Linda Binder was named to the Regional Aviation Partners' board of directors. Binder is an Arizona state representative and a candidate for the Arizona state Senate.
Flight students at the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences set a new record by flying a total of 12,775 hours during the month of September. The old record of 9,662 hours was set in October 2001. The flights were out of Grand Forks Airport, which was recently named the 50th busiest airport in the U.S. based on daily operations. University flight operations make up 92 percent of the airport's operations.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey plans to make the rounds in the general aviation community in Wichita, Kan. this week with visits to Raytheon Aircraft and Cessna Aircraft. Blakey, who took the helm of FAA a month ago, also is slated to speak at the General Aviation Air Safety Investigators workshop, which is sponsored by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and visit Wichita State University.
Flight Safety Technologies, the Mystic, Conn.-based developer of technologies designed to improve aviation safety and efficiency, began trading shares on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol FLST. Flight Safety listing follows the completion of a share exchange with a Nevada company formerly known as Reel Staff, Inc. Flight Safety's stock also was approved to trade on the Berlin Stock Exchange under the symbol of FSH. Flight Safety has been developing its SOCRATES wake turbulence detection technology and UNICORN collision warning system.
HOUSE BILL TACKLES FAA REFORM - Long-awaited management reforms in the Federal Aviation Administration could take a step forward if Congress approves the recently proposed Aviation Industry Stabilization and Reform Act. The bill, which passed the House aviation subcommittee earlier this month, concentrates on further helping airlines to recover financially (BA, Oct. 7/161). But the legislation also calls for reorganizing and integrating FAA's advisory councils to make their work more effective.
Transportation Security Administration is working with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to launch a hotline in December for people to report suspicious activity in or around airports. AOPA will enlist the help of pilots through its Airport Watch program to report security breaches. "We appreciate AOPA's proactive approach to enhance security for the general aviation community," said acting TSA Administrator James Loy.
Six air charter brokers have formed a non-profit organization, the Air Charter Professionals Association, that will be charged with creating a code of ethics for brokers. "With the establishing of the ACPA, we can provide a jet-charter-business good housekeeping seal of approval that assures business travelers, freight shippers and jet charter owner/operators of professional and ethical intermediary services," said Nate McKelvey, a founding member and chief executive of Quincy, Mass.-based CharterAuction.com.
Beverly Wyse was named director of deployment and installation at Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company. She will lead a team that will plan and implement the Connexion by Boeing service on aircraft. Wyse was most recently the director of program management for the Boeing 757 aircraft program at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
London City Airport selected Daon, an identity management company, to set up a biometric physical access system for increased security. The DaonEngine, which was developed to address "serious weaknesses" at security points, will use fingerprint, iris or voice authentication to verify the identity of all 1,600 airport employees.
Schubach Aviation, an air charter company based in San Diego, Calif., added a Citation X to its fleet. The aircraft can seat eight passengers and fly at speeds of up to 600 miles per hour. The Citation X is the 13th airplane in Schubach's fleet that includes a variety of aircraft ranging from King Air to Hawker aircraft.
MOONEY AUTHORIZES FLIGHT TRAINING TO TRAIN CUSTOMERS - Mooney Aerospace Company named San Antonio, Texas-based Flight Training, Inc. as a factory authorized training facility for Mooney aircraft owners. Flight Training will provide a four-day training course as part of the purchase of a Bravo (M20M), Ovation2 (M20R) or Eagle2 (M20S), Mooney said. The training will take place at either Flight Training's San Antonio facility or at Mooney's Kerrville, Texas factory and include both classroom and hands-on flight training.
Bombardier Aerospace handed over the 50th CRJ regional jet to SkyWest Airlines of St. George, Utah. SkyWest signed its initial memorandum of understanding for the CRJ in March of 1989, before the program was formally launched. The regional feeder became the second U.S. carrier to operate the aircraft when it took delivery of a Bombardier CRJ100 on Jan. 7, 1994. The airline has ordered a total of 100 CRJ aircraft with conditional orders and options for 148 more. The 50th aircraft was a 50-seat CRJ200 model.
Pratt&Whitney selected Engineous Software's process integration and design optimization software, iSIGHT, for use in its design exploration and optimization efforts. The agreement continues a relationship that began in 1996 when Pratt&Whitney first used iSIGHT to develop software that could decrease design cycle time and assist with engine design. Pratt&Whitney has used iSIGHT in the development of more than 40 production applications.
rescue hoists (Docket No. 98-ANE-37-AD; Amendment 39-12901; AD 2002-20-05) - requires a one-time inspection of the mounting brackets for cracks, and, if necessary, replacement with serviceable parts. This amendment is prompted by reports of cracked mounting brackets. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent mounting bracket cracks, which could result in mounting bracket failure and separation of the rescue hoist from the helicopter. FAA estimates that this AD would affect 100 hoists installed on helicopters on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $15,500.
Aviation pioneer Harry Combs is donating an exact replica of the original 1903 Wright Flyer to the National Park Service in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The Wright Experience founder Ken Hyde will build the $1 million reproduction using blueprints and plans from the Wright Flyer on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The reproduction will be formally handed over to the NPS on Dec. 17, 2003, marking the 100th anniversary of powered flight, and will be flown on the sand dunes of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Flight students at the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences set a new record by flying a total of 12,775 hours during the month of September. The old record of 9,662 hours was set in October 2001. The flights were out of Grand Forks Airport, which was recently named the 50th busiest airport in the U.S. based on daily operations. University flight operations make up 92 percent of the airport's operations.
Rockwell Collins Aviation Services (CAS) won certification from the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority to perform on-board in-flight entertainment (IFE) maintenance on Joint Aviation Authority-registered aircraft. The JAR-145 Limited A1 authorization allows CAS facilities at London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports to service IFE systems and complete the certificate of release to service. CAS is seeking similar approval for its bases at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.
Oct 24-26 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2002, Palm Springs, Calif., (301) 695-2000 November 4-7 - Flight Safety Foundation/International Federation of Airworthiness/International Air Transport Association 55th Annual International Air Safety Seminar, City West Hotel and Conference Center, Dublin, Ireland, (703) 739-6700 February 9-11, 2003 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2003, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646
BizJet International of Tulsa, Okla., recently named several new employees, including Ron Larabie as vice president of the aircraft division, Chris Heredia as Northwest regional sales manager and Dean McKenzie as Midwest regional sales manager. The company also promoted Jace Stone to vice president of sales, marketing and business development and John Lacy to senior customer service manager for the engine division.
HAI CONTESTS WILDFIRE LEGISLATION - Helicopter Association International President Roy Resavage and a panel of forestry officials appeared before Congress last week to oppose proposed legislation that would allow the use of military aircraft to fight wildfires without first comparing the cost of using commercial firefighting aircraft.
Long-awaited management reforms in the Federal Aviation Administration could take a step forward if Congress approves the recently proposed Aviation Industry Stabilization and Reform Act. The bill, which passed the House aviation subcommittee earlier this month, concentrates on further helping airlines to recover financially (BA, Oct. 7/161). But the legislation also calls for reorganizing and integrating FAA's advisory councils to make their work more effective.
COMBS DONATES WRIGHT FLYER - Aviation pioneer Harry Combs is donating an exact replica of the original 1903 Wright Flyer to the National Park Service in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The Wright Experience founder Ken Hyde will build the $1 million reproduction using blueprints and plans from the Wright Flyer on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The reproduction will be formally handed over to the NPS on Dec. 17, 2003, marking the 100th anniversary of powered flight, and will be flown on the sand dunes of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
222, 222B, 222U, 230, and 430 helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-73-AD; Amendment 39-12897; AD 2002-20-02) - requires removing sealant from the forward tooling hole in the right-hand upper fuel enclosure area. This amendment is prompted by the determination that fuel or water could accumulate in the right-hand upper fuel enclosure. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent accumulation of fuel in the right-hand upper fuel enclosure area, a fire, and a subsequent forced landing. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 151 helicopters on the U.S.
London City Airport selected Daon, an identity management company, to set up a biometric physical access system for increased security. The DaonEngine, which was developed to address "serious weaknesses" at security points, will use fingerprint, iris or voice authentication to verify the identity of all 1,600 airport employees.
CIRRUS PILOT USES AIRFRAME PARACHUTE TO LAND SAFELY - A Texas pilot partially lost control of his Cirrus SR-22 four-seat single-engine aircraft but landed uninjured after he deployed the airframe parachute. Lionel Morrison, 53, of Dallas, was flying the aircraft Oct. 3 back to its base at Dallas Executive Airport (RBD) from Addison Airport (ADS) after maintenance work, including the replacement of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) activation cable, when he began to experience control problems.
