Boeing signed a deal to acquire all of FlightSafety International's interests in their joint venture, FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI). The transaction is subject to U.S. and German government regulatory approvals. Boeing and FlightSafety formed FSBTI in 1997, which now employs 800 in 21 locations with 70 full flight simulators. Boeing will call its new subsidiary "Boeing Training International" and its headquarters will stay in Seattle.
House Transportation Committee ranking member James Oberstar (D-Minn.) is authoring a bill giving relief to laid-off aviation workers industry-wide, including those in the manufacturing sector. Oberstar's plan was to offer the legislation as a freestanding bill "to call attention to the fact that it's unfinished business of the 107th Congress...that these folks affected by the Sept. 11 attacks have not gotten the relief that Congress promised."
DHL International signed a 15-year, $100 million franchise agreement for the development, construction and operation of an Express Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport. The terminal, which is schedule to open in 2004, will be built in three phases, near existing cargo terminal operators. DHL expects that the terminal will create 700 new jobs and $27 million in payroll by 2004.
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.
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.
Million Air Charter Teterboro added a Hawker 800A and a Gulfstream IV to its fleet, bringing the total number of aircraft to eight. The Hawker is configured to seat eight and the Gulfstream can seat up to 13.
FAA expects to approve special approach procedures for properly equipped aircraft to use Required Navigation Performance (RNP) at San Francisco International Airport, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit last week. FAA called RNP "an important step in moving the U.S. from an exclusively ground-based navigation system to one located within the aircraft itself." RNP provides pilots precise guidance to all runways using onboard technology. "RNP is a major leap forward in safety and efficiency," Blakey said.
Nav Canada proposed raising all its airline and general aviation service fees by 3 percent, and although it's no surprise to the Canadian airline industry, the hike is unwelcome. The fee increase would take effect Jan. 1, 2003, for airlines, and two months later for general aviation. The increase will affect domestic operations, international carriers' overflights, and the significant proportion of transatlantic traffic that Nav Canada controls.
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.
The National Air Transportation Association's Safety 1st program, in conjunction with aviation insurer USAIG, produced a wall poster providing tips on beefing up airport security. The steps included in the poster are printed below: 1. Greet anyone not known to you when seen near aircraft or on the ramp area. 2. Verify all vehicles on the ramp and ensure they belong. 3. Gather passengers and baggage at one location before boarding and after arriving.
An industry advisory group tasked with developing recommendations for regulating long-range operations and extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS), last week met for the last time and hopes to present its final recommendations to FAA by early next month. FAA in 2000 asked the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) to draft a proposal that would codify a series of informal policies governing ETOPS and other long-range operations under Parts 25, 33, 121 and 135 (BA, Aug. 28, 2000/95).
The Marquis Private Jet Card was picked to be a special featured gift in this year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. The card, offered by Marquis Jet Partners, is a one-year, pre-paid lease of a fractional interest in a specific aircraft, in 25-hour increments of flight time. The cost ranges from $109,000 to $299,000, depending on the type of aircraft. Marquis' fleet includes the Citation V Ultra, Citation Excel, Hawker 800 XP, Hawker 1000, Citation X, Falcon 2000 and Gulfstream IV-SP.
As an extension of ongoing cooperative research with the FAA, NASA is putting together a major initiative in aviation security and safety that should have a high profile in the agency's fiscal 2004 budget request, according to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. A major thrust of this initiative will be the modernization of the country's overburdened air traffic management system. This effort "is really going to be the answer for so many of the commercial industry's woes right now," O'Keefe said during a press breakfast in Falls Church, Va., Oct. 10.
Fractional aircraft pilot hiring has picked up this year but still is lagging behind hiring levels two years ago, according to AIR, Inc. Fractional aircraft providers hired 901 pilots through the end of September of this year, up from the 843 pilots hired through October of last year but down from the 1,210 pilots hired in the first three quarters of 2000. Fractional providers hired a total of 1,038 pilots in 2001 and 1,363 pilots in 2000, AIR, Inc. said.
NASA PLANNING FY '04 PUSH FOR AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY - As an extension of ongoing cooperative research with the FAA, NASA is putting together a major initiative in aviation security and safety that should have a high profile in the agency's fiscal 2004 budget request, according to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.
Jet Aviation Saudi Arabia expanded its line maintenance support and aircraft-on-ground services to provide round-the-clock coverage in the region. The company's team of eight engineers has received factory training on Gulfstream, Citation, Falcon, Hawker, Global Express and Challenger business jets. Jet Aviation opened its first facility in Saudi Arabia in 1979 in Jeddah. It added a second facility in Riyadh in 1981.
The Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation into a Santa Monica, Calif. "Aircraft Conformance Plan" designed to keep large business jets off Santa Monica Airport (SMO) and advised local authorities to suspend action on the plan until the issue is resolved. In a 10-page letter to the City of Santa Monica, FAA said it was investigating the legality of the Santa Monica Airport Commission's decision to recommend that the Santa Monica City Council adopt and implement the proposed Aircraft Performance Plan.
Model AS332C, L, L1, and L2; AS350B, BA, B1, B2, B3, and D; AS355E, F, F1, F2, and N; AS-365N2; AS 365 N3; SA330F, G, and J; SA-360C; SA-365C, C1, and C2; SA.316B and C; and SA.319B helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-55-AD; Amendment 39-12898; AD 2002-20-03) - requires a one-time measurement of the electrical resistance between the ferry fuel tank electrostatic ground connector and the tank filler neck before the next refueling of an installed tank or before the first fueling after installing a tank.
Accidents and fatalities involving U.S. business jets and turboprops continued their downward trend during the third quarter of 2002, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. During the first nine months of 2002, the U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet experienced 47 accidents, including 12 fatal accidents that resulted in 31 passenger and crew fatalities. During the same period in 2001, there were 49 accidents, including 19 fatal accidents that resulted in the deaths of 66 passengers and crew members.
Jet Aviation Zurich recently installed its first moving terrain system on a Citation Excel aircraft. Using a GPS receiver and antenna, the moving map tracks and indicates aircraft position on the ground and in flight on a LCD-display.
Rockwell Collins won a contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to provide additional avionics maintenance and technical support on the HU-25 Falcon Jet fleet. Under a six-year agreement, Collins Aviation Services (CAS) will provide spares management, maintenance, repair and technical services on a fixed price-per-flight-hour basis for the USCG's fleet of 17 HU-25s. CAS provides similar support for the USCG's fleet of 93 HH-65 helicopters. The Falcons are used for search and rescue missions in addition to law enforcement and drug interdiction patrols.
CJ Systems Aviation Group was awarded a contract to operate the LifeFlight program based at the St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill. The program, started in 1984, serves 12 central Illinois counties. CJ Systems provides air medical service through programs in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, using nine aircraft. LifeFlight will operate two Bell 230 helicopters, six pilots and three mechanics to complete 1,200 to 1,500 patient transports per year.
CMC Electronics completed the sale of its Military Communications Division to Greenford, England-based Ultra Electronics Holdings plc. CMC said the sale was part of its strategy to divest certain non-core assets and focus on its aviation electronics, infrared systems and space electronics businesses. CMC said it would use the proceeds of the sale for further acquisitions and general corporate purposes.
A hearing before Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the contentious issue of federal regulations governing commercial air tour overflights at the Grand Canyon turned into what one witness described as a "lovefest" after government officials, an air tour executive and representatives of the environmental community voiced support for a proposal to use an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process to help the various parties resolve their long-standing impasse over aircraft noise. The hearing was called by Sen.
The House aviation subcommittee moved to loosen the knot on flight training for foreign pilots by approving the Aviation Industry Stabilization and Reform Act of 2002 (H.R. 5506) last week. A provision in the bill, designed mainly to help airlines rebound, would exempt foreign pilots seeking recurrent training in the United States from undergoing extensive background checks.
