The Obama administration nominated Erroll Southers to be the fifth administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, DHS announced Sept. 10. Southers, a former FBI agent, is currently an assistant chief for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department’s Office of Homeland Security and Intelligence. He also serves as the associate director of the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern California, where he was previously an adjunct professor of terrorism, homeland security and public policy.
An FAA review is underway of an Aviation Rulemaking Committee’s recommendations on improving flight and duty time regulations. The ARC recommendations seem to be been limited to Part 121 and scheduled Part 135 operations. The on-demand Part 135 community had urged FAA to limit the scope of the ARC to scheduled service, and hopes the FAA will give consideration to recommendations offered by the Part 135/125 ARC for on-demand flight and duty time requirements. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has stressed his intent to fast-track new flight and duty time rulemaking.
The Bombardier Learjet 40/40XR, the two-foot shorter version of the Learjet 45, hasn’t been the firm’s all-time best seller. Only 126 units have been built since the model first entered service in early 2004. Yet, it can fly six passengers 1,600 nm in less time than any other light jet, so most East and West Coast U.S. city pairs are less than six hours apart, including a refueling stop. Operators say they flight plan for 450-knot cruise speeds on shorter trips, dispatch reliability has been excellent and Bombardier’s support has been good.
Almost all business aircraft in China, however, are corporate owned but managed by third-party charter companies or affiliated with airlines. “Right now you can’t have a private operation in China due to regulatory issues, so you have to have an AOC [air operations certificate] or be allied with an airline or charter provider,” explained Pat Dunn, an American who is employed as aviation manager for the Genting Group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “They are welcoming foreign operations under those conditions.”
The FAA has awarded Piper Aircraft Type Certificate Organization Designation Authorization (TC-ODA), authorizing Piper to act on behalf of the FAA in approving airplane designs and certifying that they conform to FAA airworthiness standards. TC-ODA is similar to the previous FAA standard, Delegation Option Authorization (DOA) that Piper held.
Expert investigators and screeners are experienced students of human behavior, and they’ve learned the area where job candidates will fudge the most when they write their resumes: education. Whether applicants think nobody will bother to check or that the information is hard to find is anybody’s guess, but falsely claiming an educational degree is quite popular out there. And employers often assume that if an applicant is lying about one thing, there may be other areas worth looking into. (Curious about which area is second highest? Employment record.)
Embraer loves disruptive change. When the $7.6 million Phenom 300 enters service late this year, it could shatter traditional price vs. value expectations in the super light jet market segment, just as Embraer’s Phenom 100 did in the entry level jet sector in 2008. While Embraer is positioning the Phenom 300 as a light jet, it’s clearly in the next class up from any aircraft within a million dollars of its price tag.
The FAA changed its certification standards for new transport category airplanes to require automatic activation of ice protection systems or a method to tell pilots when ice protection systems should be activated. There is no requirement to modify existing designs, but the FAA is considering a similar rulemaking that also would cover them. The full text of the rule is available at the government’s docket Web site. You can post comments there as well as by mail.
Daher-Socata has selected Atlantic Aero International in Greensboro, N.C., as an authorized TBM Service Center. Daher-Socata said the latest selection helps the company achieve its goal of locating an authorized service center within a three-hour flight of the home airport of any U.S. TBM customer. The company also has a factory-owned TBM service center in Pembroke Pines, Fla., and factory authorized service center, Columbia Air Services, in Groton, Conn.
The NBAA has announced that Serge Dassault, chairman emeritus, Dassault Falcon Jet, will receive the 2009 NBAA Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation and that Richard (Dick) Van Gemert, senior vice president, corporate affairs for Jet Aviation Holdings USA, Inc.. will receive the 2009 NBAA John P. “Jack” Doswell Award.
Embraer broke ground July 26 for a composite structures manufacturing facility in Evora, Portugal. Portugal Prime Minister Jose Socrates, Embraer President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado and other Portuguese government officials were in attendance. “Today’s groundbreaking celebrates a milestone for Embraer, as it expands its global presence,” said Curado. “This is a strategic step toward improving our company’s productivity and competitiveness.
The personal library of William K. Kershner will be donated to the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame. Kershner, renowned flight instructor and author, who died in January 2007, wrote and illustrated a series of five highly regarded flight manuals. His Student Pilot’s Flight Manual, first published in 1959 (the core of my own Aviation 101 ground school at the University of Illinois), sold more than one million copies. He was a frequent contributor to AOPA Flight Training and AOPA Pilot magazines. He was inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002.
Stanley Proto is replacing its entire line of Universal Sockets with a new and improved socket design. The line consists of SKUs in the Proto and Blackhawk by Proto lines. A universal socket places a swiveling block-and-pin joint between the tool’s drive end and the socket. The pin is nickel-plated for corrosion resistance. A flex angle of up to 40 degrees off of vertical lets the technician reach fasteners located in tight spots or at odd angles. All of the new Proto SKUs have been engineered to meet and exceed ASME hand tool standards.
As a former Air Force and airline pilot, aviation consultant and board-certified aviation law attorney, I have observed the aviation community from many different angles. I have participated in more than 30 corporate management/safety audits on behalf of prestigious consulting organizations, and have thus been able to formulate the following general observations and conclusions:
Several product enhancements incorporated into the new Hawker Beechcraft King Air C90GTx — composite winglets and a gross weight increase — are being offered as retrofits on older models of the twin turboprops, ranging from the C90 through the E90. The gross weight increase improves the aircraft’s range/payload capability, and the composite winglets enhance the airplane’s handling and performance capabilities, as well as fuel efficiency.
Long-time aviation safety expert C. O. Miller once asked what was the most egregious error made in aviation. The responses of altitude busts, runway incursions, procedural deviation, etc. were not what he was looking for. He felt that the worst error in aviation was the failure to fully benefit from errors made in the past and, therefore, repeat them.
AirCare Solutions Group, Olympia, Wash., has appointed Scott Arnold director of AirCare Solutions Group Interactive (ASGi), a Web-based training company. ASGi will operate as an integral partner of FACTS Training International.
Rene Cardona, who has been selling aircraft for Duncan Aviation for 21 years, has recently witnessed signs of an upturn in the market for previously owned, turbine-powered business aircraft.
I could hear the gravel flying as the Jeep launched out of the driveway, my middle son at the wheel. He was late for a summer job and had to pick up a buddy en route. It was raining. About 10 minutes later the phone rang; it was he, shaken. “Dad? We’re OK. No one’s hurt.” I took a deep breath. “Good. What happened and where are you?”
The month-and-a-half strike at Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth ended on July 22 as the company reached an agreement with the union. The four-year contract includes revised provisions for medical costs but still will outsource janitorial work. Of the 2,500 union members, 1,326 voted to approve the revised contract.
Looking for more information about buying and selling aircraft? The National Aircraft Resale Association is a professional trade group that specializes in aircraft sales and brokerage. Its Web site (www.nara-dealers.com) has valuable information to help you learn about the process of buying and selling aircraft.
The Phoenix Police Department has purchased a Pilatus PC-12 Spectre for its Air Support Unit. Commander Dave Harvey, of the Phoenix Police Department Tactical Support Bureau, said, “The PC-12 is an economical, single-engine, pressurized aircraft with sufficient cabin space to help accomplish a multi-mission role.
“If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn’t call it research, would we?” — Albert Einstein Vicki Cox, senior vice president and supervisor of the FAA’s NextGen program, likes to cite the iconic physicist’s famous quote when discussing the challenges implicit in bringing her agency’s ambitious ATC automation plan to reality.
Sierra Industries (Uvalde, Texas) — Cecil Sloan, a 30-year industry veteran, has joined the sales and marketing staff of this company, which specializes in Citation performance-enhancing modifications. Sloan is a maintenance technician with marketing and customer service expertise developed while at Duncan Aviation, West Star Aviation and Garrett Aviation Services.
