Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) hopes to hash out issues surrounding the Washington, D.C. Air Defense Identification Zone during a meeting he has scheduled Sept. 12. Inhofe told an audience at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture late last month that he wanted to get the top aviation association leaders together with key officials from FAA and the departments of Defense and Homeland Security.
National Business Aviation Association is concerned that a recent FAA notice concerning Part 125 Letters of Deviation Authority (LODAs) overlooks the work of the Part 125/135 Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which spent considerable time drafting recommendations on the issues surrounding Part 125. FAA informed operators earlier this year that the agency may not renew LODAs to enable large aircraft owners to operate under Parts 91 or 135 rather than Part 125 (BA, April 17/173).
Air traffic delays dropped sharply in July thanks to a new FAA flow initiative, helping to lower year-to-date totals almost to 2005's levels, according to FAA. There were 47,649 delays in July, compared with 58,471 in the same month last year, FAA said. The total for the calendar year through July was 262,932 delays - slightly ahead of the 261,130 delays for the same period in 2005. The number of flights handled by FAA under instrument flight rules is down by about 1 million so far this year.
Veteran Aviation Marketers Jim Gregory and Jim Kandt have teamed to form TriAd Aviation Marketing, a firm that will specialize in aviation marketing and communications. Triad, based in Wichita, Kan., will cater to aircraft manufacturing, aftermarket, fixed-base operation and airport clients. Gregory in 2002 established James Gregory Consultancy after retiring from Raytheon Aircraft Company. He also has held public relations posts with Learjet and Boeing.
Honda formed a new U.S.-based subsidiary to help develop, sell, promote, and produce the HondaJet, the company said last week. The new subsidiary, Honda Aircraft Company, will be based at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., where the company assembled the prototype HondaJet and has conducted flight tests for the past three years. Michimasa Fujino, the chief engineer who has led development of HondaJet, will be president of Honda Aircraft.
Models AT-501, AT-502, AT-502A, AT-502B, and AT-503A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19961; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-48-AD] - Proposes to revise an earlier proposed AD that would supersede AD 2002-26-05. AD 2002-26-05 lowers the safe life for the wing lower spar caps for Models AT-502, AT-502A, AT-502B, and AT-503A airplanes and those that incorporate or have incorporated Marburger Enterprises winglets.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne signed an agreement at the Pentagon Aug. 7 to strengthen aeronautics research ties between their two organizations. Designed to ensure the free flow of information and reduce duplication of work, the agreement covers areas such as advanced aircraft design, propulsion development, materials development and aviation safety. "Although NASA and the Air Force have differing missions, there are common aeronautics research goals that dictate we maintain a close partnership," Griffin said in a statement.
Appointed vice president of airline programs for EADS Barfield. Teixeira has 26 years of airline and aerospace experience, beginning in maintenance cost management with Texas International/Continental Airlines. He also has served in consulting roles for AAR Corp., American Airlines, Emery Worldwide, Mesa Airlines and Bombardier. In his new position, Teixeira will expand EADS Barfield's airline-related business, including repair and overhaul, fixed cost-per-flight-hour services, total customized support, procurement and logistics, and rotables and distribution.
Carmanah Technologies Corp. signed an agreement to supply 16 wireless-controlled solar LED airfield lighting systems to the Nassau Civil Aviation Authority of the Bahamas. Carmanah valued the agreement at $2.6 million. The systems will be installed on remote islands throughout the Bahamas in October and November. Many of the systems will be installed at smaller general aviation airfields that have no lighting in place.
Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC), based at Johnson County Airport in Olathe, Kan., earned FAA supplemental type certificate approval to install Universal Avionics' EFI-890R displays on Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. KCAC teamed with Universal to retrofit three EFI-890R displays on the PC-12. The EFI-890R includes 8.9-inch high-definition active matrix liquid crystal displays, which are integrated with the aircraft's existing avionics. The large-format displays replace the existing ADI, HSI, radar indicator, altimeter, VSI, RMI and airspeed indicators.
August 29-31 - SAE's General Aviation Technology Conference & Exhibition, Wichita (Kan.) Hyatt. Call 724-776-4841, fax 724-776-0790, www.aerospace.sae.org October 17-19 - National Business Aviation Association 59th Annual Meeting & Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000 October 27 - 64th annual Wings Club Dinner-Dance honoring Al Ueltschi, Chairman FlightSafety International, Inc. with its Distinguished Achievement Award; Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, 212-867-1770, email: [email protected].
Models 172R, 172S, 182S, 182T, T182T, 206H, and T206H airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25261; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-38-AD] - Proposes to require installing Modification Kit MN172-25-10B or a steel lock rod/bar on both crew seat back cylinder lock assemblies. If a steel lock rod/bar has already been installed on the crew seat back cylinder lock assembly, no further action is required. If Modification Kit MK172-25-10A has previously been installed, this proposed AD would require an installation inspection and correcting any discrepancies found.
NTSB has joined FAA and DOT in their concern over operational control issues. The safety board urged mandatory disclosure of who owns an aircraft offered for charter, who the broker is, who has operational control and who the other interested parties are. The recommendations come as FAA continues to clamp down on commercial operators who have operational control without the appropriate authority to operate commercially.
CAE won a contract valued at more than C$15 million to design and build an AW139 helicopter flight simulator for the AgustaWestland training center in Philadelphia. The contract follows an earlier deal for an AW139 flight simulator that will be delivered later this year to the Rotorism Training Center in Sesto Calende, Italy. Rotorism is a consortium between CAE and AugustaWestland. The second AW139 will be delivered in early 2008.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Sept. 25 will take over the rotary-wing air intercept mission handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and protect against low, slow-flying aircraft penetrating National Capital Region airspace. The Coast Guard crews, based at Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., will fly HK-65C "Dolphin" short-range recovery helicopters and operate under both Title 10 (military service classification) and Title 14 (law enforcement) authorities for the mission.
Frasca International, Urbana, Ill., recently received a number of orders for its TruFlite flight training devices (FTDS) from flight schools based in the U.S. and New Zealand. The Milwaukee Academy of Aviation, Science and Technology, a magnet high school specializing in aviation, ordered a TruFlite FTD that will be configured to fly like a Cessna 172. Massey University in Palmsterton, New Zealand is adding a TruFlite FTD that will be convertible between a Seneca V and Piper Warrior.
U.S. Air Force retired general, was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of DRS Technologies. Boyd had a 35-year career in the Air Force, serving as a combat pilot in Vietnam and surviving 2,488 days as a prisoner of war. His final assignment was as deputy commander in chief, U.S. forces in Europe.
National Air Transportation Association last week urged the Federal Aviation Administration to delay a new policy requiring a 15 percent safety margin for landing distance. FAA released the notice in early June calling on Part 121, 135 and 91(K) operators to make landing performance assessments before landing their jet aircraft (BA, June 19/272). NATA immediately objected to the notice, calling it regulation by policy guidance. NATA President James Coyne Thursday formally asked the agency to put the policy on hold in a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.
The decision by Verizon Airfone to step out of the general aviation communications business has opened a new door in the competitive air-to-ground phone market as thousands of customers search for replacement service. Verizon Airfone last month began notifying customers that it would discontinue its service on Dec. 4, 2006 unless it finds a buyer for the business. Verizon said it wanted to focus on its core business - broadband, wireline and ground-based wireless communications - and the air-to-ground business did not fit in its plans.
Aero Business Associates (ABA), a Wichita, Kan. aviation engineering and marketing services firm, was selected as a U.S. representative for Bombay, India-based Anyscad Solutions, which provides product development and manufacturing engineering. ABA will liaise between Anyscad and North American aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Bombardier-Learjet, Cessna, Raytheon Aircraft and Spirit Aerosystems.
Address: Comments may be submitted via the Web: http://dms.dot.gov; by fax: (202) 493-2251; or by mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, D.C. 20590-001. Identify docket number. Petitions for Exemption Docket No.: 2006-25325 Petitioner: Aeronautical Charters Inc. Section of 14 CFR Affected: Part 121.267
Embraer's board of directors tapped company veteran Frederico Fleury Curado to succeed Mauricio Botelho as president and chief executive in April 2007. Botelho will remain with the company after the succession as chairman of the board. Curado, 45, joined the company in 1984 and has since held positions in production, quality, planning, organizational development and commercial.
FAA's new airspace flow program (AFP) has played a major role in reducing the number of airport ground delay programs (GDPs) that have been needed this summer, FAA Chief Operating Officer Russell Chew said Thursday.
