Adam Aircraft flew the first conforming A700 AdamJet, Serial Number 002, this month, one of three conforming aircraft that will be used for FAA certification flight testing. Bill Watters, vice president of flight operations, and Ken Sasine, senior turbine test pilot, were at the controls for the 34-minute inaugural flight Feb. 4 from Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo. "The aircraft handled very well, stability was excellent, and the flight controls were very responsive and predictable," Sasine said.
Bombardier, spurred by continued demand for the Challenger 850 corporate shuttle, will renew production of the aircraft in mid-April at its Dorval facility, the company announced last week. The aircraft maker suspended production in October of its venerable CRJ200/Challenger 850 platform after delivering more than 950 regional and corporate variants of the platform and its predecessor CRJ100. The 850 is the corporate shuttle version the 50-seat CRJ200 regional jet.
Bush Administration officials have expressed concern that revenues coming into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund cannot keep up with the agency's growing costs. These concerns have become a central argument for the need to adopt a new funding system for FAA. But, by the Administration's own accounts, the uncommitted balance in the trust fund is expected to grow from a low of $1.7 billion in fiscal 2006 to $15.5 billion in fiscal 2011.
Short Brothers Model SD3-60 SHERPA, SD3-SHERPA, and SD3-60 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22875; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-179-AD; Amendment 39-14469; AD 2006-03-05] - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires an inspection of the fork end of the rear pintle pin on each main landing gear (MLG) to verify that sealant is properly applied and is undamaged, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary.
TAC AIR is teaming with The Hangar Incorporated (THI) to expand maintenance capabilities at Shreveport, La. THI is a certified repair station with bases in Memphis, Tenn., Batesville, Miss. and Shreveport. THI also provides maintenance for Wilson Air Center in Memphis. "As a result of this alliance, we will now offer a better equipped and more capable organization to provide top quality maintenance service that customers expect and deserve," said Danny Walsh, vice president of aviation for TAC Air. TAC Air will continue to provide line services at Shreveport.
COMMONWEALTH BUSINESS MEDIA appointed Steve Casley president of its recently acquired subsidiary BACK Aviation Solutions. Casley has more than two decades of airline management and consulting experience. BACK provides asset management, analytical information and customer relationship management services.
General Machine-Diecron, Inc. actuator nut assembly for the right main landing gear [Docket No. FAA-2005-23334; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-53-AD] - proposes to require determining by maintenance records check and/or inspection whether any actuator nut assembly with Part Number (P/N) GMD115-810029-17 or P/N GMD115-810029-23 is installed on various Beech turboprop models on the right main landing gear (MLG) actuator, and, if installed, to require replacing it with a new actuator nut assembly, P/N GMD115-810029-23B or FAA-approved equivalent P/N.
U.S. Air Force is expected to issue a request for information on a tanker replacement project within the next 90 days. An earlier RFI was withdrawn last summer when lawmakers complained that an "analysis of alternatives" had not been completed and issued. A RAND Corp. study, outlined for congressional leaders at recent closed-door briefings, concludes that the most cost-effective alternative for replacing the KC-135 fleet would be to acquire a version of a medium- to large-sized commercial airframe, or a combination of both. Rep.
A recent article about Jet Aviation's planned acquisition of Midcoast Aviation should have stated that Midcoast is the only active Bombardier-authorized service facility for the Global business jets in the U.S. Innotech Aviation of Montreal, Quebec also is an authorized service facility and modification center for the Global line of business jet aircraft, as well as a preferred completion center for the Global Express XRS and Global 5000.
The Transportation Security Administration is suspending work on Secure Flight, its long-delayed computerized air passenger screening program, pending an audit of information technology systems, TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said last week.
Mooney Airplane Company is offering a retrofit program to operators of its M20R and M20S models that is designed to increase power and dramatically shorten takeoff distances. The modification increases the output of the Teledyne Continental IO-550 G engines in those aircraft to 310 horsepower at 2,700 rpm.
Jim Blakey was named an associate with JB&A Aviation. An Air Transport Pilot with Learjet and Citation ratings, Blakey has more than 11,000 hours of flight time. He began flying in 1969 while in the U.S. Army and became a professional pilot in 1973. He subsequently served as a flight instructor, charter pilot and agriculture pilot. Blakey also held a number of corporate aviation positions including chief pilot, aviation department manager and director of aviation for companies in Oklahoma, Michigan and Texas.
Embraer EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23739; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-240-AD] - proposes to require modifying the routing of wire harness W407 near the fire extinguishing tube in the area of each engine, and installing new supports for related wiring. This proposed AD results from reports of chafing of wire harness W407 against the supports and nacelle structure in the engine area. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent such chafing, which could result in an engine shutting down during flight.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT delivered its 600th S-76 helicopter. Sikorsky handed over the first S-76 in 1979, and since then the S-76 fleet has amassed more than four million flight hours. More than 220 operators in 59 countries fly S-76 helicopters. Sikorsky is working toward the latest variant of the S-76, the S-76D, which the company hopes to launch in 2008. The Stratford, Conn. manufacturer last year unveiled a series of upgrades on the S-76C++.
Embraer Model EMB-135 airplanes and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. 2003-NM-271-AD; Amendment 39-14470; AD 2006-03-06] - requires inspecting the pilot's and co-pilot's seat tracks for proper locking of the seats, and adjusting or replacing the seat tracks if necessary. This AD also requires replacement of the seat locking pin on certain SICMA-brand seats.
Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. reported record deliveries of its models in 2005, and officials said they expect the company to achieve another record this year. Columbia, headquartered in Bend, Ore., delivered 115 new aircraft in 2005, compared with 78 in 2004.
EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT added three aircraft to its charter fleet - a Challenger 604 based at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash.; a Falcon 2000EX based at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas; and a Hawker 800 based at Cuyahoga County Airport in Cleveland, Ohio.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE received an order from the Italian government for 15 kits to upgrade Bombardier 415 amphibious firefighting aircraft. Bombardier sold one kit to the Italian government last year. The kit, derived from Bombardier's 415MP multipurpose aircraft, includes autopilot, nose radar, flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. Bombardier has sold 63 415s since 1994.
Mary Baker Engen, the widow of former FAA Administrator Donald Engen, died Feb. 6 after a brief illness. Mrs. Engen, 80, was a long-time resident of Alexandria, Va., but had moved to the home of a daughter in Pennsylvania last month.
Quebec's Lawrence Cannon was named Canada's new minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, a job with more responsibility than posts held by some of his predecessors.
The top executives of 15 aviation organizations wrote to the leadership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week urging quick action on the nomination of attorney Donald Bliss to be U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Federal Aviation Administration is testing prototype taxiway screens as part of the effort to cut down on dangerous runway incursions. A taxiway screen is placed at the end of a runway to block the view between the runway and an end-around taxiway. End-around taxiways, built beyond the 1,000-foot runway safety area, are designed to make it easier for aircraft to move between runways and terminal gates without having to cross active runways. The screens' purpose is to "hide" aircraft on end-around taxiways from the view of pilots preparing to take off on active runways.
