Bombardier Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19763; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-187-AD] - proposes to require doing repetitive inspections for fractures and cracks of the links of the aileron power control unit (PCU); replacing any fractured/cracked link; and doing applicable related investigative and corrective actions, if necessary. This proposed AD is prompted by reports indicating that the links of the aileron PCU have failed.
Federal officials last week unveiled a blueprint for evolving the air transportation system over the next two decades to accommodate a tripling of growth in air traffic and new types of operations ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles to microjet air taxi services. The blueprint is the product of a multi-agency team coordinated under the Joint Planning and Development Office that Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta created last year at the direction of Congress (BA, Feb. 2/45).
Despite specific statements in the Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) and in training programs warning of the dangers of flying the Cessna 208 Caravan in icing conditions, the National Transportation Safety Board said FAA needs to require more and better training for pilots of the high-wing, single-turboprop utility aircraft because icing-related Caravan accidents continue to occur. The safety agency also said it is continuing to review the certification and design of the 208 and its deice/anti-ice systems.
FlightSafety International, the world's largest provider of aircraft simulator training, promoted veteran employee James Waugh to executive vice president.
L-3 SUBSIDIARY TO SUPPORT CANADIAN H-92 HELOS - L-3 Communications MAS (Canada) Inc. will provide in-service support for the 28 Sikorsky H-92 Cyclone helicopters Canada plans to buy, the company said Dec. 6. The contract is expected to be worth more than C$800 million ($664 million) over two decades, L-3 said. Sikorsky won the contract to replace Canada's fleet of Sea King helicopters this summer.
The Welsh Development Agency provided 750,000 pounds in matching funds to help sponsor a new non-destructive testing center for lightweight, composite materials used in automotive and aerospace applications. The center, primarily sponsored by Rolls-Royce through a 1.25 million-pound grant, will be run through a partnership of the technology specialist TWI Wales and the Materials Center of Excellence at Swansea University.
Jim Agee was appointed vice president of sales and marketing for Bii. Agee originally joined the aerospace bearing reconditioning company in 1997 as program manager and became director of sales in 2000. He left the company in 2002 to pursue other interests. Agee also has served with AlliedSignal and McDonnell Douglas and has served in the U.S. Air Force as a technician supporting powered ground equipment for the F-15 and F-4 fighter aircraft.
Blakey, who is two years into her five-year term as FAA Administrator, told reporters last month that she would be "delighted" to continue running the agency, which she described as "a terrific job" that she finds "very personally satisfying."
SACRAMENTO SEEKING FBO, WANTS TO ATTRACT BUSINESS-JET TRAFFIC - Sacramento, Calif. officials are seeking a fixed-base operator for Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and hope to begin attracting more business-jet traffic to a facility that has been primarily used by the scheduled airlines. The city issued a request for proposals late last month and has set a Jan. 6 deadline for interested parties to submit bids.
Four firms have joined forces to train Bell 412 helicopter pilots in the Middle East. Officials of Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) CAE, Bell Helicopter and Hawker Pacific signed an agreement under which Bell Helicopter will begin sending students to ECFT as soon as the training center's Bell 412 full-flight simulator has been approved by the FAA and the European Joint Aviation Authorities. The simulator is slated for installation at ECFT's facility in Dubai by the end of 2005.
Embraer Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19676; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-138-AD] - proposes to require determining the torque values of the screws that attach the seat tracks to the airplane, and corrective action if necessary. This proposed AD is prompted by a report of undertorqued screws. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent improper torque of those screws, which in the case of a hard landing or a high deceleration impact condition could result in damage to the seat and possible subsequent injury to the passenger. The cost for the U.S.
FlightSafety International won European Aviation Safety Agency Part 147 certification for maintenance technician training. The certification covers FlightSafety maintenance training programs at 12 learning centers. FlightSafety also won FAA Level D approval for its new Citation CJ3 full-flight simulator based at the company's facility in Wichita. The simulator is the third CJ-series trainer FlightSafety has put in service, and the 35th Citation simulator.
MD Helicopters Model MD900 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2004-19613; Directorate Identifier 2004-SW-38-AD; Amendment 39-13870; AD 2004-23-15] - requires reducing the life limit of certain Notar fan system tension-torsion (TT) straps. This action also requires, at a specified time interval, removing each affected TT strap from the helicopter, doing a visual and X-ray inspection, and replacing any unairworthy part before further flight. Reporting the discovery of any unairworthy TT strap is also required. This amendment is prompted by two recent in-flight TT strap failures.
VETERAN RAYTHEON MEDIA RELATIONS EXECUTIVE DIES - Tim Travis, 46, media relations manager for Raytheon Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan., died Dec. 9 of a heart attack, just two months after he was married. A former editor/managing editor of the Wichita Business Journal from 1986 until mid-1994, Travis joined RAC's Communications Department in January 1997. Funeral arrangements had not been completed as of late Friday. In addition to two children from his first marriage whom he was raising, Travis is survived by his wife, Nancy, and two stepchildren.
AJ Walter Aviation is expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific market with new offices in Japan and Taiwan. The new office will supplement AJ Walter's growing office in Singapore, which opened in January.
Mooney Model M20M airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19618; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-39-AD; Amendment 39-13872; AD 2004-23-17] - supersedes AD 91-03-15, which currently requires replacing the tailpipe coupling with improved tailpipe coupling. Since FAA issued AD 91-03-15, a fire erupted in the lower left cockpit area on one of the airplanes affected by AD 91-03-15. The V-clamp that attaches the exhaust tailpipe to the turbocharger fell off, which allowed the exhaust tailpipe to detach from the turbocharger.
GULFSTREAM IV LANDED LONG AT TETERBORO - A Gulfstream IV business jet that slid off a runway and crashed while landing at the Teterboro, N.J. Airport (TEB) Dec. 1 touched down nearly one-third of the way down the 6,013-foot runway, the National Transportation Safety Board said last week.
While aviation industry officials are pleased to be dealing with the same leaders at DOT and FAA, there is continuing unease about personnel changes at the top of the Department of Homeland Security (BA, Dec. 6/251). Tom Ridge, a politician by trade, is being replaced by Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner and a career law enforcement officer.
February 6-8, 2005 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2005, Anaheim, Calif., (703) 683-4646 February 12-16, 2005 - 16th Annual National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, Reno, Nev., (202) 783-9000 March 8-10, 2005 - National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers AS3 Supershow, March 8-10, Sands Expos & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 845-9000
The Aerospace Industries Association this year plans to continue its campaign to persuade key legislators to make changes to the export control system, so that only critical military technologies are restricted from international trade, not components that can be universally found. The U.S. needs to get this "kind of junk off the ITAR [International Traffic in Arms Regulations] list" - such as brackets or other kinds of common hardware found on both military and civilian aircraft, said AIA President and CEO John Douglass.
Honeywell received its fourth contract from Boeing to supply components for the aircraft maker's 7E7 Dreamliner. The latest award covers Honeywell's new Astreon light-emitting diode (LED) systems for flight-critical exterior lighting. Honeywell also will provide the navigation package, the crew information system /management system and the flight control electronics for the new airliner family. Together the systems selected have a potential value of $2.6 billion for Honeywell over the life of the program.
SAS Flight Academy reached a three-year agreement with Aerogulf Services to train Aerogulf's helicopter pilots. Aerogulf, based in Dubai, was established in 1976. It is the only company in that country specializing in leasing and hiring helicopters, primarily for the offshore and marine industries as well as the tourism sector. The SAS Flight Academy is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
JURY ORDERS UNIVERSAL TO PAY $5.5 MILLION FOR PATENT VIOLATION - A federal jury in Delaware Wednesday found that Universal Avionics had infringed a Honeywell patent involving certain terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) technology and ordered Universal to pay Honeywell $5.5 million in damages. The same jury, however, found that Sandel Avionics, a co-defendant in the case, did not infringe Honeywell's patent.
