BOEING'S manufacturing plant in Everett, Wash. earned International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certification. The facility produces Boeing 747, 767, 777 and 787 airliners. The facility, 30 miles north of Seattle, includes more than 1,000 acres and is surrounded by wetlands. ISO 14001 assures an environmental management system is in place. The facility annually recycles more than 56 tons of aluminum, 460 tons of steel and 800 tons of wood.
Norman Mineta accomplished a remarkable double achievement Dec. 15, receiving two prestigious awards in the same day. President George Bush presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mineta and nine others at a White House ceremony on Friday morning. The Medal of Freedom, established in 1963, may be presented by the President to any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the U.S., world peace or cultural or "other significant public or private endeavors."
THE SCHEDULE for publishing OpSpec A008, which will address aircraft operational control and related issues, continues to slip. Officials had previously indicated the document would be out by the end of November (BA, Oct. 30/195), but word from an FAA spokesman Friday was that A008 will be coming out "no later than Feb. 15," although he added it could happen before then. In conjunction with the operations specification, FAA also is preparing detailed guidance for its inspectors on how it should be interpreted and enforced.
LIBERTY AEROSPACE received Australian certification for the Liberty XL2 single-engine aircraft. Liberty's Australian distributor, Liberty Aircraft Company Pty Ltd., will display the first Australian-delivered XL2 during the Australian International Air Show in Melbourne March 20-25.
BOMBARDIER named Chuck Thomas to head sales of its Bombardier Corporate Shuttle Solutions business in the U.S. Thomas, based in Las Vegas, Nev., has served with Bombardier Business Aircraft for the past five years. Bombardier teamed with Aerodynamics Inc. (ADI) in October to expand its Corporate Shuttle Solutions program. ADI will offer fleet management services to Corporate Shuttle customers.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION is expected to rescind and revise a Dec. 5 notice that would require approval from FAA headquarters any time a turbine-powered aircraft is added to any Part 135 certificate or any time an air ambulance airplane (either turbine or piston) is added to a Part 135 certificate. The notice noted that many operators "may have franchised, leased, or otherwise rented their authority to conduct operations to non-certificated entities.
Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes; and Model EMB-135BJ, -135ER, -135KE, -135KL, and -135LR airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24696; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-038-AD] - Revises an earlier proposal that would have required replacing the electrical bonding clamps inside the fuel tanks and adjacent areas. The original proposal resulted from a report of the failure of a fitting clamp of an electrical bonding cable for the fuel tubing. This action adds airplanes to the applicability.
Because of the holiday schedule, The Weekly of BUSINESS AVIATION will not publish a Dec. 25 issue. The next issue will be dated Jan. 1. The deadline for receipt of advertising materials for the Jan. 1 issue is noon, Dec. 20. Please accept our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
Model DHC-8-102, -103, and -106 airplanes; and Model DHC-8-200 and DHC-8-300 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26558; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-206-AD] - Proposes to require doing a one-time inspection for damage of the electrical cable harness assembly located on the left and right wing root to fuselage aft seal, and repair if necessary; and reworking the fuselage aft seal assembly (left and right) to create a clearance between the electrical cable assemblies and the edge of the fairing panel.
KRISTI IVEY was appointed Northwest regional representative for the National Business Aviation Association. Ivey will represent NBAA in a territory that includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Ivey spent more than eight years with the Home Depot flight department, where she managed the dispatch/operations function. Before joining Home Depot she was with Delta Air Lines and Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport.
NANCY PETERSEN was named vice president of marketing for Executive Jet Management. She will oversee all marketing, including strategic planning, advertising, direct mail, and public relations. She has 20 years of marketing and management experience, most recently as director of marketing and sales support at Five Seasons, a national real estate company. She also has held marketing and sales positions with Cincinnati Bell.
Model ERJ 170-100 LR, -100 STD, -100 SE, -100 SU, -200 LR, -200 STD, and -200 SU Airplanes and Model ERJ 190 Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26462; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-221-AD] - Proposes to require inspecting to determine the part number and serial number of the deployment actuator of the ram air turbine (RAT) and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from reports that the RAT may not fully deploy due to galling between the piston rod and gland housing of the deployment actuator.
LANDMARK AVIATION won FAA supplemental type certificate approval for the installation of a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 IDS integrated display system on Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft. The IDS integrates information in large format flat panel displays, including graphical weather, electronic charts and maps and flight management system. The IDS can be configured with three or four 8-by-10-inch active matrix liquid crystal displays. The system can accommodate options such as attitude heading reference system and traffic alert and collision avoidance system.
JAMES GODWIN, a retired rear admiral with the U.S. Navy, was appointed vice president of certification and life cycle support for Athena Technologies, a provider of flight control and navigation systems for unmanned aerial vehicles. Godwin will be responsible for seeking FAA certification for the Athena GuideStar flight control and navigation product line. In addition, Godwin will oversee training, logistics and aftermarket support. He served with the Navy for 30 years in senior management, including as F/A-18 program manager.
JAKE HART joined Chelton Flight Systems as vice president of autopilot systems. Hart will introduce the Chelton HeliSAS line of helicopter autopilots and stability augmentation systems. A former marketing executive with SAGEM Avionics, Hart also has served as an experimental test pilot for Bell Helicopter and test pilot/director with American Eurocopter.
Congressional hearings, government investigations, and high level meetings continued to probe deficiencies in Brazil's air traffic control system last week. While controllers had originally announced a new "slowdown" operation for Dec. 22-23, one of their labor leaders told a public hearing at the Federal Chamber of Representatives in Brasilia that no such tactic would be adopted at a time when heavy holiday traffic normally creates flight cancellations and delays.
A GULFSTREAM G550 business jet, Serial Number 5097, set four city-pair records in three weeks on trips between cities in Asia, North America and Europe, according to the aircraft manufacturer. The first trip involved a 4,494-nautical-mile flight between Edinburgh Airport in Scotland and China's Beijing Capital International Airport. The flight, which began Oct. 31, took 8 hours and 47 minutes, and averaged Mach 0.87. The aircraft took off from Beijing Nov. 2 on a 4,407-nm return flight to Edinburgh. That flight took 10 hours and 1 minute, averaging Mach 0.85. On Nov.
BUSINESS AVIATION LEADERS representing multiple organizations and companies gathered Thursday in Washington, D.C. to develop a cohesive plan for combating what they fear will be a significant user-fee battle in 2007. The strategy session, held in conjunction with a meeting of NBAA's board and associate council members, included the heads of other major GA groups. The participants agreed to maintain their unified opposition to user-fee proposals and discussed specific initiatives.
January 7-11, 2007 - American Association of Airport Executives, 21st Annual Aviation Issues Conference, Kauai, Hawaii. Contact AAAE at (703) 824-0500. 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.
EMBRAER has decided to offer the CMC PilotView Class II electronic flight bag (EFB) as an option on the company's E-Jets commercial aircraft and Legacy 600 and Lineage 1000 business jets. The compact system includes two display/processor units and can replace conventional flight bag contents such as checklist procedures and maps. The EFB also can include the Embraer Portable Operational Package that allows performance, weight and balance calculation and provides access to operational publications.
Discovery Air of London, Ontario said its Hicks & Lawrence Ltd. subsidiary signed an agreement to buy the turbine charter business of Walsten Air Services (1986) Ltd. Based in Kenora, Ontario, Walsten's assets include four Beech King Air turboprop aircraft and a hangar. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other conditions, but is expected to close before the end of February.
Regional Airline Association elected Paul Foley, president and chief executive of MAIR Holdings, as chairman of the association. Foley succeeds Jeff Pinneo, president of Horizon Air, who served as the 2006 RAA chairman. Also elected were Bryan Bedford, president and chief executive of Republic Airways Holdings, as vice chairman; Rick Leach, president and chief operating officer of Trans States Holdings, as treasurer; and Dan Wolf, president of Cape Air, as secretary.
CIT Group's Aerospace and Defense Finance division has structured an inventory financing transaction for The NORDAM Group, CIT Group said. The agreement will provide financing for a pool of rotable inventory components used to support NORDAM's growing repair and overhaul business.
