NBAA says recently proposed fire supression guidelines from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) could adversely impact general aviation hangars across the country. The proposed guidelines would require all Type III hangars (those greater than 12,000 square feet, with hangar doors no more than 28 feet high) to install foam fire suppression systems. The NBAA wants members to contact the NFPA and request an extension to the March 6 comment deadline, so the industry can better understand the proposed requirements.
March 6-7: PAMA 2009 Aviation Maintenance & Management Symposium, American Airlines Training and Conference Center, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. www.pama.org March 10-12: AS3, Aviation Industry Expo, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas. www.aviationindustryexpo.com March 10-15: Australia International Air Show and Aerospace & Defence Exposition, Victoria, Australia. www.airshow.net.au/avalon2009 March 16-18: 21st Annual European Aviation Safety Seminar (EASS), Hilton Cyprus Hotel, Nicosia, Cyprus. www.flightsafety.org
FAA career executive Lynne A. Osmus replaced Robert A. Sturgell Jan. 20 as acting FAA administrator. A 30-year agency veteran, Osmus had been the agency’s liaison with the Obama transition team. In one of his final acts before leaving office, Sturgell approved a contract for Thales ATM to install and test a low-cost ground surveillance system that could improve runway safety at small to medium-sized airports. Other similar contracts will be awarded soon, the agency said. Thales ATM is based in Shawnee, Kan.
What should flight crews headed into foreign countries’ airspace know in order to protect themselves from criminalization in the event of an accident or incident? Business aviation flight crews tend to be more exposed than their airline counterparts because they fly just about everywhere and tend not to have the luxury of large infrastructures like major airlines, pilot unions, the Air Transport Association and International Air Transport Association supporting them.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas set a Feb. 19 deadline for bids in the auction of Coppell, Texas-based aftermarket supplier Superior Air Parts, a Thielert subsidiary. Superior sells parts for Teledyne and Avco engines as well as other aircraft companies. Superior Air Parts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late December 2008 as part of an agreement for Textron unit Avco Corp. to buy Superior’s assets from Thielert for $11.5 million in cash.
NetJets Europe in February agreed to buy Egelsbach Airport just south of Frankfurt International Airport to improve its access to the German banking capital and the economically important Rhein/Main region. NetJets says slot scarcity at Frankfurt International drove the decision. Roughly two-thirds of requests for slots are turned down if submitted one day before, making the region “underrepresented” in the NetJets network,
Sylvain Sequin of Canadian Helicopters was another keynote witnesses who opened the NTSB HEMS safety hearing. The Canadian testimony was a striking contrast to that of Dr. Blumen (see item), noting that Canada has not experienced a single fatal HEMS accident since the country established its program in 1972.
Operations at FlightSafety International’s Citation Learning Center in Toledo, Ohio, are continuing as before, the company says, regardless of the shutdown of the adjacent Citation Service Center due to reduced maintenance activity related to reduced flight activity. FlightSafety spokesman Steve Phillips noted that there is no direct connection between Cessna’s maintenance business and his company’s training activities.
The McDonnell 119 made its maiden flight in February from the company’s St. Louis plant. The four-engine, swept-wing aircraft will cruise at 550 mph, seat 10 passengers and has a range of 3,000 miles.
Turbomeca Arriel 2B and 2B1 engines Replace the Hydra-Electric low-fuel-pressure switch in the hydromechanical unit with either of two different low-fuel-pressure switches.
Piaggio Aero Industries is finalizing the sale of its industrial plant in Liguria, Northern Italy, to raise cash to invest in a new plant in nearby Villanova d’Albenga. Company officials maintain that Piaggio plans to launch the development of a new business jet, a $1 billion venture, but say they will not rush into a launch decision. According to preliminary data, Piaggio closed 2008 with revenues up 27 percent to €218 million, with an aircraft order backlog of about €460 million.
— At about 1215 PST, a Beech 95-A55 (N9694Y) departed the runway during takeoff and collided with two parked airplanes and a hangar at Corona Municipal Airport (AJO), Corona, Calif. The certificated private pilot was not injured but the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight was departing Corona with a planned destination of Phoenix. It was VFR and no flight plan was filed.
Pilatus Aircraft has designated Pro-Star Aviation of Londonderry, N.H., as its dealer for the Northeast U.S. Pro-Star will be responsible for PC-12 NG sales, marketing and service in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan. Pro-Star operates several facilities throughout the Northeast, including ones in Caldwell, N.J., and Portland, Maine.
A drop in business jet orders will force some 1,000 layoffs at Pratt & Whitney Canada, the company announced Feb. 11. Spokesman Pierre Boisseau said the layoffs, which will start in a few months, represent about 10 percent of the company’s global workforce. Pratt & Whitney Canada, based in Longueuil, Quebec, outside Montreal, is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
Piper Aircraft PA-46-350P and PA-46R-350T airplanes — Conduct an inspection to verify that the 35-amp and 250-amp current limiters are installed in the proper locations. If the limiters are not installed in the appropriate spots, then reinstall them in the proper locations. In addition, limit operation of the aircraft to daytime VFR conditions until the limiter installations are inspected and corrected.
Name withheld by request (Universal Avionics Systems Corp.)
I read with interest your January Viewpoint on the negative spin placed on business aircraft by the Congress, and of course the lapdog media with its pile-on mentality, during the hearings on the automotive industry bailout proposal (“Without Apology,” page 7). The fat, stupid cats running Detroit deserve an Oscar for sheer arrogance. However, you raise a very interesting issue once again — business aircraft as a sign of noblesse oblige.
— At 0200 EST, a Cessna 550 (N815MA) was substantially damaged when it impacted the runway during a forced landing, with the landing gear retracted, at the Wilmington International Airport (KILM), Wilmington, N. C. The airplane departed the La Isabela Airport (MDJB), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Jan. 3 about 2300. The certificated airline transport pilot captain, certificated commercial pilot first officer and five passengers received no injuries. It was IFR at the time and the crew had filed an IFR flight plan for the international flight.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association estimates more than one million people are employed manufacturing, servicing, flying and managing business aircraft, and in the doing contribute $150 billion to the U.S. economy annually. In addition to keeping legions at work in top-paying jobs, business aircraft facilitate and expand commerce for their users, and contribute mightily to reducing America’s trade imbalance.
“There were no serious runway incursions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 — not a single Category A or B event during 12.8 million aircraft operations,” testified Lynne Osmus, acting FAA Administrator before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation. Category A and B runway incursions are the most serious, in which a collision was narrowly avoided or where there is a significant potential for a collision. Category C and D incidents present no immediate safety consequences to the public.
Baldwin Aviation and CAP Aviation Consulting Group have teamed to offer the “Power of Plus,” a complete Safety Management and Flight Data Monitoring package that combines Baldwin’s SMSplus, a Web-based safety management and monitoring program, and CAP’s FDMplus, a program that monitors pilot performance by measuring adherence to standard operating procedures and aircraft limitations. According to the companies, the new offering will improve the overall efficiency and safety level of flight organizations while reducing fuel consumption, maintenance and insurance costs.
Before the NTSB HEMS hearings the GAO said, “FAA cannot measure basic industry trends, such as accident rate changes.” “Measuring these trends requires actual flight-hour data, which the FAA does not currently collect. Without this data, the FAA cannot know if its efforts are achieving their intended results.” That all changed with the first testimony before the panel. Dr. Ira Blumen, M.D.
Dallas Airmotive , Dallas, announced that Andrew Woodworth has joined BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul as regional sales manager for Australasia.
Piaggio Aero , Genoa, Italy, has appointed a new board of directors that represents the three major shareholders: the Ferrari and Di Mase families, Mubadala Development Co. and Tata Ltd. Each of the joint majority shareholders has appointed three of the nine members comprising the new board. The board confirmed Piero Ferrari as chairman of Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A and appointed Alberto Galassi as the company’s new CEO.
