at age 62.
- AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS at the El Paso radar approach facility have become first in the nation to use the FAA’s new Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) workstations. The successful inauguration of the workstations, which feature high-resolution color monitors, was lauded by the FAA as the first major milestone in the STARS program, which aims to provide state-of the-art ATC automation at terminal facilities nationwide.
- SEAPLANE AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS IN TEXAS: Aircraft operations on all lakes in Texas owned by the state were opened up with legislation which went into effect on Sept. 1, 1999. TxDOT was given the responsibility for drawing up rules and administering the project, as well as the power to deny aircraft the right to land on certain lakes. For more information, contact Bob Woods, TxDOT Aviation Division, 512/416-4503.
- GIDDINGS-LEE COUNTY AIRPORT – Last December, Potomic Aviation installed a superunicom system testing device that provides wind and altimeter settings over the CTAF frequency.
- SAN ANTONIO’S AVIATION DEPARTMENT has a new director, Kevin Dolliole as of October 1999. Dolliole will oversee day-to-day operations at San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Municipal Airport at the time when both are undergoing redevelopment efforts. His experience 11 and ability to see the broader role airports play in the economic vitality of tourist cities including his thoughts on ” … making sure the airport operates as a part of the community, something that the community is proud of … ” will significantly add to the success of San Antonio’s aviation growth.
- EAGLE USA AIRFREIGHT, INC. has taken another step toward solidifying Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as a major cargo hub. The Houston-based air cargo carrier says it is moving to a larger, 10,000 square-foot building on airport property under construction by Austin CargoPort – a name used locally by the Austin-based Lynix Group. Eagle also has an option to take an additional 4,000 square feet.
- OWEN E. HAGUE, 80, who served with the legendary black Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and later rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, died on Nov. 23, 1999, in Atlanta. Hague, a native of Montgomery, Ala., joined the service as a fighter pilot in 1942. He was one of nearly 1,000 black aviators who prepared for service at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and formed a unit that escorted U.S. bombers on missions during the war. Not a bomber was lost on the unit’s 200 missions.
- ITZHAK JACOBY, 53, a well-known ATP-rated pilot and instructor, along with his wife and daughter, died on Nov. 26, 1999, in the crash of his 1964 S35 Bonanza. The crash came shortly after the Bonanza took off from the Linden, N.J., airport for Washington Dulles International. According to NTSB, less than a minute and-a-half after takeoff Jacoby contacted controllers about a problem he was having with a gyro. The Bonanza crashed onto a residential street in Newark, N.J., some four miles northwest of Newark International Airport injuring 22 people on the ground and starting a fire. Weather at the time was poor, with local visibility reported at approximately two and onehalf miles in light rain and fog. Jacoby was also known for his work with the American Bonanza Society and a frequent contributor to its magazine.
- FROM THE FAA: The next postcard you get via snail mail from the FAA may be an invitation to switch to e- mail. The agency’s Wings pilot safety program is launching an e- mail campaign to bring pilots the latest safety information and to build ongoing relationships with private pilots. We will keep you posted.
- CENTURY AEROSPACE CORP., which is developing the CA-100 entry-level business jet, plans to move its headquarters from Albuquerque, N.M., to Alliance Airport north of Dallas-Fort Worth in the spring. Future plans call for construction of a new manufacturing facility and hiring more than 200 full-time employees as development of the CA-100 progresses.

Texas A&M Transportation Institute
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
(979) 317-2000