CIRRUS DESIGN CORP. introduced Cirrus Proficient, a program intended to increase the proficiency of Cirrus pilots by offering recurring flight training with a flight training device. The course will permit Cirrus pilots to develop their skills while realistically experiencing emergencies that cannot be duplicated during normal flight training. To obtain a brochure detailing Cirrus Proficient, call the company at (866) 379-0120.
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION has developed a new process for obtaining domestic and international waivers that general aviation officials believe will be clearer to operators applying for the first time. TSA officials outlined the new process during a recent meeting with the General Aviation Coalition, and promised to provide points of contact for operators both domestically and internationally.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION is surveying its members to assess reaction to a possible dues increase. Association officials have expressed concern about the intensive, and expensive, advertising campaign that the scheduled airlines have rolled out to support adoption of an aviation user fee system - and the relative ease the big airlines have in raising money for such a program, compared with NBAA.
DAYJET CORP. secured $140 million in debt financing as the company prepares for the launch of service with a fleet of Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets later this month. The funding will help pay for Eclipse aircraft and boosts the total funding DayJet has raised to more than $200 million. "Securing this initial debt facility is a significant milestone for DayJet, as it enables us to continue the uninterrupted growth of the world's first commercial VLJ fleet," said DayJet President and CEO Ed Iacobucci.
OPERATIONS AT NEW ORLEANS LAKEFRONT AIRPORT have accelerated since the air traffic control airport reopened on July 30. The Louisiana airfield, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005, handled 240 operations during a single day recently, according to Louis Capo, director of the Orleans Levee District's Division of Non-Flood Assets, which oversees NEW. Although Lakefront reopened on Oct. 15, 2005, it was only able to handle about 160 movements daily without the tower. Now the tower is operating from 8 a.m.
The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) handed a win and a loss to FAA in two decisions affecting major contract disputes with the agency's controllers and systems specialists unions. FLRA recently dismissed FAA's unfair labor practice complaint against the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) union, but another FLRA panel rejected a similar complaint filed against FAA by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).
BOMBARDIER delivered the 150th Challenger 300 business jet to fractional aircraft provider Flexjet. The Challenger 300 entered service in 2004 and has logged a dispatch reliability of more than 99 percent.
EMBRAER received an order valued at $657 million from Air France/KLM group for 20 E-Jets. The contract includes four Embraer 190 and six Embraer 170 jets that will be operated by Air France subsidiary Regional and for 10 Embraer 190s for KLM cityhopper. The order includes options for up to 18 more E-Jets, which could boost the total value of the deal to $1.245 billion. Delivery of the aircraft will begin in November 2008.
Jetstream HP.137 Jetstream Mk.1, Series 200, Series 3101, and Model 3201 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27861 Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-035-AD; Amendment 39-15130; AD 2007-15-01] - Using British Aerospace Jetstream Series 3100 and 3200 Service Bulletin 57-JA020740, Revision 2 (dated Nov. 2, 2005), inspect and torque check the bolts at Frame 199. This AD results from an MCAI issued by an aviation authority of another country. In-service reports have been received of failed bolts fitted to the Frame 199 wing-spigot post assembly.
THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE named Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) vice chairman. A 16-term member of Congress, Rahall also serves as the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Rahall has worked with Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House T&I Committee, for 30 years. Oberstar also appointed vice chairmen for the T&I subcommittees: Rep.
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is planning operational missions this month of its Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), mapping wildfires in the western U.S. using an infrared scanner built by Ames Research Center. The team will fly at 23,000 feet over as many as a dozen of the many fires that rage on in the western states at any given time during the fire season.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION expects to announce the winner of its crucial Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) contract by Aug. 30. The three teams competing for the nearly $1 billion contract are led by Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and ITT.
Model EMB-135BJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28909; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-135-AD] - This proposed AD would require installation of heat-shrinkable sleeves on the wiring for the inspection and refueling panel illumination lights, as well as installation of nipples on the terminal lugs to protect the wire terminals. These procedures are contained in Embraer Service Bulletin 145LEG-28-0016, Revision 01 (dated June 27, 2005).
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION has posted a new information and guidance document designed to help members better understand FAA legal definitions of nonscheduled operations and how that could impact advertising for empty-leg seats. Joe Conte, manager of the operations law branch within FAA's Chief Counsel office, discussed the issue during NATA's Air Charter Summit last month. NATA subsequently heard from a number of members concerned about their empty-leg offerings.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION last week released a final rule imposing new certification standards designed to ensure that aircraft electrical and electronic systems are adequately protected from the effects of high-intensity radiated fields (HIRF). FAA previously mandated those standards on a product-by-product basis through special conditions. The final rule takes effect Sept. 5.
SAFE FLIGHT INSTRUMENT CORP. completed registration to AS9100-B, the newest international aerospace quality standard. Safe Flight received its AS9100-B certificate last month from the Bureau Vertias North America, Inc. in accordance with the requirements of the management system standards for design, manufacturing and repair. "Complying with the AS9100 standards further helps increase our customers' confidence that our process-oriented approach will meet or exceed their criteria," said Randy Green, Safe Flight's president and CEO.
Adam Aircraft has poured millions of dollars into its factory under a "Make Production Fly" initiative designed to move the Englewood, Colo. manufacturer from a development company into a full-scale aircraft production company. The company has begun to ramp up production of the A500 twin piston and is preparing for full-scale production of its A700 Very Light Jet once it earns FAA type certification early next year.
Federal officials will host three public meetings this month to discuss the current and proposed Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN) system. The sessions will be held Aug. 15, 21 and 23 in Washington, D.C., Juneau, Alaska and Seattle, Wash., respectively. The Coast Guard wants public comment and other relevant information on environmental issues surrounding the future of the LORAN-C program, which officials are considering whether to cancel, maintain or spend funds to jump to a high technology "enhanced" version.
James Kenyon, acting associate director of aerospace technology in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, has put out another call for white papers supporting the nation's aeronautics research and development (R&D) policy.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. named Nigel Whiteman, a veteran Hawker service technician to a newly created field service post in Delhi, India. Whiteman, who has more than 30 years of general aviation experience, was most recently with Hawker Beechcraft Services in Oxford, England, where he was responsible for NetJets Europe AOG support. Whiteman holds European Aviation Safety Agency B1 and C line and base maintenance licenses for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and has his airframe and powerplant certificate.
The Embraer Phenom 100 Very Light Jet (VLJ) flew for the first time on July 26 at the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer's Sao Jose dos Campos facility. Aircraft number 99801 (PP-XPH) took off at 10:55 a.m. and stayed aloft for 1 hour and 36 minutes, performing several maneuvers to check the aircraft's flight characteristics and systems operations. "All maneuvers and tests were performed as planned," said test pilot Antonio Braganca Silva.
YINGLING AVIATION is adding 9,000 square feet of hangar and office space to its fixed-base operation at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport, part of the company's plan to provide expanded service and overhaul capability of propellers built by McCauley Propeller, a unit of Cessna Aircraft. The $1.5 million addition, which is the first portion of a two-phase expansion, is expected to be completed by March.
Fresh from a series of one-fifth scale model tests at the University of Washington's Kirsten Wind Tunnel, Piper Aircraft officials plan to make several significant design changes in the company's single-engine PiperJet aircraft. The three weeks of wind tunnel testing focused on 973 individual data runs that provided engineers with essential information for further aerodynamic analysis and product development.
