NASA's aeronautics directorate is looking for research proposals that address the "Integration of Advanced Concepts and Vehicles Into the Next Generation Air Transportation System," known as NextGen. The agency wants to explore issues associated with deploying new, advanced vehicles by assessing the tradeoffs among procedures, vehicle characteristics and overall NextGen performance. The research announcement can be found at nspires.nasaprs.com.
Innotech Aviation has added 35 designers and engineers to its facility in Montreal to meet growing demand for its business jet completion, refurbishment and maintenance services. The company also has made additional investments in capital equipment and software. Innotech specializes in completions and providing major service for Bombardier Global and Challenger aircraft, and is designated by the manufacturer as a preferred completion center and authorized service facility for those aircraft types.
Air Routing International has updated its Flight Manger application. A new front page enables users to link to other information services, and an in-house Card Program allows clients to view their invoice statements on a weekly basis online through Flight Manager. Clients also can directly determine and configure the number of users who have access to Flight Manager and the ability to edit information online. The new front page is part of an Air Routing upgrade to a Web 2.0 program that now enables users to link to ASI Group for their events and to its HotSpots.
Two gear collapses involving SAS Q400s occurred in three days in September. The first incident occurred at Aalborg, Denmark, on Sept. 9, and the second collapse came on Sept. 12, at Vilnius, Lithuania. As a precautionary measure, Bombardier and Goodrich, the landing gear manufacturer, issued an All Operator Message (AOM) that recommends operators of Q400 aircraft having accumulated more than 10,000 landing gear cycles (a cycle equals one takeoff and landing), be grounded until an inspection of the landing gear is carried out.
PATS Aircraft, a unit of DeCrane Aerospace Systems, is expanding. "Recently the business jet industry has seen tremendous growth, which has resulted in an even stronger demand for the products and services of PATS," company president Bill Weaver said recently. The company reports increased production of its APU kits because of increased demand for Hawker and Learjet aircraft. And its VIP interior completion business is particularly strong due to increased orders from Boeing, independent operators and Embraer.
Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC) has been appointed by Diamond Aircraft Industries Inc. as a regional distribution center for the company's airplanes in the Midwest. Diamond Aircraft - which has plants in London, Ontario, Canada, and Wiener Neustadt, Austria - produces single- and twin-engine propeller aircraft and a single-engine jet aircraft.
Lufthansa Aviation Group, Frankfurt, Germany, named Aage Dunhaup as the new press spokesman for Lufthansa. He will be based in London and will direct and coordinate communications and press activities for the Lufthansa Group in Europe.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey blasted out of her job at full throttle. Days before her term ended Sept. 13, she addressed an Air Traffic Organization Leadership Summit, and then a gathering of the agency's senior safety inspectors at FAA headquarters. Following that she flew to Los Angeles to make two speeches, including one to the L.A. Chamber of Commerce urging members to get behind a push to expand Los Angeles International Airport and improve airside capabilities.
* Aerospatiale Corvette airplanes - Repetitively inspect the left-hand and right-hand hinge fitting for cracks and replace them, if necessary. * Embraer EMB-135BJ airplanes - Two directives: (1) Replace the valance panel lighting system wiring; (2) Replace the water and waste system drain masts with newly designed ones. * General Electric CF34 engines - Inspect certain fan disks for electrical arc-out indications, and replace those that are found to have such arc-out indications. Also, reduce the life limit of certain fan disks.
FAA officials are being urged by industry trade groups to take action on recommendations developed by the FAR Part 135/125 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) two years ago. The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association and the National Air Transportation Association both sent letters to Nicholas Sabatini, the agency's associate administrator for aviation safety, asking him to get the rulemaking process rolling.
Lee County Airport Authority, Fort Myers, Fla., promoted Juliet S. Iglesias to grants manager in the government affairs and grants department. Sally Long has been named manager of purchasing. Robert M. Ball, A.A.E. executive director of Lee County Port Authority, was recently selected to serve on the 2007-2008 board of directors for the Florida Airports Council. Victoria B. Moreland was named director of public relations.
One area of the revised FAR Part 135, paragraph A008, OpSpec that continues to confuse both operators and, reports suggest, the FAA's own field inspectors, is the relationship between Part 135 certificate holders and crewmembers not directly employed by them. When an operator employs its pilots directly, it should have no trouble showing it has direct operational control over them.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has delivered the 400th PW150A turboprop engine to Bombardier Aerospace for the Q400 regional airliner. The 5,000-shp PW150A went into service on the 70- to 80-seat airliner in 2000. Equipped with a dual-channel FADEC and advanced diagnostic capabilities, the PW150A is the latest member of P&WC's PW100 family, which has over 100 million operating hours to its credit.
STEVE JOBS TOOK TO THE STAGE last month in San Francisco to share the digital future with the eager masses. He didn't disappoint. This year's Apple crop includes several new iPods, including one with a touchscreen and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Intelligence | 11 * Blakey Departs at Full Throttle * TAG Selling Its U.S. Interests? * GE Gets Czech Engine Maker * Sensis and Honeywell Demo Runway Safety Tools * Russia Cuts Import Duty on Large Business Jets * Northrop Grumman Acquires Scaled Composites Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey At Work on WOW 80 | Cause & Circumstance By William Garvey Black Night Over the Black Sea
Federal agencies involved with aviation, volcanoes and weather have created a new system of working together to track volcanic ash plumes and report the risks to the aviation community and keep air travelers out of harm's way. Standardizing and coordinating, detecting, tracking and forecasting hazardous ash clouds, and adequately warning the aviation community on the present and future location of the cloud should significantly reduce danger, a NOAA announcement said.
Business is so good at FlightSafety International's Farnborough operation that the company is planning to double in size from 14 to 28 simulators over the next few years. Business is coming from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Pakistan and even South America because of the TSA requirements in the United States. Student throughput is currently 2,500 but will reach a ceiling of 3,000 next year. To cope with this, FlightSafety Farnborough will need another 30 instructors by early 2008, and it takes four to six months to train the trainers.
