Business aviation will have to comply with several new Department of Homeland Security requirements, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said last week, including one that will require international business jet flights to be screened at designated overseas airports before departing for the U.S.
AMETEK continued to expand its third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul services with the completion of the $74 million acquisition of the United Kingdom-based repair and overhaul unit of Umeco plc (Umeco R&O). Umeco R&O reported $58 million in sales in 2007. Ametek executives said the acquisition will provide the company with a strong presence in the European RO market. The addition of Umeco followed Ametek's recent acquisitions of Southern Aeroparts and B&S Aircraft Parts. Umeco R&O will be added to Ametek's Aerospace and Defense division.
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY Michael Chertoff today will kick off the National Air Transportation Association's 2007 Aviation Business Roundtable, which is drawing more than 50 of the aviation services industry's top executives.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has turned to its members to create a letter-writing campaign in opposition to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposal that would require advance notice and approval for general aviation international flights. The National Business Aviation Association, meanwhile, has joined AOPA in appealing for an extension of the deadline for comments on the proposal.
A NUMBER of changes in the airline market led to a "steep reduction in the national noise exposure" in recent years, said Carl Burleson, director of FAA's Office of Environment and Energy. These changes included a 70 percent reduction of older hushkitted aircraft since 2000.
November 8 - National Business Aviation Association Regional Forum, Oakland, Calif. International Airport (OAK). For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000 November 28 - FAA 4th Annual International Aviation Safety Forum, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Va. (202) 267-3883 December 10 - American Association of Airport Executives, Seventh Annual Aviation Security Summit, Arlington, Va., Contact Carter Morris at (703) 824-0500 or e-mail [email protected]
The European Commission has unveiled new rules which increase the number of frequencies available for air-ground communications in air traffic management, last week in Brussels. As a part of a raft of legislation aiming at creating a seamless, more efficient single sky in Europe, the new regulation on "voice channel spacing" foresees a reduction of the channel spacing from 25 kHz to 8.33 kHz.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., which already builds a substantial portion of the Hawker 400XP business jet at its Salina, Kan. facility, is moving more work there. HBC currently builds the wings for piston, turboprop and some jet models plus the nose, cockpit, empennage and engine nacelles for the Hawker 400XP in Salina and now will be doing some of the fuselage work there, a move that will boost the company's total number of employees in Salina to more than 400.
THE THIRD GROB SPN flew for the first time last week from the company's airfield at Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Germany, where the new light jet is being developed. D-CSPJ actually flew twice on October 29, during which systems were checked and the airplane's stability and control were evaluated. Total flying time was 1 hour and 26 minutes. Niall Olver, Grob Aerospace's chief executive, said three more of the Williams FJ44-3A-powered aircraft eventually will join the flight test program.
DHC-8-400 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29235; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-232-AD; Amendment 39-15245; AD 2007-22-09] - Before further flight, do a visual inspection to detect discrepancies in the main landing gear. Specifically, examine the jam nut of the retract actuator to ensure the wire lock is in place and the nut is secured. Also, inspect the retract actuator for any signs of corrosion or wear, and conduct applicable related investigative and corrective actions if necessary.
Model HP.137 Jetstream Mk.1, Jetstream Series 200, Jetstream Series 3101 and Jetstream Model 3201 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28115 Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-045-AD; Amendment 39-15235; AD 2007-21-17] - Inspect the main landing gear radius rod forged cylinder flashline, following the instructions of British Aerospace Jetstream Series 3100 and 3200 Service Bulletin 32-JA060741 (dated Nov. 1, 2006). If cracks are found, replace the radius rod assembly with a serviceable unit before further flight.
Expressing the view that the Federal Aviation Administration "overreached in its issuance of the emergency suspension and revocation" of AMI Jet Charter's Part 135 operating certificate, National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne last week warned his organization's member companies that they have to be extremely diligent of FAA requirements to avoid a fate similar to that suffered by AMIJC.
The U.S. Air Force wants its fleet certified to fly on a synthetic fuel blend by 2011, and has begun testing in earnest, including a flight a week ago on a C-17. "We've developed a three-part energy strategy," William Anderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, told media at a Foreign Press Center briefing in Washington Oct. 26. "We're looking to reduce demand, find alternative supply sources and change the culture of every airman so they make energy a consideration in all that they do."
National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen appealed to senior Internal Revenue Service officials to revise proposed requirements for limits on aircraft deductions when senior executives use company aircraft for entertainment purposes. Bolen testified late last month during a public hearing the IRS held to discuss a proposal the agency released in June that would rewrite the tax code to incorporate measures limiting certain business aircraft deductions that Congress adopted in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (BA, June 25/279).
EXECUJET added to its charter fleet the first Bombardier Learjet 60 XR to be registered in Europe. The midsize business jet received EASA certification Oct. 24. The seven-seat Learjet 60XR joins the 15-aircraft ExecuJet fleet that operates out of the airport at Roskilde, Denmark.
Four of FAA's most prominent contractor companies have formed an alliance to increase the interoperability of the ATC systems they are building for the agency. The four companies - Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Harris Corp. and Computer Sciences Corp. - say their collaborative agreement aligns with an FAA initiative known as systemwide information management (SWIM). The goal of SWIM is to give relevant systems and stakeholders access to the operational data they need, and to make sure they are all working from the same real-time picture.
A BK117 CYCLE COUNTER manufactured by AKV, Inc., of Moorpark, Calif., received FAA STC and PMA approval. According to the company, the cycle counter enables operators to fully conform to the engine manufacturer's requirements for gas producer (Ng) and free turbine (Np) cycle counting. The new counter is designed to replace OEM gauges in the overhead console of the Honeywell LTS101-powered BK117.
ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27785; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-267-AD] - This proposed rule, which resulted from an MCAI originated by an aviation authority of another country, would require operators to perform functional checks of the flight guidance control system (FGCS) channels engagement in accordance with the applicable Embraer service bulletin (either 170-22-0003 or 190-22-0002, both dated Nov. 9, 2006).
CAE received a five-year agreement to provide maintenance training for Hawker Pacific and its clients in the Southeast Asia region. Hawker Pacific has bases throughout Australia along with New Zealand, the Middle East and Asia. CAE began providing technical training for maintenance technicians at Hawker Pacific's Singapore facility and is expected to offer training at other locations in Asia this fall.
The number of fatal general aviation accidents dropped by five percent below FAA's target goal in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, the agency said. GA aircraft were involved in 314 fatal accidents in fiscal 2007. FAA had established a goal of lowering the number of fatal GA accidents to 331 for the year. The number of fatalities dropped from 676 in fiscal 2006 to 564 in fiscal 2007. FAA includes both Part 91 and non-scheduled Part 135 operations in its calculations.
TRUE FLIGHT HOLDINGS last week unveiled plans to move production of Tiger aircraft models to Valodsta Airport in South Georgia. True Flight in August won U.S. Bankruptcy Court clearance to buy the assets of Tiger Aircraft, including the type certificates, the tooling, intellectual property rights, parts and inventory (BA, Aug. 13/66). True Flight Thursday detailed plans to build a 60,000-square-foot facility on a 13-acre parcel next to the Valdosta Airport. The company plans initially to hire 25 employees, but expects employment to grow to 150 over three years.
HAL SHEVERS celebrated the 50th anniversary of his solo flight in a Piper J-3 Cub on Oct. 30. The founder and current chairman of Sporty's Pilot Shop was a college student studying engineering at Purdue University when he soloed. Earlier in October, Shevers attended the groundbreaking of a new aviation technology facility at the Lafayette, Indiana college. He also recently was inducted into the Flight Instructors Hall of Fame. Shevers, who has amassed more than 12,000 hours of flight time, has been an instrument flight instructor since 1961.
