Federal Aviation Administration last week warned that a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) proposal to restrict access and increase fees at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey could violate grant assurance agreements. PANYNJ June 8 wrote FAA proposing to expand noise restrictions designated for Runway 24 to all runways, lower the maximum landing weight of aircraft from 100,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds and increase airport fees.
BAE SYSTEMS Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-18716; Directorate Identifier 2003-NM-240-AD; Amendment 39-14156; AD 2005-13-19] - requires repetitive external eddy current inspections of the forward fuselage skin to detect cracking due to fatigue, and repair if necessary. This AD is prompted by evidence of cracking due to fatigue along the edges of the chemi-etched pockets in certain front fuselage canopy skin panels.
July 11-14 - SAE International's Conference on Environmental Systems and European Symposium on Space Environmental Control Systems. Hotel Villa Pamphili, Rome. Call +1 (724) 776-4841 or see www.sae.org July 16 - National Aviation Hall of Fame 44th Annual Induction Ceremony, Dayton, Ohio, (937) 256-0944 July 18-19 - Airports Council International-North America, Summer Legislative Issues Conference, Washington, (202) 293-8500 x 3019, e-mail [email protected]
Garmin International was selected to supply its G1000 integrated avionics system for the Diamond D-JET personal jet. The G1000 integrates primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather, engine instrumentation and crew-alerting system data on three high-definition displays - two primary flight displays and a centrally located multi-function display. The five-seat D-JET will cruise at 315 knots and have a maximum operating altitude of 25,000 feet. Diamond expects to begin deliveries in early 2007.
AVCRAFT DORNIER Model 328-100 and -300 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20869; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-09-AD; Amendment 39-14139; AD 2005-13-03] - requires operators to install colored identification strips on the pulley brackets, fairlead bracket assemblies, operational assemblies, and flight control cables. This AD is prompted by a report that the flight control systems do not have elements that are distinctively identified.
State and federal government leaders are concerned that a recent incident involving a stolen aircraft from Danbury Airport in Connecticut demonstrates the vulnerabilities of general aviation airport security. A 20-year-old man, who reportedly had been drinking, allegedly stole a Cessna 172 from Danbury June 22 and flew it for five hours before landing at Westchester County Airport in New York.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON Model 206A, A-1, B, B-1, L, L-1, L-3, L-4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2005-21680; Directorate Identifier 2004-SW-48-AD] - proposes to require, before the first flight of each day, checking the tail rotor blade root doublers for an edge void or de-bond on both sides of each blade, and if an edge void or de-bond is found, replacing the unairworthy blade with an airworthy blade. This proposal also would require replacing any affected serial-numbered blade with an airworthy blade.
GARMIN INTRODUCES PORTABLE AVIATION WEATHER DEVICE - Garmin International, Inc. introduced the GPSMAP 396, a portable aviation device that can display real-time weather information to pilots. The GPSMAP 396 with XM WX Satellite Weather, priced at $2,495, has Next Generation Radar, Aviation Routine Weather Reports, Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts, Temporary Flight Restrictions, Lightning and Winds Aloft and several other weather products.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700 & 701) series airplanes, and Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19754; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-181-AD; Amendment 39-14138; AD 2005-13-02]-- requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness by incorporating new repetitive inspections and an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections, and repairing any crack.
Iridium Satellite received a contract from Jakarta-based charter operator PT Travira Air to provide satellite communications for the carrier's fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. PT Travira will equip its aircraft with Sky Connect's TRACKER communication systems, which will monitor fleet movements via air-to-ground data links using Iridium's constellation of 66 low-earth-orbiting satellites. PT Travira Air also will use the system for cockpit voice communications.
NEW HANDBOOK BULLETIN AIMED AT RESOLVING PROBLEMS FOR PART 135 OPERATORS - The Federal Aviation Administration, after months of working with Part 135 operators and trade associations, issued a new Handbook Bulletin at the end of June to help resolve some controversial enforcement issues regarding maintenance requirements under Section 135.411 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. A key point is whether aircraft operated under Part 135 are certificated for nine or fewer passenger seats or for 10 or more.
National Business Aviation Association's Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, scheduled for Aug. 9-11 in Shanghai, China, will host a number of informational sessions for the Asian business aviation community covering topics including navigation and airport infrastructure, airport handling and support, and airspace and air traffic. Don Spruston, director general of the International Business Aviation Council, will moderate a session on the safety culture of business aviation.
Last month's incident involving a 20-year-old student pilot accused of stealing a Cessna 172 in Danbury, Conn. and flying the aircraft for five hours before landing - intoxicated and at night - in White Plains, N.Y. has captured the attention of Washington senators. Sens.
STAGE 4 NOISE STANDARD TAKES EFFECT IN 2006 - Federal Aviation Administration published new aircraft noise certification requirements that meet the international standard for Stage 4, but rebuffed calls by many groups to further restrict Stage 2 business jets. The rule, published in Tuesday's Federal Register, requires that aircraft certified after Jan. 1, 2006 meet the Stage 4 standard incorporated in the International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 16. ICAO adopted Chapter 4 of Annex 16 in June 2001 after lengthy international negotiations (BA, Jan. 22, 2001/43).
Jon Tonko joined Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. as line service manager. Tonko has more than 13 years of aviation experience, most recently with eight years at ASI Jet in Minneapolis, Minn. as a line manager. Before that he was a shift supervisor for Valley Aviation in Fargo, N.D. In his new position, Tonko will be responsible for the operation and training of 30 line technicians.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT USING BIODIESEL FUEL IN TRUCK FLEET - Wichita's Raytheon Aircraft Company recently began using a diesel fuel/vegetable oil blend of fuel to operate a fleet of 20 trucks and tractors, part of a widespread effort by the manufacturer to focus on pollution prevention and more environmentally friendly processes.
FAA TAKING THREE-STEP APPROACH TO INTEGRATION OF UAVs - FAA is taking three major steps to integrate unmanned aircraft into the U.S. airspace system, according to a top agency official.
A House measure that would effectively unravel the Federal Aviation Administration's contract for Lockheed Martin to take over operation of federally operated flight service stations (FSS) has drawn cheers from the agency's FSS workers but a veto threat from the Bush Administration, which said the House measure would undermine its effort to better manage government resources. The National Association of Air Traffic Specialists called the amendment "critical to the nation's airspace system and national security."
NATCA BLASTS FAA DECISION TO KILL CONTROLLER LIAISON PROGRAM - Federal Aviation Administration will end this month a program that assigned controllers full-time to agency headquarters to provide a controller liaison and feedback on modernization programs. The agency told the last nine liaison controllers assigned to headquarters that they will return to air traffic control duties as of July 29, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said. The number of controllers in the program has steadily decreased this year, NATCA said.
Marcus Oates was named avionics regional sales manager for Raytheon Aircraft's aircraft servicing facility in Atlanta. Oates will provide avionics support to customers in the Eastern region of the U.S. He has 15 years of aircraft and avionics experience, most recently with Gulfstream Aerospace.
Craig Steidle was named vice president of international affairs for the Aerospace Industries Association. Steidle most recently was the associate administrator for the Office of Exploration Systems at NASA. He retired from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral in 2000. In the Navy, Steidle directed the Defense Department's Joint Advanced Strike Technology Office and the Joint Strike Fighter Program. He was trained as an attack pilot and flew night combat missions in North Vietnam. He also directed the Navy's A-3 weapon system program.
Mayo Aviation added a Hawker 800 to its charter fleet. The aircraft can seat up to eight passengers and has a stand-up cabin, in-flight entertainment system and enclosed aft lavatory. Mayo, based at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo., has provided aircraft charter, aircraft management, maintenance, parts and emergency medical transport for 27 years. The latest addition expands the company's charter fleet to 14 aircraft.
VETERAN AIRLINE, MILITARY PILOT NAMED NGATS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR -- Dale G. Goodrich, a commercial airline pilot and an Air Force reservist, was chosen to serve as the first executive director of the Next Generation Air Transportation System Institute. Goodrich, 46, is a United Airlines pilot and an Air Force Reserve
