ENVIRO SYSTEMS BUYS AERO AIRE - Enviro Systems of Seminole, Okla., acquired the assets of Aero Aire Corp. of Clearwater, Fla. Enviro will move the Florida company's operations to, and consolidate them with, its Seminole facility. Aero Aire designs and manufactures vapor cycle air conditioning and electric heating systems for helicopters and military vehicles. Its product installations include Sikorsky's HH60L medevac helicopter, the Eurocopter EC 120 EC 130, AS350, AS355 and Robinson R44 helicopters.
V-22 OSPREY FLIES AGAIN, BUT HYDRAULIC 'VIRUS' LINGERS - The V-22 Osprey has resumed flight testing after being grounded for 10 days to remove 20 potentially defective hydraulic tubes inside critical engine nacelles. The full extent of the faulty parts problem - and its solution - continue to be investigated. Aircraft No. 21, with test pilots Bill Leonard and Maj. Shawn Healy, performed a 20-minute flight test, a shakedown of the aircraft's JASS 2.6.1.1 software drop, V-22 spokesman Ward Carroll said in an interview March 18.
Lufthansa Technik and Yankee Pacific Group LLC of Rye, N.H. are teaming to form Lufthansa Technik Completion Engineering (LTCE). LTCE, based in Tulsa, Okla. with 20 employees, was founded to "strengthen the capacities and capabilities of Lufthansa Technik's Completion Center, established only last year, in the area of design and installation of VIP aircraft cabin interiors." Lufthansa Technik holds 51 percent of the new company's shares, while Yankee Pacific Group holds the remaining 49 percent.
LEARJET 45 OPERATORS ORDERED TO MAKE INSPECTIONS - The Federal Aviation Administration ordered operators of Model 45 Learjets Thursday to perform inspections "before further flight" of the acme screw of the horizontal stabilizer.
Bombardier sold a Learjet 45 XR to Ocean Air Aero Taxi of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the company's charter business. The aircraft will be delivered in the second quarter of this year.
Securaplane Technologies introduced a new digital video recorder designed for aircraft security. The DVR-01, which replaces an older tape-based model, is a stand-alone recorder that integrates with Securaplane's aircraft security and video camera systems. The three-pound device can record up to six hours of video data that can be retrieved and played back remotely using an Ethernet port. Securaplane said FAA certification for the recorder, which it is now shipping to dealers, is expected by May.
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.
Following on the success of initial European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (EBACE) events, the European Business Aviation Association and the National Business Aviation Association have scheduled the show through 2006. Future EBACE dates are: May 25-27, 2004; May 18-20, 2005, and May 3-5, 2006. EBACE 2003, to be held May 7-9 at the Geneva Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, is expected to attract more than 200 vendors and have more than 16,000 square meters of exhibit space.
Sabreliner Corp. received FAA approval for a new inspection program "that adds 2,000 hours of life to all 40 and 60 model Sabreliners with a 10,000-hour life limit," the company said. The baseline life extension inspection, which will cost $37,500, can increase the life of an aircraft by about 10 years of typical operator flying, said Ron Herman, vice president and general manager of Sabreliner's location in Perryville, Mo. Many of the 36-, 48- and 60-month inspections may be accomplished as part of the program with a two-week downtime.
Cessna's Citation CJ3 completed its first engine run and taxi, another milestone in the development program of the follow-on to the Cessna CJ2. Powered by Williams FJ44-3A engines, the CJ3 will have 14 percent more takeoff thrust and 12 percent more cruise thrust than the FJ44-2C-powered CJ2. Williams has been running six FJ44-3As, including flight-testing on a modified CJ2 aircraft. The CJ3 is expected to fly in the second quarter of 2003 with certification a year later. First customer deliveries are slated for the third quarter of 2004.
Jet Aviation Teterboro set up Transportation Security Administration-approved fingerprinting services to comply with the new "Twelve-Five" security regulations that will go into effect April 1. The new rule requires FBI criminal history background checks using fingerprints of pilots, flight engineers and flight navigators on private charter or commercial aircraft with maximum certified takeoff weights of 12,500 pounds or more.
Friday was John A. Hammerschmidt's last day as a board employee after 18 years with the agency, the last 12 as a member. He spent his final months there as acting chairman. Hammerschmidt, who said he was "deeply honored to have served at the board under four presidents," said he's seen "an already well respected agency become an acknowledged world leader in accident investigation and safety advocacy." During his tenure at NTSB he noted the "great strides toward the elimination of mid-air collisions and windshear accidents in the airline industry."
HOUSE MOVES FORWARD WITH AIRCRAFT MISSILE DEFENSE - House Transportation aviation subcommittee Chair Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) is pledging to move as fast as possible on getting anti-missile defenses for jetliners after hearing chilling testimony in a closed hearing yesterday.
The Senate confirmed three nominees for seats on the National Transportation Safety Board last week. Ellen Engleman and Mark Rosenker are expected to be sworn in this week, and Richard Healing is expected to join the board in about a week. Engleman, who has been administrator of DOT's Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), will be the new chair of the agency (BA, Feb. 10/61).
National Air Transportation Association's Safety 1st certification program has more than 500 fixed-base operators participating throughout the U.S. Under the Safety 1st certification program, both part-time and full-time FBO line staff must pass written and practical exams covering all aspects of fueling and aircraft marshalling. NATA helps train the staff through its Professional Line Service Training program, which includes nine video training tapes and written materials.
EAA UNVEILS WRIGHT FLYER REPLICA - In celebration of the centennial of the Wright Brothers' first flight, The Experimental Aircraft Association debuted a newly constructed replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer at a ceremony last week at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Executive Jet Management added its first Bombardier Global Express aircraft to its charter fleet. The long-range business jet is based at Centennial Airport outside Denver, Colo.
Albany County, N.Y., Airport Authority is soliciting bids from parties interested in leasing a hangar and related facilities at Albany International Airport. Bids for Contract No. 437-L must be submitted by 11 a.m. March 24. For more information, contact J. Dwight Hadley, chief financial officer, at (518) 242-2205; by fax at (518) 242-2640, or by email at [email protected].
Economic conditions that have slowed sales continue to force business aviation manufacturers to reduce production levels and lay off workers. Both Gulfstream and Cessna announced plans for additional cuts. Cessna said part of the reason for its action was a decision by fractional aircraft operator NetJets to cut back on the number of business jets it will take delivery of this year.
TWC Aviation, a charter and aircraft management services company headquartered in Burbank, Calif., awarded its worldwide operations handling contract to Baseops International. "Through this agreement, our aircraft management and charter customers are assured that everything will go smoothly in other countries, with Customs, airport fees, security, ground transportation, and other issues," said Andrew Richmond, TWC Aviation president.
National Business Aviation Association officials, "while we understand the severity of the current environment," were chafing under new flight restrictions imposed on non-airline flights last week. (See article below.) Pete West, senior vice president of government and public affairs for NBAA, said the association has repeatedly suggested security protocols and procedures that qualified business aviation pilots would be willing to meet so as not to be saddled with blanket airspace restrictions, but the government has not acted on those suggestions.
Raytheon Aircraft teamed with Harris Corporation to compete for FAA's Next Generation Communications System (NEXCOM) contract that could be worth up to $400 million by 2012. The NEXCOM contract will replace FAA's current analog communications system with the latest radio technology. The system will be designed to accommodate additional sectors and services, reduce logistics costs, replace aging radios, provide data link communications capability, reduce air/ground radio frequency interference and provide security.
A Dornier 328-300 was damaged March 13 when it was struck by lightning while descending near Wellman, Ohio. The National Transportation Safety Board said the Atlantic Coast Airlines aircraft, N419FJ, was carrying three crew and 15 passengers. The plane was passing over the TIGRR intersection in heavy rain at 11,000 feet for its approach into Cincinnati (CVG) when it was struck by lightning. All five display units and the flight management system in the cockpit failed. The first officer declared an emergency.
DASSAULT WINS CERTIFICATION FOR 2000EX - French manufacturer Dassault Falcon won certification for its 2000EX business jet from European and U.S. officials, the company announced Friday. Winning approval from the JAA and FAA "marks the successful culmination of an intensive flight test program begun in October 2001," said Jean-Louis Cuvillier, program manager for the 2000EX.
The Federal Aviation Administration might have to defer some elements of its Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) because of rising costs and declining Airport and Airway Trust Fund revenues, the Transportation Department's inspector general warned last week.
