While FAA has agreed to permit operation of large aircraft such as the Boeing Business Jet under Part 135 as long as they meet weight and seat limitations, DOT has taken a different stance. DOT this month told Birmingham, Ala.-based MEDJet International that it was not authorized to use the BBJ for commercial purposes because it did not have the appropriate certificate authority. MEDJet originally applied to DOT for certificates of public convenience and necessity, saying it intended to operate the BBJ commercially under Part 121.
Jodi Balestrieri was named regional vice president of charter services at Executive Jet Management. Based in St. Augustine, Fla., Balestrieri will be responsible for aircraft charter sales in the southeastern U.S. She was previously director of sales in the southeast region for FlightTime Corp.
National Aircraft Resale Association last week elected officers to serve on its Associate Member Advisory Council in 2003. The officers are: William Quinn of Aviation Management Systems, Inc. as chairman; Brian McNulty of Apex Property Exchange as vice chairman; and, Ann Lennon of First American Title Insurance Company as secretary.
Gulfstream Aerospace, which for years prospered while producing only one or two models at a time, is dramatically expanding its product line to appeal to a wider range of business aircraft buyers and provide direct alternatives to aircraft being developed by competing manufacturers. The company added two new models last year with its acquisition of the Astra SPX (G100) and Galaxy (G200) when it bought Galaxy Aerospace and brought the product line to four models.
Maureen P. Cragin was named vice president of communications for Boeing's Washington, D.C. operations. She was previously the assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Cragin also is a Commander in the U.S. Navy and performs reserve duty in the public affairs office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY Model R44 helicopters [Docket No. 2001-SW-45-AD] - proposes to require inspecting the pitch control assembly for roughness or binding of the pitch control bearings by hand-rotating the pitch control bearing housing. If the housing does not rotate freely, the proposed AD would require replacing the unairworthy pitch control assembly with an airworthy unit. This proposal is prompted by reports of failure of the tail rotor assembly due to improperly lubricated bearings on the RHC Model R22 and R44 helicopters.
Sino Swearingen reported last week that its SJ30 business jet has completed a third of its flight test program and is on track for FAA certification at the end of 2003. The company also added two new distributors to its network of 27. Business and Commuter Aircraft in Lyon, France and Sino Swearingen Mexico in Mexico City are the latest to join the network.
Bombardier won Transport Canada approval for its 86-seat CRJ900 regional jet. The Canadian conglomerate expects FAA and European Joint Aviation Authorities approval shortly. The Canadian OK follows a 13-month flight test program that included two aircraft that accumulated 895 hours in 347 flights. The first CRJ900 will enter service in early 2003 with Mesa Air Group. Mesa has firm orders for 20 of the aircraft.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen said the organization has agreed to consider membership in GAMA by non-U.S.-based original equipment manufacturers. Among the manufacturers expressing interest in joining GAMA, Bolen listed Bombardier Aerospace of Canada, Dassault Aviation of France, Embraer of Brazil and Piaggio of Italy. Formal consideration of new members will probably take place at GAMA's November board meeting.
Two EMS helicopters were involved in fatal accidents in the past 10 days. A 1984 Bell 222U, N417MA, enroute to a traffic accident crashed six miles south of the Nevada state line in California Sept. 7, under unknown circumstances, killing all three persons on board. A 1979 Bell 206L-1, N400SL, crashed Sept. 10 near Aberdeen, S.D. while taking a patient to a hospital, killing all four aboard.
Fractional aircraft provider NetJets, continuing to drive the business jet market orderbook, placed orders and took options for more than 200 aircraft last week with a total value of nearly $2 billion. The NetJets orders gave major boosts to new products from Cessna Aircraft and Gulfstream Aerospace. NetJets ordered 50 of Cessna's CitationJet 3s and took options for 50 more. It also added orders for 12 more Citation Xs, Cessna's top-of-the-line, Mach .9 business jet.
Cessna Aircraft, which already had a solid backlog of orders for its line of business jets, added nearly 400 orders for two new aircraft models introduced at last week's 55th National Business Aviation Association convention in Orlando, Fla.
Bombardier Flexjet won a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to provide fractional jet services under a two-year test program. Congress authorized the program in NASA's fiscal 2002 budget (BA, Aug. 6, 2001/57). Under the contract, NASA will buy a one-half share of a Learjet 31A and a one-sixteenth share of a Learjet 60, which Bombardier says equates to about 450 flight hours per year.
While government leaders refuse to detail the specific terrorist threats that are driving general aviation airspace restrictions, security experts say there have indeed been threats. Charlie LeBlanc, vice president-operations for Air Security International, said operators should not become complacent. He said individuals with ties to Al Qaeda have tried to purchase a mothballed Boeing 727, charter aircraft and obtain diagrams of four "large general aviation facilities" located in New York, New Jersey, Denver and California.
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to start with a "blank sheet of paper" as it launches a sweeping rewrite of rules governing charter and other operations that could mean the elimination or significant alteration of Parts 135, 125, 119 and even portions of 91 of the FARs (BA, Aug. 26/89).
The FAA has published a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) rescinding waivers that had permitted banner towers and other types of aircraft operators to fly in restricted zones over large crowds at stadiums and other public events (BA, Aug. 26/89). The restricted areas, instituted last year, cover three nautical miles up to a height of 3,000 feet. Waivers had previously been granted for planes carrying banners and blimps.
NBAA's 55th annual meeting and convention in Orlando, Fla. drew 27,785 registrants last week, and most attendees seemed upbeat about the industry's long-term outlook. That compares with 11,738 registrants in New Orleans last year when the show had to be rescheduled from September to December because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The NBAA convention drew 29,421in New Orleans in 2000 and 29,960 in Atlanta in 1999. The show will return to Orlando in 2003, Oct. 7-9.
Transportation Security Administration Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement authorizing the National Air Transportation Association to train and certify individuals to collect and process fingerprints for criminal history record checks. NATA worked with TSA to develop a process that would be convenient and economic for aviation businesses, an association spokesman said. NATA estimated that security background check requirements would cover some 750,000 aviation employees in safety-sensitive positions.
Dassault Falcon Jet will break ground this month on a facility in Bordeaux, France. The 226,000 square-foot building will house assembly, technical completion, testing and delivery of Falcon aircraft. Dassault will use the facility primarily to build the Falcon 7X.
Raytheon Company realigned its government and defense business to form seven new units. Raytheon formed the units by combining the former Electronic Systems and Command, Control, Communication and Information Systems. The new businesses are: Integrated Defense Systems; Intelligence and Information Systems; Missile Systems; Network Centric Solutions, Space and Airborne Systems; Raytheon Technical Services; and Homeland Security. The realignment does not affect Raytheon Aircraft.
HONEYWELL surveyed operators on their preparedness for domestic reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) equipment and certification requirements that FAA has proposed. Some 41 percent of the operators responded that they were compliant and another 32 percent said they had plans to comply. But the remaining 27 percent of the responses came from operators who have no plans to upgrade to meet the RVSM requirements.
ROLLS-ROYCE PLC Models Spey 506-14A, 555-15, 555-15H, 555-15N, and 555-15P turbojet engines [Docket No. 2001-NE-14-AD; Amendment 39-12877; AD 2002-18-03] - requires replacing certain Stage 2 low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades with new redesigned Stage 2 LPT blades. This amendment is prompted by several reports of failures of Stage 2 LPT blades. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the Stage 2 LPT blades, which could result in an engine shutdown. The AD is effective Oct. 16.
NBAA's 55th annual meeting and convention in Orlando, Fla. drew 27,785 registrants last week, and most attendees seemed upbeat about the industry's long-term outlook. That compares with 11,738 registrants in New Orleans last year when the show had to be rescheduled from September to December because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The NBAA convention drew 29,421in New Orleans in 2000 and 29,960 in Atlanta in 1999. The show will return to Orlando in 2003, Oct. 7-9.
WHILE GOVERNMENT LEADERS refuse to detail the specific terrorist threats that are driving general aviation airspace restrictions, security experts say there have indeed been threats. Charlie LeBlanc, vice president-operations for Air Security International, said operators should not become complacent. He said individuals with ties to Al Qaeda have tried to purchase a mothballed Boeing 727, charter aircraft and obtain diagrams of four "large general aviation facilities" located in New York, New Jersey, Denver and California.
Federal Aviation Administration last week withdrew a proposed regulation calling for the alteration of certain cargo compartments on Part 135 on-demand airplanes. Released in 1997, the proposal would have mandated installation of fire detection and suppression equipment on Part 121 and 135 "Class D" cargo compartment areas.
