NextGen implementation is not moving fast enough and must be accelerated said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt in his first major speech since his June 5 confirmation. Speaking at the RTCA Symposium in Chantilly, Va., June 10, Babbitt emphasized the secret to launching NextGen is advice. “The only way we’re going to get rotation on this is by making sure the parties are at the table, making sure that their voices are heard. That’s the way I intend to keep it,” he said. “Decisions made in a vacuum will bring the system to its knees.
There’s a good-news back story to the FAA Reauthorization bill that, at least for the near term, makes no mention of direct user fees. General aviation and airline industry associations united in their support of H.R. 915, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2009. The bill is nearly identical to the 2007 bill, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate. The new bill contains long-term FAA funding and supports the expeditious implementation of NextGen.
Richard Schuller was presented with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award at the Arizona Business Aviation Association’s meeting in Scottsdale on May 12. Schuller’s aviation maintenance career spans over 50 years and he prides himself on having aviation maintenance and customer support as the sole focus of his career in aviation. The award is named in honor of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic who worked for the Wright brothers.
Richard Aboulafia of Fairfax, Va.-based Teal Group reports all meaningful indicators — utilization, prices, used aircraft availability and corporate profits — show a continuing painful downturn for business aviation. While Teal Group’s predictions still call for increases in the next 10 years, they are far less optimistic than it forecast last year. The latest forecast also stated that “We’re still concerned about using unusually good times as a forecasting base year.” “When the market resumes its growth, it will start from a much lower base,” he predicted.
The FAA has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a contract for the first U.S. installation of its Low-Cost Ground Surveillance (LCGS) program to help manage airport surface traffic. The contract is for an initial LCGS system at the Reno, Nev., airport and includes options for additional airports. Northrop Grumman’s solution is based on the NOVA 9000 developed by Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems. The NOVA 9000 processes and integrates radar and related data to give graphical views of aircraft and vehicles in the airport movement area on display screens to controllers.
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt gathered representatives from the major air carriers, their regional partners, aviation industry groups and labor in Washington, D.C., on June 15 to participate in a closed-door “call to action” summit to improve airline safety. This discussion addressed pilot training, cockpit discipline and other issues associated with flight safety.
Timberland added three new boots to its PRO Series — Triflex, Rigmaster and Quadro — designed specifically for those who transition through multiple environments during their work day. The boots also feature Timberland PRO’s anti-fatigue technology. The Triflex outsole is engineered to provide traction on dirt or uneven surfaces. Its “three blade traction lugs” feature six different flex grooves, positioned to maximize contact with the ground and move with the weight of the body.
West Star Aviation in Grand Junction, Colo., has completed installation of a new avionics package in a Learjet 60. The new panel includes dual Universal UNS-1EW FMSes with WAAS, an L-3 Avionics GH-3100 solid-state standby altitude/airspeed and vertical speed indicator, dual Collins RTU-4220 radio tuning units, a Universal MFD-980 and a WSI satellite weather system. West Star says the new package will enhance situational awareness, as well as enable WAAS LPV approaches.
Lufthansa Technik has added several new features to its Inflight Entertainment and Cabin Management System — nice (networked integrated cabin equipment). The features focus on new ways to control different systems in the cabin. Improvements have been made to the wireless system controller and this handheld touchscreen device now features a colored graphical user interface that can be mounted in four different cradles while recharging.
The NTSB has begun to release all accident investigation public dockets to the NTSB public Web site in accordance with the NTSB Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Improvement Plan. This effort serves to further bring the Safety Board into compliance with a number of legislative and executive mandates aimed at improving the U.S. government’s use of electronic media to foster a more open and transparent government.
BCA Intelligence reported last month that Lufthansa Technik was shifting some work from Hanover, Germany, to its BizJet International subsidiary in Tulsa. But BizJet now says it will still have to lay off 14 employees because of the slowdown in business aviation in the United States, exacerbated by bizav-bashing from grandstanding congressmen, and even President Barack Obama. “With the present political climate, corporate flight departments are shutting down,” BizJet International CEO Bernd Kowalewski told the Tulsa World.
Dassault issued 111 more layoff notices, effective June 5, at its Little Rock, Ark., completion center, blaming the economic downturn and the business jet slump. The layoffs came largely in the initial engineering and design areas, said spokesman Andrew Ponzoni. “Our main production activities, such as building interiors, painting and flight test, were less affected,” he said. Staffing levels are now roughly the same as they were in January 2008, said Ponzoni.
Chicago Jet Group of Aurora, Ill., has received an FAA STC for installation of dual Universal Avionics UNS-1Fw or UNS-1Lw units in a Dassault Falcon 50. The FMSes are capable of performing GPS navigation via the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS). This Falcon 50 STC, which included a Lateral Precision performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) capability, also includes approval for 3-D coupled WAAS GPS (RNAV) LPV procedures.
Raytheon will lead a team of five companies to study how NextGen architecture will affect the National Airspace System from 2018 to 2025. “The next generation of airspace management must support a broad array of capabilities — from classic aircraft with minimal automation to highly integrated, multi-sensor aircraft, including unmanned aerial systems,” a Raytheon official told Avionics magazine.
When word came earlier this year that the FAA had granted an STC to Carson Helicopter Services for installation of a Sagem Avionics integrated cockpit display system in its Sikorsky S-61, casual observers might have been surprised. After all, why would a commercial operator spend the time and money to install a glass panel in a helicopter that first flew a half century ago?
Mike Ellis, Hawker Beechcraft’s vice president of pre-owned aircraft, characterizes today’s market for previously owned business aircraft as “tentative.”
Under a 10-year, $437 million contract, Raytheon Technical Services Co. will lead a team of companies and colleges to plan new training programs for the FAA’s air traffic controllers. Booz Allen Hamilton, Dynamic Sciences, The Fortier Group, CNI Information Technology, Interim Solutions for Government, Chenega Technology Services, the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, and Minneapolis Community and Technical College are among the other members of the Raytheon team, the company announced June 9.
The actions by a group of protestors calling themselves Plane Stupid, who chained themselves to the wheel of a private jet parked at London City Airport on June 10 were called “misguided” and “politically driven” by the British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA). The protesters were arrested and charged with criminal damage, along with breaking and entering. Plane Stupid activists have a record of pulling aviation-related publicity stunts to highlight their concerns about climate change, says the BBGA.
The Dornier 328’s type certificate holder, 328 Support Services GmbH, has enlisted the help of two new suppliers on its latest project to convert twin-engine regional jets into 12-seat VIP transports.
AircraftLogs has released upgrades that automate the calculations for tax reporting for companies with an internal flight department. The upgraded “Tax Manager” feature works with existing flight records and passenger data that are held in the AircraftLogs system. It updates aircraft tax compliance information immediately after each flight and will calculate fringe benefit income as required, following the use of the aircraft by executives, according to AircraftLogs. This feature allows tax personnel to monitor compliance on a real-time basis.
May 29 — The Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) tower local controller was on position for 29 minutes working nine aircraft with no previous operational errors or operational deviations. The controller cleared PSA Airlines (JIA) Flight 390, a Bombardier CRJ-200, for takeoff on Runway 18L. N409DR, a Pilatus PC-12, was waiting to depart Runway 18L at Intersection A.
Jet Advisors, Broomfield, Colo., announced that former Flight Options vice president of sales and marketing James Dauterman has joined the company as a technical consultant focusing on the contractual aspects of private jet ownership and operation.
The fight over user fees to fund the aviation system may just be a “smoke screen,” according to one industry executive, who warned that even bigger worries may lay ahead. Speaking during the National Air Transportation Association Air Charter Summit, Jet Aviation Senior Vice President Dick Van Gemert warned, “It can get very easy to focus on the wrong battle.” While the battle over user fees is important, Washington leaders are beginning to look for other sources of revenues to pay for the growing expenditures.
