DPI Labs, the La Verne, Calif.-developer of specialty avionics and aircraft cabin management systems, teamed with visual communications specialist Tandberg to provide video conferencing capability on business jets. "Corporate customers have long been demanding greater connectivity to their offices while in transit and on the tarmac of remote sites, so this is the right time to bring video conferencing capability to the aircraft market," said DPI President Vicki Brown.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association President Phil Boyer last week met with TSA Administrator David Stone to reiterate the association's concerns over the flight training rule. Stone agreed to the meeting after hearing concerns from AOPA members at the AOPA Expo last month in Long Beach, Calif. The flight training background check requirements have become one of the association's top issues - the association has received more calls from concerned members about the rule recently than it has on any other issue.
While most key aviation leaders in the House and Senate were re-elected last week, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was defeated - bringing mixed reaction from aviation community leaders, who noted his support for general aviation. GA groups expressed sadness about the loss of a key ally in the Senate but at the same time welcomed the victor in the contentious South Dakota race, John Thune (R), a former member of the House aviation subcommittee. In a race that captured national attention, Thune unseated Daschle by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin.
November 15-18 - Flight Safety Foundation/International Federation of Airworthiness/International Air Transport Association 57th Annual International Air Safety Seminar, Pudong Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai, China, (703) 739-6700 November 18 - National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Dallas, Texas, (202) 783-9000 February 6-8, 2005 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2005, Anaheim, Calif., (703) 683-4646
Shortly after last week's elections, Washington began preparing for anticipated Executive Branch changes in President Bush's second term. Aviation advocates are particularly watching the Department of Homeland Security, where Secretary Tom Ridge has indicated he will leave and, it's believed, others will follow (BA, Aug. 2/55). One aviation official noted there is a high "burnout" rate at DHS, presenting a problem for general aviation officials who have been trying to establish working relationships there.
SMITHS GROUP ACQUIRES INTEGRATED AEROSPACE - Smiths Group is buying Integrated Aerospace Inc., a privately owned, California-based supplier of specialty landing gear systems, for $110 million. Smiths expects to complete the acquisition later this month, pending regulatory approvals.
Jet Aviation Group won an agreement from Airbus to support the Airbus Corporate Jetliner aircraft family. Jet Aviation, which will act as a service center network for the ACJ, will be linked to the Airbus Customer Service organization and have access to a range of services such as technical advice and Aircraft On Ground assistance. Jet Aviation already has been involved in ACJ completions at its Basel, Switzerland facility.
NAHILL ABRUPTLY DEPARTS FLIGHT OPTIONS - John Nahill, who had headed fractional aircraft provider Flight Options for nearly two years, abruptly departed the company last week.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700 & 701), and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) series airplanes (Docket No. FAA-2004-18993; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-125-AD; Amendment 39-13781; AD 2004-18-03) - corrects an error in an existing AD that was published in the Sept. 2 Federal Register. The error resulted in inadvertent reference to inappropriate service information. FAA also is clarifying reference to a compliance threshold.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association's Expo 2004, held late last month in Long Beach, Calif., attracted 11,000 attendees, the second highest attendance in the event's history. About 1,200 pilots flew to the three-day Expo, which included speeches by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and TSA Administrator David Stone.
Thales completed site acceptance tests for the Shanghai air traffic control center, the second of three centers that will receive Thales equipment under a contract the electronics manufacturer received from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2001. Thales completed site acceptance testing of the air traffic management system in May for the Beijing center. The third site will be in Guangzhou.
National Business Aviation Association is adding political balance to its lobbying corps, hiring Lisa Piccione, who previously worked for Delta Air Lines and an airport group. While other senior NBAA lobbyists have ties to the Republican Party, Piccione formerly worked for Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the ranking Democratic member of the House aviation subcommittee. See article below.
PRIVATAIR TAKES DELIVERY OF 757 FOR NEW ZURICH SERVICE - Charter aircraft provider PrivatAir, which has found a lucrative niche providing transatlantic service in VIP-configured aircraft, is expanding that business using a Boeing Business Jet 2. PrivatAir took delivery last week of the BBJ2, a 757 variant, which will be equipped with 56 lie-flat business-class seats, and will provide all-business-class scheduled service for Swiss International Air Lines between Zurich, Switzerland and Newark Liberty International Airport.
Contentious battles in this year's elections have many Capitol Hill staffers concerned that much of the work left for a lame duck session beginning this month might not be resolved until the new Congress comes in next year. Talks have resumed about the possibility of creating another continuing resolution to keep many agencies operating through the end of January while an agreement on an omnibus appropriations bill is ironed out. The fiscal transportation appropriations bill is one of several bills yet to be finalized.
Cessna Aircraft is planning to stage its fifth Citation Special Olympics Airlift for the 2006 Special Olympics U.S. National Games July 3-8, 2006, at Iowa State University. Cessna expects that 400 Cessna Citations will transport more than 2,500 Special Olympics athletes and coaches from across the nation to the event. Cessna first held the airlift, involving more than 130 Citations carrying nearly 1,000 athletes to the games in South Bend, Ind., in 1987. By 1999, the event had grown to include more than 275 donated Citations from 260 Cessna customers.
BECKER FLUGFUNKWERK AR 4201 VHF AM transceivers (Docket No. 2003-NE-68-AD; Amendment 39-13825; AD 2004-21-04) - requires adding an aircraft flight manual (AFM) limitation to the Limitations Section of the AFM, and cockpit placard due to the intermittent malfunctioning of the transceiver, or removing the affected transceiver from service.
SPACESHIPONE LESSONS FEEDING INTO RASCAL AIRCRAFT - Lessons and technology from Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne are being applied to the supersonic manned aircraft the company is developing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) RASCAL program, according to Jacob Lopata, chief executive officer for RASCAL prime contractor Space Launch Corp. The RASCAL (Responsive Access, Small Cargo, and Affordable Launch) aircraft is one element of a two-part system for launching small payloads quickly and affordably into low-Earth orbit.
NTSB INVESTIGATES MED AIR, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CRASHES - The National Transportation Safety Board last week was investigating the crashes of a Beech 200 King Air owned by Hendrick Motorsports and a Learjet 35 operated on a flight for Med Flight Air Ambulance that killed a combined 15 people.
Lycoming Engines announced new leaders for the company's sales and marketing unit. Todd Stoner was named vice president of sales and marketing with responsibility for business strategy and long-term growth. Stoner joins Lycoming from Aventis, where he held positions in management, sales and training. Lycoming named Mike Everhart director of distribution and channel management. Everhart, who will manage Lycoming's distribution network, has served with Lycoming since September 2001, holding roles in quality assurance, materials, customer service and operations.
National Air Transportation Association is working with the United States Aircraft Insurance Group and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to offer a Safety and Security of Airport Ground Operations course at the university. The course, based on the NATA Safety 1st Professional Line Service Training Program, covers general aviation airport ground operations, including rules, policies, procedures and potential hazards that affect the safety and security of aircraft, crew, passengers and others.
Raytheon Airline Aviation Services (RAAS), in coordination with Pratt & Whitney Canada, is offering a 9,000-hour overhaul interval for the PT6A-67D engines installed on the Beech 1900D turboprop. The overhaul extension can be accomplished through a service bulletin, SB14003, which covers qualifications, engine specifications, installation of an engine exceedance monitor, engine condition trend monitoring, and the necessary paperwork. RAAS additionally will deliver future 1900D aircraft qualified for the 9,000-hour time between overhaul.
While most aviation leaders on Capitol Hill are considered "safe" in their upcoming elections, a few key retirements will bring new faces to aviation oversight committees.
