Banyan Air Service, based at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), extended its maintenance hours and added shifts to reduce turnaround time to help customers who need on-the-spot maintenance during nights and weekends. Banyan's new hours are 7 a.m.-12:30 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekends. Banyan provides service from its 26,000-square-foot turbine maintenance hangar within-site engine shop and a non-destructive testing room; a 20,000-square-foot avionics hangar, including an in-house avionics testing shop.
OMF Aircraft is offering a $2,000 flight-training rebate on Symphony 160 aircraft. The special offer is open to anyone in the United States and Canada who signs a binding purchase agreement for a Symphony 160 and who earns a new FAA rating, private pilot, IFR or commercial pilot, within two years. The offer is limited to one rebate per aircraft.
Canadian Simulator Manufacturer CAE said European regional aircraft manufacturer ATR will upgrade two Thales-built ATR 42/72 full-flight simulators in the Toulouse, France training center with CAE's Tropos visual system. The Tropos system provides high-quality imaging and the ability to simulate actual airport environments so pilots see realistic visual cues, including a wide range of simulated weather.
Federal Aviation Administration has completed work on the final rule to govern sport pilot and light-sport aircraft and sent the document to the Department of Transportation for review, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told attendees at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture fly-in last week. "This is a momentous step in the road to seeing sport pilot and light-sport aircraft become reality," said EAA President Tom Poberezny, who has long sought such a regulation.
ECLIPSE LANDS LAST ROUND OF EQUITY FUNDING - Eclipse Aviation Corp. completed its fifth round of private equity funding, adding another $87 million to the Eclipse 500 development program. The latest funding increment for Albuquerque-based Eclipse, which includes a $10 million investment from the state of New Mexico, brings to $325 million the total of equity funding the company has raised.
BAE SYSTEMS Jetstream Model 4101 Airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-62-AD; Amendment 39-13246; AD 2003-15-04) - adopts a new AD that requires inspection of the drive trunnion pins for the main landing gear doors to determine the part number of the pins and corrective action if necessary. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the MLG and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane during takeoff or landing. The AD is effective Sept. 2.
Mooney Aerospace and a group of international manufacturing and investment companies have formed an alliance to introduce, develop and market a range of "new generation" aircraft that would be produced under the Mooney logo. The alliance includes British aerospace giant BAE Systems, Russian aerospace stakeholder KASKOL Group, Detroit, Mich.-based auto-plastic specialist Venture Industries, and Foxton Investments, a private equity firm that focuses on Central and Eastern European business opportunities.
ADAM AIRCRAFT JET FLIES - Adam Aircraft added a second airplane to its flight certification program with the successful first flight of the A700 twin jet early last week. The A700, which flew for 50 minutes from Centennial Airport July 27, joins Adam's first aircraft, the A500 twin piston, in its flight test program.
The House and Senate reached a conference agreement on a comprehensive FAA funding bill to replace the sweeping aviation reauthorization bill AIR-21, which expires at the end of this year, but a debate over privatization language is heating up, threatening the bill's approval.
Steve Bassett, the president of the United States Air Tour Association (USATA), is relocating from Las Vegas, Nev. to the Washington, D.C. area next month to continue his advocacy campaign for the air tour industry and to develop some new aviation programs. Bassett, whose background includes experience as a radio and television broadcaster and as an executive with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, has spent the past 18 months as executive vice president of Air Vegas Airlines in Las Vegas.
BE A PILOT Friday named former National Business Aviation Association President Jack Olcott as its new chairman. Olcott left NBAA after 11 years of service in June to form General Aero Company, a business aviation consulting company in Morristown, N.J. (BA, June 16/273). He also has been retained by AOPA to help guide the association's new turbine services (BA, July 28/40). Before joining BAA in 1992 Olcott was editor and later publisher of BA affiliate Business and Commercial Aviation magazine and also has served as senior editor of FLYING magazine.
REPAIR STATION GROUPS PUSH FOR ANOTHER DELAY IN Part 145 DEADLINES - The repair station community jointly asked the Federal Aviation Administration to extend for another four months the implementation date for new rules governing Part 145 facilities. In a letter late last month, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Aircraft Electronics Association and National Air Transportation Association asked for an additional 120 days beyond the scheduled Oct. 3 implementation to provide repair stations time to review compliance guidance released just last month.
NEW PIPER WINS TYPE CERTIFICATE FOR PIPER 6X - New Piper received a type certificate for the Piper 6X, the fixed-gear version of the company's Saratoga II aircraft.
Jet Aviation's facility at London Biggin Hill Airport was named an authorized Dassault Service Center for the Falcon 900. The designation allows the Jet Aviation center to provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and modifications on the Falcon 900 airframe, engine and avionics. In addition, the facility will perform aircraft modifications. The Biggin Hill facility expects to add Falcon 50 and 2000 service to its capabilities shortly. The JAR-145-approved maintenance facility also is an authorized service center for the Embraer Legacy.
THREE HELICOPTER ACCIDENTS CLAIM EIGHT LIVES - Eight people were killed and two others seriously injured in three separate helicopter accidents late last month, according to FAA reports. All five people aboard a Bell 206B on a sightseeing flight operated by Jack Harter Helicopters were killed when the aircraft crashed July 23 in the Waialeali Crater on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The helicopter, N37741, was being flown by a single pilot and was carrying four passengers.
CONFEREES DIRECT FAA TO CREATE NEW R&D PROGRAM FOR ROTORCRAFT - A House-Senate conference committee has approved legislation directing the FAA to set up a research and development program aimed at achieving dramatic improvements in rotorcraft technology.
AIRWOLF REINTRODUCING WET VACUUM PUMPS FOR PISTON ENGINES - Ohio manufacturer Airwolf Filter Corp. is reintroducing what it claims is "the only wet vacuum pump to power gyro instruments on the flight deck of piston engine aircraft." The new Airwolf 3P194-F vacuum pump is the result of eight years of development and testing to provide an alternative to dry vacuum pumps.
National Air Tour 2003 will begin Sept. 8 with more than 30 historic aircraft recreating the National Air Tours that took place from 1925 through 1931. The 2003 tour will recreate a route that was planned for 1932 but never flown. The tour will begin in Dearborn, Mich., and visit 26 cities in 21 states across 4,000 miles. The tour is expected to end up back in Dearborn on Sept. 24. Ford Motor Company is sponsoring the event, which will feature Ford, Travel Air, Stearman, Waco and other aircraft.
September 8-12 - Society of Automotive Engineers 2003 Aerospace Congress & Exhibition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (724) 772-4081 September 14-17 - Airports Council International - North America 12th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Tampa, Fla., (202) 293-8500 September 20-23 - 72nd National Association of State Aviation Officials Annual Convention and Trade Show, Charlotte, N.C., (301) 588-0587 October 7-9 - National Business Aviation Association 56th Annual Meeting and Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000
NAA TAPS GLENN FOR WRIGHT TROPHY - The National Aeronautic Association selected former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn as the winner of this year's Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. The trophy, one of the most prized recognitions in the industry, is presented annually to "a living individual for significant public service of enduring value, as a civilian, to aviation in the U.S." Glenn grew up in Ohio and launched his aviation career as a military pilot, serving in both World War II and the Korean War.
Cessna Aircraft has sold 27 new Caravans under a program that provides a $75,000 discount on available unsold aircraft, the manufacturer reported. The program was announced late in the first quarter in an attempt to boost sales.
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.
Albany County Airport Authority is requesting proposals until Aug. 29 from airlines or other entities interested in leasing a 10,000-square-foot hangar and attached 6,000-square-foot two-story office and maintenance facilities at 100 Sicker Road. The facility has a 5,000-square-foot apron area with taxiway access at Albany International Airport (ALB). Bid documents may be examined starting Aug. 11 at the Airport Authority Office and in other sources, including Dodge Reports and the Capital District Minority Contractor's Association.
