National Air Transportation Association is pressing OMB to move quickly on the fractional rule. The association last week wrote John Graham, OMB administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, stressing the overwhelming support for the new rule and that it will enhance safety while saving the industry money.
CAAC CREATES NEW AIRPORT GROUP - The Civil Aviation Administration of China is consolidating several major airport management, development and construction groups into one large consortium called the Capital Airport Group.
May 7-9 - European Business Aviation Association/NBAA 3rd Annual European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (EBACE2003), Geneva, Switzerland, (202) 783-9000 May 13-15 - AS 3/GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers Supershow, National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 845-9000 or (202) 730-0260 May 17-21 - NBAA Maintenance Management Conference, Charlotte, N.C., (202) 783-9000
REWRITE OF PARTS 135/125 WILL ADDRESS WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES - The Federal Aviation Administration's planned rewrite of Parts 135 and 125 of the Federal Aviation regulations will be one of the most complex and comprehensive rulemaking efforts in the agency's history, with hundreds of issues on the table for consideration.
The rules developed by the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration for revoking certificates of individuals deemed to be security threats have drawn fire from scores of aviation organizations and individuals, who called the revocation process unnecessary, unconstitutional and "deeply troubling." TSA and FAA released rules in January that would establish a process under which the TSA identifies suspected threats and FAA revokes certificates of those suspects (BA, Jan. 27/37).
DAVID COPELAND was named vice president, worldwide piston sales at Raytheon Aircraft. He will be responsible for managing worldwide Beech Baron and Bonanza sales and domestic dealers for the aircraft. Copeland joined Raytheon in 2000 and was most recently regional sales director and regional vice president for Latin America.
PrivatAir took delivery of the first of four Airbus A319 jets that it will lease from CIT Aerospace. The order includes two A319 airliners and two A319LR (Long Range) aircraft. PrivatAir will operate the A319 airliners primarily for Airbus internal services between Toulouse, France, Bristol/Filton, United Kingdom and Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft will have a single-class layout with 126 seats. PrivatAir will place the A319LRs in service for Lufthansa's new business-class operations between Dusseldorf and Chicago.
Federal Aviation Administration officials contemplate a slight increase in the membership of the Steering Committee that will oversee the planned Part 135/125 rewrite. FAA announced a 28-member Steering Committee earlier this month (BA, April 14/165), but officials have tentatively agreed to boost the total number a bit in response to requests from interested parties.
Salina Airport Authority won FAA clearance and has begun work on a new 4,300-foot runway at the Salina, Kan. airport. The runway, designed for general aviation, will relieve primary runway congestion for military, government, corporate, transient and flight training flights, SAA officials said. Salina officials expect the runway, 17R-35L, to be operational by summer. Salina hosted more than 96,000 operations in 2002, and the airport's two fixed-base operations, Flower Aviation and Midway Aviation, pumped 4.7 million gallons of fuel last year.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-300, AT-400, AT-400A, AT-401, AT-401B, AT-402, AT-402A, AT-402B, AT-501, AT-502, and AT-502B airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-59-AD; Amendment 39-13100; AD 2003-07-04) - requires repetitively inspecting the vertical fin front spar fitting for cracks and replacement of any cracked fitting found. This AD also requires installation of a steel doubler as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD is the result of a report of failure of a 1/4-inch-thick vertical fin front spar fitting.
LIABILITY INSURANCE FEARS PUSH TELEDYNE TO PONDER FUTURE OF CONTINENTAL - Eying skyrocketing insurance costs and sluggish aftermarket sales, Teledyne Technologies plans to continue to explore "strategic alternatives" for its Aerospace Engines and Components segments, including piston-manufacturer Teledyne Continental, the company said last week.
Aircraft Deliveries throughout the industry continued to slide. General aviation manufacturers shipped 16 percent fewer aircraft in the first quarter and billings plummeted by 33 percent. See article and chart below.
GAMA ADDS DOT/HILL VETERAN RILEY TO STAFF - The General Aviation Manufacturers Association named Brian Riley, a senior Transportation Department aide, to the newly created position of vice president of government affairs. In his new post, Riley will handle a series of government affairs issues for GAMA with an emphasis on security. Before joining GAMA, Riley served as deputy assistant security for budget and programs for DOT. He also has served as assistant administrator for government and industry affairs for FAA and has held a number of positions on Capitol Hill.
BUSINESS AVIATION PIONEER, B/CA VETERAN TORCH LEWIS DIES - Torch Lewis, a staple at BA affiliate Business and Commercial Aviation magazine for nearly 40 years, died Wednesday at his home in Punta Gorda, Fla. from liver cancer. He was 80. Born John Sheldon Lewis on Jan. 29, 1923 in Elmira, N.Y., he became well-known throughout the aviation industry for his "Greenhouse Patter" column that appeared every month on the back page of B/CA as well as for his 50-plus-year career in business aviation.
Delta Airelite Business Jets renamed its Comair Aviation fixed-base operation at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as Delta AirElite Jet Center. The full-service FBO is a Chevron fuel supplier and has more than 38,000 square feet of hangar space for tenant and transient aircraft. The facility also includes a flight planning room, lounge areas, business centers, conference room, hotel and car reservations, gourmet and deli catering, shuttle services, de-icing capabilities and tenant offices.
GA SHIPMENTS DROP IN FIRST QUARTER - Still struggling under the weight of a recession and the uncertainties of war, the business jet market sagged dramatically in the first quarter as overall general aviation aircraft shipments fell 16.4 percent compared with the same period in 2002, according to the quarterly report prepared by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Total billings for the industry worldwide tumbled 33.2 percent in the first quarter to $1.87 billion from $2.8 billion in 2002.
OMF TO ADD FOUR-SEAT AIRCRAFT TO LINEUP - German manufacturer OMF Aircraft is adding a second aircraft to its product line, with first flight expected before the end of 2003.
Bombardier Skyjet, the Canadian conglomerate's charter booking service, is creating a new Learjet category for its Premier Fleet jet membership program. The Premier Fleet membership program provides blocks of charter time (25, 50 or 100 hours) for a membership fee plus an hourly rate for flight time. The program guarantees aircraft availability within 12 hours. Under the new Premier Fleet Plus-Learjet Class program, the customer buys a membership specifically for the charter of the Learjet 60.
BURNHAM TO STEP DOWN AS RAYTHEON CEO - Raytheon Co. announced April 23 that its chairman and CEO, Daniel Burnham, will step down on July 1. President William Swanson will take his place.
Thales ATM won a contract to supply Mexico City Airport with an advanced-surface movement guidance control system. The Thales system, STREAMS (Surface Traffic Enhancement and Automation Support System), will be delivered to Mexico City in the second half of 2003. STREAMs, which includes air surface detection equipment radar, enables the control and monitoring of aircraft and vehicle movements at the airport.
Simula Inc. won two follow-on orders valued at $2.9 million from the U.S. Army to supply its Cockpit Airbag Systems (CABS) for UH-60 Black Hawk and OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. With the most recent contracts, the Army has ordered a total of 612 Black Hawk and 221 Kiowa Warrior CABS units. CABS was designed to protect pilots from the impact associated with helicopter accidents. The system comprises four air bags, four gas generators and three-axis crash sensors.
