Docket No.: FAA-2001-8828 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 61.31(a)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Ayres pilots when operating an Ayres Model S2R-T660 aircraft (S2R-T660) to act as pilot-in-command (PIC) without holding a type rating for that aircraft. Grant, Jan. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 7708
Australian aviation officials are preparing to require installation of aural warning systems in pressurized aircraft, the result of an investigation into the fatal crash of a Beech Super King Air in September 2000 believed to have been caused by pilot hypoxic incapacitation.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11458 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.9(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Northern Air Fuel to operate its DC-6A and DC-6B aircraft at a five percent increased zero fuel and landing weight for the purpose of operating all-cargo aircraft to provide supplies to people in isolated villages in Alaska. Grant, Feb. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 7709A
BOEING COMMERICAL AIRPLANES unveiled its technology demonstrator airplane last week. The Boeing 737-900 aircraft is equipped with a suite of new flight deck technologies, which will be tested for safety, capacity and operational efficiency. The technologies include a quiet climb system, a noise reduction effort that automatically reduces thrust over noise sensitive areas; a global positioning landing system; and a synthetic vision system, an "emerging technology that provides a computer-generated view of the outside world" for takeoffs, landings and taxi guidance.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-100, -200, and -300 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-69-AD) - proposes to require revision of the applicable maintenance program manual, repetitive inspections for corrosion or cracking of the hook roller shafts of the flap carriage, and eventual replacement of the hook roller shafts with new or serviceable hook roller shafts. This replacement would extend the interval for the repetitive inspections.
Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, Inc. saw its profits plunge and its cash position fall to zero last year, but the company's top executive expressed confidence last week that revenues will grow and profits will recover.
The Canadian government next month will reinstate its CANPASS Private and Corporate Air programs for aircraft traveling to designated airports in Canada from the U.S., the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) announced. The border-crossing programs, suspended since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will take effect once again beginning April 2.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11591 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Secs. 135.251, 135.255, and 135.353, and Appendixes I and J to Part 121 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association member pilots to conduct local sightseeing flights at charity or community events, for compensation or hire, without complying with certain anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention program requirements of Part 135. Grant, Feb. 28, 2002, Exemption No. 7112B (Previously Docket No. 29648)
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11297. Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.143(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Roessel Aviation to operate certain aircraft under Part 135 without a TSO-C112 (Mode S) transponder installed in the aircraft. Grant, Jan. 18, 2002, Exemption No. 7701
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11655 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 133.45(e)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit IHC to conduct Class D rotorcraft-load combination rescue operations with an Agusta A 109K-2 helicopter certificated in the normal category under 14 CFR Part 27. Grant, Feb. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 7118A (Previously Docket No. 29732)
REGAL AVIATION added an interactive charter quote capability to its web site that provides available aircraft information according to travel plan information, including airports, dates, times and number of passengers. Regal Aviation uses Air Charter Guide's CharterX online reservation software for its online charter quote service.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10532 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.157(b)(2) Description of Relief Sought: To permit Seattle Jet Services to operate its Piper Meridian PA-46-500TP aircraft with the oxygen system installed by the manufacturer, which has a 25-minute supply of oxygen for the pilot's system, rather than the required two-hour supply.
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM is expected to formally announce next month that construction of its new facility at Dulles International Airport is well ahead of schedule. Contractors have benefited from a mild, dry winter in the Washington, D.C. area that permitted work to proceed faster than anticipated. A number of the main structural trusses for the aviation hangar are in place and workers are beginning to install exterior panels.
A GULFSTREAM IV, N404LM, sustained damage to the No. 2 engine cowling March 20 when the business jet struck a flock of birds while taking off from Baltimore, Md. The aircraft returned to the airport and landed without further incident.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10876 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.315, 119.5(g), and 119.21(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit EAA to operate its Boeing B-17 for the purpose of carrying passengers for compensation or hire on local flights for educational and historical purposes. Grant, Jan. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 6541D
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11499 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 91.109 (a) and (b)(3) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Bailey to conduct certain flight instruction and simulated instrument flights to meet the recent experience requirements in Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron, and Travel Air airplanes equipped with a functioning throwover control wheel in place of functioning dual controls. Grant, Feb. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 7734
CASTLE AVIATION launched a new charter operation, Northstar Business Aviation, which provides services through a network of charter providers based in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The network can provide a range of charter flights from a small aircraft up to a DC-10, the company said. Based at Akron Canton Regional Airport in Ohio, Castle Aviation provides executive/passenger charter as well as priority airfreight.
After standing largely empty for several years, Sino Swearingen is adding production workers for the SJ-30 business jet at its Martinsburg, W. Va. plant. The San Antonio, Texas-based manufacturer had planned to use the West Virginia plant primarily for final assembly. Last year, however, the company was forced to cancel a contract with a Spanish subcontractor, which was going to build the SJ30's wings and fuselage.
PIEDMONT HAWTHORNE AVIATION closed its European office as a part of an overall reorganization of its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Division. Fred Allen, based at Piedmont headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., will handle European region marketing, the company said.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11056 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 121.356(b) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Era to operate two Douglas DC-3 airplanes under Part 121 passenger-carrying operations without those airplanes being equipped with a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. Grant, Jan. 25, 2002, Exemption No. 6765A
For the second time in six months, Bombardier has installed a new head of its business aircraft support operations. The Canadian company named Jim Ziegler, vice president and general manager of Bombardier Business Aviation Services (BBAS). Ziegler, who has worked for Learjet/Bombardier for more than two decades, most recently had been vice president and general manager of Bombardier's Learjet operations and completions, a post he had held since last March.
AIR TRACTOR Model AT-802 and AT-802A airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-76-AD) - proposes to require replacing the rudder control cables and fairleads with parts of improved design. This proposed AD is the results of a report that a rudder control cable broke because of wear at the aft fairlead. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to prevent wear of the rudder control cables at the fairlead, which could cause the rudder control cable to break and result in loss of rudder control. The proposed AD affects an estimated 81 airplanes on the U.S.
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.
