The International Business Aviation Council recently registered the 200th operator under the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), a code of best safety practices designed to help operators achieve a high level of safety and professionalism. ICAO officially recognizes IS-BAO, and the EASA has determined that certification meets Safety Management System requirements for both commercial and noncommercial operators.
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.
Now the FAA wants to mandate Wildlife Hazard Assessments at all Part 139 airline-served airports, even though they have not experienced a “triggering event” described above. But in its Jan. 14 Fact Sheet, the FAA says it believes all airports should understand the level of wildlife activity on or near their airport and accordingly initiated rulemaking in late summer 2009 to make assessments mandatory at all Part 139 airports. The agency wants to publish an NPRM to that effect this year.
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.
Proponents of enhanced Loran as a ground-based backup for GPS were bitterly disappointed when the U.S. Coast Guard said it will begin a permanent shutdown of U.S. Loran-C stations at 2000Z on Feb. 8, 2010. At that time U.S. Loran-C chains should be considered unusable, but 24 U.S. stations that participate in Russian-American and Canadian Loran-C chains under international agreements will temporarily continue to operate. The Canadian Coast Guard announced that Canada will also decommission its Loran-C system this year.
Prescott, Arizona-based Cobham Avionics has received Technical Standards Order (TSO) certification of its Digital Audio Control System (DACS) from the FAA, a major milestone that clears the way for manufacture of the system and installation on certified aircraft. In September, the DACS received European Technical Standards Order approval.
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.
Hawker Beechcraft has consolidated all customer support activities within a single organization, Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support, headed by Christi Tannahill, vice president. It is comprised of technical/field support, technical publications, Support Plus, Hawker Beechcraft Parts & Distribution (formerly RAPID), and the Company-Owned/Authorized Service Center Network. The new organization supports about 36,000 aircraft worldwide.
Editor’s Note: Among the notable developments affecting business aviation in the past decade was the FAA’s crackdown on the charter industry over the issue of operational control. This vigorous action followed a February 2005 accident in which a Challenger 600 departing from Teterboro Airport failed to lift off, ran off the end of the runway, crossed a highway and buried itself into a building.
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 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.
A new generation of cabin video systems is about to enter service on business aircraft, offering capabilities far ahead of today’s display systems. Passengers will be able to watch HD movies, archive dozens of programs for later viewing, plug in a variety of HDTV players and play the latest video games. As with current systems, they’ll also be able to see aircraft position on moving maps, they’ll be informed of when the aircraft will touch down at its destination and they’ll have access to standard definition video.
Sierra Industries has earned Canadian approval for two more of its reengined Cessna Citations. The Uvalde, Texas-based modification specialist recently received an amended STC from Transport Canada that adds the Citation 550 and S550 models to the list of previously approved Williams International FJ44 engine upgrades of the Cessna Citation 500 and 501. Sierra’s reengined and modified Citations now are approved in 33 countries.
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 first Challenger 850 to come out of Flying Colours Corp.’s completion facility in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has been delivered to Moscow, Russia, where the jet will be managed by Chartright Air Group. Flying Colours is working on three additional Challenger 850s and has two more completions scheduled for this year. The 850 work is performed at both Peterborough and at JetCorp Technical Services, Flying Colours’ facility located near St. Louis.
Proposed Rules Hawker Beechcraft King Air B300 and B300C airplanes — Inspect the terminal board on the circuit-card rack assembly to determine if the correct bus bar is installed. Also, replace the bus bar, if necessary, and check the left and right pitot-heat annunciators for proper operation. Honeywell LTS101-600A, -600A-1A, -700A-1A and 700D-2 engines — Remove certain power turbine blades from service. Piaggio P-180 airplanes — Conduct a dye-penetrant inspection of the “0” pressure bulkhead and reinforce it by installing doublers.
Alaska Airlines introduced RNP approaches at two more regional airports in Alaska, reports Aviation Week’s Aviation Daily. The carrier debuted an RNP approach in Adak, Jan.14, and will add another at Ketchikan in March. An RNP RNAV pioneer, Alaska has introduced similar procedures at 45 percent of the airports it serves in Alaska since 1996, as well as in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; and Palm Springs, Calif.
The TSA in January distributed airport threat vulnerability assessment survey forms to 3,000 general aviation airports nationwide with a 2,000-foot runway, or longer, and those near major metropolitan or prohibited areas, AOPA reports. The TSA admits the survey is not based on any “specific, credible information to suggest an imminent threat to the homeland or general aviation.” Airport managers must complete the survey within 60 days of receiving the forms, and the results will be made available to participating airports about 30 days after the survey’s closing period.
Cessna restarted the Citation Sovereign line that was shut down early last summer. The company recalled 180 workers during January. “All of our assembly lines are back up and running,” a Cessna spokesman said, but added, “albeit, in greatly reduced rates.” Cessna originally had planned to deliver 535 jets in 2009, but the freefalling general aviation market pushed that number down to 275. Cessna expects to build even fewer jets this year, but further layoffs are not expected.
Delta AirElite had added a Bombardier Learjet 45XR and Cessna Citation XLS to its fleet. The 2007 Learjet 45XR is based in Jacksonville, Fla., and the 2007 Citation XLS is at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
David C. Hook (San Antonio, TX ), President (San Antonio, TX ), Planehook Aviation Services, LLC (San Antonio, TX )
“Aircraft Repair Station Security” (Point of Law, January 2010, page 64) was a balanced and fair presentation of the TSA’s proposed program. I offer a point to consider: existing bilateral agreements. There are some 27 countries around the world where the United States has in effect authorized that nation’s aviation authority to conduct Part 145 inspections and approve aircraft repair stations in that country on behalf of the FAA. The authority to grant these powers comes as the result of diplomatic agreement between nations — a function of the U.S.
ICAO amended its rules to now require commercial operators to carry a standardized certified true copy of their Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on board when operating internationally as of Jan. 1. Operators planning to operate overseas have to get yhe document from the FAA, through their POIs. The agency has issued a new “Information for Operators” advisory, InFO 09019, to help obtain these required documents. It contains a template of the required ICAO-format AOC.
Horse Sense Meacham Field may be an airport to you, but to Janine Iannarelli, it’s the name she gave her horse. She’s not confused at all, just affirming that she lives in one world populated with aircraft and another filled with the delights of the equestrian life. She’s had Meacham for two years since acquiring him from an owner in Germany, and the big, gray Holsteiner has served her well. “He’s just coming into his prime,” she says. “He’s competitive and smart.”
