BRS, Inc., South St. Paul, Minn., began development tests last month for a new emergency parachute system for Cessna 172 aircraft. The company, which manufactures the emergency aircraft parachutes for the Cirrus SR 20 and SR 22 aircraft, said it expects to complete the test program for the 172 in October and begin production of the BRS-172 system in December. The factory-direct price for the first 50 units is $13,495.
The pilot of a Socata TBM 700 was killed shortly after takeoff from Denver's Centennial Airport (APA) when he apparently lost control of the aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions and crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft, N300WC, was owned and operated by Technical Leasing, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. The instrument rated pilot had filed an instrument flight plan under Part 91 and took off from APA at 0718 local time March 26.
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8372 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 61.109(a)(2)(i) and 61.129(a)(3)(iv) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit a pilot applying for a private or commercial pilot certificate in a single-engine airplane in the U.S. to conduct his/her night cross-country training flight using a multi-engine airplane.
The crew of a Gulfstream III flying from the West Coast to the Aspen-Pitkin County Colo. Airport (ASE) Thursday night was attempting to beat a post-sunset curfew deadline at the mountain-ringed airport when it slammed into the ground less than a mile from the runway, killing all 15 passengers and three crew members.
Docket No.: 28557 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 43.9(a)(4), 43.11(a)(3), and 145.57(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit CGTC and other people holding return-to-service authority under the relevant respective inspection procedures manuals to continue to use electronic signatures in lieu of physical signatures to satisfy the signature requirements of FAA Form 8130-3, Airworthiness Approval Tag. Grant, Dec. 29, 2000, Exemption No. 6513C
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8286 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 21.325(b)(3) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Raytheon to obtain airworthiness approval tags for its Hawker Model parts in accordance with Secs. 21.21 and 21.203, and export those Class II and Class III parts located at certain facilities outside of the U.S. The amendment requested would allow Raytheon to staff its Chester Distribution Center with Designated Airworthiness Representatives (DAR) rather than Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representatives (DMIR).
Aerospace Industries Association President John Douglass, in a letter to President Bush, expressed industry concerns over a recommendation by the Heritage Foundation to terminate NASA-sponsored aeronautical research and development. "Recent public statements from the Administration indicate that the proposed budget contains further cuts in the aeronautics program," Douglass wrote. Continuing pressure to "cut, and in some cases eliminate," NASA aeronautics programs rests on "faulty premises," Douglass said in the letter.
Docket No.: 29450 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.143(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Business Air to operate certain aircraft under Part 135 without a TSO-C112 (Mode S) transponder installed in the aircraft. Grant, Dec. 22, 2000, Exemption No. 6876A
ACM AVIATION, San Jose, Calif., named Gary Tongate chief pilot and Bill Moltenbrey chief financial officer. Tongate, formerly with TAG Aviation, will be responsible for ACM's flight department, which employs more than 70 pilots full-time and has a fleet of more than 40 executive jets. Moltenbrey most recently served with Signature Flight Support.
THE 12TH ANNUAL International Women In Aviation Conference last month in Reno, Nev., set a number of records including an attendance of more than 3,300 - 10 percent more than last year - 184 exhibit space and 42 educational sessions. The conference also provided a forum for the awards of nearly $902,000 in scholarships to 106 individuals - a 95 percent increase from the previous conference.
The long-awaited, composite fuselage Premier I business jet finally crossed the FAA type certification finish line last month, five and one-half years after Raytheon Aircraft Company (RAC) officials announced the program at the 1995 NBAA convention and said it would be certificated in the fall of 1998 (BA, Oct. 2, 1995/141).
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT extended the expiration date of its tender offer for the securities of Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG) until April 4, as the companies attempt to resolve differences over the terms of the agreement (BA, March 26/148).
Docket No.: 30178 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 25.857(e)(4) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit supplemental type certification of the Sabreliner Model 40 and 60 series airplanes, modified for the carriage of cargo. Grant, Dec. 21, 2000, Exemption No. 7410
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8498 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 45.11(b) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Sensenich to stamp the part marking information on the propeller hub to meet the requirement for fireproof identification on propellers, instead of attaching a metal tag with the required information.
GARVEY noted that the agency's tools for predicting commercial aviation growth have been fairly reliable, but said she doubted that any of the forecasters anticipated the popularity of the regional jet. In fact, regional airlines have ordered more than 1,000 RJs and placed options for another 1,000, according to Regional Airline Association President Deborah McElroy. McElroy stressed that the majority of those aircraft are used to open new nonstop markets, with fewer than 15 percent replacing turboprops.
JOHN PRUITT was appointed director of TFE731 sales for Dallas Airmotive. Pruitt formerly served as regional manager for engine and airframe sales for the Gulfstream Engine Services Division, formerly K-C Aviation Engine Services, in Dallas, Texas.
FAA's inspection designee program is "spiraling out of control with more than 20,000 designees for FAA inspectors to oversee," charged Robert Kerner, an FAA principal maintenance inspector in the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office. Kerner, who testified before the House transportation appropriations subcommittee last week, said FAA increasingly relies on designated mechanic examiners and airworthiness representatives as it grapples with tight budgets for the inspector work force.
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, benefiting from sharp increases in regional jet deliveries, posted much improved financial results for the year ended Dec. 31. The company reported net earnings of $302.2 million on revenues of $2.4 billion last year, increases of 58.6 percent and 55 percent over the $193.6 million in net income and $1.58 billion in 1999. Embraer said its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $512.7 million last year, compared with $336.4 million a year ago, an increase of 52.3 percent.
SATURDAY marked two months since FAA Administrator Jane Garvey signed off on the notice of proposed rulemaking that would establish a new Subpart K of Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations governing fractional aircraft ownership programs and modify operating rules for Part 135 air taxi companies, and sent the measure to the Transportation Department for a 60-day review. No "show stoppers" have surfaced at DOT, but the transition of the new administration and the need to fill key positions at DOT apparently has delayed the review process.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-8700. Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 121.433(c)(1)(iii), 121.441(a)(1) and (b)(1), and Appendix F to Part 121. Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit TWA to combine recurrent flight and ground training and proficiency checks for TWA's flight crew members in a single annual training and proficiency evaluation program. Grant, Jan. 31, 2001, Exemption No. 6012C
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) late Tuesday introduced legislation to help ease airspace congestion by streamlining the environmental review process for airport expansion, adopting a more thoughtful approach to airline scheduling and studying other initiatives to cut down on airport capacity problems (BA, March 26/143).
Docket No.: 30104 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 145.47(b) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit MEI to use the calibration standards of the National Research Laboratory of Metrology (NRLM) and the Electrotechnical Laboratory (ETL) in lieu of the calibration standards of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to test its inspection and test equipment. Grant, Dec. 22, 2000, Exemption No. 7413
Model 430 helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-22-AD; Amendment 39-12146; AD 2001-05-09) - requires modifying the electrical system. This amendment is prompted by the loss of electrical power due to design deficiencies discovered during single-pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) flight testing. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent loss of electrical power and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. FAA estimates that three helicopters on the U.S. Registry will be affected by this AD at a cost of $2,100, with manufacturer credit for parts and labor.
Bombardier Aerospace has changed the management of its Flexjet fractional aircraft program, naming a former engine company executive to run the Dallas, Texas-based Flexjet.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is investigating a March 19 icing upset incident involving a Comair Brasilia turboprop on a scheduled flight from Nassau, Bahamas to Orlando, Fla. About 46 minutes after takeoff, the crew encountered instrument meteorological conditions at 18,000 feet that rapidly led to the windscreen being covered by a layer of ice. The crew turned on the ice protection system and the windshield cleared, but the first officer observed ice on the right wing's boots and the right prop's spinner.
