The memo is raising concerns of aviation associations, which fear that use of the BBJ under Part 135 could make other Part 135 operations vulnerable to increased scrutiny. At a recent meeting of the National Air Transportation Association's Fractional Aircraft Business Council, FAA's Kathy Perfetti acknowledged that FAA plans to look at the operations of the larger aircraft. She added that FAA also is considering whether to review Part 135 in its entirety, which could result in a rewrite of Part 135.
The Transportation Security Administration's approach to security for charter operators of large aircraft is discriminatory and unworkable and should be shelved, industry associations, operators and manufacturers told the agency. The groups were commenting on the TSA's rule that requires passenger screening before enplanement on a charter aircraft weighing at least 95,000 pounds. While aimed at larger aircraft that typically are flown under Part 121, the rule also affects operators of the Boeing Business Jet as well as the Global Express.
Ballistic Recovery Systems reported a 53.8 percent jump in revenues and a more than doubling of net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2002. Revenues in the third quarter were $1.5 million, compared with just over $1 million in the third quarter of 2001. Net income grew from $113,881 in the third quarter of 2001 to $229,000 in the most recent quarter. In the first nine months of the year, sales were $3.4 million, a 26 percent increase over the $2.7 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2001.
Delta AirElite Business Jets, the aircraft management and charter affiliate of Delta Air Lines, has begun offering rewards in the Delta Sky Miles program to its charter customers.
FlightSafety International opened a new center in Savannah to train Gulfstream maintenance technicians. The 18,000-square-foot building expands FlightSafety's training facilities next to the Gulfstream production plant and maintenance and aircraft service centers. The new building includes nine multi-media classrooms and a 4,000-square-foot high-bay workspace configured for hands-on training.
Cass Anderson was named director of sales, Canada, for Dassault Falcon. He will be responsible for sales and marketing for new and used Falcon business jets in Canada. Anderson was most recently inside sales manager for the eastern U.S. at Dassault.
The memo is raising concerns of aviation associations, which fear that use of the BBJ under Part 135 could make other Part 135 operations vulnerable to increased scrutiny. At a recent meeting of the National Air Transportation Association's Fractional Aircraft Business Council, FAA's Kathy Perfetti acknowledged that FAA plans to look at the operations of the larger aircraft. She added that FAA also is considering whether to review Part 135 in its entirety, which could result in a rewrite of Part 135.
Boxing Promoter Bob Arum and six other passengers survived without injuries in a crash of a Cessna Citation 550 last week. The passengers were traveling from Las Vegas to Big Bear Airport, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, when the aircraft missed the runway and crashed in a dry pond. A fire in the wings was extinguished and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Kenneth J. Paul was named vice president of sales and marketing at Meggitt Avionics/S-TEC. He will oversee a turboprop aftermarket field sales team for the MAGIC line of autopilots and electronic flight instruments. A pilot with multi-engine and instrument ratings, Paul was previously the director of marketing at Meggitt.
Jet Aviation Engineering Services is providing engineering services to L3 Communications under a NASA subcontract that involves the installation of an infrared telescope in a Boeing aircraft to create a stratospheric observatory. Part of an eight-year program, the project involves modifying a Boeing 747SP airframe to install a 40,000-pound telescope, a protective door and supporting structures. It also includes the creation of a 30-inch-thick pressure bulkhead that can support the telescope and maintain normal cabin pressure.
Honeywell signed an agreement with Huatian Electronics Industry Company Limited to distribute Honeywell aerospace hardware product lines including fasteners, seals and electrical products. The agreement names Huatian Electronics as Honeywell's exclusive distributor in China. Honeywell said the agreement would provide customers in China, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore with faster access to aerospace parts and lower freight and logistics costs. The center is based in the Free Trade Zone of Shenzhen in China.
Model CL-600-2B19 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-135-AD; Amendment 39-12841; AD 2002-16-02) - requires revising the airworthiness limitations section of the maintenance requirements manual to incorporate life limits for certain horizontal stabilizer trim actuators (HSTAs), and replacing the HSTAs with new or serviceable HSTAs. This action is necessary to prevent failure of key components of the HSTAs, which could result in loss of horizontal trim control and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane. The AD is effective Aug.
NATA CRITICIZES FAA FOR PROPOSED DRVSM RULE - The National Air Transportation Association called on the Federal Aviation Administration for a "comprehensive economic impact analysis" of the proposed rule for domestic reduced vertical separation minimums before the agency moves ahead with imposing the new standards by December 2004.
ROCKWELL COLLINS FINALIZES AIRSHOW DEAL - Rockwell Collins acquired Airshow last week, completing a process started in June. Rockwell will add to its existing line Airshow's portfolio of cabin electronics systems for business and commercial aircraft, including cabin environmental controls, passenger information and entertainment, business support systems, network capabilities and passenger flight information systems.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University won a contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide initial flight training for cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Professional Aircraft Accessories will construct a new facility at Space Coast Regional Airport, located south of Titusville, Fla. The first phase of the project, construction of the 37,000-square-foot office building, is expected to be completed in February 2003. The second phase will include building two 30,000-square-foot hangars adjacent to the office building.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) wrote a letter to Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta last week asking for his decision on United Airline's request to put Tasers in the cockpit. "Although I am not endorsing any particular technology and have no opinion on the merits of the United application, flight-deck security is a matter of some urgency, and it concerns me that eight months have elapsed without a final decision on United's application," Daschle said.
A Recent FAA memorandum authorizes operators to fly the Boeing Business Jet under Part 135 as long as the airplane is configured with no more than 30 passenger seats and has a payload of no more than 7,500 pounds. That memo, however, also notes that FAA plans to "initiate rulemaking efforts to determine if additional safety and operational requirements should be established for these large airplanes when operated under 14CFR Part 91 or Part 135."
Cass Anderson was named director of sales, Canada, for Dassault Falcon. He will be responsible for sales and marketing for new and used Falcon business jets in Canada. Anderson was most recently inside sales manager for the eastern U.S. at Dassault.
AERO COMMANDER CRASH CLAIMS NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS - All four people aboard a chartered Aero Commander 690 were killed Aug. 11 when the airplane crashed near Bishop, Calif. Authorities identified the dead as nature photographers Galen and Barbara Rowell, the pilot, Tom Reid, and another passenger, Carol McAfee. The Rowells were on the last leg of a return trip from the Arctic, where they had been participating in a photo workshop. They boarded the Aero Commander in Oakland, Calif. and were en route to their home near Bishop when the accident happened.
DELTA'S MAINTENANCE DIVISION WINS MAJOR REGIONAL CONTRACT - Delta plans to aggressively pursue regional jet aircraft maintenance after winning a $1 billion contract to maintain the GE CF34 engines that power Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets flown by the carrier's wholly owned subsidiaries Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and Comair. "This is a springboard," said Basil Papawoti, director, sales and marketing for TechOps, Delta's maintenance division. "With the ASA and Comair orders we now have critical mass.
Engineers also have developed a fix for the perceived high noise levels in the cabin, reducing sound readings from 86.6 dB in early units of the Premier to 79.5 dB now. The sound-dampening package, which will be installed on the assembly line for 2003 deliveries, will be available in a retrofit kit for current Premier operators. The changes, which include minor modifications to the Williams FJ44-2A turbofan engines and reductions in aerodynamic noise, add only 30 pounds to the weight of the aircraft.
Don Burtis was named vice president of avionics and electronics at Eclipse Aviation, where he will lead development of electronic systems. Burtis was formerly the director of avionics and electronics.
The National Air Transportation Association called on the Federal Aviation Administration for a "comprehensive economic impact analysis" of the proposed rule for domestic reduced vertical separation minimums before the agency moves ahead with imposing the new standards by December 2004.
