NTSB member Ellen Engleman Conners has asked President Bush to withdraw her nomination for a second term as NTSB chair. Conners initially became chair in March 2003 and her term expired in March 2005. The White House nominated her in April for another two-year term, but the Commerce Committee skipped over her nomination in November when it approved the nomination of Mark Rosenker as a member of the Safety Board.
Advanced Life Support Stretcher Egan Aviation's Aero Medical Products received its 327th FAA/STC-PMA approval for its Advanced Life Support Stretcher System for the Learjet 35 and 55. Stretcher kit number 136-3 is an Advanced Life Support Stretcher System that includes: a 750-watt, 115vac or 220vac inverter, 3,500-liter oxygen system with a remote fill port, high-volume vacuum system, high-pressure air compressor, loading ramp and base with a sled (stretcher) that are all made of lightweight aircraft material. The system weighs less than 98 pounds.
Jet Aviation Dallas now provides 24-hour maintenance support seven days a week. The facility claims that its three weekday and 10-hour weekend shifts as well as an on-call operation will enable it to significantly reduce the downtime for scheduled inspections while providing full coverage around-the-clock for unscheduled work.
The FAA put aircraft owners on notice that beginning Feb. 1 they must ensure that their aircraft are properly registered. A Dec. 9, 2005, Federal Register notice said the "FAA and TSA believe that it is in the interests of national security and aviation safety to ensure that only properly registered aircraft operate within the National Airspace System."
Saudi-based National Air Services hones Its approach to the Middle East market, as it's found that larger aircraft work best for most of its customers. Jeddah-based NAS said at November 2005's Dubai air show that it's buying five and possibly 10 new Airbus A318 Elites for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year. (See "Arabia's Surprising Business Air Corps," page 56.) They'll be outfitted by Lufthansa Technik.
Rifle Air LLC acquired the Rifle Jet Center and Corporate Aircraft Services, both FBOs at the Garfield County Airport (RIL) in Rifle, Colo. The combined entities, which will do business as Rifle Jet Center, have over 80,000 square feet of heated hangar space that can accommodate several large aircraft at a time, including a Global Express. Rifle Jet's renovation plans include a complete remodeling of the pilot and passenger terminal in the former Corporate Aircraft Services facility.
In the photograph on page 24 of Intelligence in the December 2005 issue Dave Collogan is actually congratulating Ed Swearingen, who is standing in front of the SJ30-2 with Williams engines.
The FAA ATC System Command Center, in conjunction with the NBAA's General Aviation Desk staff at the Center, has made significant updates to the format of its Web-based tutorial that explains terms, techniques and programs associated with ATC traffic flow management (TFM) in the National Airspace System. The tutorial was developed in response to the NBAA's request to the FAA for an Advisory Circular to explain the fundamentals of TFM. To review the tutorial, select "Traffic Management for Flight Ops Personnel" from the "Products" menu at: ww.fly.faa.gov.
The U.S. House recently passed a bill punishing anyone convicted of knowingly pointing a laser at an aircraft in flight with up to five years in prison. The legislation (HR 1400) was awaiting Senate consideration as we went to press. U.S. Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.) introduced the legislation after a widely reported incident in early 2005 of a laser being pointed at business aircraft approaching Teterboro Airport (TEB).
Basically, the debate is over. The issue of whether to upgrade your cockpit with advanced displays and install integrated avionics systems seems moot. For operators of older light jets and turboprops, the more relevant questions are when to upgrade, how extensively and with what.
ANYONE WHO STILL believes that there is only one federal government should stop and read IRS Revenue Ruling 2005-64. The Ruling compares two aircraft lease structures and analyzes the deductibility of losses and the applicability of the 7.5 percent Federal Excise Tax (FET). The Ruling never references the FARs; rather it illustrates a long tradition of IRS and FAA indifference to one another.
Honeywell Aerospace's recently released annual Business Aviation Outlook, which forecasts demand for business aircraft over the next 10 years, has found that the five-year purchase expectations for used jets have declined, compared to the numbers recorded in the company's previous yearly surveys of business aircraft operators worldwide.
The GV, like previous Gulfstreams, makes no apologies for its size, fuel thirst or operating cost. With it you'll be able to fly eight passengers nonstop between virtually any two city pairs in North America and Europe. It can fly nonstop between about 90 percent of the most popular city pairs in the world.
Nearly one year after Ed Stimpson stepped down as U.S. ambassador to ICAO, sources say the Bush administration is finally close to nominating as his replacement Don Bliss. An attorney with the Washington, D.C., firm of O'Melveny & Myers, where he heads the Transportation/Aviation practice group, Bliss was deputy general counsel and acting general counsel at the DOT in 1975-1977, when he worked for DOT Secretary William T. Coleman Jr. Washington observers say the Senate confirmation process will take months to complete.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey called a Dec. 22, 2005, airport user meeting to explore possible voluntary restrictions at Teterboro Airport (TEB), N.J. The Port Authority has considered a number of mechanisms for reducing operations, including lowering the maximum landing weight, increased fees and an outright ban on Stage 2 aircraft. The FAA, however, has expressed concerns over a number of the initiatives, and the Port Authority in October said it would first look at raising fees and seeking voluntary reductions in nighttime flights.
Chris Groshel, Maintenance Chief, MCI Flight Ops (Via e-mail)
I enjoyed David Esler's November 2005 article on mergers. As a "casualty" of three recent flight department mergers, I agree whole-heartedly with many of the points made in the article. But Esler missed two things: He didn't mention AOL Time Warner (GTC) -- a classic bad merge. And MCI Flight Ops never disappeared.
Sandel Avionics' SN4500 EHSI and SA4500 EADI offer operators of turbine-class aircraft a modular technology update for electromechanical units. Incorporating the company's SandelSmart I/O for compatibility with most analog or digital aircraft, the SN4500 and SA4500 offer an easy-to-install aftermarket update, adding affordable moving map functionality and an enhanced, highly readable attitude display.
Jet Aviation has added an Airbus 319 Corporate Jetliner to its Aircraft Management Division for Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. The aircraft will be based at Jet Aviation's new maintenance operation and FBO in Dubai.
Dubai's World Central Jebel Ali Airport City is to be developed as a free trade zone at a cost of around $8.7 billion for the first phases. It will include what could be the world's largest airport, which will cover 137 square kilometers -- around 10 times the size of Dubai's current international airport. Jebel Ali will eventually have six parallel runways and be capable of handling 120 million passengers per year. Construction is under way and the first aircraft is due to land in first quarter 2007.
The heads of four general aviation associations met with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and White House officials in December 2005 to discuss their concerns about the agency's campaign to overhaul its current financing mechanism and move toward a cost-based system.
The first flight of Diamond Aircraft Industries single-engine, five-seat D-Jet has been delayed again, this time from Dec. 5, 2005, until April. When launched in late 2002, the Austrian company announced that the under $1 million Williams FJ33-4 turbofan-powered aircraft would fly at the end of 2004 with first deliveries scheduled for 2006. In 2005, these dates were changed again with first flight scheduled for March-April 2005 and first deliveries in mid-2006.
-Bell 206B helicopters -- For aircraft modified with Aeronautical Accessories Inc. energy-attenuating seats, replace the seat wire with airworthy wire. -Bombardier Challenger 600, 601 and 604 airplanes -- Modify the rudder balance spring assembly by installing a new adjustable balance spring and rigging the assembly to suit the rudder of each airplane.
Although traditionally characterized by airliners converted into plush private transports operated for the royal families that rule the several countries located on the Arabian Peninsula, business aviation throughout the Middle East is rapidly transitioning to a form and function much more familiar in the rest of the world: a high-speed, on-demand facilitator of business. The number of aircraft based within the region is expected to increase by nearly 20 percent during the next year or so.
Gulf Coast Avionics Corp. and Pacific Coast Avionics Corp. have launched all-new Web sites. Gulf Coast Avionics President Rick Garcia said, "Electronic marketing has rapidly become a key component of our overall marketing strategy. We are committed to keeping our e-marketing capabilities as comprehensive and as customer-friendly as possible." Commenting further, Pacific Coast Avionics Vice President and General Manager Dewey Conroy said, "Our companies have extensive and ever-expanding inventories of avionics, instruments and pilot supplies.
