John Sheehan, secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations (IAOPA), cautioned the International Civil Aviation Organization not to forego safety measures while enhancing security for general aviation aircraft. At a recent session of the ICAO Air Navigation Commission in Montreal, Canada, Sheehan told ICAO commissioners and industry representatives that new airspace restrictions and increased security requirements could overload general aviation pilots and distract them from air safety.
The National Business Aviation Association will host its next briefing on the status of general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Monday, July 15 at the airport.
Bombardier Flexjet is the "Official Private Aviation Solutions Provider for the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour," giving the fractional aircraft provider an entree to a high-revenue, high-profile segment of the population with a demanding slate of travel requirements.
CFE COMPANY Model CFE738-1-1B turbofan engines (Docket No. 99-NE-39-AD; Amendment 39-12791; AD 99-27-16R1) - revises an existing AD that currently requires a one-time visual inspection of Stage 2 high pressure turbine aft cooling plates for nicks, dents, raised metal, and scratches, and if necessary, repair of the cooling plates or replacement with serviceable parts. This amendment reduces the number of Stage 2 HPT aft cooling plates affected by AD 99-27-16, and identifies the applicable engines by engine serial numbers.
A stormy four-month courtship between Northrop Grumman and TRW, Inc. ended with both sides smiling last week after Northrop Grumman upped its bid by more than $2 billion and TRW executives agreed to the takeover.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-402, AT-402A, AT-402B, AT-602, AT-802, and AT-802A airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-03-AD) - proposes to revise an earlier proposed AD that would have required repetitive inspection of the left hand upper longeron and upper diagonal tube of the fuselage frame for cracks and repair of any cracks found. The earlier NPRM also would have required eventual modification of this area to terminate the repetitive inspection.
Bell Helicopter filed a lawsuit June 17 against two companies specializing in aircraft maintenance and repair as part of its ongoing effort to stop what it calls the "counterfeiting" of its registered trademark parts. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Seattle, charges the companies with supplying parts that have been "substantially reconstructed" but which retain the Bell trademark. The suit alleges that H-S Tool and Parts Inc., of Richmond, British Columbia, a U.S.
Glenn Tynan was named chief financial officer and vice president, finance at Curtiss-Wright. He was previously the company's corporate controller. Before joining Curtiss-Wright, Tynan was vice president and corporate controller for Movado Group.
Universal Avionics won FAA technical standard order approval for its Vision-1 synthetic vision system. One of the first terrain-database synthetic vision systems to win FAA certification, Vision-1 gives the pilot a three-dimensional view of the aircraft's flight plan and surrounding terrain. The 9.7-pound Vision 1 computer stores a terrain database displayed on Universal Avionics' MFD-640 multi-function display.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-402, AT-402A, AT-402B, AT-602, AT-802, and AT-802A airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-03-AD) - proposes to revise an earlier proposed AD that would have required repetitive inspection of the left hand upper longeron and upper diagonal tube of the fuselage frame for cracks and repair of any cracks found. The earlier NPRM also would have required eventual modification of this area to terminate the repetitive inspection.
John Sheehan, secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations (IAOPA), cautioned the International Civil Aviation Organization not to forego safety measures while enhancing security for general aviation aircraft. At a recent session of the ICAO Air Navigation Commission in Montreal, Canada, Sheehan told ICAO commissioners and industry representatives that new airspace restrictions and increased security requirements could overload general aviation pilots and distract them from air safety.
NetJets, the fractional aircraft provider, got another big public relations boost this month in the latest issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine. The magazine, devotes XX pages to praising NetJets. A companion article in the same issue details why more and more people hate to travel on the scheduled airlines.
Federal Aviation Administration may complete work this month on its long-awaited final rule - Subpart K of Part 91 - regulating the operation of fractional aircraft providers. Regulators are in the final stages of "dotting i's and crossing t's" and briefing senior officials.
A local court declared regional aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier permanently insolvent last week. As a result, the company immediately cut 1,836 of 3,600 employees from its active staff and put them into a training program funded by the company and the state. Under the program, furloughed employees will continue to receive about 80 percent of their salary for three months. About 1,770 workers were retained, among them 150 in the 728/928 regional jet program. Development of the 728/928 was frozen, to be reactivated only if an investor is found.
The U.S. Patent And Trademark Office plans to honor Leonard Greene, founder and chairman of Safe Flight Instrument Corporation, during an event to observe the Patent Office's bicentennial. Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991, Greene has earned more than 100 patents, including those for his stall warning and wind shear warning systems. "For the past 200 years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has been fostering innovation in America," said James E. Rogan, Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Honeywell expanded its vibration monitoring expertise with the acquisition of Chadwick-Helmuth, the El Monte, Calf., supplier of Helicopter Rotor Track and Balance (RTB) equipment. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 1954, Chadwick-Helmuth posted annual sales of $16 million selling RTB systems, Health and Usage Monitor Systems, and other helicopter safety systems.
Cessna named Mark Paolucci vice president of Citation Sales. Paolucci will be responsible for worldwide sales of new Citations sold in five sales divisions. He also will oversee Citation used aircraft sales, government and special missions and marketing flight operations. An active pilot with a multi-engine instrument rating, Paolucci started his career at Cessna in design engineering and was most recently vice president, international sales.
Phillip M. Panzera was named president of the manufacturing and component division at Pemco Aviation Group. He will manage Pemco's California subsidiaries, Pemco Engineering, Inc. and Space Vector, Inc. Panzera was most recently chief financial officer and executive vice president of Hawker Pacific Aerospace.
House Passes ATC Tower Construction Funding Bill - The House has passed legislation allowing Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant money to be spent on building air traffic control (ATC) towers at smaller airports (BA, July 1/6). FAA currently takes responsibility for building control towers, but budget limits prevent construction of towers at smaller airports, which many complain forces smaller airports to operate at a different level of safety.
RESTRICTED RUNWAY WOULD STILL CUT DELAYS AT LOGAN, FAA SAYS - FAA issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Boston Logan Airport's proposed new runway project, outlining restricted use of the runway that the agency believes addresses local concerns while retaining most of the capacity reduction benefits. The other major feature of the FEIS was the deferral of a decision on a new centerfield taxiway while a further study is carried out.
Win a golf tournament, ride home in a Challenger, that's the deal that fractional aircraft provider Flexjet is offering its clients on the PGA Tour and Senior Tour. The Challenger upgrade is part of a new marketing agreement between Flexjet and the men's professional golf tours. See article below.
OMF AIRCRAFT earned FAA and German LBA instrument flight rules approval for its two-place single-engine Symphony 160 aircraft. The Symphony received FAA certification for visual flight rules operation in Spring 2001. Powered by a 160-horsepower Lycoming O-320 D2A engine, the Symphony can cruise at 128 knots and has a 700-pound carrying capacity. Germany-based OMF Aircraft has priced a standard-equipped aircraft at $120,000.
EUROCOPTER Model BO-105A, BO-105C, BO-105 C-2, BO-105 CB-2, BO-105 CB-4, BO-105S, BO-105 CS-2, BO-105 CBS-2, BO-105 CBS-4, and BO-105LS A-1 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-07-AD; Amendment 39-12794; AD 2002-13-06) - requires creating a component log card or equivalent record and determining the calendar age, number of flights, and flight hours time-in-service on two part-numbered tension-torsion straps; inspecting and replacing certain T-T straps, as necessary; and modifying certain main rotor heads if alternate T-T straps are installed.
U.S. Customs Service is seeking pilot and training services for more than 300 fixed-wing and helicopter pilots who will serve as federally warranted law enforcement officers. Customs said that since Sept. 11 it has been tasked with additional organizational missions outside its traditional law enforcement and drug interdiction duties, including flying missions for the Office of Homeland Security.
NATS TO ACQUIRE NAV CANADA TECHNOLOGIES FOR OCEANIC USE - The U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) plans to begin testing controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC) for transatlantic flights using Nav Canada-developed software, and is considering adapting other Nav Canada technologies. NATS reached an agreement with Nav Canada to begin operational testing this summer of CPDLC, using a satellite-based e-mail system rather than high-frequency voice communications.
