FlightSafety International will provide pilot, maintenance technician and dispatcher training for FedEx Express' new fleet of ATR 42 aircraft, a pressurized high-wing twin turboprop. The training programs will include initial, recurrent and upgrade training for pilots, airline troubleshooting for technicians and an ATR 42 type specific program for dispatchers. FedEx Express started to build its ATR fleet earlier this year and chose two contractors, Mountain Air Cargo and Empire Airlines, to operate the fleet.
The 38th Annual Southern Methodist University Air Law Symposium will take place Feb. 26-27, 2004 at the Hotel InterContinental in Addison, Texas. David G. Leitch, deputy counsel to the President of the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the Friday luncheon. For more information, visit www.smu.edu/lra/als.
FRENCH FIRM SELECTED TO DEVELOP BIOMETRIC ID PROGRAM FOR AIRPORT - French high-technology company Sagem has been selected to undertake one of Europe's largest airport staff identity control projects at Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. Sagem announced late last month that it had been chosen by airports operator Aéroports De Paris (ADP) to install a biometric identity control system for 90,000 personnel entitled to access the airports' apron security areas.
January 11-15, 2004 - AAAE Aviation Issues Conference; Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort, Kauai, Hawaii, (703) 820-1395 March 2-3, 2004 - 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, 2004 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2004, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 683-4646
AMERICAN EAGLE TO OPEN ARKANSAS MAINTENANCE BASE - American Eagle Airlines will open a new maintenance facility at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) near Fayetteville to perform line maintenance on regional jet aircraft. The new facility will employ about 60 mechanics who will provide overnight service on the carrier's fleet of Canadair CRJ-700 regional jets. Eagle is scheduled to take occupancy of the new facility in mid-January 2004, with the first maintenance to be performed in March.
Rolls-Royce North America pledged $250,000 last week to the construction of the new Millennium Engineering Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The center will be the new home of Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Materials Engineering, Department of Freshman Engineering, Division of Interdisciplinary Engineering and Engineering Projects in Community Service. The donation will be made over five years starting in 2004, the 100th anniversary year for Rolls-Royce.
The Federal Aviation Administration has begun the formal process of transforming its air traffic control management and operations functions into a "performance-based organization" (PBO), a dramatic and sweeping change that will directly affect nearly 80 percent of the agency's 48,000 employees.
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. Models N22B and N24A airplanes (Docket No. 2003-CE-21-AD; Amendment 39-13361; AD 2003-22-13) - adopts a new AD that requires visual inspection of the ailerons for damage and replace if necessary; adjust the engine power levers aural warning microswitches; set flap extension and flap-down operation limitations; and fabricate and install cockpit flap extension and flap down operation restriction placards. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Australia.
Bombardier named Jose Boisjoli president of the company's Recreational Products unit. The company said it was making the announcement "with the agreement of the purchasers of Bombardier Recreational Products," adding that Boisjoli's "numerous years of experience and his knowledge of the business make him the ideal candidate for ensuring a harmonious transition." Boisjoli joined the company in 1989 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of procurement and management.
Bird strikes have been a significant problem for business aviation operators this fall, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. There have been nine bird strikes reported since the beginning of October, Breiling said, which involved five business jets and four turboprops. Two of the aircraft were substantially damaged, and one, a Model 24D Learjet that ingested birds and lost power while climbing out after takeoff from St. Louis Downtown Airport, was destroyed (BA, Nov. 17/219).
NEW REAUTHORIZATION AGREEMENT AWAITS WHITE HOUSE APPROVAL - The Senate is waiting for a go-ahead from the Administration on a new bipartisan agreement for the FAA reauthorization bill, which involves a commitment that FAA will not privatize air traffic control for a year.
Aircraft Brokers Vance & Engles, headquartered in Annapolis, Md., say they helped facilitate issuance of FAA supplemental type certificates for installation of an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums systems on Hawker 800 aircraft. The Model 800 used for the FAA approvals was purchased through Vance & Engles from BAe Systems by San Services, Inc., a waste management company based in Chattanooga, Tenn., with the expectation the FAA approvals could be obtained quickly.
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.
Congress was expected to vote on the conference report of the Transportation and Treasury funding bill late last week. The bill ran into some roadblocks over a provision that restricted outsourcing, which drew a veto threat from the Administration. That issue since has been resolved with an agreement from the Administration that Congress may address outsourcing in the omnibus bill.
Raytheon won certification from the Civil Aviation Authority in China for the Beechcraft Premier I. The aircraft will enter service later this year with Hainan Airlines of Haikou, China. The airline plans to operate the Premier I through its charter business, Deerjet Company Ltd., based in Beijing. Raytheon said that Hainan has multiple orders for the Beechcraft Premier I as well as the new Hawker Horizon.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS) reached a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement. A tentative agreement was made in September and the deal was finally ratified last week by 86 percent of union members. The new contract includes pay banding, pay-for-performance and training initiatives as well as the required federal employee pay raises. NAATS represents more than 2,200 employees who work at FAA's 80 flight service stations and auxiliary and seasonal facilities across the U.S.
Mooney Aerospace Group said it had revenues of more than $6.3 million during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, an increase of 480 percent from the $1.3 million in sales recorded in the third quarter of 2002. Mooney delivered 14 aircraft during the most recent quarter and revenues from parts and service amounted to about $600,000 of the $6.3 million total. The company also said it received a $5 million loan from BLX Commercial Capital LLC that is guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program.
MICHAEL (MICKEY) COHEN was named vice president of operations and engineering at AAR. Cohen, who has more than 29 years of experience in commercial aviation and the aerospace industry, was most recently senior vice president of maintenance and engineering for Alaska Airlines. Based in Wood Dale, Ill., AAR provides aftermarket support for the aerospace industry.
VETERAN ENGINE EXECUTIVE JOINS DALLAS AIRMOTIVE - Brian P. Sill, who has held executive posts with two engine manufacturers, has joined Dallas Airmotive in the newly created position of vice president-business operations.
General Dynamics Canada introduced the 4WARN Sentry, an advanced, portable, real-time biological agent detection system based on what the company said is "field-proven, fluorescence particle detection technology. The 4WARN Sentry has the ability to detect all aerosolized biological agents extremely rapidly, typically in less than 20 seconds," GD Canada said. The Sentry units can be networked or operated on a stand-alone basis. The systems are produced at GD Canada's Calgary, Alberta plant.
NEW FAA CFO HAS EXPERIENCE IN PRIVATE SECTOR, GOVERNMENT - Thomas R. Bloom, named chief financial officer of the Federal Aviation Administration last week, brings an impressive history of financial management jobs in both the government and private sector. Most recently, Bloom was with the Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), where he served as director and chief executive officer since 1999. DFAS is described as "the largest and most complex accounting organization in the world, with 15,500 people and revenues of $1.6 billion."
A 1965 Beech T-34 crashed in Texas last week, killing two. Don Wylie, 64, the owner of Aviation Safety Training, was teaching a lesson in upset recovery to William Eisenhauer of Centerville, Ohio when the wing separated from the aircraft. Wylie, who had logged 8,500 hours of instruction since 1990, was a former fighter pilot in Vietnam and the recipient of the Silver Star and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
With less than a year before the 2004 Olympics get under way in Greece, aviation officials in that country are trying to determine how many private aircraft they may have to deal with. The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority and Athens International Airport management have asked the National Business Aviation Association to help them estimate the number of U.S. business aviation operators planning to fly their aircraft to Greece during the period July 15-Sept. 30. The Olympic Games are scheduled for Aug. 13-Aug. 24.
MEETING AT FAA HEADQUARTERS ADDRESSES UAV ISSUES - The Federal Aviation Administration's Joint Planning Office held a meeting Thursday to brief government and industry officials on the Access Five plan, a scenario under which operations of unmanned aerial vehicles would be routinely authorized in the National Airspace System.
Cessna's second production CJ3 CitationJet, Serial Number 002, took first flight earlier this month in Wichita, Kan. The company said all three of the CJ3 aircraft dedicated to certification flight testing now are flying. The aircraft have logged more than 340 hours and 200 flights. The CJ3 prototype, used for development flight tests, logged 262.8 hours. The first production CJ3, Serial Number 001, is being used for flight training simulator data collection, and S/N 002 will be used mostly for avionics development and post certification service tests, Cessna said.
