Jon Moldovan Sr. was promoted to director of aircraft certifications, engineering and modifications for Stevens Aviation. His name was spelled incorrectly in last week's issue (BA, Aug. 4/55).
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta made the rounds at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in at Oshkosh earlier this month, including participating in a roundtable discussion with several original equipment manufacturers. Mineta touched on a variety of subjects during that session, ranging from the status of the sport aircraft rule to the need to push forward with reauthorization to the progress of the Wide Area Augmentation System schedule.
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.
FOURTH COMPETITOR ENTERS SMALL TURBOFAN JET MARKET - Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is throwing its design weight behind a new small twin-engine aircraft to compete against the Eclipse 500 and Cessna's Mustang and CJ1 planes with planned aircraft utilization of 1,500-2,000 hours a year. IAI, developing the turbofan-powered Avocet ProJet, is aiming for a $2 million price tag - slightly less than the $2.6 million Mustang, $1.9 million cheaper than the $3.9 million CJ1, and just a bit more than the $1.3 million Eclipse 500.
WRECKING CREWS BEGIN FINAL DEMOLITION OF MEIGS - Construction crews Tuesday began to tear up the grounds of Meigs Field, following through on Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's (D) dream to eradicate the airport and turn the land into the park. The Chicago mayor scored a second victory the next day when fellow Democrat Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a bill approving a $6.6 billion expansion of Chicago O'Hare International Airport. The O'Hare expansion was once linked to the continued operation of Meigs - Daley and former Gov.
ECCLESTON NAMED VP OF HONEYWELL ENGINE UNIT - Barry Eccleston, who spent nearly three decades with British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, was named by Honeywell Friday as vice president, Propulsion System Enterprises. Eccleston will be responsible for leading Honeywell's $1.4 billion engines business that provides turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines for business, regional, commercial, military and ground vehicle applications.
September 8-12 - Society of Automotive Engineers 2003 Aerospace Congress & Exhibition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (724) 772-4081 September 8-12 - Aerospace North America & SAE: Aerospace Congress & Exhibition; Palais des Congress, Montreal, PQ. (604) 473-9664 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
While the House/Senate agreement on a comprehensive FAA funding bill contains many provisions beneficial to business aviation, it also has a few provisions that could be controversial and omits others despite having strong industry support. House and Senate negotiators left out the "Pearce Amendment," which had been included in the House-passed version of the reauthorization legislation. Introduced by Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), the amendment would have allowed certain non-scheduled carriers to negotiate flights on a per-seat basis rather than a per-airplane basis.
National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation of the Aug. 4 fatal crash of a Model 35 Learjet as the crew attempted to land at the Groton, Conn. Airport. FAA said the aircraft was on approach to Runway 23, when it touched down one-half mile short of the runway, striking a house and ending up in the Poquonock River. Both pilots were killed. The aircraft, N135PT, was manufactured in 1984 and was registered to Jetpro LLC and operated by Air East Airways, Inc., both of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, N.Y., according to AvData, Inc.
Schweizer Aircraft delivered two 300C helicopters to customers in China. One was delivered to the Shanghai Sikorsky Aircraft Company based in Shanghai's Gaodong heliport, where it will be used for customer flight demonstrations. Shanghai Sikorsky is Schweizer's exclusive manufacturer and sales agent in China for its light helicopter product line. The second 300C was delivered to Tri Star General Aviation based in Chengdu. The Sichuan Forestry Bureau will use the helicopter for agricultural spraying.
Jet Aviation's West Palm Beach maintenance division completed a 2C inspection on a Falcon 50, requiring the complete removal of flight controls and the interior. The 12-year inspection involved removal and overhaul of the landing gear, a dimensional check on the horizontal stabilizer actuator, X-rays for corrosion, transponder, altimeter and major flight control checks, fire bottle and oxygen checks, leak checks and inspection of the fuel tanks.
Demolition crews last week began the final destruction of Chicago's Meigs Field, part of a contract awarded in July by the city to Pacific Construction Services (BA, July 21/23). In reaction, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association - following the Defense Department's example of using a deck of cards to illustrate most-wanted Iraqi leaders - posted a picture on its web site depicting Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in the center of the Ace of Spades. See article below.
CESSNA Models 401, 401A, 401B, 402, 402A, 402B, 411, and 411A airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-05-AD) - provides additional time for the public to comment on a proposal to supersede AD 79-10-15 R2, which currently requires repetitive inspections of the right and left wing spar lower cap areas for fatigue cracks and requires wing spar cap repair or replacement as necessary.
Cessna is offering a new factory authorized panel refurbishment service for older propeller aircraft built by Cessna and many other manufacturers. Customers could save up to 75 percent by having Cessna reilluminate and refurbish avionics on the panels instead of replacing them with new ones, Cessna said. The service can be completed at factory-authorized Cessna service stations. A list of the facilities can be found on the Internet at http:///www.customer.cessna.com/se/locator.chtml.
FAA will begin issuing new credit card-sized airmen certificates to the nation's active pilots, replacing existing paper certificates, Administrator Marion Blakey told an audience at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in. Made from a composite PVC media card stock, the certificates will incorporate security features, such as a hologram of the FAA seal. The certificate will be distributed to airmen when they achieve higher levels or additional ratings. It also will replace certificates that have been lost or damaged.
Mineta also addressed security concerns. The manufacturers urged him to use his position to help further educate the Administration about general aviation and ward off overreaching security initiatives. While Mineta has sympathized with the industry's concerns, he said he was not optimistic that the White House would change its mind about restoring general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association topped the 400,000-member mark, placing it among the top 100 associations in the nation. The association claims 61 percent of the nation's pilots and 75 percent of the general aviation pilot population as members. AOPA reached 200,000 members in 1977 and 300,000 in 1989.
COLORADO SPRINGS NAMES NEW AVIATION DIRECTOR - Colorado Springs, Colo. named Mark Earle as the new aviation director for the city's airport. Earle is scheduled to assume his new duties this week, replacing Gary Green, who retired at the end of May. Earle had been the director of aviation at Lubbock International Airport in Lubbock, Texas since 1995. He is on the board of the American Association of Airport Executives.
The fractional aircraft rule, which has been in development and under review for years, is currently in final review in the office of the FAA Administrator. The rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register this month, barring any unforeseen holdups. Former FAA Deputy Administrator Monte Belger - who was acting administrator at the time - signed the final rule establishing a new Subpart K to Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations nearly a year ago (BA, Sept. 23/135).
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is pleased with the overall downward trend in runway incursion incidents and accidents, particularly those involving scheduled air carriers, but "we need to work harder on the general aviation front," she told reporters last week. One idea being considered is the use of low-power beacon broadcasts to inform pilots about where they are on an airport.
ARINC recently deployed its ForeWarn lightning warning system at four more airports, bringing the total of North American airports using the technology to 15. The new installations are New York LaGuardia, Toronto Pearson International, Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan National airports. The ForeWarn system collects electrical information from ground sensors and combines the data with live satellite information to identify the potential for lightning strikes. The system breaks down threat conditions into five levels displayed through colored lights.
Raytheon Aircraft completed the 100th composite fuselage for the Beech Premier I business jet. The fuselage was moved to Plant Four, where it will join the Premier I assembly line. The Premier I was the first FAA-certified business jet with a fully composite fuselage.
