General aviation leaders fear an upcoming Federal Aviation Administration proposal will call for a dramatic overhaul of the agency's funding system and new user fees on business and general aviation aircraft. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey last week said an FAA funding proposal should be sent to Capitol Hill for review this spring. The exact timing of the proposal is unclear - some believe the schedule continues to slip as the plan goes through Office of Management and Budget review.
Roger Fones, former chief of the transportation, energy and agriculture section of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, joined the law firm of Morrison & Foerster. Fones, who was with the Antitrust Division for nearly 30 years, led its transportation, energy and agriculture section for 10 years.
Aero Advantage ADV200 Series (Part Numbers ADV211CC and ADV212CW) vacuum pumps [Docket No. FAA-2005-20440; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-05-AD; Amendment 39-14472; AD 2006-03-08] - requires removing from service any affected vacuum pump and installing an FAA-approved vacuum pump other than the affected part numbers. This AD results from several reports of pump chamber failure. FAA is issuing this AD to prevent vacuum pump failure or malfunction during instrument flight rules (IFR) flight that could lead to loss of flight instruments critical for flight.
The National Transportation Safety Board cited the crew's failure to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure and use all navigational aids in the Oct. 24, 2004 crash of a Beech King Air operated by Hendrick Motorsports in Stuart, Va. All 10 people aboard the King Air - eight passengers and two crew - were killed after the aircraft crashed into mountainous terrain during a missed approach into Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport. The aircraft, N501RH, had departed Concord, N.C. Regional Airport at 1156 Oct.
Mamoru Iguchi was appointed general manager of the Asia Pacific region for VISTAGY Inc. Iguchi will market the company's FiberSIM composite engineering software to aerospace and automotive manufacturers in Korea, Japan, China, Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific region. The company said it created the position in response to a market that has grown three-fold over the past year.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association today is expected to announce that general aviation and business aircraft manufacturers had a record-setting year in terms of billings for new airplanes and shipped more aircraft in the 12-month period than any other year in the past two decades. "It's been a fantastic year," said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce. He and other GAMA officials believe the market is poised for continued growth, but their enthusiasm is tempered by concern about potential tax and user-fee proposals that could threaten industry momentum.
Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Loral Space & Communications, will retire March 1, the company said. Schwartz has served in his present roles since the company was formed in 1996 and held the same positions at the firm's predecessor company, Loral Corp., beginning in 1972. "I have concluded that now is the right time to activate our succession plans and pass the reins of the company on to our extremely talented team of executives," Schwartz said in a letter to the company's board of directors.
February 26-28 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2006 Annual Convention and Exposition, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646 Feb. 28-March 1 - Federal Aviation Administration, 31st Annual Aviation Forecast Conference, "Survival and Growth in Today's World," Washington, D.C. Convention Center, (202) 267-7924 March 20-23 - National Business Aviation Association International Operators Conference, Tampa, Fla., (202) 783-9000
On a more serious note, Coyne said he's "very, very worried about how this fight will unfold." Coyne fears the user-fee issue will create a "tremendous amount of anger and hostility across the aviation industry" as the debate unfolds over the next two years. Current FAA authorization legislation - and existing aviation taxes - are due to expire at the end of September 2007. Coyne charged that FAA "has done a very poor job" of controlling the agency's costs since the PATCO strike some 25 years ago.
Turbomeca Arrius Models 2B, 2B1, and 2F turboshaft engines [Docket No. 2000-NE-12-AD; Amendment 39-14423; AD 2001-08-14R1] - revises an existing AD that currently requires replacing the right injector half manifold, left injector half manifold, and privilege injector pipe. This AD requires the same actions, but relaxes the compliance time for the repetitive replacements on Arrius 2F engines. This AD results from Turbomeca relaxing the repetitive replacement interval for Arrius 2F engine fuel nozzles based on review of returned fuel nozzles to Turbomeca.
Kent State University took delivery of two Cessna Skyhawk aircraft equipped with Garmin G1000 glass cockpits from Eastern Cincinnati Aviation, a Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative (CSTAR). Kent State said the addition of the Skyhawks is the second phase of modernizing the university's training aircraft fleet. The new aircraft will help students transition to Kent State's Bridge Program with Continental Express, the university said.
Canadian investigators are attempting to determine what caused the engine in a Cessna Caravan to lose power last month, resulting in a deadly off-field landing.
The National Transportation Safety Board is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to make a number of changes to strengthen medevac rules, including requiring that positioning flights be conducted under Part 135. The recommendations stem from a report investigating 55 emergency medical service (EMS) accidents between January 2002 and January 2005. "The very essence of the EMS mission is saving lives. Operating an EMS flight in an unsafe environment just makes no sense," said acting NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker.
David Bowen was named chief information officer for the Federal Aviation Administration. Bowen, who spent the past five years as senior vice president and chief information officer at Blue Shield, previously was senior vice president of information management and chief information officer at Catholic Healthcare West.
Federal Aviation Administration officials, who have indicated that they want to divert funds from certification staff and cut services, acknowledge that their budget decisions are taking a toll on manufacturers' certification programs (BA, Jan. 30/42). In the agency's fiscal 2005 Annual Performance Report, the Aircraft Certification Service stated that staff reductions have led to "some work being delayed or not accomplished at all." The result, the agency said, "is a decline in work quality and timeliness.
Avidyne Corp. teamed with AirShares Elite to offer a free seminar to help pilots transition to using the features of the Avidyne Entegra integrated flight deck. The seminar, set for Feb. 9 at the Jet Aviation hangar at Hanscom Airport outside Boston, will introduce operators to glass cockpit features as well as Avidyne's latest Entegra upgrade, which displays new satellite weather products. Attendees will be able to view the Entegra functions on the Cirrus SR22 and SR20 aircraft. AirShares Elite sells shares in Cirrus aircraft.
Jet Source Inc. won a contract valued at $2 million to complete four American Eurocopter AS350B-3 helicopters for the San Diego Police Department (SDPD). The A-Stars will replace a 38-year-old Bell 206, which Jet Source said is the nation's oldest police helicopter, along with three other older helicopters. Jet Source will install a law enforcement equipment package that will be night vision goggle-capable and include a thermal imaging system, an Aero Computers moving map, a custom designed command radio suite, and a customized instrument panel per SDPD specifications.
Dassault Falcon 2000 and Falcon 2000EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23716; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-008-AD; Amendment 39-14466; AD 2006-03-02] - requires an inspection for damage of the feeder cables, and corrective actions if necessary, and installation of a protective plate on the feeder cables. For certain airplanes, this AD also requires re-routing the wiring on the cockpit protector, drilling holes in the cockpit protector, and clamping the feeder cables, as applicable.
FlightWorks, an Atlanta, Ga.-based aircraft management company, added a second Gulfstream 450 to its charter fleet. The jet seats up to 14 passengers and has a range of 4,385 nautical miles. FlightWorks late last year began managing the first G450 - one of six aircraft added to FlightWorks' fleet in the fourth quarter.
Turbomeca Arriel 1B, 1D, 1D1, and 1S1 turboshaft engines [Docket No. FAA-2005-21242; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-09-AD; Amendment 39-14460; AD 2006-02-08] - requires initial and repetitive position checks of the gas generator second stage turbine blades on all Turbomeca Arriel 1B, 1D, 1D1, and 1S1 turboshaft engines, and initial and repetitive replacements of second stage turbines on 1B, 1D, and 1D1 engines only. This AD results from reports of the release of gas generator second stage turbine blades while in service, with full containment of debris.
Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO John Douglass thinks there has been "spotty" progress in implementing the recommendations of the Aerospace Commission, which delivered its final report in late 2002, although he believes the commission has had a greater impact than most.
Congress won't have a lot of time for taking care of business this year because of an early fall adjournment for election campaigning. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) wants to adjourn Oct. 6, leaving only 130 working days between now and then, says Frist's budget and appropriations adviser, G. William Hoagland.
A strong market for Cessna's Citation jets and Raytheon Aircraft Company's (RAC) Hawker and King Air lines led the two companies to combine for a $1.44 billion jump in sales in 2005. Cessna reported $3.48 billion in revenues in 2005, compared with $2.47 billion the year earlier. Operating profits at Cessna increased from $267 million to $457 million in 2005. Textron, Cessna's parent company, attributed the strong results to the volume of Citation sales, higher pricing and a growth in aftermarket revenues.
