GAMA COMPILES COMPREHENSIVE AIRCRAFT DATA LIST IN 'MEDIA GUIDE' - General Aviation Manufacturers Association last week rolled out a new Web-based tool that includes one of the most comprehensive listings of general aviation aircraft databases publicly available. The GAMA tool, called the Media Guide to General Aviation and Its Airplanes, was originally designed to provide basic information for news media personnel and other interested parties about the general aviation industry and aircraft.
FAA ORDERS FIXES ON HONEYWELL TFE731 ENGINES - The Federal Aviation Administration proposed checks and modifications on thousands of Honeywell TFE731 turbofan engines powering several models of business jets.
The House transportation/treasury appropriations subcommittee last week approved a $14 billion budget for FAA in fiscal 2005, $169 million more than the agency received for fiscal 2004 and $53 million more than the Administration requested. The bill would boost FAA's operations budget by $238 million to $7.7 billion and provide $3.5 billion for the Airport Improvement Program. The bill also provides $7 million more than the Administration requested for hiring and training air traffic controllers.
REGISTERED TRAVELER PROGRAM LAUNCHES AT MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL - TSA's Registered Traveler pilot program, which started July 7 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, will improve customer service at congested passenger screening checkpoints, the agency says. TSA, in partnership with Northwest Airlines, has been registering "elite platinum" frequent fliers since June. Elite platinum passengers will use a designated checkpoint where their identity will be confirmed through an iris scan or fingerprint.
CAPITOL EVACUATION RENEWS MICA'S ANNOYANCE OVER DCA WAIVERS - Last month's unnecessary evacuation of the U.S. Capitol and surrounding area resurrected congressional anger over the government's continued practice of granting waivers to politicians for private aircraft access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) while banning all other general aviation activity there. The Capitol grounds were evacuated after a King Air carrying Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) entered restricted airspace in Washington, D.C.
Dassault Falcon Jet officials say assembly of the first 7X business jet is proceeding according to plan, with the No. 1 aircraft expected to be completed in September. The company has orders for more than 40 of the new 5,700-nautical-mile, $37 million aircraft, according to President John Rosanvallon. The orderbook total has remained relatively static for some time, but Rosanvallon appears unconcerned, noting that it's challenging to grow the number of orders substantially when the next available delivery position is in 2008.
National Air Transportation Association is urging members to carefully examine new labor requirements slated to take effect Aug. 24. The Department of Labor released new overtime regulations covering exempt and nonexempt employees. Part 135 air carriers typically would not fall under the overtime rules since air carrier labor laws are covered under the Railway Labor Act of 1926. However, other aviation personnel, including those involved in Part 91 operations and Part 145 repair stations, are covered under the DOL rules.
National Business Aviation Association will hold a panel discussion, called NBAA Insurance and Risk Management in Today's Environment, in conjunction with the association's 13th Annual Tax, Regulatory & Risk Management Conference. The conference is scheduled Oct. 10-12 at the Las Vegas Hilton before the annual Meeting and Convention. During the panel discussion, insurance experts will address topics including claims handling, war risk insurance, the emerging very-light-jet segment and fixed-base operator ground handling.
ARINC formed a new business unit to provide mission-critical contract management, operations and maintenance services for government and private industry. The new company, ARINC Managed Services, LLC, will operate separately with its own headquarters but will be a wholly owned subsidiary. ARINC said it hopes the new unit will build on its experience providing contract radio services for the FAA and other customers worldwide.
TIGER AIRCRAFT DECIDES AGAINST PROCEEDING WITH AVIATION GENERAL DEAL - Tiger Aircraft, LLC confirmed last week that it has decided against proceeding with a transaction that would have given it a major stake in another small aircraft manufacturer, Aviation General, Inc.
McHALE, No. 2 AT TSA, LEAVING POST AFTER TWO YEARS - Transportation Security Administration Deputy Administrator Stephen McHale will step down from his post later this month after overseeing work on the agency's two biggest priorities since it was established after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Appointed in January 2002, McHale was responsible for the federalization of aviation security and the transfer of TSA from the Transportation Department to the Department of Homeland Security.
Air Methods Corp. won FAA supplemental type certification (STC) for an upgraded emergency medical interior for the Eurocopter BK117 twin-engine helicopter. The Denver, Colo. modification center and EMS helicopter operator said there are about 220 BK117s operating worldwide, 120 of which are based in the U.S.
Airwolf Filter Corp. won FAA approval of its new wet vacuum pump, which the company said "is the only new wet-pump available on the market." The new PMA-approved 3P194-AFC wet pump can replace all 200-Series dry pumps, regardless of the original manufacturer (Aero Accessories, Airborne, Champion, Rapco and Sigma-Tek), Airwolf said, as well as wet pumps built by Pesco and Garwin. The retail list price for the Airwolf 3P194-AFC is $1,899, according to Airwolf's John Kochy, who has been involved in getting the wet pump back to market for the past 10 years.
Aircraft Electronics Association published a guide for pilots selecting avionics. The Pilot's Guide to Avionics includes articles on topics such as weather, terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), glass cockpits and new products. The guide also contains a directory of government-certified avionics and instrument shops. AEA is distributing the guide for free at trade shows, including at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture along with others. To request a copy, visit AEA's Web site at www.aea.net/pilot or call (816) 363-6565.
STEPHANE BERNARD was appointed vice president, sales and marketing, for EADS Socata. Bernard also will remain president and chief executive of Socata Aircraft. Bernard will be responsible for sales and marketing worldwide but will be based at Socata Aircraft's headquarters in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Bernard joined EADS in 1988 in Miami, Fla., working with product support for Airbus. In 1992 he moved to sales of automatic test equipment that major U.S. airlines use to test avionics components. In 1996 he was named head of aircraft sales contracts.
National Business Aviation Association, National Air Transportation Association and other industry representatives last week met with FAA and DOT officials on the concept of aircraft management - or piggy-backing operations - to iron out questions government officials had about who has operational control of the aircraft involved and whether the operations have appropriate economic authority (BA, July 12/13).
July 19-25 - Society of British Aerospace Companies Farnborough International 2004, Farnborough, Hampshire, U.K., http://www.farnborough.com/ July 27-August 2 - Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh 2004, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-4800 August 24 - National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Seattle, Wash., (202) 783-9000 September 19-21 - National Association of State Aviation Officials, 73rd Annual Convention and Trade Show, Radisson Riverfront Hotel, St. Paul, Minn., (301) 588-0587
The Gulfstream 200 business jet, which got off to a slow start as the namesake airplane of Galaxy Aerospace, is finding broader market acceptance after a few years in the Gulfstream product line. There are now 92 G200s in service, and Gulfstream, which expects to deliver the 100th aircraft later this year, is continuing to enhance the systems offerings on the airplane. See article below. When General Dynamics, Gulfstream's parent, agreed to buy Galaxy three years ago, fewer than 20 Galaxy business jets had been delivered (BA, May 7, 2001/213).
ExcelAire added two turbine-powered aircraft to its charter fleet. A Cessna Citation III will be based at Islip, N.Y. and a Beech King Air will operate from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. "The new aircraft supports our continued growth as a premier charter provider and complements our large fleet of locally based heavy jets," said David Rimmer, vice president of charter services for ExcelAire, which is based on Long Island's MacArthur Airport (ISP) in Islip, N.Y.
Jet Aviation Geneva received approval from the Bahrain Ministry of Transportation to provide both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on Gulfstream GII and GIV aircraft registered in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The approval covers base and line maintenance, airframe and on-wing engine repairs, avionics modification and service bulletin work.
FlightSafety International received FAA Level D approval for its Citation Sovereign flight simulator. The simulator features the Honeywell Epic avionics system with four large liquid crystal displays. It includes an interactive SimVu debriefing system. FlightSafety Simulation in Tulsa, Okla. designed and built the simulator and SimVu system, and FlightSafety's Visual Simulation Systems Division in St. Louis, Mo. provided the high-definition visual system. The simulator is based at FlightSafety's Cessna learning center in Wichita, Kan.
The General Accounting Office, which has served as investigative arm of Congress for decades, is now the Government Accountability Office. President Bush signed a bill this month that included a provision renaming GAO to reflect its role in holding the government accountable for its actions, a GAO spokesman said July 12.
Honda Motor Company, which has been eyeing the U.S. business aircraft market for years, plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary "to focus on the aviation engine business in the U.S., the world's largest aviation market."
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-212A series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-301-AD; Amendment 39-13672; AD 2004-12-13) - requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the upper closing rib of the vertical fin, related investigative actions, and corrective actions if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent interference between the upper closing rib and the rudder, which could result in a rudder jam and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that the AD would cover two airplanes on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $130 per airplane.
Aerospace Component Manufacturer TransDigm of Cleveland, Ohio completed the acquisition of Avionics Instruments, Inc. of Avenel, N.J. The New Jersey firm designs and builds power conversion devices for military and commercial aircraft, and will enhance TransDigm's market position for those products, the company said. TransDigm was founded in 1993 with the simultaneous acquisition of the Adel, Aeroproducts, Controlex and Wiggins businesses, the company said, and has been expanded since by other acquisitions.
