TWO AND ONE-HALF YEARS after business aviation was kicked out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) because of government security concerns, the aviation community and the House Aviation Subcommittee let the TSA know -- in unequivocal terms -- that it's way past time for a change to that banishment.
Industry groups concerned that the FAA's proposed new air tour and sightseeing rules would ``severely cripple'' the market jointly sent a letter asking members of Congress to intervene. The National Air Tour Safety Standards notice of proposed rulemaking ``will seriously and detrimentally impact the nearly 2,000 existing commercial air tour operators in the United States and negatively impact charitable sightseeing flights as well.
The FAA has extended the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would require Part 91 sightseeing operations to be certificated under Part 135. The comment period has been extended from April 19 to June 28. In addition to extending the comment period, the FAA also announced that two public meetings will be conducted to hear industry concerns about the proposed rulemaking. The first meeting is scheduled to take place on May 11 in Washington, D.C. The second meeting will be held directly after the NATA Convention in Las Vegas on May 21.
The integrated avionics suites found in modern business aircraft come in a variety of sizes -- mostly industry-standard boxes. Deciding which to buy depends on the aircraft and the complexity of the avionics installed. The large-format display tubes found in the integrated cockpit systems of high-end aircraft are replacing many electromechanical instruments.
Eurocontrol recently completed a series of live trials of Medium Term Conflict Detection (MTCD) and concluded that it has ``clear technical and operational benefits that will provide cost-efficiency and environmental gains.'' The two-year trials were performed using Eurocontrol's PROVE validation platform, connected to the live ATC environment. Trial controllers operated in shadow mode, monitoring the radio frequencies of the operational sector, entering clearances into the system and evaluating the information presented by the system.
Sporty's Pilot Shop has an $8.95 Pilot's Weather Computer in circular slide-rule format that presents a wealth of weather information on its two faces. One side presents weather map and teletype report keys and symbols together with concise descriptions of the characteristics of air mass and frontal weather patterns. The obverse presents icing and thunderstorm conditions, their related causes, the nature of hazards they represent and recommended pilot actions. It's also printed with icing profiles and thunderstorm cross sections.
The de Havilland DH125, so quintessentially British, made its debut at the 1962 Farnborough Air Show. It had a proper cabin for carriage class conveyance, including a fully enclosed lavatory, an ample galley and a luggage closet. The first delivery occurred two years later to a Swiss customer and delivery rates quickly soared to 50 per year. Ongoing demand was spurred by de Havilland's making successive improvements to Series 1, 2 and 3 aircraft.
Bonus depreciation ``was truly a lifesaver for the industry'' in 2003, said Cessna Chairman Russ Meyer. ``It works, it creates jobs, it's much more effective than the old Investment Tax Credit.'' (See ``Bonus Depreciation: Is Time Running Out?'' page 78.) Addressing a general aviation panel at the FAA Forecast Conference in Washington, D.C., Meyer said the industry has ``a very good chance'' to enact legislation that would extend the ``placed-into-service'' date for newly purchased business aircraft from Dec. 31, 2004, to Dec. 31, 2005.
Cessna Aircraft has upgraded the CJ3 to include a standard FMS performance database and has improved the aircraft's specified payload by 70 pounds, giving operators the option of adding equipment, passengers or baggage as the entry-level business jet nears certification. Cessna originally offered the FMS performance database as an option on the CJ3. The company said the CJ3 would be the first in its class to come standard with the FMS performance database, which will provide takeoff and landing performance data as well as V-speeds through the primary flight displays.
In 2003, total general aviation aircraft sales were flat, but overall sales revenue dropped 15.5 percent, according to GAMA. Leading this slump was the 23.4-percent decline in 2003 turbofan business aircraft shipments, compared to the previous year. The turn down in turbine business aircraft sales reached a seven-year low. Moreover, export billings by U.S. general aviation manufacturers dropped by more than one-third and more than one in 10 of their employees lost their jobs.
The NBAA continues to refine its ``Secure Access'' plan, unveiled at a March 16 hearing on DCA Secure Access evolved from the association's TSAAC (TSA Access Certificate) plan designed to allow flight departments to obtain improved airport/airspace access in exchange for demonstrating heightened security. The NBAA has been working closely with the TSA on Secure Access, which the association hopes will serve as a foundation for the TSA's plan to facilitate general aviation access to DCA.
Meanwhile, Piedmont Hawthorne, Associated's parent, announced that its Winston-Salem, N.C., facility has been elevated from Gold to Platinum status as a Raytheon Authorized Service Center. A platinum rating indicates a superior level of audit compliance with Raytheon Aircraft's service center standards for tooling, spares, technical library, training and facilities based on an annual review. Seven of Piedmont Hawthorne's 13 facilities are authorized Raytheon centers, including its Leesburg, Va., operation.
Productivity is the essential quality for making a profit in the regional airline industry, and as one leading airline executive put it, ``You build from profitability, not to profitability.'' Productivity is derived from operating cost, block-to-block speed, runway field performance, passenger and freight capacity, and the versatility to operate profitably over widely ranging mission distances.
Proposed Rules -- Cessna 208 airplanes -- Conduct additional inspections of the inboard forward flap bellcranks. -- Eurocopter EC155B helicopters -- Clean the auxiliary system unit board and modify the wiring and wiring harness. Also, insert a placard regarding on-ground operation of the emergency landing gear pump and revise the ``limitations'' section of the rotorcraft flight manual to limit operation of the pump.
Savannah Air Center, Savannah, Ga., has hired Stephen A. Taylor as vice president of sales, responsible for all the company's sales activities including maintenance, completions and exterior paint.
Signature Flight Support has begun construction of a new facility for its Toulon, France, FBO. The company, which operates the largest chain of FBOs in the United States, took over the existing FBO at the Toulon-Hyeres Airport (TLN/LFTH), a former French naval air station, in January and is operating from space in the main terminal while using the airport's VIP lounge for its customers. The facility is aimed at operators of larger corporate aircraft who face restrictions at the established bases of Cannes-Mandelieu and St.
Staff convulsions at the NBAA ended April 1 with the sudden departure of President and CEO Shelley A. Longmuir and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Robert P. Warren and the simultaneous announcement that two long-time staffers, Public Relations Director Cassandra Bosco and Senior Vice President of Operations Robert Blouin, who had earlier announced their resignations, would remain in their positions with the association. Meanwhile, NBAA Chairman Donald E. Baldwin assumed the duties of interim president.
Bipartisan legislation, the Commercial Aviation MANPADS Defense Act (H.R. 4056), introduced March 30, would require the FAA to ``expedite'' the certification process for airplane-mounted systems designed to defend against man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, who introduced the bill with Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, said that the bill would cut the time needed to certify anti-MANPADS systems. Rep.
Luminescent Systems, Inc., a unit of Astronics Corp., was selected as the sole supplier of the exterior lighting system for the Eclipse 500 business jet. The lighting package includes landing, taxi, anti-collision, ground recognition, wing inspection and position/navigation lights. The fixtures will use light emitting diode (LED) and high-intensity discharge (HID) technology, which Luminescent said will provide a significant increase in reliability compared with incandescent-based lighting technology.
Piedmont Hawthorne, Winston-Salem, N.C., has added John Williams as manager in charge of property and development. The position will include responsibility for all real estate issues such as airport negotiations, facility improvements and construction.
Jeppesen has introduced a plug-and-play hardware device that connects to PCs through a USB port to download Jeppesen Skybound updated GPS data and load it on the unit's data card. Skybound features a ``three-in-one'' modular design that supports data cards for Garmin, Garmin AT, Northstar, FreeFlight, Honeywell and ARNAV systems. Users can update from an Internet connection any time.
Keystone Helicopter Corp., West Chester, Pa., has appointed Chuck Hurdleston director of program development for government programs. Hurdleston started with the company in 1998 in its engine services division.
The Aircraft Electronics Association presented Garmin co-founder Gary Burrell its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004. Burrell teamed with Min Kao to launch the company in October 1989. Since then he has been recognized by Inc. magazine, the Kansas City Business Journal and Ernst & Young as the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year for Missouri and Kansas. He has more than 40 years of engineering experience, holding executive positions with Lowrance Electronics, King Radio Corp. and AlliedSignal.
FlightSafety International added Learjet 35/35A and King Air 350 simulators to its learning center in Atlanta. The Learjet simulator is Level C approved and incorporates a VITAL VIII daylight visual system. FlightSafety's Atlanta center also houses Learjet Model 31A, 45 and 60 simulators. Other FlightSafety centers that provide Learjet training are based in Tucson, Wichita and West Palm Beach, Fla. The King Air 350 simulator joins a King Air 200 trainer at FlightSafety's Atlanta base.
