FAA PONDERS AIRPORT ACCESS RESTRICTIONS BASED ON PAVEMENT CONCERNS - The Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed to clarify its policy on when an airport can restrict access based upon pavement design. The proposal is an attempt to develop a "uniform national policy" on weight-based restrictions, the agency said. Some airports have implemented weight-based restrictions to protect pavement not designed for heavier aircraft, bringing into question whether the restrictions were reasonable, FAA said.
AGUSTA Model A109K2 helicopters (Docket No. 2003-SW-26-AD; Amendment 39-13198; AD 2003-12-13) - adopts a new AD that requires a visual check of each tail rotor blade for a crack; a visual inspection of each blade for a crack at specified intervals; and if necessary, a dye-penetrant inspection. Replacing any cracked blade with an airworthy blade before further flight is also required. This amendment is prompted by a report of a crack that occurred in an Agusta Model A109K2 blade.
National Air Transportation Association issued an action call to members Thursday to solicit Senate support for a letter that Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and George Allen (R-Va.) plan to send to President Bush on the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) access issue. Warner and Allen circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter last month asking fellow senators to sign a letter to Bush urging him to allow approved charter companies to access DCA (BA, June 9/265). See related article below.
Jackson Hole, Wyo. airport officials, who have been carefully watching the proceedings over the Naples, Fla. Municipal Airport Stage 2 jet ban, received a little help from Congress that would allow them to bypass the process Naples used. The Senate included language in its version of an FAA reauthorization bill that authorizes the airport to "impose restrictions on, or prohibit," operation of Stage 2 aircraft weighing less than 75,000 pounds.
Million Air added a new fixed-base operator in Santa Fe, N.M. to its chain of 26 FBOs around the U.S. Formerly Santa Fe Executive Aviation, the 2,700-square-foot facility at the Santa Fe Municipal Airport (SAF) will be renamed Million Air Santa Fe. The FBO will be renovated with new signage as well as a new driveway and entryway.
MERCURY FILES SUIT AGAINST INVESTORS - Mercury Air Group late last month filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles alleging that a group of mostly foreign companies have made false and/or misleading statements in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in an attempted takeover of Mercury's assets. The lawsuit also alleges misuse of proprietary, confidential and trade secret information.
The Office of Management And Budget Tuesday completed its review of new regulations to govern fractional aircraft operations and sent them back to FAA for final approval for publication. OMB, which received the regulations in early April, said it completed its review "consistent with no change." Observers expect it may take a few weeks before the much-anticipated regulations are published in the Federal Register while they await FAA Administrator Marion Blakey's signature.
VOUGHT COMPLETES AEROSTRUCTURES ACQUISITION - Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. completed its acquisition of The Aerostructures Corp. Tuesday, a transaction that brings together two of the major providers of large component structures for the aerospace industry.
Jet Aviation Basel completed work on a green Boeing Business Jet 2, and the facility is working on two more BBJs. The completions project included a full exterior paint job and a VIP head-of-state interior that can seat up to 31 passengers and eight crew members. An in-house interior design team decorated the cabin while Jet Aviation Engineering Services in San Antonio, Texas worked on large-scale mechanical engineering, stress analysis and certification projects.
Breeze-Eastern won a contract from Sikorsky Aircraft to supply rescue hoists for the U.S. Navy MH-60R/S helicopter programs. The MH-60 R/S helicopters are replacing SH-60B and SH60F aircraft. The new helicopters will be used for combat search and rescue, multi-purpose transport, special operations, and mine countermeasures. The Navy programs could call for up to 500 aircraft. The initial contract covers 69 rescue hoist systems valued at more than $4 million. The contract includes options for up to 60 more aircraft per year.
Adam Aircraft selected Avidyne's FlightMax Entegra integrated flight deck for the Adam A500 twin-piston aircraft. The Entegra system includes two 10.4-inch diagonal, high-resolution primary flight displays with air data and attitude heading reference systems. The displays will include standard flight instrumentation such as an electronic attitude direction indicator, electronic horizontal situation indicator and altitude, airspeed and vertical speed indicators.
WHITE HOUSE WANTS 'MARINE ONE' REPLACEMENT PROGRAM ON FAST TRACK - U.S. Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) effort to develop a replacement presidential helicopter is heating up following a White House request to accelerate the introduction of the aircraft to 2007. NAVAIR released a broad agency announcement calling for designs for the new Vertical Lift Aircraft (VXX) in January. The VXX would replace the VH-3D Sea King helicopter, which was derived from the Sikorsky S-61 and first flown nearly 40 years ago.
Brazilian Manufacturer Embraer delivered 51 airplanes in the first half of the year compared with 60 in the same period a year ago. The total included 47 airline models, a mix of the ERJ 135, ERJ 140 and ERJ 145, plus four airplanes configured for corporate/executive use. Embraer said it had a firm backlog of 450 aircraft plus options for another 794 aircraft.
ERIC GUST was promoted to vice president of safety and regulatory compliance at Mesa Air Group. Most recently the director of management group promotions, Gust, who holds captain qualifications on the Canadair Regional Jet, joined Mesa in 1995 as a mechanic and inspector. He also has served as an airworthiness auditor and the director of safety and regulatory compliance.
Final Assembly of Boeing's planned 7E7 airliner "is targeted to take approximately three days instead of the 13-17 days that today's airplanes take," the company said in a statement Thursday. The 7E7, which Boeing has dubbed the "Dreamliner," will have a majority of its primary structure - including the wing and fuselage - made of composite materials instead of aluminum. Officials said the composites offer a number of advantages, including better durability, reduced maintenance requirements and increased potential for future developments.
John P. Luce, 68, a veteran flight instructor and air taxi operator, died July 1 of an apparent heart attack. Luce had served as the Eastern regional representative for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for nearly a decade, covering Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He began his flying career in the 1950s at Wings Field in Philadelphia, the birthplace of AOPA. He founded Orion Airways in 1964, a Part 135 air taxi service based in Frederick, Md.
Boeing Air Traffic Management has assembled a team of companies to compete for an FAA contract to provide and implement a new, fully integrated air traffic flow system that will maximize use of the national airspace system. The Boeing team completed the first of the two-step selection process, responding to a screening information request seeking information on the bidder's technical capabilities regarding flow management. The Boeing ATM-led team includes Raytheon, Metron Aviation, Kenrob, RLM Software and WSI Corp.
NATA APPEALS TO FAA FOR MORE TIME ON HAZMAT PROPOSAL - The National Air Transportation Association asked the Federal Aviation Administration for a 60-day extension of the comment period on a proposal that would require air carriers and repair stations to strengthen their hazardous materials handling training and documentation (BA, May 19/230). The proposal, published in the May 8 Federal Register, covers Part 135, 119 and 121 carriers along with Part 145 repair stations and imposed a July 7 deadline for comments.
Executive Jet Management added three more aircraft to its charter fleet, increasing its fleet to 112 aircraft in more than 50 locations throughout the nation. The newest additions were Citation Xs in Chicago and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a Falcon 2000 based at Dallas Love Field.
NEW JEPPESEN UNIT TARGETS GOVERNMENT, MILITARY BUSINESS - Flight planning specialist Jeppesen, which has produced navigational charts and related products for airmen for decades, has formed a new division to focus on government and military business.
OMF Aircraft won Canadian certification for its Symphony 160 two-place, single-piston, high-wing aircraft. The aircraft previously had received certification from the German certification authorities and FAA. The aircraft also was certified for IFR flight in June 2002.
Najeeb Halaby, 87, the second person to serve as FAA Administrator, died July 2 at his home in McLean, Va. Halaby was appointed by President John Kennedy in 1961 to serve as FAA Administrator, in which capacity he reported directly to the president. He left FAA in 1965 to head Pan American World Airways, where he succeeded Juan Trippe, the chairman and founder of the flagship U.S. carrier. Halaby's mother was a native Texan and his father was Arab American.
Wind Dancer Aviation Services parent Energy & Engine Technology Corp. bought 49 airframe and engine supplemental type certificates from Kelly Aerospace Power Systems for $60,000. The STCs cover Rayjay turbo normalizing kits for several general aviation aircraft including Beechcraft, Piper, Cessna and Aero Commander. In addition, Wind Dancer has become a full line distributor for Kelly Aerospace.
Megadata Corporation is supplying its PASSUR AirportMonitor to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif. The system provides near-real-time flight tracking and instant replay via the Internet. "Our residents, communities and customers have asked us to provide them transparency, accuracy and convenience regarding information about the terminal airspace," said John Wayne Airport Director Alan Murphy, who added that AirportMonitor provides that information to people at home. John Wayne is the 10th airport in the nation to install the system.
