FAA RELEASES SECURITY REMINDER FOR OPERATORS - FAA last week released a new security bulletin to small aircraft and airfield operators. FAA noted the recent statements that Al Qaeda leaders reportedly have made threatening more attacks against U.S. economic interests and said the agency is "seeking your cooperation in helping safeguard the air transportation system.
Ascent Technologies, a Phillips 66 fuel distributor based in Parish, N.Y., will expand its marketing to nine states in the South and Southwest. The added states are Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Ascent already supports fixed-base operators in 16 states, mostly on the East Coast.
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.
ATAC SAYS PROPOSED NAV CANADA FEE HIKE BOOSTS COST HEADACHES - 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.
Saab is marketing a cargo conversion kit for its 340A turboprop to executives in the U.S. and Canada. Saab is targeting mainline cargo carriers such as Federal Express and DHL. The conversion does not require structural, engine or avionics changes, Saab officials said. The cargo version carries a maximum payload of 8,500 pounds. Saab worked with Field Aviation, based in Calgary, Canada, to develop the $250,000 conversion kit. Average installation time is 30 days, Saab said.
HONEYWELL ENGINE POWERS CONVERTED AMPHIBIOUS AIRCRAFT - The Honeywell TPE331-12 turboprop engine successfully powered a converted Cessna Caravan C-208 aircraft, configured with floats and wheels, in its first flight tests. Aero Twin, Inc., based in Anchorage, Alaska, is converting Caravan aircraft to the "850 Caravan," which will be certified in early second quarter 2003. The company installed a 1,060 shp TPE331-12 flat-rated to 850 shp, driving a four-blade Hartzell propeller.
FAA last week released a new security bulletin to small aircraft and airfield operators. FAA noted the recent statements that Al Qaeda leaders reportedly have made threatening more attacks against U.S. economic interests and said the agency is "seeking your cooperation in helping safeguard the air transportation system.
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.
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.
The U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command is expected to issue a request for proposals by Oct. 28 for air terminal and grounding-handling services at Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait. The services sought will include personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision and other necessary items. The contractor will provide ground handling services, air terminal operations, and handling of classified information. Contract covers April 1, 2003 through Sept. 30, 2003. A pre-proposal site visit at Kuwait International Airport is scheduled for Nov. 6.
Slickedit, Inc., a software engineering firm, was selected to provide its Visual SlickEdit software to Lockheed Martin for use in developing the User Request Evaluation Tool Core Capability Limited Deployment (URET CCLD) system for FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers. URET detects potential conflicts with other aircraft up to 20 minutes in advance and can determine if proposed changes to a flight plan are free from conflicts with other air traffic.
CSI Aviation Services, noting business has jumped some 40 percent in the smaller sports travel niche, said it has secured agreements with a number college basketball programs to provide air charter to and from games during the 2002-2003 basketball season. CSI won contracts from the University of Kentucky, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama. Founded in 1979, CSI provides charter management services through a network of airlines and Part 135 operators.
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.
Secretary Mineta acknowledged the frustrations of the general aviation community about ongoing airspace restrictions and said, "When it comes to general aviation, the department is trying to work as hard as it can to make sure that airports are open across the country." Speaking at an Aviation Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Mineta reiterated that some of the remaining restrictions, particularly the ones involving the closure of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), are "something that is sort of beyond the control" of the department.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta last week noted the concerns about the stadium restrictions, which have been in place for more than a year under a series of notices to airmen. He pointed to recent changes that DOT made to the restrictions, including a clarification that they cover only large sporting events and a waiver process to allow pre-cleared traffic to operate under certain conditions.
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.
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.
CHARTER BROKERS LAUNCH ACCREDITATION EFFORT UNDER NEW ASSOCIATION - 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.
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).
Stan Smith was appointed director of flight operations at Guardian Jet, LLC of Guilford, Conn. Smith recently completed a one year active duty tour as a C-5 instructor pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He was previously director of flight operations for a single pilot, Part 91 operator in the Boston area. Guardian Jet specializes in consulting, oversight and brokerage for the light-jet market.
Robert Myers was named chancellor of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Extended Campus. He will be responsible for overall planning, resource allocation and program evaluation with a special emphasis on noncredit education. Myers was previously the executive vice president and chief operating officer of University of Maryland University College, where he co-founded UMUC Online, Inc.
Bombardier delivered the first 74-seat Q400 aircraft to Japan Air Commuter. JAC, based in Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, placed a firm order for five aircraft with one option in August 2001 and is the Japanese launch customer for the aircraft. The airline has a fleet of 12 YS-11A and 11 Saab 340B turboprops. The Q400 will replace YS-11A services on some routes.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON 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.
