AOPA STEPS UP PRESSURE FOR FAA TO RETHINK ADIZ PROPOSAL - The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association intensified its fight for relief from sweeping operational restrictions in the Washington, D.C-area with a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey last week urging public meetings on the issue. AOPA is opposing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would make permanent temporary flight restrictions in place through the Washington-area Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
AIRSURE, AERO INSURANCE MERGE - Aviation Insurance brokers AirSure Limited and Aero Insurance merged operations forming one of the largest general aviation insurance brokers worldwide. Aero Insurance parent Van Gilder Insurance Corporation owns the newly created aviation brokerage firm, which will operate under the AirSure name. "Both companies bring a lot to this merger," said Bill Behan, who established AirSure Limited in 1984 and is now managing director of the combined entity.
GARY BUCHANAN was promoted to regional vice president of sales for Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated. Buchanan, who will be responsible for the Western region and international markets, most recently was Garrett sales director for the Central region. He also held sales positions with AlliedSignal.
Eclipse Avation said the Eclipse 500 flight test fleet has accrued 500 total flight hours as the company progresses toward certification early next year. The test program comprises five aircraft, which have completed a number of milestones including foreign object debris and water ingestion testing. One aircraft also made 20 landings in one day to test tire wear.
ROBERT JAMISON was named deputy administrator for the Transportation Security Administration. Jamison moves to TSA from the Federal Transit Agency, where he was deputy administrator for the past three years. He also has served with the Federal Railroad Administration, the Red Cross and UPS.
House aviation subcommittee leaders remain skeptical about the need for government help to ease the airline industry's woes. Subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) has been steadfastly against providing more aid to the airlines and in a hearing last week pointed to other factors contributing to the industry's problems including the high fixed costs and overcapacity. Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, noted proposals to help the airlines, including one for a temporary reprieve from paying fuel taxes.
Summary: This notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR, dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
Aviation Technology Group added Mordechai "Moti" Boness to its board of directors. Boness is the president of Israel Aircraft Industries International, the American subsidiary of the Israel-based company. Boness joined IAI in 1966 and has held a number of engineering and program management positions. He managed the company's Commercial Aircraft Assembly plant beginning in 1986 and was named vice president and general manager of the Commercial Aircraft Group in 1994. He took over as president of IAI International in 2003.
October 3-6 - SAE 2005 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Area, Texas, www.sae.org/events/atc/ October 30-November 2 - Air Traffic Control Association 50th Annual Conference and Exposition, Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center, Dallas/Ft. Worth, www.atca.org, e-mail [email protected] November 2-3 - Regional Airline Association Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., (202) 367-1170
Raytheon Aircraft appointed Mike Turner senior manager, media relations. Turner will work with local, trade, national, business and international media and handle crisis management support and executive communications duties. He previously was an account strategist for Sullivan Higdon & Sink, where he supported a number of aviation clients, including Rockwell Collins and Aerospace Products International. Before joining SH&S, Turner was director of marketing for Elliott Aviation.
Raytheon Aircraft appointed Superior Aircraft Maintenance, Inc. in Medford, Ore., as an authorized service center. Superior is factory-trained to maintain all Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron and King Air products. Superior Aircraft Maintenance plans to break ground this month on an expansion project that will increase the executive terminal to 14,000 square feet and the hangar to 25,000 square feet.
The letters follow earlier correspondence sent by the National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association and National Air Transportation Association seeking a delay (BA, Sept. 26/133). The associations held a series of meetings on Capitol Hill on the issue, expressing their concern that the aviation trust fund stands to lose business aircraft tax dollars until or unless the appropriate vendors seek rebates for the tax differences. NBAA late Friday further explained its concerns during a meeting with senior Treasury Department officials.
AIR WISCONSIN TO CLOSE ITS APPLETON MAINTENANCE BASE - Air Wisconsin is closing its Appleton, Wis., maintenance base and opening new East Coast facilities to accommodate its flights as US Airways Express.
TMG Airepairs, a subsidiary of The Memphis Group, delivered 20 multi-mode, night-vision compatible, strobe light system kits to the Taiwan Air Force. The kits will be used for the Taiwan Air Force C-130 fleet. TMG Airepairs has delivered more than 900 of the kits worldwide. The company also develops missile detection and avoidance Countermeasure Defense System Kits for the C-130.
RAYTHEON BRINGS HEAVYWEIGHT KING AIR TO MARKET - Raytheon Aircraft received FAA approval for a heavyweight version of the Beechraft King Air 350. The King Air was modified with a heavyweight landing gear and several airframe modifications that enable the company to boost maximum gross takeoff weight by 1,500 pounds to 16,500 pounds. The modifications are part of a package of modifications under development for the new Beechcraft King Air 350ER, which the company unveiled during the Paris Air Show (BA, June 27/288).
TOM BYRD was appointed director of program management for government business for Raytheon Aircraft. Byrd formerly was director of strategic customer solutions for BAE Systems Sensor Integration in Austin, Texas. He also served in several capacities for L-3 Communications and worked for Electrospace and Sikorsky.
FAA tapped Joseph Bogosian to be assistant administrator for the Office of International Aviation, effective Oct. 3. Bogosian will coordinate all of the agency's international activities, with a focus on international standardization and harmonization. He also will work to strengthen ties with various civil aviation authorities and build aviation safety networks with developing countries. He joins FAA from the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he most recently was deputy assistant secretary for manufacturing.
Embraer's Business Aircraft unit is bullish about the outlook for growth of the business aviation market over the next decade. The Brazilian manufacturer said the total market value was $23.4 billion in 2004. That total includes $10.5 billion in airframe/OEM deliveries, $4.1 billion in charter and aircraft management and $1.3 billion in fractional aircraft ownership programs.
Pratt & Whitney Canada was selected by Czech manufacturer Evektor-Aerotechnik to provide the PT6A-21 engine for EV-55 utility aircraft. Evektor-Aerotechnik is developing a twin turboprop aircraft that will seat between nine and 14 passengers or carry 1,824 kilograms (4,021 pounds) of cargo. The EV-55 will be designed to cruise at 220 knots at 10,000 feet. Plans call for a prototype to be completed in mid-2007 and FAR Part 23 certification by the end of 2008.
MERCURY AIR GROUP REPORTS LOSS FOR THE YEAR - Mercury Aircraft Group, which earlier spun off its Mercury Air Centers chain of fixed-base operations, posted a net loss of $2.3 million, or 78 cents per share, for the year ended June 30, 2005. That compares with net income of $600,000 in the previous year.
