Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association complained that "the other shoe has dropped" after FAA proposed last week to turn a temporary flight restriction over the Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia into prohibited airspace. AOPA said this proposal came at Department of Defense insistence. "This is a general aviation pilot's worst nightmare and has questionable security benefits," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "The Pentagon is dictating national airspace policy. And it could get worse.
GAO URGES MORE FAA STUDY OF CABIN AIR QUALITY - FAA needs to do more research on the effects of airline cabin air quality on passengers, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded. GAO also found that little has been done to monitor the effects of cabin air quality on passenger health. House Transportation aviation subcommittee ranking member Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) asked for the report last April after the SARS pneumonia outbreak.
National Aeronautic Association named Phillip Woodruff as the recipient of the 2003 Frank G. Brewer Trophy for aerospace education. Woodruff, 59, a senior manager with FAA in Washington, D.C., was honored for his nearly 40 years of work in promoting aviation programs. Before joining FAA, Woodruff held aviation-education related posts with the U.S. Air Force and Cessna Aircraft Co.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate aviation subcommittee, last week joined other legislators casting doubt on whether general aviation would be granted access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in the near future. Speaking before the Aero Club of Washington, D.C. Tuesday, Rockefeller said he did not believe that security officials were changing their minds about DCA, and that he could understand their concerns.
General Electric's corporate aircraft financing arm has a new name. What had been GE Corporate Aircraft Group is now GE Corporate Aircraft Finance. The renamed business, based in Danbury, Conn., now includes an inventory finance group that provides floorplan financing for aircraft dealers. The new name "better reflects the market we serve and the innovative products we offer to companies in the U.S. and around the world," said Dave Labrozzi, chief executive officer of GE Corporate Aircraft Finance.
Bombardier Aerospace received a follow-on order for a 50-seat Q300 turboprop from Qantas Airways of Sydney, Australia. The order comes two months after Qantas signed a contract for six of the regional turboprops.
Emirates-CAE Flight Training received European JAA and U.S. FAA approval for a Level D Gulfstream V flight-training simulator based in Dubai. The Dubai center also has Level D approval for a Gulfstream IV trainer. Emirates-CAE said the two Gulfstream simulators are the only ones outside the U.S. CAE and the Emirates Group jointly operate the Emirates-CAE Flight Training facility. The 14-base center, near Dubai International Airport, officially opened last December and trains both commercial and business aircraft customers.
IAN EWING joined Jet Source as vice president of aircraft management sales. Ewing will oversee promotion of Jet Source's aircraft management services to manufacturers, aircraft operators and flight departments and be responsible for the continuing expansion of the aircraft charter fleet. Ewing has nearly 30 years of aviation industry experience, working for Cessna, Learjet and Fairchild Dornier.
FAA REVISES ICING GUIDANCE FOR PART 23 AIRCRAFT - Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to revise its guidance on ice protection and detection systems for Part 23 aircraft. FAA noted that current guidance has proven acceptable and "historically successful," but adds other protective measures could be taken to comply with requirements. "In some cases, highly sophisticated airplanes may require more accurate or substantial solutions," the agency said.
NBAA EXPANDS CONVENTION SERIES INTO ASIA - National Business Aviation Association is continuing to expand its international reach with a new conference and exhibition to be held in Hong Kong this summer. The Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE), scheduled July 15 and 16, is formatted similarly to conferences the association has helped organize in recent years in Europe (EBACE) and Latin America (LABACE).
NTSB DISPATCHES INVESTIGATOR TO MACEDONIAN KING AIR CRASH - The National Transportation Safety Board, acting at the request of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent a veteran U.S. accident investigator to help authorities who are attempting to determine what caused the Feb. 26 crash of a Beech King Air 200. The accident, which occurred at 0800 local time in Bosnia, killed all nine people aboard the twin-engine turboprop, including Boris Trajkovski, the president of Macedonia.
General Electric said its new CT7-8C turboshaft engine exceeded its planned power rating, demonstrating more than 3,100 shaft horsepower under sea level, static conditions. The engine manufacturer said initial power turbine performance testing is now complete, adding that maturation testing will begin later this year. While it is the same size, GE said the CT7-8C produces 20 percent more power than the CT7-8, the result of a new three-stage power turbine in the new engine.
Pilatus Aircraft, working with Honeywell, extended the warranty period to three years on all Honeywell avionics installed on new PC-12 aircraft. The warranty, extended by a year, covers standard equipment including the EFIS 40 displays, KFC 325 autopilot system, KLN 90B GPS, RDR 2000 weather radar and KX 165A NAV/COMM. It also covers optional equipment including the KMD 850 multi-function display, EFIS 50, traffic alert and collision avoidance system and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System.
Avcon Industries completed flight testing for a reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM) supplemental type certificate for Learjet 20 aircraft. Avcon, which began certification flight testing in March 2003, has modified and flight tested six different Learjet 20 aircraft. AVCON said it has received orders with slot deposits for its RVSM modification for 24 aircraft and has another 20 orders pending. Avcon priced its RVSM modification at $156,975 plus the cost of autopilot component inspections and repairs.
Federal Aviation Administration will hold the 29th Annual FAA Aviation Forecast Conference March 25-26 at the new Washington, D.C. Convention Center. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen are among the scheduled speakers for the two-day event.
Federal Aviation Administration last week opened an Internet-based "public meeting" on its highly controversial proposal to regulate all air tours, including those considered "charity" flights. The agency told participants that their "comments have been helpful and have pointed out some of the unintended consequences, particularly in the areas of vintage aircraft operations and charitable and community events" (BA, Jan. 19/24). The agency stressed that it was open to suggestions that offer alternatives to its proposed regulations.
Transportation Security Administration has begun to draft a plan that may provide GA access to DCA. In Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, Congress mandated that TSA devise such a plan. That mandate also allows the President to suspend the plan due to national security concerns.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 72 series (Docket No. 2001-NM-376-AD; Amendment 39-13456; AD 2004-03-12) - supersedes an existing airworthiness directive that currently requires initial and repetitive inspections to detect fatigue cracking in certain areas of the fuselage, and corrective actions if necessary. For certain airplanes, this amendment requires a new inspection for oversized fastener holes and cracking, and repair if necessary.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association will host its 14th annual Fly-In and Open House June 5 at the association's headquarters at the Frederick, Md. Municipal Airport (FDK).
