The Department of Transportation last week granted a request by the National Business Aviation Association to lift restrictions on certain operations, such as time-share and interchange, when the operations involve a U.S.-registered aircraft that is owned by either a foreign or foreign-led company. But at the same time, DOT denied NBAA's request for a similar exemption from limitations involving the carriage of political candidates.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued seven recommendations Thursday warning of a potential fire hazard on Bombardier CRJ200 regional airliners when moisture gets into the under-floor avionics bay near the main entry door of the aircraft. The safety board is aware of seven fires aboard CRJ200s, six of them in the past six months, officials said, and warned FAA that "the potential exists for an uncontained fire to compromise the oxygen line, which could develop into an even more critical situation."
The City of Chicago continued to appeal a $33,000 civil penalty assessed by FAA for the deactivation of Meigs Field, saying the city was exempt from prior notification requirements because "an emergency involving public safety existed." FAA in late August assessed a $33,000 civil penalty against the city for failing to comply with a required 30-day notice before deactivating the Chicago lakefront airport (BA, Sept. 12/11). The city last month disagreed that it violated the regulations by failing to give FAA adequate notice.
Raytheon Aircraft last month handed over the first new Hawker 850XP to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The delivery followed certification in February (BA, March 6/104). The Hawker 850XP is a follow-on to the Hawker 800XPi with Raytheon-designed winglets. The winglets boost range by 100 nautical miles and decrease the aircraft's climb time by eight percent.
Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has taken full ownership of an entity that performs trend monitoring and related services. Data Systems & Solutions LLC (DS&S), based in Reston, Va., was formed as a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in 1999. The engine maker acquired SAIC's stake in DS&S late last month.
ARINC continues to build a distributor network for its SKYLink satellite broadband communications system, signing agreements with Midcoast Aviation, Duncan Aviation and Jet Aviation Palm Beach to sell and install the technology. ARINC previously named Landmark Aviation as a distributor of SKYLink in the North American aftermarket (BA, March 13/121). The SKYLink satellite broadband service uses Ku-band connectivity to provide access to Internet, e-mail, virtual private networks, and Voice over IP and Fax over IP services.
Bombardier's Challenger 850 corporate shuttle entered service last week with Canadian oil producer Suncor Energy Inc. of Alberta. The aircraft will be used to shuttle Suncor personnel and contractors between Suncor's headquarters in Calgary and Fort McMurray in northern Alberta. Bombardier launched the Challenger 850 corporate shuttle in May 2005 as a derivative of the Bombardier CRJ200 airliner.
Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24252; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-062-AD; Amendment 39-14528; AD 2006-05-11 R1] - Revises an existing airworthiness directive applicable to certain Bombardier Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes.
Named a sales director for pre-owned aircraft at Gulfstream Aerospace. Based in Southern California, he will be responsible for the sales of pre-owned aircraft to customers in the western U.S. and Canada, Central and South America, Australia and Asia. Ross joins Gulfstream from TAG Aviation, where he was a regional vice president. Before working for TAG, Ross was senior vice president for ExcelAire Service in Islip, N.Y. Ross began his career with Bombardier Aerospace, beginning as a marketing coordinator and working his way up to sales director for the western U.S.
Mayo Aviation added a Learjet 31A to its growing charter fleet. Based at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo., Mayo provides aircraft charter, management, maintenance, parts and emergency medical transport services. The Mayo fleet ranges from turboprops to light, medium and heavy jets.
Appointed director of U.S. aftermarket sales for Avidyne. Luster, who holds an aviation management degree from Oklahoma State University, previously held marketing and sales positions with Commander Aircraft and Mooney Aircraft. Most recently, she was aftermarket product marketing manager and a regional sales manager for Avidyne.
After months of discussions with industry groups, the Federal Aviation Administration hopes to release an operations specification that will more clearly define issues of operational control and acceptable wet-lease practices by late summer. The agency last week held the first of a series of briefings on operational control and wet leases in an attempt to clear up confusion surrounding the issue and lay the groundwork for the release of the specification.
Two government agencies reported that the U.S. aviation trust fund is rebounding nicely after years of decline and a new study by an aviation consultant claims that the trust fund is in healthier shape than advertised.
CAE won a contract valued at $22 million (Canadian) to build two EADS Casa C-295 simulators. One C-295 simulator is slated for the Brazilian Air Force, which is buying 12 C-295s. The other simulator will go to the EADS CASA training facility in Seville, Spain. The simulators are scheduled for delivery in late 2007.
Michel, who is vice president of marketing for Cessna Aircraft (BA, March 27/139), declined to discuss specifics of his proposal until members of the Executive Committee have been briefed. To maintain operations and keep BE A PILOT assets viable, program administration was moved to Wichita.
Named director of OEM product marketing for Avidyne Corp., Lincoln, Mass. An instrument-rated pilot and licensed A&P mechanic, Hathaway holds multiple college degrees. He had been serving as OEM sales manager for Avidyne.
Phil Michel, chairman of the BE A PILOT (BAP) program, was preparing to e-mail members of the organization's Executive Committee last week to assess their interest in proceeding with a downsized version of the program. The learn-to-fly promotional effort was launched about 10 years ago in an attempt to increase the number of general aviation pilots. The initiative was supported by financial commitments from companies and individuals in the GA business.
Model DHC-7 Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22146; Directorate Identifier 2002-NM-184-AD] - Revises an earlier NPRM for an airworthiness directive that applies to all Bombardier Model DHC-7 airplanes. The original proposal would have required implementing a corrosion prevention and control program (CPCP) either by accomplishing specific tasks or by revising the maintenance inspection program to include a CPCP. The original NPRM resulted from a determination that, as airplanes age, they are more likely to exhibit indications of corrosion.
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) last week expressed concern that recent changes in jet fuel tax laws are hurting general aviation businesses (BA, March 20/125). During Tuesday's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on FAA funding, Burns, the chairman of the aviation subcommittee, said he was drafting legislation intended to streamline the process and asked whether the situation should be addressed in FAA reauthorization legislation.
Rockwell Collins received a commercial license from the Federal Communications Commission allowing the company's eXchange broadband data and live television system to operate in the U.S. FCC granted an experimental license in 2005 covering the initial deployment and testing. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa manufacturer collaborated with Connexion by Boeing and launch customer Bombardier to develop a broadband technology that the company said "is faster, lighter and stronger than existing offerings." Bombardier is installing the technology on a Global 5000 demonstrator.
Dallas Airmotive is designating its Lafayette, La. facility as a key support unit for component repair and exchange. Located in the midst of a number of Gulf of Mexico offshore support flight operations, the Lafayette plant has specialized in repairs on Rolls-Royce (Allison) 250 helicopter engines. Now Dallas Airmotive is planning to add component repair capability for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A/T, JT15D and PW300/PW500 engine families. In addition to direct customer support, the Lafayette operation supports nine company regional turbine centers in the U.S.
