Nav Canada was informed July 14 that the new daily charge for small aircraft at seven major international airports complies with the charging principles of the Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act. The charge had been appealed to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) by the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association and the Helicopter Association of Canada.
Klein Tools recently expanded its Tool Tote line with two new multi-pocket tote bags -- a 17-pocket Tool Tote with a shoulder strap (Cat. No. 58890) and a seven-pocket Tool Tote (Cat. No. 58886).
- Despite several serious accidents at the end of June, the number of mishaps involving turbine-powered business aircraft was down during the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2005. The U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet experienced 25 accidents in the first six months of 2006, down eight from 2005, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, of Boca Raton, Fla. There were nine fatal accidents involving 21 deaths in the first half this year, compared with eight fatal accidents and 34 fatalities a year ago.
B&CA asked the FAA's Airport Safety and Standards Division director, David Bennett, what the aviation authority's position was regarding the use of congressional legislation to override federal grant obligations so airports could either be restricted or shut down. Here's his response:
Regional Airports Ltd. (RAL), which owns London Biggin Hill and London Southend Airports, is to build a 160,000-square-foot hangar, capable of holding up to four BBJ-size aircraft, at Biggin. At Southend Airport, there is planning consent for 220,000 square feet of additional hangarage for corporate as well commercial airline use. The Biggin Hill Executive Handling ramp is also to be increased by around 30 percent with work completed by year-end.
Diamond's D-JET resumed flight testing after installation of a real-time data acquisition system and minor planned modifications to the engine inlet fairings. In a series of flight tests the speed and altitude envelope was progressively expanded from the previously flown 170 knots and 12,000 feet to a cruise speed of 280-plus KTAS and 25,000 feet, the aircraft's altitude certification limit. The latest flights were performed by pilots Christian Dries, CEO of Diamond Aircraft Industries, and test pilot Anthony Brown.
Intelligence | 13 * Nav Canada Charging for Small Aircraft * Business Aviation Accidents Down for First Half of 2006 * Raytheon Requests Certification Standards Exemption for Hawker 4000 * Secretary Mineta Steps Down * US Helicopter Launches New Service Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey A Friend in Need 60 | Cause & Circumstance By William Garvey Too Late for a Go-Around
I wasn't surprised when I read in Intelligence (July, page 11) about the airlines' satisfaction with the Midwest Airspace Enhancement (MASE) that took effect during the second week of June. It's just another example of the incompetence at the FAA.
On June 28, Airservices Australia withdrew its RFP for low-altitude ADS-B ground stations and user equipment, and two days later ordered eight new terminal radars for major Australian cities. The air traffic services provider declined to disclose the value of the radar order, citing "commercial confidentiality," although costs of the new radars have been estimated at about $90 million (AUS).
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, has selected Kaan Air to serve as the Italian airframe manufacturer's sales and authorized service center in Turkey. Kaan Air will provide sales, maintenance and repair services, as well as maintaining a spare parts inventory for AgustaWestland helicopters. The Turkish company will be building new facilities for the service center, which is scheduled to be fully operational in 2007. Separately, AgustaWestland has opened a regional sales office in Warsaw, Poland, to market its range of civil and military aircraft.
Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC) and Universal Avionics have launched a program to install three EFI-890R EFIS displays into the Pilatus PC-12. KCAC will hold the STC for the retrofit of the single-engine turboprop.
Bombardier has relocated two of its strategic business jet units to London Farnborough Airport. Bombardier's business aircraft sales headquarters for Europe, as well as the headquarters of its charter arm, Skyjet International, are now located within TAG Aviation's new Farnborough facilities.
US Helicopter launched scheduled service between Bridgeport/Stratford, Conn. (BDR), Manhattan's East 34th Street Heliport and JFK International Airport on June 26. Except weekends and holidays, the company operates 12 hourly flights from the heart of New York City to JFK using Sikorsky S-76 equipment configured for eight seats. Passengers flying with the company's strategic partner American Airlines have the added advantage of checking baggage through to final destinations and obtaining boarding passes for their AA legs when they board their helicopter, and vice versa.
(Kerrville, Texas) -- Heather Rider has been named the company's sales representative in the Northeast, with responsibility for selling airplanes in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. A graduate of the University of North Dakota, she previously served as an account manager at Iviation, an aircraft services company based in Memphis.
"Unless we are talking about new or near-new long-range jets, this market is no longer the frenzied, red-hot bazaar that it was six months ago, stated Fletcher Aldredge in the second-quarter edition of his Market Leader newsletter. The publisher of the Vref Aircraft Value Reference, which tracks used aircraft prices, added, "Holding times are up and so is availability of some models."
Confused about the rules? Don't know where to find the answer? The FAA has done a lot of work to make its Web site (www.faa.gov) easier to use. Type a few words into the search block and you will get a number of related documents such as Advisory Circulars, and other helpful information. One of the more useful tools is the Inspectors Handbook Series 8300-10. You can download this compendium of wisdom that your local FAA office uses as a guide.
The arrival of the Beech King Air 200 in 1974 sent shock waves throughout the turboprop industry, especially at Piper Aircraft where the Cheyenne II, a direct competitor for the Beech E90, had just made its debut. If Piper wanted to compete, it quickly would have to develop a much larger and more powerful model. Piper launched a clean-sheet turboprop development program that would become the PA-42 Cheyenne III in 1979.
The pilot and copilot of a Citation Ultra arrived early at Friedman Memorial (SUN), the airport serving Sun Valley, Idaho, for what was to be a quick flight to the Carlsbad-McClellan-Palomar Airport (CRQ), 638 nm distant and some 30 miles north of San Diego. The two passengers that morning, Jan. 24, 2006, were a scientific instrument company executive on an out-and-back business trip and a family friend, who happened to be the wife of one of the aircraft's owners.
EVERY SUMMER A SMALL group of aviation scribblers gather for a weekend away to consider the constitution of bracing libations, provide observations on the genders, and analyze the merits and histories of assorted aircraft. My children describe the sojourn as "Dad's weekend to drink whiskey, grow his beard and smoke cigars with his airplane buddies," which pretty much captures the spirit of the thing.
Fractional helicopter provider Heliflite added another Bell 430 twin-engine aircraft to its fleet. The company, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, now operates four Bell 430s and one Sikorsky S-76B. The new 430 will operate out of Newark Liberty (N.J.) International Airport.
The Experimental Aircraft Association warns that while auto fuel can be used in some aircraft, ethanol possesses chemical properties that harm aircraft engines and fueling systems. "It is critical for aircraft owners using auto fuel to know if the gasoline being used in their aircraft is pure," the association said. So the EAA recommends that all auto fuel be tested for ethanol before fueling an aircraft." It is selling a test kit for $15. For more information, visit www.eaa.org.
Arnold Scott has been an investigator with the NTBS since 1982, working out of its Colorado office. He likes the climate, he says: "They have four distinct seasons, with cold winters, and hot summers." When he moved his wife and the five kids out west, they settled first in Aurora. But when Judith --"she always wanted to live in the country"-- found a 27-acre ranch about 50 miles northeast of Denver, she called Scott to tell him about it. "I said ok, buy it," he recalls with a chuckle. That was in 1993, and they've been there ever since.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey defended the Bush administration's decision to seek nearly $1 billion less for airport funding in fiscal 2007 than authorized by Congress, saying, "We must make the absolute best use of the taxpayers' dollars. Like other government agencies, the FAA had to take a hard look at our programs and make some difficult choices." Blakey was testifying before a Senate Commerce Committee field hearing in Anchorage, Alaska, chaired by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who had earlier expressed concerns about proposed FAA budget cuts.
London Air Services, a charter operator based in Vancouver, British Columbia, signed a contract to buy a Bombardier Global Express XRS from the manufacturer. The aircraft will be used primarily to fly missions between North America and northern Asia. The XRS is scheduled for delivery in 2008. The charter provider, established in 1999, currently operates four Learjet 45 XR and two Challenger 604 business jets.
