BAE Jetstream Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-58-AD; Amendment 39-13607; AD 2004-09-18) - requires repetitively inspecting the seat rails in the passenger cabin for evidence of damage and corrosion, repairing any damage or corrosion, and replacing any floor panels found to be "soft" due to ingress of moisture. This action is necessary to detect and correct corrosion on the seat rails of the passenger seats, which could reduce structural integrity of the passenger seats, causing the seats to detach from the seat rails and injury to passengers.
NORAD MARKS SHIFT TO NEW AIRCRAFT TRACKING SYSTEM - North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on May 27 marked the shift from the obsolete Granite Sentry aircraft tracking system to the new Air Migration Evolution (AME) system. "We actually had the cutoff on the 19th of May, but today [May 27] was the ceremony," said Maj. Dave Patterson, spokesman for Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.
House Ways And Means Committee Thursday is scheduled to vote on its version of a tax bill, The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, H.R.4520, which includes an extension of the 50 percent bonus depreciation tax benefit for business aircraft purchasers. The measure contains language similar to that passed in the Senate last month that extends the deadline for placing aircraft in service from Dec. 31, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2005 to qualify for bonus depreciation.
DAVID COPELAND was appointed vice president of sales and marketing for Mooney Airplane Company. Copeland has 26 years of aviation industry experience, holding positions with Piper, Rockwell, Grumman, Cessna and Hawker. Most recently he was vice president of worldwide sales for Beechcraft. He graduated from Wichita State University and is an airline transport-rated pilot with more than 4,900 hours.
MOONEY PRODUCTION WILL CONTINUE IN WAKE OF OWNERSHIP CHANGE, MANAGEMENT SAYS - Mooney Airplane Company (MAC) will continue producing its line of single-engine, piston-powered aircraft following the sale of the company to an investment group, MAC management said.
Cessna Aircraft Wednesday won full type certification for its latest model, the Citation Sovereign, a milestone that comes almost six years after Cessna introduced the aircraft to the public. Cessna secured a provisional TC for its newest aircraft in December, but it did not cover many of the aircraft's systems or permit Cessna to deliver aircraft to customers. Delivery of the first Model 680 Sovereign is expected in the second half of the year.
The General Accounting Office has been taking an in-depth look at general aviation security, particularly at small airports, and is expected to release a report on the topic in mid-September. The GAO report apparently stems from a much broader request by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) on aviation security needs.
BURBANK PURSUES NOISE CONTROL AFTER CURFEW SETBACK - FAA rejected Bob Hope Airport's effort to adopt a ban on nighttime aircraft operations, saying it would be inconsistent with legal requirements that aviation restrictions be "reasonable, non-arbitrary, and nondiscriminatory." The decision is part of a Part 161 process started in the summer of 2000, and the airport is working on other methods to control nighttime flights.
Brazilian Manufacturer Embraer delivered the first of three ERJ-145 regional jets to Aerolitoral, the largest regional airline in Mexico. The ERJ-145s will be the first Embraer jets operated by Aerolitoral and the first regional jets to fly in the colors of any Mexican airline, Embraer said.
General Dynamics said Chairman and CEO Nicholas Chabraja, 61, extended his employment contract with the company through the end of April 2008, at the board of directors' request. Chabraja's previous agreement would have ended on Dec. 31, 2005. GD is the parent company of Gulfstream Aerospace.
BURR/CRANDALL MOVE AHEAD WITH AIR TAXI PLANS, PLACE ADAM A700 ORDER - People Express founder Donald Burr and former American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall moved forward on plans to build a nationwide air taxi service, ordering 75 Adam Aircraft A700 small, low-cost business jets (BA, May 24/240). Adam announced late last month that Burr and Crandall planned to buy 75 of its developing A700 jets for the new service.
Iraqis took over civilian air traffic control at Baghdad Airport June 1, but they won't assume full responsibility for the country's airspace until later this year. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will retain control of most of Iraq's airspace during a five-step handover process. The transition to Iraqi civilian control is seen as essential to establishing an independent civil aviation system.
The Vietnam Airport Authority for the Central Region (AACR) opened the former U.S. military base at Cam Ranh Bay to commercial flights late last month. Now known as Cam Ranh Airport, the facility was refurbished and expanded with the reconstruction of a new passenger terminal that cost $32 million. The two runways also were upgraded. AACR Director General Nguyen Lai said the airport initially will handle domestic flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang.
Harrods Aviation Ltd. and Lufthansa Technik signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the establishment of fixed-base operations and technical services at Harrods Aviation and Lufthansa Technik locations under a "Service Center Alliance." Under a second stage of the agreement, the parties would explore expansion at key locations. The partners will provide maintenance and remedial work as well as full FBO support to VIP, government, business and corporate airplanes on a 24/7 basis.
Safe Flight Instrument Company delivered its 600th N1 computer to Cessna Aircraft for installation on a Citation CJ2. Programmed with Airplane Flight Manual performance values, the N1 computer helps maximize performance and operating efficiency by displaying real-time target N1 thrust settings for takeoff, climb, cruise and go-around. Safe Flight said the units lower the risk of engine-damage, overspeed and overtemp conditions, reduce engine repair costs and extend engine life.
Don Baldwin, chairman and acting president of the National Business Aviation Association, has changed his mind and is now among those seeking the association's presidency on a full-time basis. See article below.
The search committee charged with finding a new NBAA president is making progress, according to sources close to the process. Ken Emerick, vice chairman of the NBAA board and chairman of the four-person search committee, told BA Thursday the process is moving generally along the schedule laid out in the wake of Shelley Longmuir's departure two months ago (BA, April 12/161). NBAA subsequently issued a statement from Emerick: "We've gone through a long list of very qualified candidates for the job and are conducting interviews.
While house leaders may be amenable to an extension of the war risk insurance coverage and help with security costs, they remain steadfastly opposed to providing large airlines outright financial help. "Let me make it clear that Congress is not going to underwrite losing airline operations," House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) said in a statement. "Some of our airlines must either reduce their costs dramatically or they will not survive." Since the Sept.
Departures: Opinions On Current Issues In Aviation By Jim May, President and CEO, Air Transport Association Questions raised recently about whether the general aviation community pays its fair share to use the national aviation system certainly have sparked a debate. That was clearly evident in a Departures opinion piece titled "GA must face down airline tax, user-fee threats."
A new German air traffic controllers' union, which claims it represents 80 percent of that country's air traffic controllers, is considering strikes in July to force the German air traffic authority to enter wage talks. The last ATC strike in Germany was in 1973. State-owned air traffic agency Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) has so far refused talks, arguing that Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung (GDF) does not fulfill all the requirements to become a negotiating partner in the framework of Germany's regulated social dialogue system.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE HAD FIRST-QUARTER OPERATING LOSS - Bombardier Aerospace posted an operating loss for the quarter ended April 30, part of a $123 million operating loss by the parent company, and said it plans to reduce the production rate of its regional airliner models later this year.
BALDWIN SAYS HE'S A CANDIDATE FOR NBAA PRESIDENCY - Donald Baldwin, the chairman of the National Business Aviation Association's board of directors who has been serving as acting president and CEO since the departure of Shelley Longmuir at the end of March, told BA last week he has changed his mind and is now a candidate to become the permanent president of the organization.
June 7-11 - 13th International Flight Inspection Symposium, hosted by Nav Canada at Fairmont, The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. E-mail: [email protected], phone: (613) 563-3938, or visit www.navcanada.ca/ifis2004 June 16-17 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers TURBO EXPO 2004, Vienna, Austria, 212-591-8157, e-mail [email protected], www.asme.org/pi/pr/2004/033104a.html June 18-19 - National Business Aviation Association 9th Annual Flight Attendants Conference, Anaheim, Calif., (202) 783-9000
Chief executives of many of the nation's largest airlines appeared before the House aviation subcommittee last week asking for relief from potential fee increases and other financial help. Continental Airlines Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson complained about general aviation's scant contribution to paying for FAA's air traffic control system.
