Despite fears of an overstressed National Airspace System facing a huge influx of Very Light Jets, two senior Federal Aviation Administration officials reassured a Senate panel last week that the NAS will be able to accommodate the introduction of VLJs. Nicholas Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, told the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday that he wanted to dispel concerns surrounding the introduction of the VLJ into the NAS. "The system is in place today to accommodate the entry of new aircraft into the NAS," Sabatini said.
MARY PETERS, nominated last month to serve as Secretary of Transportation, appeared headed for confirmation in near-record time after the Commerce Committee Monday cleared the nomination for a Senate vote. Peters'nomination was slowed late last week by last-minute political maneuvering in advance of the pre-election adjournment, but officials were predicting that Peters would be confirmed before senators left Washington.
Was named a business development strategist for the aircraft charter and management divisions of Business Jet Access, the aviation services provider based at Love Field in Dallas. Warren is a commercial pilot and a mass communications graduate of Texas Tech University.
FAA HOPES to complete work by year's end on a proposal that would facilitate the use of very light jets in commercial service. The proposal, based in part on recommendations from the Part 135/125 Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, is slated to cover certification, crew, equipment, training and dispatch requirements for VLJs. FAA estimates it will finish the proposal and ship it to the Transportation Department by Dec. 31. It further estimates the proposal should complete all the necessary governmental reviews and be published by March.
AEROSPACE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL received FAA approval to overhaul aircraft wheels. The company, doing business as API Technologies, provides a range of accessory maintenance, repair and overhaul services. The latest approval includes wheels produced by Aircraft Braking Systems and Goodrich, which are found on a number of corporate and regional aircraft including Cessna Citations, Raytheon Hawkers and Beechjets, Bombardier Learjets, Challenger and CRJs, Dassault Falcon Jets and Embraer ERJs.
Rockwell Collins earned European Aviation Safety Agency, Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada approval for its HGS-4200 head-up guidance system on Bombardier CRJ705 and CRJ900 regional jets.
Was named vice president of ePublishing for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Coffey, a pilot, will oversee the association's Web site, AOPA Online, as well as two weekly electronic newsletters and AOPA's Airspace Alerts. Coffey previously headed teams focused on online marketing and communications for two Minneapolis-based agencies. He has done project work for a number of Minneapolis-area companies, including Pillsbury, General Mills, 3M, Ecolab and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
TECH AVIATION, a full-service fixed-base operation with facilities in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and Garden City, Kan., was rebranded under the name of its charter and management affiliate company, FirstFlight. John Dow, who has served as president and CEO of Elmira/Corning, N.Y.-based FirstFlight, is assuming operational responsibility for the Tech Aviation facilities. Both companies are divisions of FBO Air, Inc.
A key House legislator strongly endorsed the current aviation tax system during a hearing on FAA funding last week, questioning claims that the agency is facing a financing crisis. Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the House aviation subcommittee, said he believes that Congress should review FAA's tax and financing structure and consider mechanisms such as leasing or bonding.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) that would establish training, experience and operating requirements for pilots of Mitsubishi MU-2B series airplanes. The SFAR is one of several actions that have resulted from last year's comprehensive safety review of the airplane (BA, Jan. 30/45).
Recently joined the executive team at Eclipse Aviation and was promoted to vice president of manufacturing. Schumacher replaced Rod Holter, vice president of operations, who left Eclipse for family reasons, the company said. Schumacher joined Eclipse this summer to head the primary assembly team for the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet program. A veteran of 27 years at Lockheed Martin, Schumacher was vice president of operations at Raytheon Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan.
Was named partner in Nixon Peabody LLP. Mariani will join the law firm's product liability group and aviation team. Based in Long Island, he has 20 years of litigation experience, having focused on aviation defense work in the area of product liability claims. He has worked on cases involving aircraft/engine design and maintenance, airport design, airport ramp operations, toxic substance exposure and contractual indemnity. He also has extensive experience in the helicopter industry.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT'S LEADER remains bullish about prospects for continued growth in the business aviation industry. In a speech to the Aviation Club of the U.K. this month, Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton predicted that the "latest generation of aircraft is about to launch a new era in business aviation. The economic model for jet travel is about to change because of the dramatically reduced costs per seat mile these aircraft offer.
Dart 528, 529, 532, 535, 542, and 552 series turbofan engines [Docket No. FAA-2006-25272; Directorate Identifier 2006-NE-16-AD] - Proposes to require repetitive inspections of high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade platforms and shrouds, and reworking the engines if the inspections reveal excessive gaps between blade shrouds. This proposed AD results from reports of HPT disk rim failures. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent HPT disk rim failures resulting in the release of portions of the HPT disk, uncontained engine failure, and damage to the airplane.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT Charter & Management added six aircraft to its charter fleet: a Beechjet 400A in Nashville; a Hawker 800A in Dallas; a Challenger 600 in Atlanta; a new Premier IA at Van Nuys, Calif.; and Premiers based in Temple, Texas and the Chicago area.
ATR sold four ATR 72-500s to regional operator NAYSA, based in the Canary Islands. The contract, valued at about $71 million, calls for the aircraft to be delivered between 2008 and 2009. NAYSA currently operates Beech 1900 aircraft. The new ATRs will help NAYSA expand its existing agreement with Binter Canarias on some inter-island connections. NAYSA joins some 125 operators that fly ATR turboprops.
AIR SECURITY INTERNATIONAL was renamed ASI Group to reflect the company's growing global risk management business. "The bottom line is that we outgrew our name," said Charlie LeBlanc, ASI's vice president of operations. "Last year nearly 90 percent of our clients turned to us for non-aviation related products or services. We feel now is the time to redefine our image to reflect that change." The company was founded in 1989 to provide security services for corporate flight departments.
October 17-19 - National Business Aviation Association 59th Annual Meeting & Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000 October 22-24 - International Aviation Womens Association 18th Annual Conference, "Aviation's Global Resurgence: Five Years Later and Climbing," W Hotel, New York, Ellyn Slow, (732) 326-3703, email: [email protected], www.iawa.org or Karen Griggs, (410) 571-1990, [email protected]
NASA's aeronautics mission directorate is evaluating more than 700 research proposals from 110 universities and 120 other organizations and plans to begin making awards next month. Of its $724 million total budget request for fiscal 2007, the aeronautics directorate has budgeted $50 million to fund external research. "We're looking to make awards starting in October, probably the majority into November," Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Lisa Porter told BA affiliate Aerospace Daily and Defense Report.
Model ERJ 170 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25889; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-168-AD] - Proposes to require replacement of certain electrical bonding clamps and attaching hardware with new or serviceable parts, as applicable, and other specified action. This proposed AD results from failure of an electrical bonding clamp, used to attach the electrical bonding straps to the fuel system lines.
The Federal Aviation Administration Thursday turned down an appeal from the Aeronautical Repair Station Association for at least a nine-month extension of the compliance deadline for the latest drug and alcohol mandate. ARSA late last month requested that FAA push the compliance date back until July, saying several issues remain unresolved regarding the latest rule.
BRS named Larry Williams, who has served as chief executive of the company since December 2004, to the board of directors. "Larry Williams' leadership and expertise in the aviation industry adds real value to our company," said BRS Chairman Robert Nelson. In his two-year tenure as CEO, he's proven himself a capable leader. Under his direction he has raised the bar, and produced sustained and continued growth for BRS." Williams joined BRS from AmSafe Aviation, where he was vice president of business development for the manufacturer of aviation restraints.
EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT added two business jets to its charter fleet in the Southeast - a Citation Excel based at Fulton County Airport in Atlanta, Ga. and a Falcon 2000EX based at Boca Raton Airport in Fla.
