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.
A Dassault Falcon 900 escaped damage in Greenville, S.C. last month in what would have been a potentially dangerous overrun accident at most airports. The aircraft, N699BG, was registered to and operated by Erg Aviation II Inc. under Part 91 of the FARs. The pilot was making a visual approach to Runway 1 at the Greenville Downtown Airport. He told investigators that during the approach, the anti-skid system test required a second test to receive the correct indication.
The competition to supply the Turkish military with a basic aircraft trainer is down to two companies, Embraer and Korea Aerospace Industries. Turkey earlier this year issued a solicitation for the trainer program, saying it plans to buy 36 aircraft, with another 19 options. To elicit more interest, the response date was extended from early May to mid-July.
Air Carrier representatives are slated to meet this week with senior FAA officials to hash out concerns they have with the agency's notice calling for a 15 percent safety margin in landing distance calculations for aircraft operated under Parts 121, 135, and 91(K). The industry representatives were particularly concerned that FAA bypassed the rulemaking process when it released the requirement for the runway distance restrictions (BA, Jun 19/271).
The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to try to ease the registration process for fuel tax rebates after industry groups expressed concern that the IRS was taking much too long to approve vendors. A National Air Transportation Association-sponsored survey of fixed-base operators revealed that the IRS has been taking an average of 75 days to respond to their requests to become approved vendors. FBOs must be recognized as an approved "ultimate registered vendor" before they can seek a rebate on taxes that are paid on jet fuel, but at the diesel fuel rate.
An international coalition of helicopter operators, manufacturers and industry groups has joined forces with the FAA and other air traffic regulators from around the world to spearhead a new safety push aimed at cutting the helicopter accident rate by 80 percent over the next decade.
