THE DOT MAY BE the "parent" of the FAA on an organization flow chart, but this does not mean that it must take action on aviation matters through the agency. Simply put, the DOT enforces citizenship, economic and advertising issues, while the FAA enforces safety issues. The FAR Part 135 operational control issues that surfaced after the Montrose and Teterboro Challenger accidents highlighted how the authority of the DOT and FAA can overlap.
Rotorcraft Leasing Co. of Lafayette, La., has acquired Go Helitrans, a provider of transportation services to offshore oil and gas production platforms and drilling rigs in the western Gulf of Mexico. "This acquisition further strengthens Rotorcraft's position as the largest privately held helicopter transportation company in the Gulf of Mexico," said Lloyd Marks, president of Rotorcraft. The combined entity will have a fleet of approximately 100 helicopters whose missions will be coordinated from Rotorcraft's flight operations center in Broussard, La.
This armored rider is clad in fiberglass, not steel, and his steed is a Kawasaki instead of a Percheron. Gary Bosemer is the picture of the modern, well-equipped desert rider when he's not working as Landmark Aviation's director of avionics marketing and development. "Riding in the desert is safer than riding on the street," he says, adding that a lot of his friends still laugh when they learn he does not hold a motorcycle street license. But he does hold an American Motorcyclist Association expert desert-racing license.
IN 1947, ITAMATARE WAS AN isolated village in the Brazilian interior, 90 minutes by air from Belem. The site of a gold mining camp, it was a bumpy two-hour Jeep drive from the River Gurupi, which served as its airport. That's where I was headed. Anaconda Mining Co., my employer, bought a war surplus Grumman Goose for $10,000. After zero timing the Wasp Juniors and installing a 60-gallon cabin tank for hauling auto gas, I got to ferry the amphib from Long Beach, Calif., to Brazil. I was 25, single and eager for the adventure.
Chevron Global Aviation, Houston, has selected Gregg Rorabaugh as manager, major account in the General Aviation Group. He will report to Lanell Wallach, who was recently named manager of general aviation sales.
Statements from witnesses who knew the pilot of a Beech Baron that broke up over Georgia on April 22 suggest that the crash that killed the pilot and all four passengers probably resulted from the pilot's obsession with performing aerobatics in the aircraft. A friend of the accident pilot told investigators the deceased was planning to purchase the 1989 aircraft. N5647C took off from Jack Edwards Airport (JKA) in Gulf Shores, Ala., and broke up in flight about two hours later near Hamilton, Ga.
ALTHOUGH THE FAA IS working to reduce runway incursions, no one can prevent local and national politics, big money from colliding on airport ramps. When an airport applies for federal funding, the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 (AAIA) requires written assurances on numerous "anti-discrimination" issues. One element of these promises is that the airport won't give an "exclusive right" to a single FBO. Although the FAA has made a valiant effort to assure that promise, battles have been waged over nearly every word of the statutory language.
Senate lawmakers have signaled that they are not prepared to accept the administration's proposal to cut the FAA's airport spending. In its version of the FAA reauthorization bill, the Senate Commerce Committee recommended $3.8 billion in airport improvement program (AIP) funding in fiscal 2008 -- slightly more than the $3.5 billion provided for FY2007 and significantly higher than the FAA's FY2008 AIP budget request for $2.75 billion in AIP grants. The Commerce Committee can only recommend funding levels, but its views carry a lot of weight with Senate appropriators.
Dassault planned to lift the gossamer-thin cloak off its Falcon 2000LX at EBACE in mid-May, revealing aerodynamic improvements said to increase range by 5-plus percent at 0.80 Mach. Based closely on the 2000EX, the 2000LX will be powered by the same 7,000-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308C engines and retain its systems. However, it will climb quicker, cruise at higher altitudes and perhaps even need less runway than Dassault's current top-of-the-line twin-engine business jet. The aero package was developed in partnership with a well-known U.S.
One aviation firm with some good news on the environmental front is Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) of Seattle, which designs blended winglets for a variety of business jets and airliners, including the Hawker 800 series, the Gulfstream II and the Boeing 737. API says installation of its winglets reduces an aircraft's fuel usage by approximately 7 percent.
Tampa International Jet Center, Tampa, Fla., announced that Kim McKnight has joined the company to head up special marketing projects. Universal Weather & Aviation, Inc., Houston, named Jeff Briand as senior vice president of operations in charge of Trip Support Service, UVair and UVglobal Network. Pete Lewis has been named vice president of TSS Operations; Greg Cos is the new vice president of UVair and Adolfo Aragon has been named vice president of UVglobal Network.
If the TV networks ever cover the sport of disc golf, the on-air sportscasters will undoubtedly mimic the hushed voices that characterize coverage of the U.S. Open, but what you hear may sound odd: "Well, Jack, he's facing a right-left break that will have to be thrown just perfectly to hit the chains . . ." Huh? Invite Flight Explorer chief scientist Mike Wambsganss over for the afternoon and he'll explain it all to you.
The Executive Wings Alliance, an association of 12 top preowned business jet dealers and brokers, is asking general aviation aircraft operators to offer empty seats on their airplanes to wounded veterans who need to travel to receive post-operative or post-hospitalization outpatient care vital to their recovery and rehabilitation.
Flexjet has made its first GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) profit since start-up in 1995, and is to add 24 aircraft per year for the next three years, says Michael McQuay, president of Flexjet and Skyjet USA. Flexjet now has 660 fractional owners and 110 card members. Its current fleet numbers 93 aircraft. McQuay says that "the Challenger 300 is the hottest product we offer and will eclipse other Flexjet fleet groupings this year.
DESPITE THE WARM FLORIDA temperature, all those filing into the auditorium were gowned, a tradition that traces to the chilly stone halls of learning in medieval Europe. Their faces were bright with anticipation; they were about to launch into the world on their own.
Executive Jet Management, Cincinnati, announced that Kirsten Krueger has been promoted to vice president of sales, based at EJM's office in San Jose, Calif.
Regarding the March 2007 Reflections ("For the Record," page 48), I must say that the Brazilian airman Alberto Santos-Dumont is not only the first aviation record holder, but he is considered in many parts of the world as the real inventor of the airplane. And there's a good reason for that: First, Dumont's airplane named 14-Bis, which flew in Paris in 1906, was the first airplane to take off by its own means, using his engine power to takeoff, fly and land. We need to remember that the Wright brothers' airplane, the Flyer, was catapulted.
"The market today, pretty much across the board, is on fire. It is very strong and healthy," declared Rick Engles, a principal in the Washington, D.C.-based aircraft brokerage of Vance & Engles.
A RECENT WEB POSTING about how to "green up" business jets generated a widely varied response, including some acerbic comments from a few who seemed to resent that the issue had been raised at all. In a note to "Dear All," veteran U.K.-based pilot Jamie Shawyer asked the business aviation community: "Have any of you looked into how to reduce the CO2 emissions in the workplace or in the way in which you are operating your aircraft, i.e., speeds, altitudes, etc.?"
Mooney Airplane Co. and AmSafe, Inc. have announced the availability of AmSafe Aviation Inflatable Restraints (AAIR) retrofit kits for Mooney airplanes. The airbag systems are currently standard equipment on new Acclaims, Ovation 2GXs and Ovations 3s. The system is available in three separate configurations: front and back seat (four places); front seat only (two places) and rear seat only (two places). They come in gray or tan and take approximately one week to install. Price: $6,900 (two seats); $10,800 (four seats) Mooney Airplane Co.
