Honeywell's health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) was selected by Sikorsky Aircraft for installation on the S-76 helicopter. Honeywell's VXP HUMS system will be offered as an option on current production S-76C+ models and earlier models of the S-76. The VXP system "enhances safety and reduces maintenance costs, since it can help an operator avoid a catastrophic component failure and because it can reduce diagnostic labor and flight test hours," said Qua Le, business development leader for Honeywell's vibration monitoring business.
PAUL NEARY was promoted to MRO market segment manager for 3M Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance Division. Neary joined 3M Aerospace in 2003 as a senior account representative. Before that he offered avionics, interior, systems and structural integration and certification services through his own company, Neary Technical Solutions. He also held sales and program management positions with Tenzing Communications, Greenpoint Technologies, AIM Aviation and Heath Tecna Aerospace Co.
SHORT BROTHERS Model SD3-60 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20108; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-006-AD; Amendment 39-13985; AD 2005-04-13] - requires, for certain airplanes, repetitive inspections for cracking of the balance weight brackets of the elevator trim tabs, and replacement of any cracked bracket with a new or reworked bracket that conforms to the approved design standard. This AD also provides for an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections.
LAWSUIT CITES PANYNJ FOR LACK OF RUNWAY BARRIERS AT TETERBORO - A Paterson, N.J. man injured in the Feb. 2 Challenger crash in Teterboro, N.J. filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for failing to install proper aircraft barriers at Teterboro Airport (TEB). The man, Rohan Foster, also filed a lawsuit against Bombardier, the aircraft operator, aircraft management companies, and the pilots, alleging negligence.
JUDGE SIDES WITH FAA OVER CONTRACT TOWER CHALLENGE - A crucial federal court decision has gone in FAA's favor in a long-running legal dispute over the agency's contract tower program. In a partial summary judgment delivered this month, an Ohio district court agreed with FAA's position that control towers can be contracted out to private companies. The legality of the program was challenged by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). A ruling on another aspect of the challenge must be made before a final judgment is delivered.
Experimental Aircraft Association said SpaceShipOne, the first successful civilian-built spaceship, which captured world-wide attention last year in winning the $10 million Ansari X Prize, will be on display at this year's EAA AirVenture convention July 25-31 in Oshkosh, Wis. SpaceShipOne and its carrier aircraft, White Knight, will be making their only scheduled joint appearance, EAA said.
MOONEY ISSUES STOCK TO CREDITORS - Mooney Aerospace Group said it has issued nearly 10 million shares of new common stock to its creditors, part of the company's plan of reorganization.
BOEING SELLING WICHITA, OKLAHOMA MANUFACTURING PLANTS - The Boeing Company, in the midst of transforming itself from a start-to-finish aircraft manufacturer into a company that designs, assembles and sells commercial airliners, said last week it will sell the Wichita/Tulsa Division of Boeing Commercial Airplanes to a Canadian company. Under terms of the agreement, Onex, a Toronto-based conglomerate, will pay $900 million in cash for Boeing's manufacturing facilities in Wichita, Kan., and Tulsa and McAlester, Okla.
Gulfstream Aerospace is seeking National Aeronautic Association confirmation of a new city-pair flight record for a flight that originated Feb. 21. The manufacturer said a Gulfstream G550 flew from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. nonstop to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport on the Egyptian coast of the Sinai Peninsula in 10 hours, 19 minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.85.
PATRICK DE BLANC was named director of corporate communications for Globalair.com. De Blanc has 28 years of business and general aviation experience, most recently as manager of marketing communications for Dallas Airmotive. De Blanc also served with Aviall and was director of communications for Mitsubishi Aircraft International.
FAA SEEKS INDUSTRY REVIEW OF TURBINE BUSINESS AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS - Federal Aviation Administration officials are recommending that an industry-based Joint Steering Committee examine accidents involving turbine-powered business aircraft to determine whether there are common themes in those crashes that could be addressed through application of best industry practices. Senior agency officials late Feb. 19 met with several industry leaders to discuss steps the industry could take to increase safety (BA, Feb. 14/73).
A Hawker 700 flying from Chicago crashed at Bromont Airport near Montreal, Canada late Feb. 21, injuring six people aboard. The aircraft, N21SA, reportedly landed left of the runway and spun twice before stopping. The runway lights apparently were not working at the time of the accident. The Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
IRIDIUM REVENUES, SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SUBSCRIBERS UP IN 2004 - Satellite voice and data specialist Iridium reported a 23.2 percent increase in revenues in 2004, thanks in part to a 22.5 percent jump in the number of subscribers. Subscribers grew to 114,000 by the end of 2004 in the company's maritime, aviation and defense/government markets. In the general aviation market, the number of aircraft using Iridium-based equipment doubled to more than 2,500 in 2004, Iridium said.
The Air Force of the United Arab Emirates awarded Bell/Agusta Aerospace of Fort Worth, Texas an $83 million contract to provide eight AB 139 medium-twin helicopters. Six aircraft will be configured for search and rescue operations and two will be assigned for VIP transport missions. Oman and Ireland also have ordered the AB 139. Announcement of the UAE contract coincided with the biennial IDEX military exposition in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The manufacturer is moving its headquarters to Reston, Va.
March 8-10 - National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers AS3 Supershow, Sands Expos & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 845-9000 March 10-12 - 16th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference, Adam's Mark Hotel, Dallas, Texas, (386) 226-7996 March 14-16 - 17th Annual Flight Safety Foundation European Aviation Safety Seminar, Sheraton Warsaw Hotel and Towers, Warsaw, Poland, (703) 739-6700
The U.S. and Russia have signed an agreement to help control the spread of man portable air defense systems (MANPADS), President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Feb. 24 in Bratislava, Slovakia. "We agreed...to combat MANPADS," which terrorists could use to shoot down private and commercial aircraft, Bush said in a press conference with Putin that came as Bush was wrapping up a tour of Europe.
DASSAULT Model Falcon 10 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19177; Directorate Identifier 2002-NM-202-AD; Amendment 39-13974; AD 2005-04-02] - requires a temporary change to the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to provide procedures to the flightcrew for touchdown using the main landing gear to avoid a three-point landing. This AD also requires repetitive inspections of the piston rod of the drag strut actuator of the nose landing gear (NLG) for cracks, which would terminate the AFM revision, and corrective actions if necessary.
CONGRESSMEN SEEK LEGISLATION TO EXPAND AEROSPACE JOB TRAINING - A group of congressmen is sponsoring legislation that directs nine federal agencies, led by the Labor Department, to form a task force for developing strategies to expand public and private aerospace job training programs. The Aerospace Industries Association on Feb. 23 endorsed the proposal, saying it would ask the federal government to address a "looming shortage of qualified workers in the sector."
Rolls-Royce selected NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi as the preferred site for relocation of its large-engines outdoor test facility from the United Kingdom. Rolls-Royce plans to spend $42 million on construction and facility upgrades in Mississippi and plans to do development work there on the Trent 900 for the Airbus 380 and the Trent 1000 for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The British engine maker announced in 2001 that it planned to close its outdoor testing facility at Hucknall in the United Kingdom.
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.
Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a new set of requirements for cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. The new requirements will cost the industry $400 million, according to FAA's estimates. Despite the NPRM from FAA, NTSB Chair Ellen Engleman-Connors still isn't satisfied, continuing to advocate the use of cockpit video cameras in business jets and airliners. See article below.
PrivatAir added seven aircraft to its fleet of managed airplanes since the beginning of the year. The new additions include four based at the company's West Palm Beach, Fla. facility: a Lear 55, a Falcon 2000, a Hawker 400XP and a King Air 350. PrivatAir also added a Falcon 900EX in Denver, Colo., and a Falcon 900EX and a Lear 60 based in Teterboro, N.J. The company now manages more than 50 aircraft ranging from turboprops to a Boeing 757, operating out of bases in Europe and the U.S.
