Among provisions in a House version of FAA reauthorization legislation is an increase in the percentage of Airport Improvement Funding allocations to smaller reliever and commercial airports. In addition, the draft bill would make permanent the state block grant program (under which certain states can administer AIP funds to smaller airports) and expand it to 10 states from the current seven (B/CA, May, page 18).
A new set of rules has been adopted to increase the use of simulators and flight-training devices, and to enable them to be approved for virtually all pilot training, testing and checking tasks. Based on a project started six years ago (B/CA, September 1989, page 22), the rules also establish an FAR Part 142 to cover a new class of schools called Training Centers. These are facilities like FlightSafety and SimuFlite that make extensive use of FAA Level A through D simulators.
FAA Level D certification is pending for two new business jet simulators built and operated by FlightSafety International. A simulator equipped with a head-up display for the new Dassault Falcon 2000 is scheduled to be installed at FSI's Learning Center in Teterboro this month. The first Cessna Citation X full-flight simulator has been installed at FSI's Wichita Learning Center, and the FAA certification process is under way.
After initially being proposed in September 1989, new one-engine inoperative (OEI) ratings for twin-turbine rotorcraft have been enacted (B/CA, November 1989, page 26). The rules, applicable to design applications made after August 19, establish certification requirements for optional 30-second OEI and 2-minute OEI ratings at higher power levels than previously available. The FAA says the new ratings ``will allow rotorcraft to safely carry higher payloads from existing fields or to take off from smaller fields with current payloads.''
Swiss manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft relocated its U.S. subsidiary from Vero Beach, Florida to Broomfield, Colorado. Broomfield is the home of Chris Finnoff, who in May was named president of Pilatus' U.S. operations. Finnoff is overseeing sales and support of the PC-12 single-engine turboprop in the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, Pilatus introduced a $135,000 option that increases the PC-12's payload/range options.
In designing approaches, the FAA builds in margins that are supposed to protect you from harm. However, those margins are sometimes razor thin. Understanding the basics of how approaches are built should raise your sensitivity about avoiding terrain, and may just keep you from becoming a statistic.
An AD that requires deactivating power to the windshield heat element on as many as 239 Beech 1900Ds also prohibits the twin turboprop from being flown into known icing. The AD was issued after two aircraft experienced a short circuit that overheated the windshield, causing smoke and minor fire in the cockpit. In both cases, the pilots turned off the windshield heat switch and landed without further incident.
The following staff changes have been made: Robert E. Brown is the new president and chief operating officer of the Aerospace Group. And Roy McNulty is the new chairman of Short Brothers, the company's regional airline subsidiary in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
An attempt at damage control by the DOT over its handling of events surrounding ValuJet Airlines and the criticism it has received concerning the monitoring of other low-cost carriers may backfire. An FAA report issued at the request of the DOT claims there is ``little difference'' in the safety record of low-cost carriers and major airlines. But not all the statistics support that claim.
AeroTec USA made its first big U.S. splash at the RAA convention in Orlando as the Western Hemisphere distributor for the LET series of twin turboprops from the Czech Republic. The series includes three 19-passenger airplanes billed as replacements for the de Havilland Twin Otter, which has long been out of production.
The annual general industry awards for flight instructor and mechanic of the year were presented to Ludwig Wipotnik and Ralph L. Michalka, respectively. Wipotnik has been an active flight instructor since 1968, and has earned all seven CFI ratings-a feat accomplished by less than 50 pilots nationwide. He now instructs for Windy City Flyers in Chicago. Michalka has been a maintenance technician for over 40 years. After spending 35 of them with Upjohn's flight department, he now runs an FBO.
Psst! Would you be interested in software that can prove the value of your flight department? We thought so. Well, you'll be happy to know that very soon, you'll be able to use your PC to make a dramatic case for using business aircraft to transport your company's air travelers. We've tried a remarkable new software program that makes this possible, and we think that the program deserves your serious consideration.
Attorneys for VisionSafe, a Hawaii-based company that produces the FAA-approved Emergency Vision Assurance System, are asking U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate the FAA for failure to act on the safety risk posed by the loss of pilot vision due to smoke in the cockpit. Reports of such smoke moments before the crash of the ValuJet DC-9 in the Everglades in May triggered this salvo. VisionSafe charges the FAA with lying to Congress and deliberately misleading operators and the flying public about this risk.
In a recent B/CA interview with an official at the FAA Aeromedical Section in Oklahoma City, we asked the question: ``What are the three most common problems in the day-to-day medical certification process?'' You might think the answer would be something like ``complicated medical disorders'' over which the pilot and AME have no control. In fact, the response identified issues that both the pilot and the AME can control:
Greg Ross, a pilot at JetCorp, an aviation services company in Chesterfield, Missouri, received the FAA's first-ever Safety Recognition Award. Ross rescued a young girl whose family was waiting to board a flight. Running to stand beside her mother, the girl did not notice the danger of a rotating propeller in her path, and Ross scooped her up safely.
About half of USAir's fearful flyers program covers how airplanes work, while the other half is devoted to teaching two behavior modification techniques-''thought stopping'' and relaxation exercises. The basis for the work is simple: You can't be relaxed and tense at the same time. If fearful flyers can be taught to relax, their tension cannot build, and their anxiety levels will not rise.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania-based Flight Data, Incorporated has released a Windows 95-compatible version of its DUAT/Plus for Windows access software. This handy little utility automatically will dial-up DTC DUATS at user-predetermined times. Also, it can download a customized weather briefing and file flight plans. The software supports the FAA's new TAF and METAR weather formats.
Ozires Silva, Brazil's ``Mr. Aviation'' and the founding chairman of Embraer in August 1969, warned in August 1995 that the biggest challenge facing the newly privatized manufacturer was establishment of a government-backed financing program for the new 50-passenger EMB-145 regional jet.
Using crew resource management (CRM) techniques is not just for multi-crew operations. Several B/CA articles have taken a look at how CRM can be used by the single-pilot operator, and now there is a new book on the subject.
Sikorsky Aircraft has received FAA certification for the S-76C+ twin-turbine helicopter. The S-76C+ is powered by the Turbomeca Arriel 2S1, which features greater power output than the 1S1 in the S-76C. The S-76C+ also incorporates a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) and single-crystal turbine blades. The Stratford, Connecticut company claims the new model will provide greater single-engine performance and better fuel specifics over the S-76C. A C+ retrofit kit for S-76Cs will be available by year-end. U.K.
Russia's Yakovlev said it planned to buy Fokker, the Dutch company that went bankrupt earlier this year, after its owner, Daimler-Benz Aerospace, dropped financial support. However, officials in Amsterdam overseeing the Fokker bankruptcy said many technical issues and bureaucratic hurdles need to be resolved before a deal can be made. Meanwhile, Fokker's assembly lines will remain open for several months since the company recently was given the go-ahead to build more aircraft.
Those headed to San Diego during the Republican National Convention, August 12-15, or to Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, August 26-29, can expect to run into increased air traffic, ground congestion, and possible delays and special ATC procedures, including slot reservations for IFR arrivals and IFR departures. Secret Service procedures may cause additional restrictions or delays. Check local NOTAMs for further details.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the FAA said they successfully tested a ``soft arrestor'' bed designed to prevent runway overrun accidents. The bed, made of a cellular cement, is designed to deform under an aircraft's weight. In the test at the FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, an agency Boeing 727 traveling at 55 knots was stopped within about 300 feet. The bed was 332 feet long, 40 feet wide and two feet deep at its highest point. The first production system is planned to be installed on JFK's Runway 4R later this year.
National Ocean Service is expected to publish the first edition of a Dallas area Helicopter Route Chart well in advance of its October 10 effective date. The chart's information will coincide with the introduction of major airspace changes for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (B/CA, June, page 17). For information on helicopter route charts for Dallas as well as other areas, phone the National Ocean Service at (800) 638-8972.
Rudy's Inflight Catering has opened a dedicated corporate aircraft catering operation near Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York . . . Tampa, Florida-based Gulf Coast Avionics has opened its first European facility-in Valencia, Spain.
