MOONEY CONTINUES PRODUCTION RAMP-UP - Mooney Aircraft last year delivered 35 airplanes, a number that represents triple-digit growth from 2002 when the company went back into production and surpassed expectations for the year. The company boosted the production rate from one aircraft per month to about five, and Mooney Chairman Sam Rothman said the Kerrville, Texas plane-maker is "well positioned to increase production in 2004. We have proven that the company is back in business and ready to resume normal operations this year."
FALCON 20 DAMAGED IN LANDING ACCIDENT AT PUEBLO - A Falcon 20C was damaged in an unusual accident last month while the crew was attempting to complete a night landing under instrument meteorological conditions in Colorado.
GOODRICH CORP. named Bob Yancey president of its Des Moines, Iowa-based Turbine Fuel Technologies unit. Yancey will report to Jack Carmola, segment president, Engine Systems. Yancey previously was vice president/general manager, Operations and Test Systems, for Goodrich's Sensor Systems division. Before that, he was vice president/general manager for Sensor Systems' Propulsion and Space and Test Systems business. He also has spent 16 years with the Aircraft Wheels & Brakes division and held posts in Lighting Systems.
JUST ONE ORNERY RIVET can mess up a perfectly good airplane, a fact of life that a Cirrus SR-22 pilot learned the hard way this month while landing at the College Park, Md. Airport (CGS). The pilot was completing a business flight from Atlantic City, N.J. Jan. 22 and was landing on Runway 15, which is 2,607 feet long. After touchdown, the pilot applied the brakes, but the left brake pedal did not respond and the airplane veered off the right side of the runway.
MICHAEL HANSEN was appointed vice president, technology for DRS Technologies. Hansen will coordinate company-wide efforts to develop new technologies and oversee internal research and development. Before joining DRS, he headed the advanced video processing research group at Sarnoff Corp., which developed digital image and video processing technologies, chipset and embedded systems for government, defense, security and other commercial customers. He also has been a research assistant at the Multidimensional Image Processing Lab of Pennsylvania State University.
JET AVIATION DALLAS, in conjunction with Jet Aviation Engineering Services, won an amended FAA Supplemental Type Certificate for installation of the Bendix/King IHAS 8000, an Integrated Hazard Avoidance System. The STC covers installation of the system on Cessna Citation S550, 500, 550 and 560 models. The IHAS 8000 provides position, weather, traffic and terrain information using a single panel-mount display/controller using a common pilot interface for all functions.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT says about half the Citation business jet fleet has been modified to comply with Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum requirements that go into effect next year. Cessna delivered its 4,000th Citation in 2003 and the company said last week that its company owned and authorized Cessna service centers have completed RVSM modifications on 1,970 Citations, which the manufacturer claims "is more RVSM upgrades than any other manufacturer."
CESSNA CHAIRMAN RUSS MEYER made the rounds in Washington, D.C. last week, seeking support for an extension of the 50 percent "bonus depreciation" schedule that is slated to expire in January (BA, Jan. 5/3). The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has made the extension its top legislative priority for the year, and Meyer, joined by GAMA President Ed Bolen, made a number of visits with key legislators and legislative staffs last week to present their case.
CESSNA EARNINGS, REVENUES DOWN SHARPLY, PARENT TEXTRON SAYS - Operating earnings and revenues at Cessna Aircraft were down sharply last year, and parent company Textron cited the "lower sales volume of Citation business jets at Cessna" in explaining Textron's $500 million drop in revenues in 2003.
ENGINE PROBLEMS HELP PUSH GREAT PLAINS INTO CHAPTER 11 - Great Plains Airlines believes problems with the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300-306Bs powering its two Fairchild Dornier 328JETs expedited its plunge into Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last month. The Tulsa, Okla.-based carrier announced its bankruptcy plans late on Jan. 23, and suspended scheduled flights the following day, but it plans to continue charter flights throughout the reorganization.
AIRCARE BUYS CREW STAFFING BUSINESS - Olympia, Wash.-based aircrew services and training specialist AirCare Solutions Group bought a crew staffing business from Air Elegance in California. AirCare will rename the business AirCare Aircrews and extend the unit's services by including pilots, mechanics and dispatchers for contract or permanent placement.
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.
PRESIDENTIAL FUND-RAISER TRIP CLOSES HPN FOR FIVE HOURS - Westchester County Airport, one of the busiest corporate aviation facilities in the country, was closed Jan. 29 to all business, corporate and general aviation traffic from 1600 to 2145 because President Bush flew into the airport to make a speech at a nearby Republican fund-raising dinner.
REP. JAMES OBERSTAR (D-Minn.) holds out little hope that the Secret Service will change its mind about allowing business aircraft to access Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) anytime soon (BA, Jan. 26/33), but the House aviation subcommittee still is considering holding a hearing. The subcommittee has not placed the issue on the calendar yet, but business aviation advocates continue to work with key legislators to keep a spotlight on DCA access.
AVCARD EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL FOCUS WITH EUROPEAN ACQUISITIONS - AVCARD, which provides a fuel and services credit card for the aviation industry, is making a concerted effort to broaden its international business with two recent acquisitions in Europe.
DAVID SCHAFFER, chief counsel for the House aviation subcommittee, is leaving his post at the end of February. Schaffer has served with Congress for 26 years, including 20 with the subcommittee. Schaffer indicated he plans to continue working on aviation issues in some capacity.
Title II - FAA ORGANIZATION Subtitle A - FAA Reform Section 201. Narrows the membership of the Management Advisory Council from 18 to 13 and calls for the secretary of transportation to fill the remaining slots. Reduction in membership reflects reorganization of the Air Traffic Services Subcommittee Section 202. Air Traffic Services Committee Reorganization * Establishes a new Air Traffic Services Committee that is separate from the MAC.
AERO CLUB OF WASHINGTON named Henry Ogrodzinski president for 2004. Ogrodzinski, who has held positions at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Gulfstream Aerospace, is president of the National Association of State Aviation Officials.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT in White Plains, N.Y. was shut down for several hours last Thursday afternoon and evening because President Bush was in the area attending a campaign fund-raising dinner. That scenario can be expected to repeat itself at other airports all over the country through the November elections as Bush travels to campaign events and the Secret Service tells FAA to enact Temporary Flight Restrictions to restrict non-airline flights
MESA INCREASES BOMBARDIER CRJ FLEET WITH $637 MILLION ORDER - Regional carrier Mesa Air Group ordered 20 Bombardier CRJ700 and CRJ900 regional jets in a follow-on contract that will increase its Bombardier CRJ fleet to 114 jets. The order, valued at $637 million, converts 20 of 40 options that Mesa holds for the CRJ700 and CRJ900. The mix of CRJ700s and CRJ900s to be delivered has not yet been finalized. Mesa currently operates 69 CRJ200s, CRJ700s and CRJ900s and continues to take delivery of aircraft from an earlier order.
