Multi Service Corporation partnered with Perfectstop to provide an Internet-based platform that links aircraft operators with fixed-base operators. Perfectstop, based in Houston, developed the platform, which will enable online reservations, flight tracking, real-time service confirmations, detailed trip reporting and other functions.
Robert Freeman, former deputy chief of staff of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, joined the law firm of Sher & Blackwell in Washington, D.C. as a director of government relations.
EMBRAER REPORTS RECORD PROFITS, REVENUES - Brazilian aircraft manufacturer said sales soared 60 percent last year as the company began ramping up deliveries of a new family of large airplanes for the regional airline market.
ARINC moved its United Kingdom international sales and customer service operations to new offices in Crawley, U.K. The new offices cover 14,000 square feet and include a technical demonstration area for ARINC's aviation and communication systems work.
Many senior executives in the charter business would endorse the creation of standards for charter brokering, but believe that industry, not government, should set the standards. Avbase Flight Services Chairman John DePalma, agreeing with participants at a NATA panel, said charter brokering offers growth opportunities for operators but "at the same time creates challenges," and added, "It is time to set some standards." Mike Nichols, manager of tax and finances for NBAA, agreed, saying those standards should be a compilation of industry best practices.
FAA MANAGER SAYS FUNDING SHORTAGE IS CAUSE OF REDUCED SERVICES - A veteran Federal Aviation Administration official is calling this year's budget one of the toughest yet, forcing agency managers to re-evaluate and slow down a number of programs and cut industry services. Dave Cann, manager of FAA's Aircraft Maintenance Division in Flight Standards, said that during his time with the agency there have always been complaints of budget shortages, but he has "never seen it as bad as this." Flight Standards this year took a $25 million cut.
House legislators last week expressed concern that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) ensure the safety of the laser warning system the agency is testing to alert aircraft that have strayed into restricted airspace in the Washington, D.C. area. "At a time when we are trying to prevent lasers from disrupting aviation operations, [the Department of Defense] has created a warning system that flashes laser beams onto aircraft that violate airspace surrounding the National Capital Region," said House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.).
Mark Serbenski was appointed chief operating officer of Northern Air, Inc. Serbenski joined Northern Air as director of maintenance in November 2001 and since has served as vice president, managing the maintenance division. Serbenski will continue in that role as well as adding the duties of COO. Before joining Northern Air, he was a service manager with Waco Classic Aircraft/Centennial Aircraft.
Aviation Technology Group is continuing to assemble a Javelin prototype and anticipates a first flight of the demonstrator aircraft in the second quarter. The company installed the main landing gear and rudder pedals in front and rear cockpits of the aircraft. ATG has completed bench testing of the avionics in preparation for installation and integrated the engine instruments and flight test data display with avionics and aircraft instrumentation in preparation for preliminary engine runs.
Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) last week lauded the Capstone program in Alaska as "a model for quick transition to a modern national airspace system for the whole country." The program, which uses advanced broadcast surveillance (ADS-B) and the global positioning satellite system to guide properly equipped general aviation aircraft, has proved cost-effective and efficient, Stevens said, and called Capstone "a proven safety tool." Capstone, along with Alaska's "Medallion" safety initiative, has "done more for safety in our state than all the federal mand
GA SECURITY COMES UNDER PUBLIC SCRUTINY - General aviation security came under public scrutiny again last week after a government report on homeland security expressed concern that the unregulated nature of the general aviation sector might prove attractive to terrorists. The 24-page report was drafted by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to give law enforcement officers an overview of aviation security and incidents since Sept. 11, 2001.
NETJETS NEARS PURCHASE ORDER FOR 50 HAWKER HORIZONS - Fractional aircraft provider NetJets reached a tentative agreement to purchase up to 50 Hawker Horizon aircraft, Raytheon Aircraft said last week. The agreement, which includes a 10-year guaranteed maintenance program, is expected to be made final within 30 days, the Wichita, Kan. manufacturer said.
EPA CLARIFIES: FUEL TRUCKS MUST MEET TOUGHER REQUIREMENTS - The Environmental Protection Agency decreed that on-airport mobile refuelers are covered under new fuel spill prevention requirements despite arguments from the aviation industry that containment rules would be impractical for fuel trucks. The National Air Transportation Association, joining airport and airline groups, have long awaited the EPA interpretation of its Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan rules, which strengthens secondary containment requirements for fuel storage.
Bombardier Aerospace claims its new high-priority parts delivery system has dramatically reduced the time needed to get parts to AOG customers in North America. The Canadian manufacturer began the new service in December working with Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. Even though the program was still being phased in during January and February, Bombardier said North American parts deliveries during that period averaged less than 10 hours.
"I'm not at this point advocating user fees," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told the agency's annual forecast conference Thursday, but she was just one of a number of Washington officials warning that new methods must be found to fund the nation's air transportation system. Asked when she might be ready to propose user fees, Blakey told BA there is a need for "a healthy debate among the stakeholders" of the aviation system to help find a consensus about how to fund FAA in future years.
Gulfstream Aerospace delivered a specially configured Gulfstream V to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) for use in scientific studies. The aircraft, which was ordered in 2001, is known as the High-performance, Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) and will be available for use by environmental and atmospheric scientists from both public and private research facilities. Designed for use as an aerial laboratory, the GV can investigate essential questions concerning the trend of rising worldwide temperatures.
FAA OPEN TO RECOMMENDATIONS ON PART 135 SEAT HANDBOOK BULLETIN - The Federal Aviation Administration is still grappling with a controversial handbook bulletin that would require certain Part 135 operators to essentially either follow a more complex maintenance program or obtain a supplemental type certificate to remove seats from their aircraft, Dave Cann, manager of FAA's Aircraft Maintenance Division, told National Air Transportation Association members this month.
POGO CONFIRMS ADAM 700 ORDER, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER AIRPLANES - POGO Jets, Inc. President Donald Burr confirmed that POGO has placed orders for a fleet of A700 twin-engine light jets from Adam Aircraft Company but said POGO officials also are in contact with other manufacturers who are developing other Very Light Jet (VLJ) models.
Chris Brown was promoted to line service manager for Flightcraft's facility at Portland International Airport. Brown has served with Flightcraft for nearly 11 years, most recently as line service supervisor. In his new role, Brown will oversee ramp and customer service at the Portland fixed-base operation.
BOMBARDIER TO OFFER 100-SEAT JETS TO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS - Bombardier's board last week approved offering the C-Series family of aircraft to potential customers, but the airframer said significant details of the program, such as the location for final assembly and engine selection, remain unresolved.
CVR INDICATES G-III PILOTS IN HOUSTON CRASH WERE TUNED TO WRONG NAVAID - Transcripts of the cockpit voice recorder tape from the Gulfstream III that crashed while pilots were attempting to make an instrument landing system approach to Houston's Hobby Airport last November indicate that the pilots had been tracking a signal from another navigation aid.
The Federal Aviation Administration's potential budget woes, coupled with an aging air traffic control system, are spurring some industry and government leaders to call for dramatically new approaches to funding the agency. General aviation groups, however, are urging caution before the aviation community throws out what they believe has been a time-tested, reliable approach to funding.
