Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University promoted three administrators to new vice president positions in its External Relations unit. John Metzner was named vice president of external relations, leading the group. He joined ERAU in 2003 as executive director of business development after holding aviation engineering and management positions in Germany and the Middle East. Darryl Niemeyer was named vice president of corporate relations.
HONEYWELL WINS FAA APPROVAL FOR TFE731-20BR ENGINE - Honeywell earned Federal Aviation Administration Part 33 certification for the newest member of its venerable TFE731 family, the TFE731-20BR, and is expecting European Aviation Safety Agency approval to follow in the next few weeks, the company said. Selected to power Bombardier's Learjet 45 XR super-light business jet, the engine will provide 3,650 pounds of thrust at takeoff.
TSA EASES LIMIT FOR BLANKET INTERNATIONAL WAIVERS - The Transportation Security Administration is eliminating a key operational restriction for its International Fleet Waiver, a move the National Business Aviation Association said will open up the blanket waiver to many more operators and dramatically reduce the administrative burden on them.
BOMBARDIER Model Otter DHC-3 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-73-AD; Amendment 39-13585; AD 2004-05-01 R1) - revises AD 2004-05-01, which applies to certain Otter DHC-3 airplanes that have turbine engines installed per one of three supplemental type certificates (STCs). AD 2004-05-01 currently prohibits operation of any affected airplane with these engine and propeller configurations unless a new STC for an elevator servo-tab with a redundant control linkage is installed.
JETSTAR CREW EXECUTES HIGH-SPEED LANDING AFTER LOSING FLAP - The crew of a Lockheed 1329-23E JetStar business jet made a successful landing at Hobby Airport (HOU) in Houston, Texas after losing the entire left flap assembly on final approach. The aircraft, N57NR, was operated by Aircraft Trading Center, Inc. of Tequesta, Fla. and was being flown from Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP) to demonstrate the turbojet to potential buyers who were interested in buying it. There were two crewmembers and two passengers on board.
CAE SimuFlite is developing a Citation X technical training program that it says will be available at its Dallas/Fort Worth training center and other training facilities this fall. The initial training program will last for 10 days while the recurrent program spans five days. CAE SimuFlite offers maintenance-training programs on more than 25 aircraft types.
Connexion By Boeing and Lufthansa German Airlines are offering real-time, WiFi-based, high-speed Internet connectivity on a commercial route. The services was developed through a partnership between Connexion by Boeing and Lufthansa's FlyNet portal onboard the carrier's A340-300 aircraft. FlyNet portal provides travelers updates on travel information, shopping and frequent flyer details and the Connexion by Boeing fee-based service provides travelers Web and e-mail access through a secure connection.
Gary Hart, the former president of Raytheon's Travel Air fractional program, joined fractional market-share leader NetJets last week as vice president-flight operations. Hart, who was with Martin Aviation before heading the Travel Air program, most recently had been vice president-flight at air cargo carrier Ameriflight, which is headquartered in Burbank, Calif. The Travel Air and Flight Options fractional programs were combined about two and one-half years ago (BA, Jan. 1, 2002/5).
Aircraft Technical Publishers is launching a new regulatory information service platform, Navigator V, that the company says will provide easier access to regulatory data through a streamlined user interface, simplified workflow and more robust functionality. "Aviation maintenance organizations are quickly realizing that traditional systems simply are not enough to satisfy the growing need for productivity solutions on the maintenance floor," said Caroline Daniels, CEO of Aircraft Technical Publishers.
Executive Jet Management (EJM) added three aircraft to its charter fleet - a Falcon 50 based at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, a Citation X at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. and a Hawker 800XP based at Midway Airport in Chicago, Ill. EJM manages more than 100 aircraft in 50 locations throughout the country.
West Star Aviation, Grand Junction, Colo., signed a contract with Kohlman Systems Research in Lawrence, Kan. for engineering services to obtain a group reduced vertical separation minimum supplemental type certificate approval for Cessna Conquest II aircraft. West Star engineers are pursuing the STC for RVSM equipment installation and static system modification for the Conquest II. The company expects to complete the RVSM STC work by fourth quarter of 2004.
GULFSTREAM BEGINS G500 CUSTOMER DELIVERIES - Gulfstream Aerospace last week delivered the first customer-bound, long-range G500 to venture capitalist Danny Pettit, the company announced last week. Pettit, who previously owned a G100 and G200, will use his new jet for personal transportation to Europe and Australia, where he has business interests, and other locations worldwide. The delivery followed FAA certification in December.
FlightSafety International won FAA Level D approval for its Sikorsky UH-60/S-70 full flight simulator based at its Daleville, Ala. training center and an ATR 42/72-500 flight simulator based in Houston. The official factory-authorized Sikorsky training organization, FlightSafety also provides S-70 training at its West Palm Beach facility. The new simulator in Houston is the first for the -500 series of ATR aircraft in North America. FlightSafety's Houston center operates three ATR 42/72 simulators.
May 25-27 - European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE2004), Geneva, Switzerland, (202) 783-9000 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,
Ventura Technologies has developed a flight-recording device for general aviation aircraft that plugs into the lighter receptacle and tracks each flight. The LighterLog flight recorder also monitors systems voltage and warns of possible generator or electrical problems. The recorder plugs into any 12- or 24-volt system and can record and store up to 500 flights for 10 years. The information can be downloaded onto a personal computer. LighterLog can record departure and destination information when attached to a compatible GPS or LORAN digital port.
One early product of the Aviation Rulemaking Committee's (ARC) ongoing rewrite of Part 135 could be a regulatory proposal to increase the maximum payload of Part 135 cargo carriers. There appears to be a consensus among the ARC's Applicability Committee that the current 7,500-pound-payload restriction is outdated and that the maximum should be boosted to 18,000 pounds. One avenue under review is issuance of a Special Federal Aviation Regulation to implement the change.
NBAA's senior vice president of operations, Robert Blouin, last week met with United Kingdom officials to continue the dialogue about regulatory treatment of fractional ownership and other kinds of business aircraft operations. U.K. officials have indicated they consider fractional ownership aircraft operations commercial flights, but have been holding a series of discussions about how they should treat international fractional flights. Other European countries have been watching the U.K.
Air BP Aviation Services is developing a security and safety training program to assist Air BP dealers, general aviation personnel and fixed-base operators. The course will focus on the causes of high insurance rates, solutions for managing risk and exposure reduction.
Lufthansa Technik Logistik won a contract to coordinate logistics for shipments between Bombardier in Montreal and Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services (LBAS) at Berlin-Schonefeld and Cologne, Germany. Lufthansa and Bombardier founded LBAS in 1997 to service Bombardier business aircraft. Based in Hamburg, Lufthansa Technik Logistik provides logistics for more than 450 companies worldwide.
Sage Parts formed a GSE Services unit to provide parts, service and support for aircraft ground support equipment. The new unit will be based in Orlando, Fla. Sage will provide troubleshooting for GSE fleets and work with customers to identify parts necessary for repairs. It also will perform upgrades and retrofits. Sage Parts supplies replacement parts for ground support equipment and operates warehousing and shipping facilities at its Farmingdale, N.Y. headquarters as well as other locations throughout the country and in Puerto Rico.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), 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.
A start-up company led by People Express founder Donald Burr and former AMR Corp. Chief Executive Robert Crandall is expected to place an order with Adam Aircraft for Adam's A700 jet, with which the startup will launch a new air taxi service, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. The company, iFly, is hoping to offer "a highly simplified charter operation" with air taxi service that is comparable to first-class tickets, the newspaper said. Initial plans would base two or three planes in New York and eventually grow to hundreds of planes throughout the region.
Gulfstream Aerospace passed a two-week FAA audit of its manufacturing operations in Savannah, Ga. A seven-member FAA team completed a "Snap Shot II" audit, focusing on the processes involved in building aircraft components. The audit covered design control, quality assurance, manufacturing processes and control, supplier control and internal audit organizations.
SIGNATURE BUYS ANOTHER AIRKAMAN FBO NEAR JACKSONVILLE - Signature Flight Support, which bought AirKaman's Jacksonville, Fla. International Airport (JAX) two years ago, broadened its share of the Jacksonville market this month with the acquisition of AirKaman's fixed-base operation at Cecil Field (VQQ) in Jacksonville (BA, July 22, 2002/33). Signature parent BBA Group PLC said the purchase price for the Cecil Field facility was $14.5 million.
