How has the post-9/11 aviation security environment affected off-airport rotary-wing operations? ``A year or so back we were looked at as a potential security risk,'' said Glenn Rizner, vice president of operations for the Helicopter Association International (HAI). ``Our operators were low on the ATC radar screen and the operations themselves frequently ad hoc.'' Not surprisingly, the spontaneous nature of most helicopter activity stood out like a red flag to the Transportation Security Administration.
THE NTSB BELIEVES transport crews should limit flight control system troubleshooting to checklist items followed by an immediate landing if the checklist items fail to resolve the problem, and it has asked the FAA to require air carriers to share this advice with their pilots. The recommendation arises from the investigation into the Jan. 31, 2000, crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 into the Pacific Ocean, several miles off the Los Angeles shoreline.
Midcoast Aviation, St. Louis Downtown Airport, Ill., has appointed Jim Zarvos director, Midcoast Custom Products. Zarvos, who has been with Midcoast since 1993, will oversee the company's PMA efforts.
AirScan, Inc. has taken an option to buy 30 Adam Aircraft A-500s for use in its government contract surveillance and security fleet operations. AirScan has a fleet of Cessna C-337 Skymasters equipped with various sensor packages. Headquartered in Rockledge, Fla., the company has contracts with the U.S. State Department, Army, and Air Force; the governments of Angola and Colombia; and other customers.
James B. Taylor III, 80, one of the best known and most inventive business jet marketers ever, passed away on Jan. 17. He had been under treatment for liver cancer. A former U.S. Naval aviator and son of a much decorated Navy test pilot, Taylor began selling Navions after World War II out of Teterboro. One of his early customers was radio giant Arthur Godfrey.
U.S. jet and turboprop accidents, fatal accidents and fatalities were all down in 2002 versus 2001 according to figures compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. In 2002, the total accident count decreased by eight to 60. There were 19 fatal accidents, down by five, with 47 resulting in fatalities, a decrease of 33 fatalities from 2001. See breakouts to the right.
The Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA), Washington, D.C., has appointed James C. May as president and CEO to succeed the retiring Carol B. Hallett.
The Transportation Security Administration is using Sabre, the airline reservation system company, to schedule passenger and baggage screeners at U.S. commercial airports. ``This is about getting the right number of people at the right places,'' Tom Klein, president of Sabre's Airline Solutions unit, said in an interview with AviationNow.com. Sabre will use staff forecasting models to more efficiently plan work schedules for the TSA's 56,000 screeners, shifting the schedules of hundreds of employees ``based on real-time events,'' including bad weather, Klein said.
The NBAA states that it ``joins with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and many others in the aviation community who agree that air traffic control is, uniquely, a governmental function in that it must be operated for all users as a monopoly.
The Burbank Airport authority and local city leaders will travel to Washington, D.C., this month to persuade the FAA to keep alive proposals for aircraft operating restrictions and a new terminal at the airport. An airport authority official said the delegation would stress that even though local opposition remains an enormous obstacle in the long-running debate over the terminal, plans to build it have not been abandoned.
The FAA has released new Operational Check Flight/Functional Check Flight policy and guidance. These are the check flights following maintenance operations on an aircraft. The NBAA has a copy of the document on its Web site at www.nbaa.org/maint/FSAW02-12.pdf.
Fay Gillis Wells, who was a pilot, journalist and a founder of the Ninety-Nines, died of pneumonia at the age of 94 on Dec. 2, 2002. Wells served as a foreign correspondent for various newspapers; a demo pilot and saleswoman for the Curtiss Flying Service; the first female member of the Caterpillar Club; and a charter member of the Ninety-Nines, the International Organization of Women Pilots. She last landed an airplane on her 92nd birthday.
The NBAA reports that East Coast SWAP routes (deep-water routes) are proving to be very effective in north/south and south/north operations by reducing delays during severe weather. The following airports are currently available for departure and arrivals during SWAP: Teterboro N.J. (TEB) and Westchester County N.Y. (HPN) in the north and Florida's Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Miami (MIA) and West Palm Beach (PBI). Additional airports may be available upon request.
The heart is essentially a four-chambered pump that issues blood throughout the body. To function properly, the chambers must contract in the correct sequence, and the valves must open and close accurately. Under normal circumstances, electrical impulses trigger the contractions in the proper sequence. When something upsets these electrical signals, the chambers no longer contract properly and the heart is said to be in ventricular fibrillation (VF). Although the heart is still active, it is no longer pumping blood.
Lycoming announced it has received final FAA certification for the production of new crankshafts to replace those affected by Service Bulletins 550, 552 and 553. The crankshafts are already in limited production on a risk-release basis that allows production to begin prior to certification. Some 15 Lycoming Authorized Repair Facilities around the world, including Lycoming's factory and service center, have begun installing replacement crankshafts in 20 to 30 engines a day as production crankshafts become available.
A central theme running through recurrent pilot training involves dealing with emergencies. At least once a year, we train, practice and hone our skills and knowledge of managing emergency situations. We know how to abort a takeoff, troubleshoot an electrical system failure, or deal with a failed engine. But what if a knock comes on the cockpit door, and a distressed passenger says his partner just keeled over in the cabin? That's probably not a scenario you've rehearsed, and you might not find much of use on your emergency checklist.
Kit Darby Founder, Owner and President of Aviation Information Resources (AIR), Inc., Atlanta An airline pilot and one-time executive with the Future Airline Pilots Association, Darby left FAPA to start AIR in 1989. Today the company provides information to those seeking airline careers through publications, testing, seminars and counseling. Darby is a B757/767 United Airlines captain with 20,000-plus flying hours. 1 The job market for professional pilots -- active or awful? Darby: Yes and no.
Some operators are holding short of permanently installing EFB systems in their aircraft until Advisory Circular 120-76 dealing with electronic flight bag (EFB) installations is rewritten or revised, and are advising others to do likewise until the situation is clarified. (``Gulfstream's Electronic Flight Bag,'' by Fred George, March 2002, page 50, illustrates the issues.)
Sabreliner Corp., (St. Louis, welcomes back Mike Coate, who has recently been appointed vice president, corporate aviation sales with responsibility for Midcoast Aviation, Sabreliner and Premier Turbines. Jack Vaughn has been named vice president, corporate aviation marketing and corporate communications. Ann L. Hein has been promoted to director, corporate aviation marketing and employee communications. Donald Burke Jr. has been promoted to director, government and international business.
As we go to press, Raytheon may take over the Flight Options fractional ownership program in which it holds a minority equity position. Raytheon Travel Air combined its fractional program with Flight Options' in March 2002. Flight Options had a 50.1 percent stake in the combined venture while Raytheon held a 49.9 percent share. But in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Raytheon said Flight Options had been seeking additional equity financing, but had not been successful.
Ecliptic, Inc.'s RocketCam imaging system will provide onboard video of the commemorative flight of Utah State University's full-scale modern replica of the Wright brothers' historic aircraft, the Wright Flyer. RocketCam is the imaging system that provided the onboard video televised live from NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis in October 2002, as well as the real-time images transmitted from the debut of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket in August and Boeing's Delta IV rocket in November.
Now more than ever, it's important to check NOTAMs. As we went to press, the following NOTAMs applied to aircraft without GPS navigation or GPS updating of the FMS. Always check current NOTAMs prior to departure. (Emphasis below added by B/CA.) A0175/02 -- LAS WYLDD one departure, IDALE one departure, MINEY one departure, STAVV one departure, AACES one departure public RNAV departure procedures and STAR for /E, /F, /G, /R aircraft. (1) RNAV departures and STARs.
For those performing maintenance on fuel systems or just wanting to play it safe, UltraTech has created ``Ultra-Containment Berms'' to capture any accidental spills. Using Copolymer-2000, the berm is chemical-resistant, rugged and can be rolled up for compact storage. In addition, the sidewalls quickly lower, allowing operators to easily tow in or tow out equipment. Available in sizes ranging from four-by-six inches on up, the berms have the ability to hold 179 to 7,405 gallons. Call for pricing UltraTech International, Inc. 11542 Davis Creek Ct.
CSI Aviation Services, Inc. (aka Charter Services), Albuquerque, has hired retired U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Ralph E. ``Chip'' Parker as executive vice president.
