BOMBARDIER DHC-8-100, -200, -301, -311 and -315 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0712; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-152-AD; Amendment 39-16205; AD 2010-04-12] – Implement a corrosion prevention and control program (CPCP), either by accomplishing specific tasks or by revising the maintenance inspection program to include a CPCP. This AD is designed to prevent structural failure due to corrosion. FAA estimates that this rule will affect 154 airplanes on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S. operators a total of $693,770, or $4,505 per airplane, per inspection cycle.
Having just been found liable in its certificate action against Air Trek, a Florida air ambulance and charter outfit, FAA is now attempting to take action against the firm’s chief pilot for an entirely different matter. Asked if the agency’s new action was in reaction to the unfavorable decision, Gregory Winton, Air Trek’s attorney, said last week, “I would say absolutely, 100 percent.”
AVFUEL-branded dealer Saker Aviation Services of Garden City, Kan., has expanded its operations by moving into a larger facility. The expansion is part of the fixed-base operation’s rebranding and name change from FirstFlight to Saker Aviation Services. The Garden City facility provides a range of line services and amenities, along with charter, aircraft rental, flight instruction and maintenance.
WHILE FAA last week predicted a rosy long-term outlook for business and general aviation, the agency scaled back its expectations for very light jets (VLJs). The lower acquisition and operating costs of VLJs “were believed to have the potential to revolutionize the business jet market,” FAA said. But the bankruptcy of Eclipse and DayJet has “led us to temper more recent forecasts,” the agency said. Initial forecasts called for more than 400 VLJs to be delivered a year.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION has released a Safety 1st Flight Crew Briefing for Newark Liberty International Airport. Developed with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the customized online training tool provides pilots and other crew members critical safety information about Newark, such as location, layout, operations, regulations, and safety and security procedures. The briefing includes views of runway incursion hot spots, common pilot-error scenarios, security procedures and other information.
FAA’s Air Traffic Organization is now operating under a Safety Management System (SMS), the agency announced last week. The move enables FAA to manage risks involved with changing the national airspace system (NAS), including installing, modifying and removing equipment, as well as modifying and implementing procedures and airspace changes, the agency said. “Practically speaking, SMS is as important as the new technology itself. We’re able to assess risks with a standardized approach. SMS will be a huge boost for NextGen,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said.
-- Our 33,000 sq ft. hangar will accommodate up to G550 and Global size aircraft. -- Also, available for partial or exclusive rental, our 14,000 sq ft. hangar with office and kitchen area. -- Includes fuel discount program. -- We also specialize in Part 135 and 91 aircraft management programs. Inquiries to [email protected] or at 707-603-1202
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT has delivered the 500th Beechcraft T-6 military trainer to the U.S. government. The aircraft, a T-6B, will be operated by the U.S. Navy and based at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla. Hawker Beechcraft began delivery of the T-6 trainers in 2000 under the U.S. Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training contract. The aircraft is now in service in 20 different countries. Hawker is adding a light attack version of the aircraft, the AT-6, to the production line.
John Lee Baker, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association from 1977 to 1990, passed away March 11 at his home in Angier, N.C. Funeral services were scheduled for March 14.
KEY AIR tapped industry veteran Bob Marinace to lead the company as president and chief executive. Marinace takes over for Brad Kost, who is returning to Galaxy Aviation in Florida. Marinace joined Key Air in August 2009 as senior vice president and has more than 30 years of aviation experience. He formerly was chief operating officer of JetDirect. Marinace also has been elected to serve on the National Air Transportation Association board of directors and sits on the Air Charter Safety Foundation board of governors. He is a former Lockheed C-5A crewmember with the U.S.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet 100 and 440 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0178; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-039-AD; Amendment 39-16224; AD 2010-05-14] – Replace certain angle of attack (AOA) transducers with other AOA transducers, per the instructions of Bombardier Alert Service Bulletin A601R-27-157, Rev. A (dated Jan. 18, 2010). This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by Transport Canada, was prompted by the discovery that some of the resolver stators installed in AOA transducers were not cleaned correctly.
March 15-17 – National Air Transportation Association Spring Training Week at AIE, Las Vegas, Nev., (800) 808-6282 or visit www.nata.aero/springtraining March 29-April 1 – National Business Aviation Association 37th Annual International Operators Conference, New Orleans, (202) 783-9000 or visit nbaa.org March 29-April 1 – Aviation Maintenance Conference and Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee Join Meeting, Hyatt Regency, Phoenix, (410) 266-2008
Business aviation advocates need to continue to work together to defend against the ongoing mischaracterization of the industry, Cessna Vice President Robert Stangarone said before the British Business and General Aviation Association’s (BBGAA) annual conference last week.
CESSNA AFFILIATE Bell Helicopter is expected to firm up prices of its spares, JP Morgan also said. The analyst noted that Bell spares were “marked to market,” with some aftermarket spares being sold at losses. “And now the organization is tuned for regular annual price increases, in line with the rest of the aerospace industry,” said JP Morgan. “Greater business sensibility brought to Bell, atop the evidence this management gets involved in the details, gives us greater … confidence in the volume and profitability outlook for Bell,” JP Morgan said.
FOKKER F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0220; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-166-AD] – This proposal would require operators to perform operational tests of the left-hand and right-hand fuel crossfeed valve actuators and fuel-fire shutoff valve actuators, per the instructions of Fokker Service Bulletin SBF100-28-049 (dated April 3, 2007). If a fuel fire shut-off valve actuator fails an operational test, replace the valve actuator with a serviceable part before further flight.
AVIATION PARTNERS INC. (API) will begin testing “spiroid” loop-shaped wing-tip devices on a Dassault Falcon 50 starting in early June 2010, said Hank Thompson, the company’s vice president of operations. The development program is funded in part by a federal government grant administered by FAA’s John A. Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Mass. The goal will be to explore wing modifications that have the potential to reduce FAR Part 36 noise signature and carbon emissions.
EMBRAER ERJ 190-100 STD,-100 LR,-100 IGW,-200 STD,-200 LR and-200 IGW airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0175; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-187-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new structural inspection requirements. This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the aviation authority of Brazil, is intended to ensure timely detection of fatigue cracks that could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.
EUROPEAN BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION President and CEO Brian Humphries noted that the European business aviation industry might not return to its 2007 peak levels for a number of years. But Humphries added, “We’re certainly not downhearted or pessimistic.
President Barack Obama has nominated U.S. Army Major Gen. Robert Harding (ret.) to lead the Transportation Security Administration as assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security — a key post that has been vacant for more than a year.
Dassault Falcon has begun rolling out its new tiered approach to service, which is designed to enhance its existing capabilities and reach customers even in remote locations, the company said recently. The tiered approach marks a major change in Dassault’s service, which previously relied on a single designation for its service centers to provide a range of capabilities. Dassault now will designate centers as line, major or heavy and match capabilities with the needs of the markets.
The National Transportation Safety Board last week released a series of recommendations on improving training after an internal study found that single-engine aircraft equipped with glass cockpits had a no better overall safety record than those with conventional instruments. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association noted a number of the recommendations already have been implemented, but cautioned that the study used early and limited data.
MSP JET CENTER at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport has secured its Part 145 repair station certificate. ASI Jet Center opened MSP late last year, filling a vacancy created after General Dynamics Aviation Services left the airport in 2009. MSP is located at Signature Flight Support and can provide inspection, maintenance, repair and upgrades for a range of business jets, including Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream, Hawker Beechcraft, IAI, and Sabreliner.
THREE NORTHEAST aviation associations – the Teterboro User’s Group, Morristown Aviation Association and Westchester Aviation Association – have scheduled a joint Northeast Regional International Operations Symposium (IOS) on April 13 in Morristown, N.J. The IOS will include a keynote address from fatigue expert and National Transportation Safety Board nominee Mark Rosekind, and include concurrent programs for pilots, maintenance technicians, flight attendants and schedulers and dispatchers.
