Bombardier handed over the first of 25 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 Series 701 regional jets to US Airways carrier PSA Airlines based in Dayton, Ohio. PSA ordered 60 50-seat CRJ200s along with the CRJ700s in May as part of its plans to transition to an all-jet fleet. Bombardier has shipped 16 of the CRJ200s to PSA.
BOMBARDIER OPENS MAINTENANCE FACILITY IN TUCSON - Bombardier Aerospace inaugurated a new heavy maintenance facility for its CRJ regional jets and Q Series turboprop aircraft. The Tucson facility, which previously had been used as a completion facility for the company's business jet products, is now called Bombardier Regional Aircraft Services - Tucson (BRAS-T). Its operations are modeled after Bombardier's other heavy maintenance facility, West Virginia Air Center, in Bridgeport, W. Va., and uses the same systems and processes employed there.
National Business Aviation Association expects its Latin America meeting and convention, LABACE 2004, to draw more than 3,500 attendees. The three-day event, to be held April 15-17 at the Transamerica Expo Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, will include more than 200 exhibits and nearly 20 corporate aircraft on static display.
EMS Technologies introduced a new 406-1 emergency locator transmitter that operates at 406 MHz and 121.5 MHz and which has been COSPAS-SARSAT certified. The new ELT weighs just over two pounds and has a six-year battery life cycle.
US AIRWAYS LOOKS AT Q400 TURBOPROPS; READY FOR EMBRAER 170 FLIGHTS - As US Airways takes delivery of its first Bombardier and Embraer regional jets, airline CEO David Siegel recently revealed that he is seriously considering placing an order for the Bombardier Dash 8-400 to replace 80 older models of de Havilland turboprops. In a recent web cast to employees, Siegel said the airline's management team has been "looking very hard" at the Q400 over the past few months.
Rockwell Collins is offering BBC News programming for its Airshow 4000 system, a moving map display and in-flight information system designed for the business jet market. The service also is available for subscribers to Rockwell Collins Airshow Network service. Under Rockwell Collins' contract with BBC, customers can select from 16 categories of real-time international news to tailor the service to their specific needs.
Longmuir, Warren Out; Blouin, Bosco Stay Just 10 months after surprising many of its members by hiring former airline executive Shelley Longmuir to head the National Business Aviation Association, the organization's board of directors Thursday "announced the departure" of Longmuir and Robert P. Warren, a former Air Transport Association (ATA) lawyer whom Longmuir had installed as executive vice president, chief operating officer and corporate secretary.
Luminescent Systems, Inc., a unit of Astronics Corp., was selected as the sole supplier of the exterior lighting system for the Eclipse 500 entry-level business jet. The lighting package will include landing, taxi, anti-collision, ground recognition, wing inspection and position/navigation lights. The lighting fixtures will use light emitting diode (LED) and high-intensity discharge (HID) technology, which Luminescent said will provide a significant increase in reliability compared with incandescent based lighting technology.
TRIUMPH REALIGNS OPERATIONS - Triumph Group, Wayne, Pa., realigned its operating structure into two business groups, effective April 1. The company now comprises Triumph Aerospace Systems Group and Triumph Aftermarket Services Group, headed by Jeffry Frisby and John Brasch, respectively. The companies that were formerly in the Triumph Components Group have been consolidated into those two groups.
Gulfstream Aerospace won FAA approval to offer its Enhanced Vision System to owners of Gulfstream IV aircraft equipped with SPZ 8000 avionics. Gulfstream originally won certification for the EVS in September 2001 for the Gulfstream V. The system, developed with Kollsman Inc., incorporates a forward-looking infrared camera that projects a real-world image on the pilot's Honeywell Head-Up Display.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400, -401, and -402 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-132-AD) - proposes to require an inspection to determine the serial number of the spoiler lift dump valves installed on the inboard and outboard spoilers, and replacement of certain spoiler lift dump valves. This proposal also would provide for revising the airplane flight manual to include performance penalties, which would allow the replacement of affected spoiler lift dump valves to be deferred.
EPA MOVES AHEAD ON FUEL RULES, BUT COMPLIANCE STILL UNCLEAR - In a move that has troubled the National Air Transportation Association, the Environmental Protection Agency last week told more than 250 stakeholders that it would put in place new spill protection, control and countermeasure (SPCC) rules by Aug. 17 now that it has reached a settlement with the American Petroleum Institute and Petroleum Marketers Association of America, which had sued to block implementation.
B/E AEROSPACE TO PROVIDE INTERIORS FOR SUKHOI RJs - B/E Aerospace, Inc. was selected by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company to build turnkey cabin interiors for the Russian manufacturer's new family of Russian Regional Jets (RRJ).
NATA QUESTIONS TSA PLANS FOR REPAIR STATION SECURITY - The federal government has failed to identify a real security threat involving repair stations and should refrain from adopting a sweeping rule that treats all repair stations - whether domestic or international - the same, the National Air Transportation Association contended.
April 13-19 - Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Fla., (863) 644-2431 April 15-17 - Latin American Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (LABACE2004), Sao Paulo, Brazil, (202) 783-9000 April 20-22 - Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE 2004 General Aviation Technology Conference and Exhibition, Century II Convention Center, Wichita, Kan., (724) 772-7131 or [email protected]
Aircraft Electronics Association last week presented its Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004 to Garmin Corp. co-founder Gary Burrell. Burrell founded Garmin with Min Kao in October 1989 and has been recognized by Inc. Magazine, The Kansas City Business Journal and Ernst & Young as the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year for Missouri and Kansas. He has more than 40 years of engineering experience, holding executive positions with Lowrance Electronics, King Radio Corp. and AlliedSignal.
CAE received a contract from FAA for a Boeing 737-800 CAE Simfinity integrated procedures trainer (IPT), virtual simulator (VSIM) and other hardware to be installed and used for research at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. FAA exercised an option it took last March as part of a contract that included a full-flight Boeing 737-800 simulator. The latest contract, valued at $3 million (Canadian) also covers daily maintenance. The IPT and VSIM will be operational in the fall.
TSA READIES RFP, PROTOTYPE FOR TRANSPORTATION WORKER ID CARD - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans in the next few weeks to issue a request for proposals for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to boost security in the U.S. transportation system, according to TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser. The TWIC program, which is designed to provide a high-tech credential that verifies workers' identities, is now in the third of four phases after a technical evaluation last October.
LEGISLATION WOULD SPEED FAA CERTIFICATION OF AIRLINER ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEMS - Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House March 30 would speed the deployment of countermeasures to defend commercial airplanes against shoulder-fired missiles, according to the bill's supporters. The Commercial Aviation MANPADS Defense Act (H.R.4056) would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to "expedite" the certification process for plane-mounted systems designed to defend against man-portable air defense systems, known as MANPADS.
Kenneth E. Gazzola, executive vice president/publisher of the Aviation Week Group of McGraw-Hill Companies, was elected president of The Wings Club. Gazzola has served on the organization's board of governors for seven years.
AOPA URGES CONGRESS TO STEP UP HEAT OVER WASHINGTON ADIZ - The Federal Aviation Administration has failed to comply with a congressional mandate to provide a report within 30 days justifying the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) around Washington, D.C. and should be held accountable for that and other actions taken that are harming general aviation businesses in the area, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association told House aviation subcommittee leaders.
Rockwell Collins was awarded FAA supplemental type certification and parts manufacturing approval for its Airshow 4000 moving map and flight information system. The certification work was completed on a Gulfstream G400 business jet. Airshow 4000 can display video, text and graphics on the aircraft's cabin and flight deck monitors. The system processes real-time flight information from the aircraft's navigation and air data systems and displays appropriate map and flight information. The system also provides real-time news, stock information, sports and weather.
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.
ARINC, which teamed with AeroMech of Everett, Wash. to develop reduced vertical separation minimum upgrades for business jets, will provide upgrade services beginning in the second quarter for Cessna C650, Beechjet 400/Mitsubishi 300 and Hawker 700 models. The packages can include group certification supplemental type certificates, avionics STCs, the necessary hardware and installation. The ARINC upgrades include instrumentation from Innovative Solutions and Support, Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and Thommen Aircraft.
