Almost half of the U.S.-based business aircraft that head for European destinations stop in the London area. Therefore, we offer an update on business airports and services available in that region (See also ``London's Bridges,'' July 1993, page 78).
The rest of the world is slated to start using ICAO Meteorological Aviation Weather Report (METAR) codes on January 1, 1996, but the United States will delay implementation until June 1996. Due to the high volume of Canada/U.S. traffic, Canada also will postpone its transition to June 1996, although it is able to meet the January date. For an FAA booklet about the METAR codes, phone the agency in Washington, D.C. at (202) 267-7770, or fax (202) 366-7083.
Before the 1995-1996 winter season officially begins on December 22, the FAA may finish a study of the icing characteristics of 18 types of turboprop commuter aircraft and issue new restrictions under which some of these aircraft can fly. The study resulted from the FAA's investigation into the October 31, 1994 crash of an Aerospatiale ATR-72 in Roselawn, Indiana (B/CA, May, page 18). Meanwhile, the FAA issued a proposed AD that would further tighten icing equipment and operation rules for the Aerospatiale Model ATR-42 and ATR-72 series.
New Falcon Jet aircraft now come with a 10-year/10,000-hour airframe warranty that is no longer pro-rated in years six through 10. Dassault Falcon Jet also has removed from warranty the exclusion for defects caused by corrosion. Other warranty coverages remain unchanged-five years or 5,000 hours on other specified components and all standard avionics; one year or 1,000 hours on interior completion and exterior paint; and six months or 500 hours on maintenance labor.
David Walter Thissell, founder of the Northeast Aircraft Maintenance Corporation of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was selected as the General Aviation Maintenance Technician for 1995, and Evelyn A. Carlson, with Sunrise Aviation of Santa Ana, California, was chosen as Flight Instructor of the Year. These annual awards are sponsored by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, the FAA, GAMA, National Air Transportation Association, NBAA, National Association of Flight Instructors and Professional Aviation Maintenance Association.
Guide for Private Flyers is published by the U.S. Customs Service. This 110-page booklet outlines customs procedures for private aircraft. The guide also includes a listing, by state, of airports at which customs service is available, as well as hours of operation and notice requirements at each customs facility. Also included are the applicable portions of the U.S. customs regulations, plus samples of the most commonly used customs forms.
A Northwest Airlines DC-10 bound from Detroit to Frankfurt, Germany mistakenly landed in Brussels, Belgium-some 165 nm from Frankfurt-and the crew apparently was the last to know about the error.
Editor's Note: Elsewhere in this issue, you'll find an article by B/CA Special Features writer Dan Manningham on ice-induced roll-control problems. Much of the research Manningham discusses has been accomplished in universities around the nation, including the University of Wyoming-where atmospheric researchers have been penetrating ice-making clouds for over three decades.
As I write to you this month, NTSB officials are drafting recommendations that would open the way for aviation-industry worker-history sharing. And-on the flip side-the Air Line Pilots Association is lobbying all who will listen against the notion that aviation employers deserve to know how prospective line pilots and other safety-critical workers performed in their last jobs.
There is no such thing as one appropriate spares kit for all airplanes. For example, Gulfstream pilots told B/CA that support in the United Kingdom and Western Europe is so good that they frequently carry only a few cans of engine oil or possibly a spare electrical control unit. If, however, you're going to be the first crew to fly a newly certificated aircraft to one of the smaller airports in Europe, you might want to pack along some spares.
Comments are due December 15 on ``Challenge 2000,'' the FAA's self-evaluation of its regulation, certification and enforcement role (B/CA, August, page 15). The agency wants comments on such questions as: Do the FAA's current functions provide an adequate level of safety? What specific changes are needed in the FAA's mission over the next decade? In the coming decade, in what areas should the FAA devote fewer or greater resources, and why? For further details, phone (202) 267-7947.
FAR Part 91 operators need look no further than FAR Part 135.167 to find a list of recommended survival equipment for extended overwater operations: (1) An approved life preserver equipped with an approved survivor locator light easily accessible to each occupant of the aircraft. (2) Enough approved life rafts of a rated capacity and buoyancy to accommodate the occupants of the aircraft.
National Air Transportation Association, Helicopter Association International and others are questioning the FAA about rules adopted late in 1994 to require adherence to the FARs by ``public'' aircraft (government-owned or -leased) used for carrying passengers (B/CA, April, page 26). NATA believes the FAA is granting too many exemptions that will render the law ``meaningless.'' The HAI says it has received ``numerous'' reports of public-service operators ignoring the intent of the law.
NTSB is expected to recommend that a pilot's work history, detailing his or her skills and proficiencies, be shared by the former or present employer airline with the prospective-employer airline when the pilot changes jobs, and that pilot job-applicants be required to waive the right to sue on the basis of that sharing. The anticipated recommendations stem from the investigation of the crash of an American Eagle Jetstream 31 in December 1994.
Germany's Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA), facing billions of dollars in losses since 1992, will implement job cuts and close some facilities in an attempt to restore profitability by the end of 1998. The labor force of DASA (including Dornier, but excluding DASA subsidiary Fokker, which earlier announced a 1,700-person reduction) will fall to 40,271 employees in 1998, down from 49,093 this month and 60,082 in December 1994.
Pacific Southwest Airlines flies anew-well, sort of. Following its earlier policy of keeping the names of its airline acquisitions alive, USAir has formally changed the name of its Jetstream International Airlines subsidiary to PSA Airlines Inc. Previously, Pennsylvania Airlines was merged with Suburban Airlines and renamed Allegheny Commuter, and the name of Henson Aviation was changed to Piedmont.
Kroll Associates and the SABRE Travel Information Network have launched Kroll Travel Watch to provide instantaneous security and safety advisories for travelers. The service covers more than 250 cities around the world. The Kroll Travel Watch Advisory is an online, one-page summary of daily security updates, street-safety suggestions, basic health and medical care information, tips for transport from airports to downtown or hotel destinations, and local weather and top headlines for each destination city. Free to SABRE-equipped flight departments and travel agencies.
FlightSafety International of Flushing, New York is developing an FAA-approved Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) slated to be introduced to business aviation when the company begins to offer Gulfstream V training. AQP, currently available only to airline pilots, involves training to proficiency with no required minimum number of hours. Meanwhile, a spokesman at Dallas-based SimuFlite Training International told B/CA that the company is strongly considering introducing AQP.
Sydney-Kingsford Smith Airport (ASSY) now levies an additional charge of (Australian) $185 (U.S. $247) for non-scheduled use during peak hours-0730-1000 and 1630-1900 (local).
Owner-flown general aviation turboprops and jets now are coverable under the AOPA insurance program, following the association's selection of the American Eagle Group as the policy underwriter. Affiliation with the Dallas-based group also enabled the AOPA to expand coverage to all states but Alaska. In addition, AOPA-endorsed policies will be available through the approximately 1,600 independent American Eagle insurance agents. Revenue from the program supports the AOPA's funding of general aviation defense and safety improvement efforts.
Training courses dubbed "Advanced Maneuvers Training" involve recovery from aircraft attitudes and airspeeds that are outside the normal flight envelope.
One new jet sale was listed in October, a Beechjet 400A. There were six deliveries in October 1994. Two resales were posted, 13 fewer than were recorded in October 1994. Dassault and Learjets listed the only resales this month. Reports of overseas sales take longer to be formally recorded than do domestic deliveries. AvData monthly figures are increased as additional information becomes available.
