FAA will make airport visibility data available to all National Airspace System (NAS) users over the world wide web, a step the agency says will give airline dispatchers, business aviation companies and general aviation pilots better decision-making tools. The runway visual range (RVR) information that represents the distance a pilot is able to see down a runway during approach. Pilots and flight operations centers use RVR in determining whether to land an aircraft at an airport.
Continuing its quest to build an international private jet carrier, Nimbus Group, Inc. reached an agreement to merge with Florida-based Horizons Aviation, which offers fractional aircraft ownership, charter services and aircraft maintenance. Under the deal, which is subject to regulatory as well as each company's board approval, Nimbus would acquire all of Horizons Aviation's stock in exchange for its unregistered stock.
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.
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.
Raytheon has continued to build Premiers at a rate of 40 per year, but completions and deliveries have been slowed to give technicians time to develop improvements and have them installed on new aircraft before delivery. As a result, the company delivered only 13 Premiers in the first six months of the year. Bob Horowitz, RAC's chief operating officer, told reporters last week he expects November and December to be "very busy" delivery months as the company attempts to deliver 27 Premiers in the second half.
Cessna appointed Jim Mercer vice president, Textron Six Sigma. Mercer previously held a number of positions during his seven-year tenure at Cessna, including industrial engineer, production superintendent, product manager, director of components manufacturing and most recently director of assembly support. In his new role he will be responsible for leading all Six Sigma-related improvements at Cessna.
Pratt & Whitney Canada's customer service center in Europe won an eight-year fleet management plan agreement from Norwegian carrier Wideroe. The agreement covers Wideroe's fleet of 58 PW121 and PW123 engines. The plan was tailored to Wideroe's operations and includes a guaranteed operating cost per hour.
Joe O'Gorman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of DHL Airways, died Aug. 10 of a heart attack. He was 59. O'Gorman joined DHL in March 2001, and since that time had established a headquarters in Chicago and recruited a new executive management team. He had a 35-year aviation career, holding senior posts with United Airlines, US Airways, Air Cal, Frontier, Aloha Airlines and Reno Air. The DHL board of directors appointed Vicki Bretthauer, senior vice president of operations, to be acting CEO.
Model PC-7 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-28-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspection of the main landing gear front attachment brackets for cracks, and, if cracks are found, installation of improved brackets. Installing the improved brackets terminates the required inspections. This proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Switzerland.
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.
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.
Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-166-AD; Amendment 39-12845; AD 2002-16-06) - requires determining whether a defective auxiliary power unit exhaust silencer is installed on the airplane; and corrective actions, if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent separation of the aft baffle assembly from the APU exhaust silencer and consequent separation of the assembly from the airplane, which could cause damage to other airplanes during takeoff and landing operations, or injury to people on the ground. The AD is effective Aug.
As Charter operators grapple with implementing the Transportation Security Administration's "Twelve-Five" rule, some of those operators have the additional worry of the TSA's security mandate covering chartered aircraft weighing at least 95,000 pounds. That rule, which calls for charter operators to screen passengers before they board an aircraft weighing 95,000 pounds or more, takes effect today (Aug. 19). But like the Twelve-Five rule, the TSA has not given operators clear guidance before the effective date on how to implement it, industry sources say.
ACM Aviation added a Bombardier Global Express business jet to its charter fleet. Based at Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose, Calif., ACM operates a fleet of 30 corporate jets.
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Almond (R) showed his support for the expansion of T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I. to accommodate more passengers. The governor's statement is the latest in a debate between airport officials who want to update and expand the airport and the Warwick mayor and city residents who have protested against expansion. Almond said T.F. Green is an important part of the Rhode Island economy, and the state should "expect and welcome moderate growth" in air traffic over the next 10 to 15 years.
AIRINC SAYS POLAR VOICE COVERAGE NOW AVAILABLE - High-frequency voice coverage is now available for both airline and private aircraft using north polar air routes.
FAA IMPROVES ACCESS TO RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE DATA - FAA will make airport visibility data available to all National Airspace System (NAS) users over the world wide web, a step the agency says will give airline dispatchers, business aviation companies and general aviation pilots better decision-making tools.
Charter Services (CSI) of Albuquerque, N.M. is working with the National Air Carrier Association to form a working committee to review operating standards, ethics and safety in the air charter management industry. "By establishing corporate and ethical standards for the industry, we will influence other air charter companies to operate reputably," said Brian Florence, CSI vice president of operations.
The U.S. Court of Appeals Friday dealt air tour operators another blow when it ruled against the U.S. Air Tour Association's lawsuit to block new restrictions over Grand Canyon National Park, and it agreed that the environmentalist groups had merit in their arguments that Grand Canyon restrictions may not go far enough. The court granted the environmentalists' petition and remanded the case to the Federal Aviation Administration to address their complaints.
Cessna appointed Jim Mercer vice president, Textron Six Sigma. Mercer previously held a number of positions during his seven-year tenure at Cessna, including industrial engineer, production superintendent, product manager, director of components manufacturing and most recently director of assembly support. In his new role he will be responsible for leading all Six Sigma-related improvements at Cessna.
Raytheon Aircraft Company continues to tweak production models of its Premier I business jet to address potential problems and make improvements. The pitot tube on the left side of the Premier's nose is being moved up and slightly aft to ensure that the airplanes will comply with reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM) accuracy requirements. The original configuration had the probe situated very near a joint where the radome attaches to the nose.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association filed a lawsuit in federal court against the State of Michigan earlier this month, contesting a state law that requires felony background checks for flight school students.
High-frequency voice coverage is now available for both airline and private aircraft using north polar air routes. ARINC, the Annapolis, Md. provider of voice and data services to the aviation industry, said it recently installed a one-kilowatt transmitter near Barrow, Alaska to provide the new high-frequency service. Operational use has demonstrated that "robust coverage is available well beyond 2,000 nautical miles," which ARINC said is "far enough for pilots to maintain reliable contact all the way to the Russian mainland."
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.
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.
