THE HOUSE Thursday began consideration of the fiscal 2004 transportation appropriations bill, which would provide FAA a $518 million boost in funding to $14 billion. The House agreed to an amendment that would allow FAA to take more money out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to cover operating costs. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) offered an amendment to spend $8.3 million to cover certain general aviation airports' post-Sept. 11 losses but withdrew the amendment after Rep.
KEYSTONE HELICOPTER signed a contract with MetroHealth in northeast Ohio to refurbish the hospital's four Metro Life Flight S-76A helicopters. Keystone will repaint the exteriors, refurbish the interiors and install new avionics. The helicopters are used to transport critical care patients to MetroHealth and more than 60 other regional hospitals in Ohio.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION Friday warned pilots to be "extra vigilant" as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks approaches. The Department of Homeland Security released an alert that terrorists may again plan to coordinate attacks using airliners, but focus on foreign carriers operating near or transiting U.S. airspace. "Although the alert makes no mention of general aviation aircraft, AOPA is calling on GA pilots to continue to pay special attention to their airports' security," the association said.
NEW REGULATIONS to create a Part 91 Subpart K to govern fractional ownership have been signed by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and sent to the Federal Register for publication. The regulations won all the necessary governmental approvals in early July, but had been delayed as FAA officials gave them one final comprehensive look. Some last-minute international concerns slowed the progress, but FAA officials moved the regulations to the Register last week and they should be published either this week or next.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42-500 and ATR 72 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-169-AD; Amendment 39-13284; AD 2003-17-09) -- adopts a new AD that requires inspection of the wire bundle in the area of electrical rack 90VU to detect damage, verification that the conduit around the wire bundle is in the proper position, and installation of a clamp between the wire bundles and the carbon shelves structure. This action is necessary to prevent chafing of a wire bundle, which could result in an electrical short and potential loss of several functions essential for safe flight.
September 10-11 - Aviation Industry Conferences, Ltd. Aero-Engine Expo 2003, London, U.K., +44 207-931-7072 September 14-17 - Airports Council International - North America 12th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Tampa, Fla., (202) 293-8500 September 17-19 - European Regions Airline Association General Assembly, Citywest Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, +44 1276-856495 September 20-23 - 72nd National Association of State Aviation Officials Annual Convention and Trade Show, Charlotte, N.C., (301) 588-0587
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE'S Gulfstream IV business jet fleet topped the two million flight-hour mark. The GIV first entered service in 1987, and the last GIV, the 500th, rolled off the production line in December. During that time, the manufacturer said the fleet posted a dispatch reliability rate of 99.74 percent, and the aircraft set more than 70 world records, including eastbound and westbound around-the-world speed records.
FAA is expected to grant an industry request to delay for 120 days the implementation date for new regulations governing Part 145 repair stations. The regulations originally were slated to take effect Oct. 3, but repair station groups appealed to the FAA for more time.
FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP treatment continues to come under the scrutiny of the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority, representatives of which met with U.S. FAA, Transportation Department and State Department officials late last month in the U.K. on the topic. FAA staff today plans to brief industry representatives on the results of the meeting, and industry groups likely will be invited to a follow-on meeting in the U.K. At issue are U.K. concerns that fractional providers are more commercial than private operators. While some observers initially feared that the U.K.
AVIATION FABRICATORS (AvFab) won a supplemental type certificate for its Beechcraft King Air aft jump seat kit with installation package for the King Air 300 and the 350. The company already has an STC for the King Air 100 and 200 aircraft. According to AvFab, the kit and installation package, which include seats, oxygen drop-down system, occupant restraint system and attaching pieces and parts, are "directly interchangeable" with kits from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION President Jim Coyne this month will host three town hall meetings geared toward the association's Florida membership. He will specifically address airport issues and start at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg on Sept. 22, then move onto Witham Field in Stuart on Sept. 23 and finish with Naples Municipal Airport in Naples. For more information, contact Eric Byer at (800) 808-6282 or by e-mail at [email protected]
CAE USA was selected as a prime contractor by the U.S. Navy, which will allow the company to compete for Navy training programs valued at up to $3 billion during the next eight years. CAE is one of 13 companies that were granted the status under the U.S. Navy Training Systems Contract (TSC II), which is designed to support the training needs of the Naval Air Systems Command. CAE is already a prime contractor for the U.S. Army STRICOM Omnibus contract and the U.S. Air Force Training Systems Acquisitions contract.
MILLION AIR opened a new fixed-base operation in Burbank, Calif. The FBO features a remodeled 5,000-square-foot terminal building that houses a conference room and a pilot's lounge with satellite television and Internet access. Harold Lee, who owns two other FBOs in California, will operate the new Million Air facility.
The National Transportation Safety Board will not be able to accurately calculate safety data for Part 135 operators unless the Federal Aviation Administration begins collecting better activity numbers from the various segments within Part 135, the safety board told FAA late last month. The NTSB released an eight-page recommendation letter to FAA calling on the agency to improve its collection methods for tracking Part 135 activity (BA, Aug. 25/86).
Gulfstream Aerospace received Type Acceptance Certification for its Gulfstream IV/IV-SP from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (NZCAA), enabling those business jet models to be registered in New Zealand. Air National, a large New Zealand air transport operator, recently purchased a GIV-SP for its charter operations.
National Business Aviation Association will honor a number of companies with Flying Safety Awards to recognize years of achievement in maintaining safe flying operations. NBAA will present 50 Year Safe Flying Achievement awards to seven companies that have flown 50 years or more without an accident - ChevronTexaco, Citigroup, Kroger, Pepsico, PPG Industries, Queensmith Communications and Twin Disc.
AIR LITTORAL IN RECEIVERSHIP, WEXFORD SOLE SUITOR - French regional carrier Air Littoral, a former subsidiary of Swissair, declared bankruptcy and was ordered last month into receivership by a court in Montpellier in southern France.
Connexion By Boeing signed a deal under which satellite operator Eutelsat will provide satellite transponder capacity for Connexion by Boeing's mobile broadband information services. The deal covers transponder capacity in key areas of Europe and Asia, enabling Connexion by Boeing to have a full-scale introduction of its high-speed Internet and email connectivity for airlines and passengers.
CESSNA MANUFACTURES FIRST SOVEREIGN ON ASSEMBLY LINE - With its fourth quarter certification just around the corner, Cessna on Wednesday rolled out the first Citation Sovereign business jet to be assembled on its recently completed production line. Serial Number 0003 now will move to flight testing, paint and interior. The aircraft will be the first customer delivery scheduled for the first quarter of 2004.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332C, C1, L, L1, AS350B, BA, B1, B2, B3 and D, and AS355E, F, F1, F2 and N helicopters (Docket No. 2003-SW-15-AD) - proposes to adopt a new AD for the specified Eurocopter model helicopters that have a Breeze 300-pound electric hoist installed. This proposal would require modifying and re-identifying the hoist operator control unit and replacing certain fuses. This proposal is prompted by a test of a hoist that revealed an anomaly in the electrical control circuit.
TIMCO PLANNING TO DOUBLE WORK FORCE AT FLORIDA FACILITY - TIMCO Aviation Services plans to more than double the work force at its Lake City, Fla. facility by the end of 2003. The Lake City plant, which currently has about 350 employees, will grow to nearly 750 workers by the end of the year, an expansion necessary "to keep pace with growing demand for TIMCO's services from new and existing commercial, regional and air cargo carriers," the company said. The planned growth will make the TIMCO facility the largest private employer in Columbia County, Fla.
Innovative Solutions & Support won a contract valued at $3 million to supply air data display and analog interface units to Raytheon Aircraft Services for installation on Beechjet 400, Hawker 700 and Mu 300 series aircraft. The units comply with upcoming reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) standards. Innovative Solutions & Support, based in Exton, Pa., already provides RVSM and other air data instrumentation for King Air 200/350 and B1900 models. Shipment of the newest order will begin in the fourth quarter.
