FAA SUSPENDS FIELD APPROVAL GUIDANCE IN ALASKA, PROMISES FIXES - At the request of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and some of its inspector corps, the Federal Aviation Administration late last month suspended new field approval guidance in Alaska and said it was working to clarify the process nationwide. FAA released the new guidance in September after working with industry groups for years to standardize the process for obtaining field approvals (BA, Sept. 30/147).
Strategic Resource Institute scheduled the 10th Annual FAA Aircraft Registration, Lien & Security Interest seminar Feb. 10-11 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Miami, Fla. The conference will cover a number of legal and business issues such as aircraft registration and U.S. citizenship, foreclosure, repossession, attorney opinions, aircraft title insurance and security interests. The conference also will cover developments relating to the Cape Town Convention (formerly known as UNIDROIT).
Megadata Corporation said FlightSafety International has begun using its Passur FlightPerform technology for the flight dispatch training program. An integrated operations control and management system, FlightPerform is used by airlines at dispatch and station control centers.
GOODRICH SELLS AVIONICS UNIT TO L-3 COMMUNICATIONS - Goodrich Corp. is selling its Avionics Systems business to L-3 Communications Corp. for $188 million cash. The sale is part of the company's push to become "a systems supplier, not a component supplier," a Goodrich spokesman said. "We want to focus on markets where we can be either number one or number two."
Eclipse Aviation told Eclipse 500 customers Friday in Albuquerque, N.M. they could have their deposit money back upon request, because the company will be unable to meet timing or price guarantees in their contract since it decided to change engines (BA, Dec. 2/249). New price for existing customers is $950,000 or $975,000, depending on when an order was received. New sales will have a price of $1.15 million. Eclipse has not yet finalized an agreement with another engine manufacturer, but hopes to complete work on a memorandum of understanding in two to three weeks.
February 2-5 - 14th Annual NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, Anaheim, Calif., (202) 783-9000 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
CHARLES AARON was named helicopter sales manager at Max-Viz. He is a dual-rated helicopter and fixed-wing pilot with more than 16,000 helicopter hours. Aaron also holds an airframe and power-plant license. Based in Portland, Ore., Max-Viz manufactures enhanced vision systems.
Energy & Engine Technology Corp. (EENT) signed a letter of intent to purchase 35 supplemental type certificates from Kelly Aerospace Power Systems for engine work on various general aviation aircraft, including Beech, Piper, Cessna and Aero Commander models. EENT subsidiary Wind Dancer Aviation Services will market and perform the STC work. Under the agreement, Wind Dancer also would become a full line distributor of Kelly Aerospace products.
NTSB DOWN TO THREE MEMBERS AFTER BLACK MOVES TO STAFF JOB - The National Transportation Safety Board, which is authorized to have five members, was down to just three last week after George W. Black resigned. Black's term officially expired at the end of 2001, but under NTSB's authorizing legislation, members are permitted to continue serving until a replacement wins Senate confirmation. Black, however, opted to step down as a board member to accept a position as senior civil engineer/National Resource Specialist for Highway Investigations at NTSB.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced a bill that would expand existing background check requirements to all foreign students seeking flight training at U.S. flight schools. Currently, only students seeking training in aircraft weighing at least 12,500 pounds are required to receive Department of Justice clearance before training. Nelson had pushed for the background check expansion last year, but was unable to secure passage before Congress adjourned in November.
Dassault Falcon Jet lost one of its senior sales executives last month in a traffic accident. The company said Bob Dalin, and his wife, Linda, were killed in a Jan. 12 motorcycle accident in Sarasota, Fla. Dalin, 58, was the Eastern regional sales manager for Falcon. He joined the company in 1986 and was credited with selling more than $800 million worth of Falcon business jets. Dalin was a decorated U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran. He and his wife were motorcycle and boating enthusiasts.
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $7.2 million contract to provide support for the U.S. government's Air Sovereignty Operations Center (ASOC) International Modernization and Sustainment Support program. Lockheed Martin won the original contract in 1997 to install airspace management systems in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania. The latest contract, covering three years, calls for support and enhancement for the 10 ASOC systems in Eastern Europe.
As it continues to monitor progress on international noise reduction measures, the International Civil Aviation Organization is laying the groundwork for its next major international environmental debate - engine emissions, Ed Stimpson, U.S. ambassador to ICAO, said last week. Speaking to the Aero Club of Washington, D.C. Tuesday, the former president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association outlined a series of challenges that ICAO is facing in the areas of safety, security and environment.
NAVAIR CALLS FOR DESIGN CONCEPTS FOR NEW PRESIDENTIAL HELICOPTER - Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is calling for industry to submit designs for a new vertical-lift aircraft to replace the aging VH-3D presidential helicopter. The VH-3D is a twin-engine, all-weather helicopter flown by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), which is responsible for transporting the president and other heads of state. Originally derived from the Sikorsky S-61 series, the first version of the VH-3D was flown by the Navy nearly 40 years ago.
COLLEGE TRAVEL POLICIES REEVALUATED AFTER CRASH - NCAA member universities may soon be reviewing their travel policies for athletic teams under advisement of the National Transportation Safety Board, which recently completed its investigation into the fatal crash of a Beech King Air 200 being used to transport the Oklahoma State University basketball team (BA, Jan. 27/40).
Air Inc.'s first Airline Pilot Career Seminar, Forum and Job Fair of 2003, held Jan. 25 at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, drew more than 600 pilots who met with representatives from 16 major, national and regional airlines. "If the DFW job fair was any indication of what is to come for 2003, airline pilot hiring is holding its own," said AIR Inc. President Kit Darby. AIR Inc.predicts that airline hiring will improve from the 5,845 new jobs in 2002 to about 7,000 this year.
The Federal Aviation Administration today will publish a notice announcing the much-anticipated comprehensive regulatory review of Part 135 and 125, taking the first official step in a process that is expected to result in a thorough and sweeping look at charter regulations with significant impact on the industry. "Industry dynamics, new technologies, new aircraft types and configurations, and current operating issues and environment mandate a comprehensive review and rewrite of Parts 135 and 125," the notice said.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was out of bed Friday and exercising following recent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Mineta, who has been suffering severe back pain, underwent a medical procedure at the hospital in late November, but contracted a staph infection that required continuous treatment with antibiotics. He was ordered to bed rest in early January. Mineta had surgery Jan. 24 to remove a remaining pocket of staph infection.
International Civil Aviation Organization has put out a "Help Wanted" sign for American workers. Under a United Nations formula called Equitable Geographic Representation (EGR), the U.S. is entitled to have 27 U.S. citizens employed by the ICAO Secretariat in Montreal, Canada. But Ed Stimpson, U.S. ambassador to ICAO, said the Secretariat has only 13 U.S. workers, "the worst record of any U.N. organization for hiring U.S.
Conklin & De Decker scheduled its Fourth Annual Financial, Accounting, Cost and Tax (FACT) Seminar For Business Aviation April 7-8 in Atlanta, Ga. The seminar will discuss the economics of the different forms of aircraft ownership. Registration costs $895 before March 16 and $995 after that date. For more information, contact Nel Sanders-Stubbs at (470) 922-8110 or [email protected].
HUTCHINSON WINS SENATE NOD FOR NEW HOMELAND SECURITY POST - The Senate last week began putting together the first pieces of President Bush's new Homeland Security Department (HSD) with the approval of Asa Hutchinson as under secretary for border and transportation security. Hutchinson's confirmation Thursday came a day after the Senate unanimously confirmed Tom Ridge as secretary of HSD. Hutchinson sailed through his confirmation hearing Wednesday with several members, including Rep.
CAE won a contract valued at more than $24 million (Canadian) from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company to provide C-130J training devices and support services to the U.S. Air Force. Under the contract, CAE will build a C-130J integrated cockpit systems trainer and cockpit procedures trainer for the Air Force's C-130J Maintenance and Aircraft Training System (MATS) program. CAE also will provide technical support services at Little Rock Air Force Base.
Atlantic Aero received supplemental type certification approval for installation of the Collins three-tube FDS-2000 adaptive flight display system, a Collins TCAS-400 TCAS II traffic alert and collision avoidance system and a Honeywell Mark VIII enhanced ground proximity warning system aboard a King Air 300. The FDS-2000 adaptive flight display system is part of the Collins Pro Line 21 Continuum package. Atlantic Aero said the STC is the first for the system in a three-tube configuration.
