WASHINGTON AVIATION LOBBYISTS were competing last week to see who could say the nicest things about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) after she decided to accept the post of ranking Republican member on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the hotly contested FAA reauthorization bill. By replacing Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, Hutchison will move into a critical position. Lott had joined forces with Sen.
General aviation groups lauded the selection of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) to succeed Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) as the ranking Republican on the Senate aviation subcommittee, citing her background in aviation issues and good working relationships with the general aviation industry. The Commerce Committee announced the appointment Wednesday, a little over a week after Lott announced plans to resign from the Senate by the end of the year (BA, Dec. 3/256).
BOMBARDIER said the National Aeronautic Association sanctioned a new speed record for the Global 5000. The long-range business jet flew 3,652 nautical miles in late October from Berlin to Washington, D.C. in eight hours, 17 minutes. The aircraft departed Berlin Schonefeld Airport with a three-person crew and seven passengers. Including a 1,200-pound fuel surplus over reserves, the payload was the equivalent of 12 passengers, Bombardier said.
ADAM AIRCRAFT won Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) approval for the A700 twin-jet aircraft from FAA, the company said Thursday, clearing the way for FAA pilots to conduct flights in the aircraft. The third fully-conforming aircraft, S/N 5, should begin flying in February, with S/N 6 expected to take to the air in May. Receipt of the TIA "confirms we are on target for achieving FAA certification of the A700 in 2008," said Duncan Koerbel, president of the Denver, Colo. manufacturer.
Reps. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) are drafting a bill designed to protect general aviation parts manufacturers against product liability lawsuits, Ehlers said last week. The congressmen expressed concern that lawsuits are driving up insurance costs and forcing some manufacturers to cease production of certain parts. "The risk of frivolous lawsuits is making it nearly impossible for many aviation-parts manufacturers to stay in business," Ehlers said.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT will deliver two more S-76C++ helicopters and an S-92A to China Southern Airlines Company's Zhuhai Helicopter Branch to support offshore oil projects in the South China Sea and Bohai Bay in China. Zhuhai is the oldest operator of Sikorsky helicopters in China and began flying S-76As in 1984.
Joined Blackhawk Modifications as director of engineering. Eckhart will be responsible for all aspects of engineering, including new engine upgrade programs, value-added engineering product development, research and development and product support. Most recently Eckhart was vice president of engineering and a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) test pilot at Centex Aerospace in Waco. He previously served as a senior flight test pilot and engineer for The New Piper Aircraft Co. in Vero Beach, Fla. and for Raytheon Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan.
All three persons aboard a Piper PA-28R-200 single-engine aircraft were killed last month after the aircraft broke up in flight and crashed near Ranger, Texas, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators said the airplane was carrying a flight instructor, a student pilot and one passenger. The airplane had departed the Arlington, Texas Municipal Airport (GKY) about 1348 on Nov. 15 en route to the Abilene Regional Airport (ABI). Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
S.P.A. Model P-180 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27532 Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-021-AD; Amendment 39-15281; AD 2007-24-15] - This AD requires inspecting the fuselage drain holes and the passenger evaporator drain line for proper operation and taking the corrective actions outlined in Piaggio's Mandatory Service Bulletin SB-80-0220 (dated Aug. 8, 2006). Also, requires changing the aircraft's maintenance manual to include new procedures that will prevent water from accumulating and freezing inside the fuselage.
MARION BLAKEY, the former FAA Administrator who recently took over as president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, told AIA's annual media luncheon Thursday that the good times in the aerospace industry should continue to roll for the next several years. Aerospace industry sales are expected to nudge the $199 billion mark this year and rise to more than $210 billion next year. The industry backlog should top $360 billion by the end of this year, Blakey said, "which suggests an extremely solid future" over the next several years.
SATWEST won FAA supplemental type certification for installation of the SatWest L-1 Satcom Kit for Learjet 31, 31A, 35, 35A, 36 and 36A models. Installation will be completed through a service agreement with DC Aerospace, LLC. The Satcom kit uses the Iridium satellite network, providing voice and data communication, two-way short-wave messaging and security.
WORKERS represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) at Pratt & Whitney's Connecticut plant voted to ratify a three-year contract that includes annual pay raises of 3.5 percent, as well as a 16 percent improvement in pension benefits. The contract covers about 4,100 workers, who voted 2,831 to 326 in favor of the deal.
SF340A and 340B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29331; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-136-AD] - This notice reopens the comment period on an FAA proposal that would require operators to conduct repetitive ultrasonic inspections to detect cracking in the axle adaptor, replace the axle adaptor if necessary, and ultimately perform the terminating action of inspecting and modifying the main landing gear shock strut and axle adaptors. The FAA determined that the public was not provided adequate opportunity to submit comments on this proposed rule.
ICF INTERNATIONAL closed its $51 million purchase of Simat Helliesen & Eichner, Inc. (SH&E), creating one of the largest transportation consultancies worldwide (BA, Nov. 19/230). SH&E brings a strong aviation industry background that will work with ICF's expertise in climate change strategies, ICF said. ICF will keep the management team and employment base intact at SH&E and SH&E President David Treitel will serve as a senior vice president of ICF.
Pratt & Whitney Canada is adding production workers and opening a new line to build helicopter engines, part of growth across all the company's major markets.
KAREN C. TRIPP joined L-3 Communications this month as vice president, corporate communications. Tripp, a veteran aerospace industry public relations and advertising executive, most recently was general manager of global communications for General Electric's Aviation unit. Before GE, Tripp was vice president of corporate communications for Rockwell Collins.
WESTERN AIRCRAFT was recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) for its safety and training efforts. Western was one of only eight companies in Idaho to earn the SHARP recognition, and achieved the recognition for the second year in a row. The SHARP program provides incentives and support to employers that demonstrate continuous improvement in their safety and health management systems. Under SHARP, Western Aircraft can forego regularly scheduled OSHA inspections.
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION will not set an "artificial timeline" for release of a proposed rule to expand the Twelve-Five program now in place for Part 135 operators to private operators of aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more, Kip Hawley, TSA Administrator, told Aviation Week editors last week. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff previously announced plans to release a proposal to impose new security requirements, but the proposal has been under review at the Office of Management and Budget for months (BA, Nov. 12/218).
ATR received a contract and memorandum of understanding from Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for a total of 20 ATR 72-500s. The contract includes an order for 10 ATRs and options for 10 more that will be operated by MAS subsidiary Firefly. The MOU calls for the purchase of 10 ATRs and options for five more to be operated by MAS subsidiary MASwings. ATR valued the deal at $650 million, including options for both Firefly and MASwings. ATR will deliver the first of the aircraft to Firefly in 2008. Deliveries of the MASwings order will begin in 2009.
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) called on Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) to work with him to change pilot retirement age provisions this year. "It is very clear that legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration will not be signed into law before the end of this year," Mica wrote in a letter to Oberstar. "I strongly believe it is our obligation and this committee's responsibility to see to it that our most experienced pilots are permitted to continue flying commercial aircraft."
ROCKWELL COLLINS won the avionics supply contract for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), with the aircraft featuring the Collins Pro Line Fusion system. Rockwell Collins also plans to serve as the avionics system integrator for the aircraft program.
