CAE, the Canadian simulator training provider, won contracts valued at $22 million (Canadian) to provide training for the U.S. Coast Guard and the German armed forces. CAE will provide C-130 Hercules initial simulation and training for Coast Guard pilots and flight engineers at the company's Tampa, Fla. training center and at the USCG station in Clearwater, Fla. CAE will provide on-site maintenance for 18 flight simulators for the German armed forces.
ROCKWELL COLLINS ADC-85, ADC-85A, ADC-850D, and ADC-850F air data computers (Docket No. 2000-CE-14-AD) - proposes to revise an earlier proposed AD that would apply to certain Rockwell ADC-85, ADC-85A, ADC-850C, and ADC-850F air data computers that are installed on airplanes. The earlier NPRM would have required replacement of any affected air data computer (ADC) with one that has a reprogrammed and tested central processing unit (CPU) circuit card and circuit card assemblies.
Delta's business jet subsidiary, Delta AirElite, continues to make money for its parent company and will continue to grow slowly, according to Delta CEO Leo Mullin. He told BA affiliate Aviation Daily last week that the operation "is going really well," but noted that AirElite "will never be a blockbuster kind of profit contributor" to Delta's bottom line. Mullin reiterated that he has no plans to follow UAL and develop a fractional ownership operation or launch a huge business aviation subsidiary.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-11190 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.251, 135.255, and 135.353, and Appendixes I and J to Part 121. Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Roger Thompson to conduct local sightseeing flights at Capital Airport in Springfield, Ill., for the Charlie Wells Memorial Aviation Scholarship on April 27 and 28, 2002, for compensation or hire, without complying with certain anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention requirements of Part 135. Grant, Jan. 18, 2002, Exemption No. 7702
MIKE KING was named manager for FlightSafety International's two learning centers at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. King has worked at FlightSafety for 13 years and most recently managed the company's Sabreliner center at Lambert.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11300 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 121.383(c) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Lt. Colonel Smith to act as a pilot in operations conducted under Part 121 after turning age 60. Denial, Jan. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 7700
Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures, Inc. completed its acquisition of Mooney Aircraft Corp. last week, a transaction that puts AASI "in a position to restore full Mooney production in a few months," according to Roy Norris, chairman and CEO of AASI. "This is the key step in the process of rebuilding the Mooney product line and in building a major new general aviation company."
AVTECH INC. is planning a 90,000-square-foot expansion of its aircraft maintenance facilities at Montreal's St.-Hubert Airport. Construction of the new facilities is slated to begin this spring and be completed by September. The expansion will comprise aircraft hangars, workshops, office space, a new fixed-base operation executive terminal and a hangar to accommodate large aircraft.
R. GEORGE MALL, 65, who spent much of his aviation career buying, selling and working on Mitsubishi MU-2 aircraft, died March 8 in Tulsa, Okla. after a long battle with cancer. Mall, a Marine Corps veteran and pilot, moved to Tulsa to attend the Spartan School of Aeronautics, where he earned an airframe and powerplant mechanic license. He later founded International Business Aircraft, a fixed-base operation, repair station and air cargo carrier. Mall was known as a colorful deal maker who owned and sold more than 300 MU-2-B aircraft during his career.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-10357 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.152 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit EAL to operate its 1975 Gulfstream G-1159 (G-1159; previously referred to as the Gulfstream American Gulfstream II) airplane (Serial No. 173) under Part 135 without the airplane being equipped with an approved digital flight data recorder. Grant, Jan. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 7643A
FAA will maintain an on-line public forum from 9 a.m. April 1 until 4:30 p.m. April 19 for discussion on its sport aircraft notice of proposed rulemaking. FAA issued the proposal in February to regulate the manufacture, operation and maintenance of a new "light-sport" aircraft category. The proposal has been lauded by the Experimental Aircraft Association as one of the most important rulemakings FAA has initiated for light general aviation aircraft.
FAA issued special conditions for a Garrett Aviation Services modification of Dassault Aviation Fan Jet Falcon and Mystere-Falcon 20 airplanes. The modification involves the installation of dual electronic primary flight display systems and dual electronic primary attitude source systems. FAA said the special conditions are designed to address the protection of those systems from the effect of high intensity (electromagnetic) radiated fields. For more information on the conditions, contact Meghan Gordon at (425) 227-2138.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
The Commission on the Future on the U.S. Aerospace Industry last week appealed to both the Bush Administration and Congress to create a high-level committee to coordinate aerospace efforts across all government agencies and to make sure that short-term air transportation needs are fully funded despite current budget constraints. Those requests were part of a series of recommendations included in an interim report the aerospace commission released Wednesday.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION will hold a Leadership Conference April 23-25 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville for flight department maintenance technicians, flight crewmembers, schedulers, dispatchers, and flight attendants. NBAA also is offering an Inspection Authorization renewal course April 22, before the conference, and a Professional Development course, "Leading and Motivating Flight Department Personnel," the day after. For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000.
THE PILOTS of two air cargo aircraft were killed in separate accidents about 10 hours apart this month. The first accident happened March 14 when a Ram Air Freight Piper PA-32, N4451X, crashed into a television tower near Sanford, N.C. at 2150 local time and exploded. The following morning the pilot of a Cessna 208 Caravan was killed when the plane crashed about 15 miles northeast of Alma, Wis. FAA said the pilot of N228PA "encountered icing conditions and attempted to land at Winona, Minn.
VECTOR TRAINING SYSTEMS won FAA approval for its aircraft reference data for the Cessna Skylane. Vector said the approval clears flight schools that operate Vector Skylane flight training devices to receive FAA Level 3 approval. Vector has delivered Skylane FTDs to the U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas and Recurrent Training Center in Champaign, Ill. FAA approval is expected next month for the devices, Vector said.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11355 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 61.71(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit the commercial pilot certification practical tests that two Embry Riddle students successfully completed to be valid even though the completion dates of the exams exceeded the required 60-day period from their graduation date due to the flight restrictions put in place after the events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. Grant, Feb. 27, 2002, Exemption No. 7733
FLEXJET, Bombardier's fractional aircraft program, is not yet turning a profit, Brown confirmed last week during a press conference on the parent company's financial performance last year. He said Bombardier makes its money on the margins when the Flexjet aircraft are sold to customers. He added that "we hope to be close to breakeven on operations this year."
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10555 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 121.433(c)(1)(iii) and 121.441(a)(1) and (b)(1), and, Appendix F to Part 121 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit DHL to combine recurrent flight and ground training and proficiency checks to DHL's flight crewmembers into a single annual training and proficiency evaluation program. Grant, Feb. 20, 2002, Exemption No. 6727B
BOEING SIKORSKY'S RAH-66 COMANCHE team selected a site in Bridgeport, Conn. for the first phase of assembly and delivery operations. The Bridgeport location will house the program's headquarters and approximately 350 employees now working in Trumbull, Conn. will be relocated to Bridgeport. In addition, up to 150 new jobs, primarily in manufacturing, will be added this summer as the program increases preliminary production. The RAH-66 Comanche is the U.S. Army's new reconnaissance and light attack helicopter.
AIR TRACTOR Model AT-602 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-03-AD) - proposes to require repetitively inspecting the left hand upper longeron and upper diagonal tube of the fuselage frame for cracks and repair any cracks found. This proposed AD also would require eventual modification of this area to terminate the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD is the result of reports of excessive movement in the empennage due to the loss of fuselage torsional rigidity. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the fuselage caused by cracks.
LETICIA TRUJILLO was named director of maintenance for Jet Aviation Dallas. She will be responsible for repair station operations. Trujillo, who has more than 14 years of aviation industry experience, was most recently a maintenance sales representative for Jet Aviation Dallas.
