September 22-24 - National Association of State Aviation Officials, 71st Annual Convention and Trade Show, Sheraton Burlington, Burlington, Vt., (301) 588-0587 Oct 24-26 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2002, Palm Springs, Calif., (301) 695-2000 November 3-7 - Air Traffic Control Association 47th International Technical Program and Exhibits, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, (703) 522-5717, fax (703) 527-7251, e-mail [email protected]
Moving forward with an ambitious plan to certify four aircraft within the next two years, Bombardier Aerospace announced first flight of its Learjet 40 at the NBAA convention in Orlando last week.
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.
Federal Aviation Administration awarded Embraer type approval for its Legacy business jet this month, authorizing the Brazilian plane-maker to begin delivery of the aircraft to corporate customers in the U.S. market. FAA certification followed European Joint Aviation Authorities approval in July 2002 and authorization from the Brazilian aviation authority (CTA) in December. Derived from Embraer's ERJ 135 regional jet, the Legacy can fly 3,100 nautical miles with 10 passengers and NBAA IFR reserves.
P&WC TO LAUNCH PW800 BY YEAREND - Although facing a decline in engine orders and deliveries in 2003, engine-maker Pratt & Whitney Canada is forging ahead with new products and continuing development of its PW800 engine, which will be fully launched by the end of the year.
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.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON, a division of Textron Canada, Model 407 helicopters [Docket No. 2002-SW-03-AD; Amendment 39-12868; AD 2002-17-03] - requires a fuel filler cap assembly shimming and electrical bonding procedure. This amendment is prompted by the FAA's determination, based on information from the manufacturer, that electrical bonding may be inadequate. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent a lack of electrical bonding that could result in an electrical arc, ignition of fuel vapors and an onboard fire.
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.
FAA TIGHTENS STADIUM AIRSPACE; WAIVERS RESCINDED INDEFINITELY - 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.
Pamela Scharlach was named regional vice president of charter services at Executive Jet Management, responsible for sales in the western U.S. She was most recently director of sales at FlightTime Corp., where she specialized in aviation charter sales to the entertainment industry.
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.
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).
ECLIPSE DETAILS BACKLOG, BOLD PLANS FOR NEW PLANE - Officials of Eclipse Aviation ended months of secrecy about their order backlog last week, telling reporters at the NBAA convention in Orlando the company has commitments for more than 2,000 of its entry-level Eclipse 500s, including firm orders for 1,752 airplanes that translate into $65 million in non-refundable deposits.
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.
CESSNA announced its 1,000,000th customer during last week's convention. Juan Jose Bermudez, a Puerto Rico businessman who owns both a Cessna CJ1 and CJ2, signed a contract for Cessna's latest in the CitationJet series, a CJ3. The contract comes as Cessna celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Over that time, Cessna has delivered 183,500 aircraft of 150 different models, which collectively have been flown 160 billion miles by one million owners, said Roger Whyte, senior vice president of marketing.
TSA WON'T MEET BAG SCREENING DEADLINE AT 10 PERCENT OF AIRPORTS - Fewer than 10 percent of U.S. airports won't meet the yearend deadline for 100 percent screening of checked baggage, acting Transportation Security Administration head Adm. James Loy told the Senate Commerce Committee last week.
ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY Model R22 helicopters [Docket No. 2001-SW-44-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.
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.
NEW PIPER President and CEO Chuck Suma last week appeared enthusiastic about Cessna's unveiling of a new small business jet priced in the $2 million range, saying the Wichita, Kan. plane-maker's announcement legitimizes that end of the market. New Piper for years has been considering its own jet product, but officials have kept those plans on hold as they brought the single-turboprop Meridian to market and looked at raising the necessary capital for a jet program.
New Piper President and CEO Chuck Suma last week appeared enthusiastic about Cessna's unveiling of a new small business jet priced in the $2 million range, saying the Wichita, Kan. plane-maker's announcement legitimizes that end of the market. New Piper for years has been considering its own jet product, but officials have kept those plans on hold as they brought the single-turboprop Meridian to market and looked at raising the necessary capital for a jet program.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE, in an effort to streamline its jet offerings lineup, renamed the Continental the Challenger 300. "The Bombardier Continental was designed to embody all of the attributes that have become synonymous with Challenger aircraft over the last two decades," said Peter Edwards, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft. Introduced as the Bombardier Continental at the 1999 Paris Air Show, the Bombardier Challenger 300 had its first flight Aug. 14, 2001. The aircraft has since logged 925 flight test hours.
New Piper is launching a new insurance brokerage service for Piper aircraft owners and pilots. New Piper President and CEO Chuck Suma said the brokerage firm will allow the company to ensure that all possibilities are checked out and options are available to the customer. Suma noted that most businesses and individuals have gone through renewals and experienced the sharp rate increases that have developed over the past year.
UNIVAIR AIRCRAFT CORP. Models (ERCO) 415-C, (ERCO) 415-CD, (ERCO) 415-D, (ERCO) 415-E, (ERCO) 415-G, (Forney) F-1, and (Forney) F-1A airplanes [Docket No. 2000-CE-79-AD; Amendment 39-12843; AD 2002-16-04] - supersedes two different ADs that require inspecting the fuel line nipple for damage, replacing any suspect part, and replacing the elbow fitting on certain Univair Models (ERCO) 415-C, (ERCO) 415-CD, (ERCO) 415-D, (ERCO) 415-E, (ERCO) 415-G, (Forney) F-1, and (Forney) F-1A airplanes.
