I have been reading B&CA since the dawn, and admire your work. I have flown out of Bedford, Massachusetts (BED) for well over 40 years and am exposed to the jungle drums and tribal lore. The May 31 Gulfstream GIV accident ( Intelligence, July 2014, page 16) was horrific and brings to mind our flight instructor mantra of breaking the accident chain.
“Preserving Value” (August 2014, page 62) was well-written and informative. However, I don’t believe the basic premise is correct. I would not want to work for a company that thought the flight department’s most valuable asset was an airplane.
Light plane and business jet shipments increased across all categories in the second quarter of 2014, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). A total of 592 aircraft were delivered by GAMA members in the period, up 5% from the 567 shipped in the same period last year. As a result, billings inched up from $5.723 billion in second quarter 2013 to $5.739 billion in the most recent quarter.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association named Jonathan Archer director of engineering and airworthiness. Archer brings 24 years of aviation industry experience to his new role, formerly serving as an associate with Booz Allen Hamilton where he provided support to both the FAA and Joint Planning and Development Office. There he helped facilitate a pilot study involving safety management systems for FAR Part 21 design and manufacturing organizations as well as on NextGen air traffic management initiatives.
Textron’s Lycoming Engines report work underway on as many as 25 aircraft engine integration projects for general aviation, most of which are outside of the U.S.
The FAA is taking the next step toward a rewrite of FAR Part 27 and Part 29 standards, planning to establish an international “forum” to look at possible changes to the standards for helicopters. The agency in February 2013 solicited comments on potential interest for realigning the standards, including whether the weight- and passenger-based thresholds should be re-evaluated. Part 27 is currently restricted to helicopters with a maximum weight of 7,000 lb. or nine or fewer passenger seats.
Business aircraft operators, law enforcement agencies and others using FAA’s Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program to preserve anonymity when airborne will lose such privacy protections as the agency transitions from secondary surveillance ATC radars to the new automatic dependent surveillance — broadcast (ADS-B) system.
L-3, New York, New York, announced that Kevin Weiss has become vice president-human resources He was senior vice president-human resources for L-3 Aerospace Systems. B&CA
