Pilatus Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19220; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-27-AD] - proposes, for PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes equipped with certain crew seat bucket assemblies with and without a backrest recline system, to require replacing the backrest tubes on these crew seat bucket assemblies at a specified time and adds a life limit for these backrest tubes. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Switzerland.
Premier West Star, Grand Junction, Colo., said its Cessna Citation service center agreement has been expanded. Premier had been approved last year to work on Cessna 500 Series airplanes. The expanded agreement covers work on the 650 Series and the new Model 680 Sovereign.
Ballistic Recovery Systems posted a $33,735 loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with net income of $51,855 for the same period a year earlier. BRS attributed the decline in income to costs associated with starting operations in Mexico. Revenues for the quarter rose 2.2 percent to $1.9 million, BRS reported.
Leaders of key general and business aviation organizations are preparing for a lobbying and public relations battle with the scheduled airlines over Bush Administration and airline proposals to impose billions of dollars in new user fees on private aircraft operators. That fight is expected to be costly and acrimonious, so top executives of the trade associations also are trying to find some common ground with the top brass at the airlines through the auspices of veteran leaders on both sides.
Robert B. Hotz, 91, who cut a wide swath in aerospace and defense circles during nearly 25 years as editor of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine, died Feb. 9 at the Frederick, Md. Memorial Hospital. Hotz, who lived on a farm near Myersville, Md., had Parkinson's disease.
Bombardier DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23798; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-162-AD] - proposes to require replacing all domed anchor nuts at all attachment locations of the upper fuel access panels of the center wing in the wet bay location with new nuts. This proposed AD results from reported cases of corroded dome anchor nuts at the attachment locations of the upper surface of the fuel access panel of the center wing.
Mitsubishi MU-2B series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23644; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-03-AD] - proposes to require changing the flight idle blade angle. This proposed AD results from a recent safety evaluation that used a data-driven approach to analyze the design, operation, and maintenance of MU-2B series airplanes to determine their safety and define what steps, if any, are necessary for their safe operation. Part of that evaluation was the identification of unsafe conditions that exist or could develop on the affected type design airplanes.
Associated Air Center won contracts from a customer in Eastern Europe and another in the Far East to complete two Boeing Business Jets. The European-bound BBJ will be completed later this year for delivery in December. The Far East customer is scheduled to accept delivery in March 2007. AAC, a Landmark Aviation subsidiary, is a designated completion center and factory authorized service center for the BBJ. The latest contracts will boost the number of BBJs that AAC has completed to 16.
The National Transportation Safety Board stressed the importance of commercial operators' strictly adhering to the sterile cockpit rule after the agency cited the crew's "unprofessional behavior" in the October 2004 crash of a Corporate Airlines Jetstream 32 in Kirksville, Mo. NTSB recommended the Federal Aviation Administration direct its principal operations inspectors to emphasize that Part 121 and 135 operators fully comply with the sterile cockpit rule.
Boeing last week handed over, to Southwest Airlines, the 5,000th 737 to come off the production line. The aircraft, a 737-700, is one of a total of 447 Boeing 737s in the Southwest fleet. Noting its 35-year relationship with Southwest, Boeing credited the airline with helping launch the 737-300, -500 and -700 models. More than 4,100 737s are in service, accounting for more than a quarter of the large commercial jet fleet. The aircraft is operated in 190 countries. The first models, the -100 and -200, entered service in 1968.
Eclipse Aviation Corporation was selected as the recipient of the 2005 Robert J. Collier Trophy "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America" for "leadership, innovation and the advancement of general aviation" in the production of very light jets, specifically, the Eclipse 500. The National Aeronautic Association, which announced the award, said it will be presented May 15 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
BAE Model BAe 146 and Model Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23840; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-232-AD] - proposes to require modifying the control cable duct on the left bulkhead structure at Frame 12, and for certain airplanes, the forward toilet bulkhead structure. This proposed AD results from a structural analysis by the manufacturer which revealed that rapid decompression of the flight compartment with the door closed could cause structural deformation of the left bulkhead structure at Frame 12, and of the attached cable duct structure.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION selected six individuals for its 2006 Corporate Aviation Management Scholarships, which will be presented at the association's annual Leadership Conference Feb. 22-23 in Dallas. The 2006 recipients are Dan Domingues of Taughannock Aviation Company in Ithaca, N.Y.; Anna Marie Hern of Trajen in Bryan, Texas; Ryan Marshall McCown of ACM Aviation, LLC in San Jose, Calif.; Paul Wayne Myers of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla.; Herwig Ingo Schmidts of W.W.
Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif. held grand-opening ceremonies to mark the completion of a 67,500-square-foot hangar that will be used by Pratt & Whitney. The $12 million hangar is being leased to the engine manufacturer, which will use it for aircraft maintenance and repair programs. SCLA is the former George Air Force Base, a 5,000-acre multi-modal business complex.
The Bush Administration unveiled its fiscal 2007 budget proposal for FAA last week, calling for about $500 million less spending than the current year, with the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) facing the steepest cuts.
Bombardier Aircraft Services won approval from FAA to eliminate skin contour tests for the continued operation of Learjet Model 31, 35, 36 and 55 airplanes in Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) conditions. The Canadian manufacturer said the approval was based on aerodynamic analysis and the sampling of multiple aircraft, which showed insignificant variations over time in RVSM-critical regions. The approval will eliminate the need for those aircraft to undergo recurrent skin-mapping inspections every 24 months, as previously required.
Raytheon 65, 90, 99, and 100 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-23319; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-52-AD] - proposes to supersede AD 92-07-05, which currently requires inspection of the rudder trim tab for proper moisture drainage provisions, and if the correct drainage provisions do not exist, before further flight, modifying the rudder trim tab. Since AD 92-07-05 was issued, FAA has received and evaluated new service information that requires the actions of AD 92-07-05 for the added Serial Numbers LJ-1281 through LJ-1732 for the Model C90A airplanes.
Top executives of 15 aviation organizations sent a joint letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week asking for quick action on the nomination of Donald Bliss as ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal. President Bush announced his intention to nominate Bliss last month (BA, Jan. 30/41). See article below.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service have launched an environmental study of actions that could be taken to restore natural quiet at Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP). The agencies noted a 1996 presidential memorandum calling for the "substantial restoration of natural quiet" at GCNP by 2008. Under NPS' definition, substantial restoration will have been reached when "50 percent or more of the park will achieve natural quiet (i.e., no aircraft audible) for 75 to 100 percent of the day."
Bombardier Aerospace sold 11 more 70-seat Q400 regional turboprops, booking new orders from REGCO Holdings Inc. of Toronto, Canada and Japan Air Commuter (JAC) of Kagoshima, Japan. REGCO placed a firm order for 10 of the aircraft, with options for 10 more, in a contract that has a potential value of $500 million including options.
