The Weekly of Business Aviation

Staff
Section 143. Repeals an outdated "Sense of Senate" that FAA should work with law enforcement agencies to help air carriers develop computer-assisted passenger profiling systems Section 144. Makes technical amendments to grant assurance language, including eliminating certain requirements for audit opinions Section 145. Makes eligible for funding the costs of moving federal facilities, such as control towers and navigation aids, that otherwise would impede an AIP project Section 146.

Staff
Two Principals in Tyler Jet, LLC of Tyler, Texas entered guilty pleas last week to engaging in a monetary transaction with the proceeds of criminal activity. According to a multi-count indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Timothy J. Beverley, 47, president and manager of Tyler Jet, and Gregory A. Hopper, 49, the former chief financial officer of the company, were engaged in wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with the aircraft sales and refurbishment company.

Staff
Aircraft Electronics Association has sold out more than 90 percent of the booth space available at its 47th Annual International Convention and Trade Show scheduled March 29-April 1 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The show is expected to attract more than 125 exhibitors and hundreds of attendees. For more information about the trade show, contact AEA at (816) 373-6565.

Staff
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11491 Petitioner: Cessna Aircraft Company Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.9(a) and 91.531(a)(1) and (2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Cessna to allow certain qualified pilots of Cessna Citation Model 550, S550, 552, or 560 aircraft to operate those aircraft without a pilot who is designated as second-in-command. Grant, Dec. 2, 2003, Exemption No. 4050M

Staff
DASSAULT Model Falcon 2000 and 900EX, and Model Mystere-Falcon 900 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-231-AD; Amendment 39-13419; AD 2004-01-05) -- requires measuring the paint thickness on the upper and lower surfaces of the left and right sides of the horizontal stabilizer, performing corrective actions if necessary, and installing maintenance caution placards on the upper surface of the left and right sides of the horizontal stabilizer.

Staff
AVCRAFT PREPARES FOR PRODUCTION RESTART - AvCraft Aviation has begun gradually rebuilding the work force in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, in preparation for restarting the production line for the 30-seat 328Jet regional aircraft. AvCraft, the new owner of the former Fairchild Dornier 328JET, said in December that production would begin soon (BA, Dec. 15/269), and last week announced that work would re-start this quarter with the first completed aircraft rolling off the production line by the fourth quarter.

Staff
TRANSPORT CANADA SUSPENDS OPERATING CERTIFICATE OF CARAVAN OPERATOR - Transport Canada Thursday suspended the Air Operator's Certificate of Georgian Express Ltd., the carrier whose Cessna Grand Caravan was involved in a fatal accident less than a week before. The agency said it decided to suspend the carrier's certificate "based on the review of the company's documentation and the department's assessment of the preliminary information" from the accident. Transport Canada said its action "does not preclude" further regulatory action later.

Staff
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.

Staff
MONIKA NEIL joined the Aerospace Industries Association as director of electronic enterprise integration. Neil has more than 20 years of commercial aviation industry experience. Most recently she coordinated the international SPEC2000 program for the Air Transport Association. She also was SPEC2000 coordinator in Materials Management for American Airlines and was a systems/business analyst for Douglas Aircraft Company.

Staff
VON MEANS was promoted to director of learning and development for SkyWest Airlines. Means, who will be based at corporate headquarters in St. George, Utah, will oversee SkyWest's curriculum and multimedia development for all airline training. He will continue the implementation of an online learning system. Means has worked for SkyWest since 1995, joining the airline as a flight attendant. In 2000 he became manager of corporate development, responsible for internal and external web sites as well as the introduction of online learning and training courses.

Staff
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.

Staff
Aircraft Electronics Association has sold out more than 90 percent of the booth space available at its 47th Annual International Convention and Trade Show scheduled March 29-April 1 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The show is expected to attract more than 125 exhibitors and hundreds of attendees. For more information about the trade show, contact AEA at (816) 373-6565.

Staff
GULFSTREAM POSTS BEST QUARTER FOR AIRCRAFT ORDERS - Gulfstream Aerospace logged orders for 34 new business jets in the fourth quarter, the best three-month period in the company's history, according to Nicholas Chabraja, chairman and CEO of parent company General Dynamics.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
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.

Staff
Docket No.: FAA-2003-16199 Petitioner: Pacific Airways, Inc. Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.203(a)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Pacific Airways, Inc., to conduct operations under visual flight rules outside controlled airspace, over water, at an altitude below 500 feet above the surface. Grant, Nov. 4, 2003, Exemption No. 8167

Staff
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.

Staff
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.