The U.S. Court of Appeals has ordered the FAA to delay the compliance deadline for the agency's new drug and alcohol testing mandate while the court considers a filing by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) seeking a nine-month delay. ARSA is pushing for the delay to seek more time to work with the FAA to hash out some of the association's concerns about the rule. At press time, ARSA also has asked the court to review the legality of the rule, which calls for drug and alcohol testing for maintenance subcontractors at any tier.
Whatever works, as they say. Commander turboprop twins used to have weights, each mounted on semi-stiff stalk to the fuselage frame that allowed them to vibrate passively and absorb the propellers' buzz. Saab put a speaker system in its regional turboprops to create a noise-canceling signal 180 degrees out of phase with the cabin sound.
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the House Aviation Subcommittee, said recently he believes that Congress should review the FAA's tax and financing structure and consider mechanisms such as leasing or bonding.
I just finished the article "Why Your Community Needs Its Airport" In the August issue (page 46). I thought it was a great article and I just wanted to make sure that you knew about the new privately funded business and general aviation airport that is being built on the west side of Houston. We will open by the end of the year and our vision is to build it for business and general aviation.
The FAA has formed a new Age 60 Aviation Rulemaking Committee to look at the ICAO revised standard for boosting the airline pilot retirement age to 65. The ARC will recommend whether the United States should adopt such a standard. Air Transport Association President and CEO James May and Air Line Pilots Association President Duane Woerth are co-chairing the ARC.
Air Security International has been renamed ASI Group to reflect the company's growing non-aviation risk management business. "The bottom line is that we outgrew our name," said Charlie LeBlanc, ASI's vice president of operations. "Last year nearly 90 percent of our clients turned to us for non-aviation related products or services." Founded in 1989 to provide security services for corporate flight departments, the company now provides services for whole corporations, not just their aviation units.
The new IRS Notice 2005-45 prejudices owners and fractional owners while benefiting charters and jet cards. Follow the math. Scenario One: Owner/fractional owner flies annually 10 two-hour business flights (20 hours) and flies two two-hour personal flights with his family of four (20 hours.) Owner/fractional owner loses 50 percent of the tax deduction of the aircraft encompassing all operational and management expenditures as well as 50 percent of the aircraft depreciation (including Section 179 depreciation, if applicable.)
Prism Business Media has acquired SpeedNews, Inc., which specializes in publishing aviation newsletters. SpeedNews founder Gilbert Speed will remain with the enterprise, according to John French, CEO of Prism Business Media, whose holdings include some 70 magazines, 150 newsletters and 17 industry trade shows.
(Kerrville, Texas)--Josh Kovac has been named the company's sales representative in California. Now based in Camarillo, the 1995 Embry-Riddle graduate and former U.S. Marine Corps pilot previously worked as a sales representative for Woodland Aviation.
Thank you for doing an excellent job on your recent article "Operator Survey: Boeing Business Jet" (July, page 62), that included the mention of our flight department Ty Air, Inc. and its BBJ aircraft. You had all of the facts right and wove them together into a most readable article. Good work.
Recent certification of the Cessna Mustang very light jet and the imminent FAA full approval of the Eclipse 500 VLJ has not yet had affected the robust market for previously owned turboprop buyers, say several industry experts.
The NBAA presented Cessna Aircraft Co. with the inaugural NBAA Albert Ueltschi Humanitarian Award at its 2006 convention in recognition of the "leadership and spirit of service" demonstrated by the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift. "The generosity of the hundreds of Cessna Citation owners and operators required to accomplish this massive humanitarian effort epitomizes the sense of community and service that NBAA intends to recognize with the Ueltschi Humanitarian Award," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.
The FAA's New England Regional Aviation System Plan predicts that airline traffic in the region will grow substantially during the next 15 years, and that growth will require the expansion of both air carrier and general aviation airports within the six-state area. The new report describes a regional strategy to accommodate the anticipated increase at New England's 11 major commercial-service airports from the current 43 million airline passengers annually to an estimated 76 million yearly by 2020.
Continued strong sales of previously owned, turbine-powered aircraft to corporations, combined with the "impressive performance" of world stock markets in recent months, seem to bode well for the near-term health of the used business-aircraft market. That was the assessment of Paul Wyatt, managing editor of the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest, in the third quarter edition of his Marketline newsletter.
U.S. Air Force reservists just love the sound of a C-130 prop cycling in the morning. The Herk is hell for loud, but the loudest, most filling-loosening airplane ever built and placed in service is probably the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear. Also one of the fastest turboprops in the world with a top speed estimated at around 500 knots, the Tu-95 engendered hangar tales galore. Air Force crews sent to intercept it were said to be able to hear the howl of its counter-rotating noise generators above the sound of their own aircraft from inside their cockpits.
Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) are coming on strong for one simple reason. Anyone who has ever flown an Instrument Competency Check (ICC) ride under the hood in VFR conditions knows that "One peek is worth a thousand cross-checks." One quick look at the outside world instantly clears up any confusion regarding aircraft attitude, proximity to terrain and obstructions, and distance to go to the runway, among other critical elements of situational awareness.
Mike DeWeese, line service supervisor at Million Air Houston, was honored with the first "Houston Friendly Award" presented by the Houston Airport System. This award will be given quarterly to honor individuals who demonstrate excellence in customer service to passengers traveling though Houston's airports.
NATA has developed Operational Control Workshops designed to help FAR Part 135 on-demand operators comply with the FAA's newly revised A008 OpSpec for Operational Control. For over a year, the FAA has been conducting an ongoing investigation of Part 135 operational control issues associated with aircraft leases between charter operators and aircraft owners, and the use of alternate business names. The investigation led to the issuance of new guidance by the agency.
Quest Aircraft Co. has won Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) from the FAA for the its Kodiak, a single-engine utility turboprop. TIA means Quest and FAA officials can now conduct final inspections to ensure that the first production aircraft, s.n. 001, conforms to specifications. The Kodiak is designed to be an aerial truck, carrying passengers and cargo off short, unimproved landing strips in rugged terrain for a variety of missions.
Several vexing problems with the new international aircraft registry remain to be solved before business aircraft buyers and sellers will be comfortable with the system, but Mike Nichols, NBAA's director of tax, economics and operational services, believes that progress is being made in addressing the industry's concerns. "It's fair to say we are making steady progress," said Nichols recently. "It's probably slower than any of us would like to see, but that's just the nature of something like this."
