Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association President Phil Boyer was elected chairman of the RTCA policy board, which sets standards for aircraft and avionics and advises FAA on communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management (CNS/ATM). AOPA has been a member of RTCA almost since the organization, previously known as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, was founded in 1935. "RTCA has expanded its traditional role from developing technical standards to helping the FAA set its course for modernizing the air traffic control system," Boyer said.
Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24954; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-30-AD] - Proposes to require a one-time inspection of the Frame 21 adjacent to the wing upper-attachment lugs, left and right, and a repair if necessary. The Federal Office for Civil Aviation (the airworthiness authority for Switzerland), has issued FOCA AD HB-2006-223, effective date April 20 to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products.
Appointed general manager of Landmark Aviation's West Palm Beach, Fla. facility. Collins formerly was general manager of Landmark's Rochester, N.Y. fixed-base operation. He has more than 20 years of industry experience.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey last week defended the Bush Administration's decision to seek nearly $1 billion less for airport funding in fiscal 2007 than authorized by Congress, saying, "We must make the absolute best use of the taxpayers' dollars. Like other government agencies, FAA had to take a hard look at our programs and make some difficult choices." Blakey was testifying before a Senate Commerce Committee field hearing in Anchorage, Alaska, chaired by Sen.
Flight Safety Technologies, Inc. said it received notice late last month that it is being sued by Analogic Corp. "over perceived contractual interference relating to the development of TIICM counter-MANPADS technology." The suit also names Sanders Design International, which, along with FST, filed a joint patent application. FST said Analogic alleges that FST and SDI infringed Analogic's rights under a 2003 license agreement between SDI and Analogic by entering into a teaming agreement in 2004 and filing the joint patent application last year.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association agrees that training is one way to help reduce the number of unintended incursions into the Air Defense Identification Zone around the Washington, D.C. region, but called FAA's proposal for mandatory training (BA, July 3/2), "a de facto expansion of the ADIZ" that could actually increase the number of violations.
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer is flying an agricultural aircraft that burns ethanol. The initial results are "very good," according to CEO Mauricio Botelho, who noted that ethanol is cheap in Brazil, about one-fifth the cost of aviation gasoline. "Ethanol may be a good choice" on technical grounds for broader use as an aviation fuel, Botelho said, "but it competes with food," cautioning that socio-economic and political factors may ultimately weigh against widespread replacement of aviation gasoline with ethanol.
Model 45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25174; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-007-AD] - Proposes to require revising the Airworthiness Limitations section of the airplane maintenance manual to incorporate certain inspections and compliance times to detect fatigue cracking of certain principal structural elements (PSEs). This proposed AD results from new and more restrictive life limits and inspection intervals for certain PSEs.
Federal Aviation Administration determined that a proposed new 4,100-foot general aviation runway at Kellogg Airport in Battle Creek, Mich. would not have a significant environmental impact. The agency issued its Record of Decision and Environmental Assessment on the project last month. For more information, contact Brad Davidson, an environmental protection specialist in FAA's Great Lakes Region, at (734) 229-2900.
Experimental Aircraft Association is offering a new alcohol test kit for GA pilots to use in checking automotive fuel for the presence of alcohol. More states are encouraging the use of ethanol in motor fuels for automobiles, EAA said, warning that while auto fuel can be used in some aircraft, ethanol creates chemical properties that harm aircraft engines and fueling systems. "It is critical for aircraft owners using auto fuel to know if the gasoline being used in their aircraft is pure," EAA said.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority hired Paul Malandrino, Jr. as vice president and airport manager of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Malandrino most recently worked for the Transportation Security Administration, where he was federal security director at Baltimore/Washington International Airport since 2002. Before his TSA stint he was the manager of the Operations Department at Washington Dulles International from 1996 to 2002.
Six years after Brazilian plane-maker Embraer announced ambitious plans to build a family of large regional jets, Embraer won certification of the fourth and final member of the initial E-Jet series, the Embraer 195. The National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil on June 30 granted type approval for the 195, which is the largest of the E-Jets with seating for up to 118 passengers.
CRS Jet Spares, a master distributor of Secureaplane mainship aircraft batteries, signed a new agreement to distribute Secureaplane's emergency battery systems. The emergency battery systems use Hawker sealed lead-acid batteries instead of Ni-Cads and are either original or approved replacement equipment for most business jet applications, including aircraft made by Gulfstream, Bombardier, Raytheon, Dassault Falcon and Cessna.
One person was killed and two others seriously injured when a Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter being used to shoot movie footage struck power lines and crashed near Walford, Iowa June 30.
Bombardier sold three Q400 regional turboprops to Luxair, the national airline of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The aircraft are valued at $75.5 million (U.S.). Luxair flies on routes in Luxembourg, Germany, France and Belgium, carrying more than 1 million passengers annually.
The next FAA reauthorization may need to call for a process like the one the Pentagon uses to close military bases to decommission no-longer-needed facilities and equipment, according to House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.).
July 22 - Airline Pilot Job Fair hosted by AIR, Inc., Dallas, Texas, 800-538-5627, www.jet-jobs.com, email [email protected] July 24-30 - Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh 2006, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-4800 July 26-27 - Air Line Pilots Association, International, 2006 Air Safety Forum, Capital Hilton, Washington D.C., 703-481-4445 or register online at www.alpa.org under "Events." October 17-19 - National Business Aviation Association 59th Annual Meeting & Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000
Enstrom added Bringer Corporation in Brazil to its network of dealers. Established in the U.S. in 1983, Bringer has offices throughout Brazil and operates two B-767-300Fs and a Seneca. Bringer parent company Overcom Aero Products supplies aircraft parts throughout Brazil. Bringer's Sao Paulo facility will serve as the Enstrom sales office. Bringer partnered with Helipark for maintenance and service on the Enstrom product line.
At the request of industry, FAA has scheduled a workshop Aug. 7-8 in Washington, D.C. to evaluate its controversial notice requiring commercial and Part 91 (K) fractional aircraft operators to include a 15 percent safety margin in landing distance calculations (BA, June 19/271).
Thales won a contract from Airservices Australia to supply primary and secondary radars to be deployed at the busiest airports throughout the country. Thales will provide eight STAR 2000 S-band solid-state approach primary radars co-mounted with RSM 970 Mode S monopulse secondary surveillance radars, a transportable radar and radar electronics for a maintenance facility and a software support facility. The systems will be installed in a little more than three years. The contract calls for Thales to provide 16 years' support.
Eurocopter received a $1.47 billion contract to build 34 MRH 90 helicopters for the Australian military, that country's defense department announced last month. The Eurocopter helicopters will replace the Navy's Sea King and the Army's Black Hawk units. The MRH 90s will be built in Brisbane, Australia and based at RAAF base Townsville, Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney and HMAS Albatross in Nowra, as well as a joint training facility at Oakey in Queensland. The Sea Kings will be retired in 2010. The Black Hawks will be phased out from 2011 to 2015.
Nearly a year after Peter Edwards' departure as president of Bombardier's Business Aircraft division, the company selected a private pilot with no large-aircraft sales experience to oversee its business jet product line. Pierre Gabriel Cote takes over today (July 10) as president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, where he will "head the...leadership team responsible for profit, cost, quality and customer management from order to delivery of Bombardier business aircraft," the company said in a statement Thursday.
Tay 611-8, 620-15, 650-15, and 651-54 series turbofan engines [Docket No. FAA-2006-24777; Directorate Identifier 2006-NE-19-AD] - Proposes to require, for engines with certain low-pressure (LP) compressor modules installed, to require an ultrasonic inspection (UI) of LP compressor fan blades for cracks, within 30 days after the effective date of the proposed AD on certain serial number (SN) Tay 650-15 engines. This proposed AD would also require repetitive UIs of LP compressor fan blades on all engines.
The DOT office of Inspector General plans to audit inactive grant obligations in the FAA's Airport Improvement Program. FAA guidance calls for grants to be closed out within four years of being awarded, along with quarterly reviews of inactive grants and the de-obligation of unneeded funds. As of Oct. 1, 2005, FAA reports that about $11 billion was obligated to nearly 6,200 AIP grants. The audit began at the end of June at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and selected FAA regional and airport district offices.
