HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL named Bell Helicopter's Scott Baxter to receive the Joe Mashman Safety Award. Baxter is being recognized for his role in promoting the use of night vision goggles in the civil helicopter industry. An instructor at Bell Helicopter Training Academy, he developed and introduced the first Part 141-approved training course on night vision goggles, a course he worked on for more than three years.
January 25 - Coping With Crisis 101 - Managing an Aviation Disaster, Alexis Park Resort, Las Vegas, Nev. Register at www.thecommunicationsworkshop.com February 6-7 - NBAA: Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) 2007, Hong Kong. Contact Linda Peters at (202) 783-9000, email: [email protected], www.abace.aero. February 15-17 - Women in Aviation International Conference, Orlando, Fla. Contact Connie Lawrence, WAI, (937) 839-4647.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) this month to alert owners of thousands of Cessna Aircraft piston-powered airplanes and maintenance technicians who work on them about "the possibility of cracks in plastic or non-metallic control wheels." The airplanes in question were built between 1960 and 1964. The issue of cracks in the control wheels was addressed in Cessna Service Letter No. 64-8, dated Feb. 14, 1964.
HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL named Bell Helicopter's Scott Baxter to receive the Joe Mashman Safety Award. Baxter is being recognized for his role in promoting the use of night vision goggles in the civil helicopter industry. An instructor at Bell Helicopter Training Academy, he developed and introduced the first Part 141-approved training course on night vision goggles, a course he worked on for more than three years.
FLORIDA'S Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM) reported a record number of corporate-jet visits (4,421) in 2006, a 21 percent jump from the 3,514 jets that used the airport in 2005. Total aircraft operations at ISM were up slightly more than two percent last year to 153,992. Fuel sales were up nine percent to 2.3 million gallons. Airport officials attributed the rises in traffic and fuel sales to increased numbers of convention and business visitors coming to southwest Florida and Osceola County.
Grand Prairie Accessory Services, LLC of Grand Prairie, Texas, which provides engine and airframe overhaul for a variety of powerplants, was acquired by Triumph Group. The Texas firm, which has 90 employees, will be renamed Triumph Accessory Services - Grand Prairie and will operate as part of the Triumph Aftermarket Services Group. Triumph, headquartered in Wayne, Pa., said it believes the acquisition will add about $7 million in revenue during the last three months of Triumph's fiscal year "with revenue growth in excess of 15 percent expected for fiscal 2008."
Models M.S. 760, M.S. 760 A, and M.S. 760 B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26489; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-74-AD] -- Proposes to require, prior to the next flight after the effective date of this AD, inserting a copy of this AD into the Limitations Section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to incorporate the following: (i) Takeoff with frost, ice, snow, or slush on the wing, control surfaces, horizontal tail, and air intakes, and flight into icing conditions are prohibited.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders last week organized the committee's structure, naming Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) chairman of the aviation subcommittee. Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) is the ranking Republican on the committee. The aviation subcommittee, which will be crafting a major FAA reauthorization bill in the next several months, is the largest of the T&I subcommittees with 48 members. Costello, an 11-term congressman, formerly served as the ranking Democrat on the committee and was expected to take the chairmanship.
BOMBARDIER'S Bob Agostino will be the opening speaker at the Greater Washington Business Aviation Association's Safety Standdown March 8 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Agostino has been the driving force behind the successful safety standdown hosted each year by Bombardier/Learjet in Wichita, Kan. The DCA event also will feature presentations by government and industry experts on fatigue training, flight attendant training, accident prevention and security regulations. For more information, contact GWBAA President Bob Blouin at [email protected].
BOMBARDIER continued to expand its service capabilities with the addition of Mather Aviation LLC in Sacramento, Calif. as an authorized line maintenance facility for Learjet aircraft. Mather is the second California facility appointed in the past year. Bombardier named Landmark Aviation an authorized center in February 2006. More than 1,500 Learjets are based in the U.S., including more than 90 in California, Bombardier said. Mather also is the seventh authorized service center Bombardier has named worldwide in the past 12 months.
The Transportation Security Administration is working on a "more robust" plan to ensure increased security for large general aviation aircraft, TSA Director Kip Hawley told Congress last week. Appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday during a hearing on the 9/11 Commission recommendations, Hawley said that general aviation security "is something we take very seriously," and that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff "made it an unmistakable priority for me and my colleagues at other [Department of Homeland Security] entities.
Models M.S. 760, M.S. 760 A, and M.S. 760 B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26489; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-74-AD] -- Proposes to require, prior to the next flight after the effective date of this AD, inserting a copy of this AD into the Limitations Section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to incorporate the following: (i) Takeoff with frost, ice, snow, or slush on the wing, control surfaces, horizontal tail, and air intakes, and flight into icing conditions are prohibited.
BOMBARDIER continued to expand its service capabilities with the addition of Mather Aviation LLC in Sacramento, Calif. as an authorized line maintenance facility for Learjet aircraft. Mather is the second California facility appointed in the past year. Bombardier named Landmark Aviation an authorized center in February 2006. More than 1,500 Learjets are based in the U.S., including more than 90 in California, Bombardier said. Mather also is the seventh authorized service center Bombardier has named worldwide in the past 12 months.
TAT Technologies Ltd. of Gedera, Israel and the Dutch company Stork N.V. said they were unable to reach a final agreement with respect to the previously proposed joint venture in which Stork had planned to acquire substantial stakes in two U.S. aviation repair and maintenance firms.
COLUMBIA AIRCRAFT said it managed to deliver a record number of new aircraft last year despite obstacles presented by certification delays and Mother Nature. "No doubt we endured more than our fair share of challenges in the first half of 2006," said Randy Bolinger, vice president of marketing and business development, noting delays early in 2006 in getting the Garmin G1000 glass panel avionics suites certificated and then a freak hailstorm that damaged 60 aircraft parked outside the Bend, Ore. factory, making it necessary to refinish them (BA, June 26/285).
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION officials were slated to meet with National Air Transportation Association officials late Friday to discuss lingering concerns about the new Operations Specification, OpSpec A008, on Part 135 operational control. The OpSpec generally has been well received within industry, but the final document raised a handful of issues, including those dealing with pilot compensation and employment (BA, Jan. 15/23).
THE SENATE late Thursday passed an ethics bill that includes changes to the rules regarding compensation for private aircraft travel (BA, Jan. 15/25). Senators formerly could pay roughly the cost of a first-class plane ticket for travel on a private plane, but new rules require them to pay the equivalent of the cost of a charter. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) originally objected to the measure because he believed it would hamper the ability of senators from rural states to travel, particularly with tight travel budgets.
Model S-61L, N, R, and NM Helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2006-25824; Directorate Identifier 2004-SW-23-AD; Amendment 39-14876; AD 2007-01-05] -- Requires, within a specified time, creating a component history card or equivalent record. The AD also requires recording the hours time-in-service (TIS) and the external lift cycles for each main gearbox input left and right freewheel unit (IFWU) assembly. Also, the AD requires calculating a moving average of lift cycles per hour TIS at specified intervals on each IFWU assembly.
Model ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-26797; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-195-AD; Amendment 39-14878; AD 2006-20-14] - Publishes an amendment adopting an AD sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of certain Model ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes by individual notices. This AD requires modification of certain flight deck door electronic equipment. This AD is prompted by a report indicating that this equipment is defective. FAA is issuing this AD to prevent failure of this equipment, which could jeopardize flight safety.
The Transportation Security Administration is working on a "more robust" plan to ensure increased security for large general aviation aircraft, TSA Director Kip Hawley told Congress last week. Appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday during a hearing on the 9/11 Commission recommendations, Hawley said that general aviation security "is something we take very seriously," and that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff "made it an unmistakable priority for me and my colleagues at other [Department of Homeland Security] entities.
ANNABELLE VULTEE was appointed regional sales manager for South Florida for AirShares Elite. Vultee will be responsible for AirShares Elite's Cirrus shared ownership program in South Florida. She has a background of professional sales, marketing entrepreneurial experience, most recently as founder of Vultee Universal Investments, a hospitality industry consultancy. She also was product marketing manager at Burger King Brands and held a number of sales and marketing positions at the Coca Cola Company.
