Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will sponsor a symposium to "showcase promising new uses of simulation and virtual reality for training pilots and air traffic controllers" Feb 21-22 at its Daytona Beach, Fla. campus. "Simulation Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" will cover simulation's role in improving safety and allow participants to test advanced simulation devices used for flight training and air traffic management.
High-ranking FAA and TSA officials called a meeting with general aviation representatives for today to discuss proposed changes to the "National Capital Region" airspace. FAA sent a rule to the OMB for review last week that is expected to extend the restrictions in the Special Flight Rules Area over Washington, D.C. (SFAR 94) by up to two years. Reports of the extension come as bad news to the affected operators of the "D.C.
New World Aviation added a new (50 hours time-in-service) Gulfstream V to its charter certificate. The aircraft is equipped to carry up to 16 passengers.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is mounting what it calls a "full-court press" in Washington, D.C. to generate opposition to new FAA and TSA rules that allow the certificate revocation of pilots deemed security threats (BA, Jan. 27/37). AOPA has been meeting with several members of Congress and the Bush Administration expressing its concerns about the rules. The rules have drawn fire from several industry and pilots groups.
Adam Aircraft, which flew its first A500 Carbon Aero aircraft last summer (BA, Aug. 5/56), expects S/N 2 to make its first flight within "a week or so." A company official said FAA certification is anticipated this summer.
AVCRAFT COMPLETES 328JET ACQUISITION, OUTLINES STRATEGY - Avcraft Aviation, which just took over Fairchild Dornier's 328JET unit, plans to restart production of the plane in five months and hopes to sell another 300 to 500 328JETs during the program's life.
AOPA: NEW BUILDING POSES HAZARD TO POMPANO BEACH AIRPARK - Construction of a condominium project already under way will create a navigational hazard to air traffic at Florida's Pompano Beach Airpark and should be stopped by city officials, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
JEFF GRASER was named vice president of sales and marketing at Jet Service Enterprises, Inc. He has 23 years of corporate aviation experience and spent 21 years at Garrett Aviation in Los Angeles, Calif. A member of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, Graser was most recently regional sales manager in the service center sales department at Gulfstream Aerospace.
James Wilding, longtime president of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, told the authority board he plans to retire at the end of April. Wilding's aviation career spans 43 years - all of them at the Washington airports. He joined FAA in 1959 to participate in the original planning and development of Washington Dulles. Following its opening in 1962, he eventually became the chief engineer for both Dulles and Washington National.
GAO TOLD TO ASSESS USE, EFFICIENCY OF FEDERAL AIRCRAFT FLEET - Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) asked the General Accounting Office to determine whether the government is buying and using its fleet of civilian aircraft efficiently.
Aviation groups have begun to line up for slots on FAA's new aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) that will delve into a comprehensive review of Parts 135 and 125. The notice released last week announcing the review expanded the expected participation on the ARC from 15 to 25 members (BA, Feb. 3/47). The notice also incorporated some of the changes that industry groups had sought, including a clarification that the review is specifically tailored for Parts 135 and 125. The draft notice read as if Parts 91 and 121 could be rewritten as well (BA, Dec. 2/249).
House and Senate aviation subcommittees this week begin their work on drafting legislation to authorize aviation programs beyond fiscal 2003. The Senate subcommittee scheduled a hearing Tuesday to discuss reauthorization with testimony from DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead and FAA Administrator Marion Blakey on topics including research and development, modernization, safety, and infrastructure and capacity concerns. The House aviation subcommittee has scheduled its first reauthorization hearing Wednesday.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA Model 407 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-33-AD; Amendment 39-13023; AD 2003-02-06) - requires visually inspecting certain tailboom gearbox support castings for cracks and replacing the tailboom assembly if a crack is found. This amendment is prompted by an incident in which a crack was discovered on the casting that holds the tail rotor gearbox and vertical fin.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES FUNDING FAA AT CURRENT LEVELS - Budget documents sent to Congress by the Bush Administration last week call for continued strong funding levels for FAA, with no mention of new user taxes or fees on direct users of the national aviation system, but with sharply higher portions of Operations funding coming from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
FAA EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON AGING AIRCRAFT RULE, GUIDANCE - The Federal Aviation Administration last week granted industry requests for more time to comment on a rule calling for inspections of aging aircraft. Released in early December as an interim final rule, the regulation requires detailed inspections and records checks of certain aircraft after 14 year of service and at specific intervals after that (BA, Dec. 16/275).
FAA SEEKS COMMENT ON PRIVATIZATION OF LAKEFRONT AIRPORT - FAA is seeking comments on the privatization of New Orleans Lakefront Airport, which stands to become the second airport to enter FAA's pilot privatization program. Federal officials announced Jan. 16 the opening of the 60-day comment period for privatization of Lakefront, which would grant Santa Monica-based American Airports a 50-year lease to run the facility. Only one airport in the U.S. has been privatized under the pilot program - Stewart International in Newburgh, N.Y., starting in April 2000.
Facing tighter budget constraints, an ailing airline industry and a sluggish economy, Senate aviation leaders last week sought solutions on how to meet an estimated $3 billion shortfall in security needs in fiscal 2004. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) vowed to address the rising costs of security but acknowledged that finding the revenues is no easy task.
Need a gift for a current or former flight attendant? Collectors Press, Inc. recently published COME FLY WITH US! A Global History of the Airline Hostess. The heavily illustrated, 160-page volume traces the history of flight attendants from their early days as registered nurses in the 1930s up until the current day with scores of photos depicting the changing aircraft and uniform environment. The book also explains the "wings or rings" dilemma that resulted from a requirement that flight attendants be single (which caused a lot of turnover in personnel).
Emergency & Disaster Management, Inc. will host the third International Symposium on Aviation Emergencies in Miami Beach, Fla., from March 24 to March 27. This year's theme for the four-day event is "Increasing Survivability." Each day will focus on a different aspect of disaster preparedness, including aviation terrorism, integrated command system, plane crashes, calamities at airports, and airport/community emergency planning and response. For more information, contact Gunnar J. Kuepper at (310) 649-1126.
Northrop Grumman will fund pilot training for The Discovery of Flight Foundation's recreation of Orville Wright's first flight. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight, a pilot for The Wright Experience will attempt on Dec. 17, 2003 to duplicate the 120-foot flight in a reproduction of the original plane, at the same location of the original flight at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
The Department of Justice has indicated that it is finally planning to sign off and release rules establishing procedures for non-U.S. citizens to undergo background checks before training on aircraft that weigh 12,500 pounds or more. OMB completed its review of the rules more than a month ago (BA, Jan. 6/1). Such training has been effectively banned since November 2001, and flight schools have lost millions of dollars in revenue.
The U.S. Department of Commerce will sponsor an Aerospace Products Literature Center (APLC) at the 2003 Paris Air Show. For $600, APLC will provide various marketing services to participants including display of sales literature and registration of visitors. APLC also publishes a directory of participants and will forward all leads to participants after the show. The deadline to sign up is May 1. For more information contact Mara Yachnin at (202) 482-3113.
EXTEX, an independent manufacturer of Rolls Royce 250 helicopter engine parts based in Mesa, Ariz., formed the ChoiceAlliance Network. ChoiceAlliance will offer customers certified overhauls and spare parts.
February 9-11 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2003, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646 February 17-19 - NBAA Leadership Conference, Colorado Springs, Colo., (202) 783-9000 March 13-15 - The Associao Brasileira de Aviacao Geral (ABAG)/ NBAA Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE2003), Sao Paulo, Brazil, (202) 783-9000 March 16-20 - NBAA 30th Annual International Operators Conference, Colorado Springs, Colo., (202) 783-9000
