Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory And Distribution (RAPID) signed a deal with Aviall to increase access to spare parts for Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft. Aviall will distribute a full line of non-factory parts, including aviation batteries, hoses, wheels and brakes, oxygen and paint mixing services. The parts listings, which number more than 60,000, are incorporated into the RAPID Web site for customer access.
FAA ADDING CHALLENGER 604 TO NAVAID INSPECTION FLEET - The Federal Aviation Administration signed a purchase agreement to acquire a new Challenger 604 business jet from Bombardier, and has taken options on two more 604s, which will be used by the agency and the U.S. Air Force to check the accuracy and performance of navigation aids both in the U.S. and around the world.
While Oberstar wants major airports to beef up their perimeter security, he said he hasn't been overly concerned about general aviation airport security. "I think perimeter security [at those airports] is being carried out the best it can," he said, adding that he sees little threat coming from a Beech King Air. The focus instead should be on the intelligence community and finding the people who are the threats, he said, adding that there has been too much emphasis on the minutiae and not enough attention paid to the bigger security picture. See article below.
Transport Canada suspended the operating certificate of Georgian Express Thursday, less than a week after one of the carrier's Grand Caravan turboprops was involved in a fatal accident that claimed 10 lives. See article below.
Growth in the fractional aircraft market will continue to be slow this year, based on pilot hiring projections by Aviation Information Resources, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga. Fractional operators hired 1,363 pilots in 2000, 1,038 the following year and 997 in 2002, but the industry added only 198 pilots last year (BA, Jan. 19/21). AIR, Inc. estimates fractional providers will add only about 250 pilots this year.
TOM BOOTH was named manager of FlightSafety International's learning center in Columbus, Ohio. Booth, who joined FlightSafety in 1997 as an instructor, most recently was assistant manager for the company's Raytheon center in Wichita, Kan. Before joining FlightSafety, he held several command and management positions with the U.S. Air Force, including commander of the service's largest pilot training squadron at Williams AFB near Phoenix, Ariz.
Cessna Aircraft selected Goodrich Corp. to supply the wheels, brakes and brake control system for the Citation Mustang entry-level business jet, which is scheduled for certification in the third quarter of 2006. Goodrich said the contract represents the first commercial application of its production brake control system, a technology that was developed in-house.
STEPHEN BROWN was appointed director of flight operations for Daniel Webster College. Brown, who has served as interim director of flight operations for the past four months, graduated from Daniel Webster College in 1992 with a degree in aviation management/flight operations and a master's in aeronautical science-aerospace operations. He spent the past three years as director of flight education and chief instructor for the college.
Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory And Distribution (RAPID) signed a deal with Aviall to increase access to spare parts for Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft. Aviall will distribute a full line of non-factory parts, including aviation batteries, hoses, wheels and brakes, oxygen and paint mixing services. The parts listings, which number more than 60,000, are incorporated into the RAPID Web site for customer access.
Privatair added six aircraft to its charter and managed fleet: A Gulfstream IV-SP based in Raleigh, N.C.; a Gulfstream IV in McMinnville, Ore.; three Gulfstream IIIs, two based in Stratford, Conn. and one in Manassas, Va.; and, a Hawker 700 based in Nashua, N.H. Privatair, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has operating bases across the U.S. and at Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich, Germany. It also operates a fixed-base operation at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France.
Shell Aviation teamed with Servisair/GlobeGround in a joint venture to pursue new airport fueling service contracts at major airports in North America. Shell supplies aviation fuels, lubricants and services, and Servisair/GlobeGround is a worldwide company specializing in airport ground services.
Russell Chew, the chief operating officer of FAA's new Air Traffic Organization, is expected to announce the formal rollout of the ATO Feb. 9, along with posting the list of management jobs to be filled.
March 2-3 - ASME International (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Aero Engine Life Management Conference, Thistle Royal Horseguards Hotel, London, England, (404) 847-0072; [email protected] or www.asme.org.igti March 15-17 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2004, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 683-4646 March 22-23 - American Association of Airport Executives, ACI-NA, Spring Washington Conference, Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, 703-824-0504, www.airportnet.org
Docket No.: FAA-2003-16212 Petitioner: Dassault Aviation Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 25.758(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To amend a previously granted exemption regarding occupant protection requirements for persons occupying multiple-place side-facing seats during takeoff and landing on Falcon Model 2000 airplanes manufactured before Jan. 1. The amendment would remove the limitation that restricts its applicability to airplanes manufactured before Jan. 1. Grant, Dec. 1, 2003, Exemption No. 7104A
CESSNA 441 and F406 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-18-AD; Amendment 39-13406; AD 2003-09-09 R1) -- revises an AD that requires repetitively inspecting the fuel boost pump wiring inside and outside the boost pump reservoir and repair or replacement of the wiring as necessary. AD 2003-09-09 also requires eventual installation of an improved wire harness and fuel boost pump as terminating action for the repetitive inspections. The way the compliance time is currently written puts certain airplane owners/operators in non-compliance with the AD.
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.
The nation's airlines are expected to return to Capitol Hill to seek further relief from aviation and security taxes this year, but Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said he expects their pleas to make little progress. Speaking to McGraw-Hill reporters last week, Oberstar, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the airlines are pushing for a reduction in their tax burden and arguing that they are overtaxed both in the aviation and security arena.
HAMBURGER FLUGZEUGBAU Model HFB 320 HANSA airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-185-AD; Amendment 39-13425; AD 2004-01-11) -- requires replacement of the elevator trim control cable assemblies with new assemblies. This action is necessary to prevent loss of elevator trim and possible loss of rudder and/or elevator function due to stress-corrosion cracking of certain cable terminals. FAA estimates that six airplanes on the U.S. Registry will be affected by this AD at a cost of $10,800, or $1,800 per airplane. The AD is effective Feb. 13.
Privatair added six aircraft to its charter and managed fleet: A Gulfstream IV-SP based in Raleigh, N.C.; a Gulfstream IV in McMinnville, Ore.; three Gulfstream IIIs, two based in Stratford, Conn. and one in Manassas, Va.; and, a Hawker 700 based in Nashua, N.H. Privatair, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has operating bases across the U.S. and at Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich, Germany. It also operates a fixed-base operation at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France.
TOM BOOTH was named manager of FlightSafety International's learning center in Columbus, Ohio. Booth, who joined FlightSafety in 1997 as an instructor, most recently was assistant manager for the company's Raytheon center in Wichita, Kan. Before joining FlightSafety, he held several command and management positions with the U.S. Air Force, including commander of the service's largest pilot training squadron at Williams AFB near Phoenix, Ariz.
NTSB WANTS FAA TO REQUIRE BETTER BUCKLES ON CREW SEATS - The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigation of the crash of an Air Midwest Beech 1900D last January in Charlotte, N.C., led the board to suggest that FAA require guarded buckles on crew seats on those aircraft that currently have unguarded rotary seatbelt buckles. Crash investigators found the captain's body four feet in front of the cockpit and her rotary seatbelt buckle undone, while the first officer remained in his seat.
FOKKER Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-252-AD; Amendment 39-13420; AD 2004-01-06) -- requires a one-time general visual inspection of the left and right sides of the pedestal side cover adjacent to the rudder pedal on the cockpit floor for proper installation of the attachment bracket, and corrective actions if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent restricted movement of the rudder pedal due to a loose pedestal side cover causing interference, which could reduce controllability of the airplane.
The nation's airlines are expected to return to Capitol Hill to seek further relief from aviation and security taxes this year, but Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said he expects their pleas to make little progress. Speaking to McGraw-Hill reporters last week, Oberstar, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the airlines are pushing for a reduction in their tax burden and arguing that they are overtaxed both in the aviation and security arena.
