There’s a tiny ray of light illuminating a possible improved relationship between the TSA and general aviation. In an interview with National Public Radio Feb. 5, TSA general aviation manager Brian Delauter said the agency plans to collaborate more with the industry than in the past. Speaking to the LASP issue, which generated a torrent of objection last year, he said the TSA will convene a new general aviation advisory panel with industry representatives in March. “We’re going to be 10 times more successful in partnership than . . .
Kaman Aerospace Corp., Bloomfield, Conn., has reorganized around product group and named Tim Bates general manager of the Blade Center of Excellence and Subcontract Product Group; Terry Fogarty has been appointed general manager for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Group; Bob Manaskie has been appointed general manager of the Helicopter Aftermarket Group and John Shelanskas has been named acting director of the Operations support organization.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp., Tucson, announced that Donald D. Berlin, senior vice president and board of directors member, is retiring. Berlin has been in senior management positions since the introduction of the company’s first product in 1982 and has been instrumental in guiding the company’s evolution from a small company to the large multinational corporation it is today. He will continue to advise Universal Avionics in business development on a consulting basis.
Wavepilot, LLC, has launched an online markektplace in which aircraft operators and FBOs buy and sell fuel. According to the company, the service operates similar to eBay except it is a reverse auction where sellers compete for the buyer’s business. It works like this: An aircraft operator posts a request for quote (RFQ) that invites FBOs to submit their best prices for fuel and services. FBOs post their quotes online and update them to remain competitive. The aircraft operator then reviews the quotes, awards the RFQ to an FBO and schedules the trip online.
Pratt & Whitney Canada held a special ceremony at its engine manufacturing facility in Longueuil, Quebec, Jan. 21 to mark delivery of its 500th PT6A turboprop engine to Blackhawk Modifications Inc. of Waco, Texas Founded in 1999, Blackhawk specializes in replacing engines on five aircraft models, including Raytheon King Air 90, Cessna 425 Conquest and Cheyenne turboprop aircraft with factory-new PT6As. The ceremony included Dan Rogers, owner of DuoTech Services of Franklin, N.C., whose Cheyenne II was the 250th aircraft to receive a Blackhawk upgrade.
There’s a trail — a former rail bed — behind my house popular with joggers, strollers and one canine in particular. And when we walk it, taking in the woods and wildflowers, watching for hawks and deer — “Get him, Boomer!” — I often wonder where the agony befell poor William Horan.
More than 80 Bombardier Global Express XRS business jets have entered service since December 2005 and operators say the aircraft has matured into a rock-solid reliable transportation asset with increased range and even better cabin comfort than the original Global Express.
Cessna, Wichita, announced that Mike Shonka, executive vice president and chief financial officer is retiring. Eric Salader, who is joining Cessna from Textron, will assume his duties. Ron Alberti, senior vice president of Integrated Supply Chain, will assume a new role responsible for the transition of work from Columbus, Ga., and Wichita to Cessna’s facility in Mexico. He will also oversee Skycatcher production in Shenyang, China.
Wayfarer Aviation, Rye Brook, N.Y., named Wendy Burton director of Industry Charter, focusing on wholesale and internal charter. She will manage relationships with aircraft operators, brokers and vendors in the United States and overseas.
Bombardier Aerospace announced Feb. 3 that the 100th Challenger 605 had entered service. With over 800 aircraft manufactured, the Challenger 600 series had accumulated over four million flight hours with a dispatch reliability of over 99.8 percent as of September 2009.
Swiss AviationTraining has added fuel tank safety training for aviation maintenance personnel via its Learning Management System, which is a joint development by Swiss AviationTraining and their software partner infoWERK Multimedia GmbH. Other courses include human factors, winter operations and hazmat transport and handling.
NBAA President Ed Bolen said the threat of aviation user fees seems to be dead “at least for this term of Congress,” and that the FAA’s reauthorization bill could advance within the next “four to eight weeks.” The fact that the Obama administration’s 2011 budget proposal, issued Feb. 1, contained no mention of user fees to help fund the FAA was a “milestone” event, Bolen told BCA.
Second-story jetways let passengers get quickly and comfortably aboard United DC-8s at San Francisco International Airport. Self-powered, telescopic loading corridors are by PI Iron and Steel, Los Angeles. President Lopez Mateos of Mexico is shown a Beech Twin Bonanza and an Aero Design Alti-Cruiser at the 50th Anniversary of Flight in Mexico City, elevation 9,000 feet.
StandardAero has become the first authorized independent service center in North America trained to perform wing tank (dry bay) modifications on Dassault Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 aircraft. The modification, as outlined in Dassault Service Bulletins, is expected to be required for all Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 aircraft because both the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency are planning to publish Airworthiness Directives mandating the work.
Houston air traffic controllers are now using ADS-B, a GPS-based, NextGen technology, to separate and monitor aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico. The FAA’s announcement Jan. 12 came as the U.S. Coast Guard was preparing to shut down the U.S. Loran-C chains that for decades have provided long-range position-fixing service to mariners and aviators (see above). Previously, there was virtually no radar coverage over the Gulf, which forced 120-mile in-trail separation of high-altitude IFR traffic.
From the Dec. 22, 2009, Avinode Business Intelligence newsletter: “Interesting to notice is that the price decrease has been stronger on the U.S. air charter market than it has been on the global air charter market. Prices on the U.S. market are approximately 9.5 percent lower today than they were Jan. 1 [2009].””
The NTSB has drastically expanded notification and reporting requirements regarding aircraft accidents and especially incidents. In particular, the NTSB is adding regulations to require operators to report certain incidents directly and immediately to the NTSB, even though they are already required to be reported to the FAA. Under 14 CFR 21.3, FAA notification is required within 24 hours, or the next business day if the event occurs on a weekend or a holiday. The NTSB says that is not quick enough for its needs.
Mike O’Rourke (Herndon, VA ), Former NTSB Investigator and Air Traffic Controller (FAA and USAF) (Herndon, VA )
Regarding “The Trouble With Bubbletown,” it would seem from a review of FAA pay grades that quite a few individuals at the worker-bee level exceed the $100K level, including frontline ATC types at many of the nation’s airports as well maintenance techs, flight inspection pilots, and certain AVN personnel.
David Sheehan, a business aviation veteran with thousands of hours of flight experience, a former NBAA board member and a regional representative for the association, died on Jan. 4. Sheehan worked in the Mobil Oil Corp. flight department for 31 years, ultimately attaining the position of general manager of Corporate Aviation before retiring in 1996 to pursue other business interests in Asia. He served on NBAA board of directors from 1989 to 1996. Sheehan joined the U.S.
The White House on Dec. 22 announced President Barack Obama’s new cybersecurity coordinator: Howard A. Schmidt, a former chief security officer at eBay and Microsoft. Last spring, the President declared cybersecurity to be a major national priority.
With the recent transfer of the Bell 47 type certificate to Scott’s Helicopter, all aspects of commercial spares support, technical support and continued airworthiness for the pioneering rotorcraft have become the responsibility of the Bell-approved customer service facility located in Le Sueur, Minn.
Bell 429 Specifications Characteristics Standard Seating 1+7 VIP Luxury Seating 1+4 Capacity Standard Fuel 215 U.S. Gal. Auxiliary Fuel (Optional) 40 U.S. Gal. Cabin Floor Space (cu.
A new FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD 2010-01-03) says that contaminated chemicals in Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd. Portable Halon 1211 cabin and toilet compartment fire extinguishers could not only reduce their fire-suppression properties but may also release injurious toxic fumes. The AD requires the affected extinguishers to be removed and replaced with serviceable units within 90 days of the AD’s Jan. 8 effective date.
