The House last week approved once again the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 1999, legislation that would set the parameters for governing air tour flights over national parks. The bill, H.R. 717, passed the House in the previous Congress only to die when it was included in FAA reauthorization legislation that floundered last fall. The House passed the legislation again in June when it approved the latest reauthorization effort - Rep. Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) AIR-21 - but that legislation has yet to go to conference.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AVIATION OFFICIALS elected Kenneth Wiegand, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation, chairman for 1999-2000 during the association's 68th Annual Convention and Trade Show last month in Williamsburg, Va. Also elected to one-year terms were: Harold Miller, statewide aviation manager for the Iowa Aviation Staff, as vice chairman; John Eagerton IV, director of the Alabama Department of Aeronautics, as secretary; and, Jack Ferns, director of the New Hampshire Division of Aviation, as treasurer.
Boeing acquired the Preston Group, a Melbourne, Australia firm with offices in Washington and London, which specializes in aviation software applications. It develops technology for air traffic management and airport terminal control. Preston's primary software product is the Total Airspace and Airport Modeler. Its other major product is the Terminal Management System. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
EXECUTIVE JET this month is opening the first phase of its new headquarters at Port Columbus, Ohio, International Airport. Phase one covers a 125,000- square-foot hangar and aircraft maintenance facility and includes 45,000 square feet of support space. The hangar can house up to 30 aircraft at one time and includes a foam-based fire suppression system. Executive Jet plans to open the operational headquarters, with 70,000 square feet of office space and an operations center, in December.
ALLISON 3007A and AE 3007C series turbofan engines (Docket No. 99-NE-07-AD) - proposes to require revisions to the Airworthiness Limitations Section of the Allison AE 3007A and AE 3007C Engine Manuals to include required enhanced inspection of selected critical life-limited parts at each piece-part exposure. This proposal also would require an air carrier's approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program to incorporate these inspection procedures.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE won FAA supplemental type certification for the first predictive wind shear radar systems that will be delivered to United Airlines. The RDR-4B system is a Doppler radar that uses a computer processor to track air movement patterns. The radar can provide crewmembers with a minute's advance warning of wind shear, AlliedSignal said. The STC covers installation of RDR-4B on Boeing 737-300 and -500 aircraft.
GREGORY STEINER was named vice president of global strategy development for Rockwell Collins. Steiner joined Rockwell Collins in 1986, holding positions in program management and marketing. Most recently, he was director of programs for Air Transport Systems.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) and ranking Democrat Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) Wednesday strongly objected to some 70 "legislative and unauthorized provisions" that the Senate included in its version of the fiscal 2000 transportation appropriations bill.
ALLISON AE 2100A and AE 2100C series turboprop engines (Docket No. 99-NE-14-AD; Amdt. 39-11257; AD 99-17-09) - requires initial and repetitive visual inspections of the propeller gearbox (PGB) and power section (P/S) strut fittings for notches and cracks, and, if necessary, replacement with serviceable parts. In addition, this action requires removing and replacing strut fittings as well as reworking them to the latest configuration identified by a new part number. This amendment is prompted by reports of P/S strut fitting notches and cracks.
THE FAIRCHILD CORPORATION reported a $36.3 million loss from continuing operations, or $1.46 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999, ending June 30. The company took a one-time pre-tax charge of $58 million in the fourth quarter related to its acquisition of Kaynar Technologies and inventory reserves for its Dallas Aerospace subsidiary. Excluding the one-time charges, pro forma earnings from continuing operations in the fourth quarter were $1.4 million, or $0.06 per share.
AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS is offering a Learjet CD-ROM version of its Maintenance Library that includes maintenance manuals, illustrated parts catalogs, wiring diagrams, service bulletins and letters and structural repair manuals. The Learjet libraries, which include airframe, engine and thrust reverser publications, are available for Model 23, 28 and 29 and series 24, 25, 35, 36 and 55 aircraft.
ALSO IN OCTOBER, JAA plans to examine ways to change its fundamental organizational structure and methods of operation. The changes would come in anticipation of the new European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) which is expected to eventually supplant JAA. Although that change may not come for three or four years, JAA officials are considering ways the organization could operate more like EASA is expected to operate.
ASKED TO QUANTIFY the level of turnover among corporate pilots, Blouin responded that "there's not a big hue and cry," but flight department managers are concerned. "People are moving around" and there are "reports of...losing people to the airlines," he said.
RAYTHEON Model Hawker 1000 series airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-156-AD) - proposes to require a visual inspection of the PS wire bundle, shielded wires going to fuel probe "G," and any other wire or wire bundle for chafing in the forward wing spar and forward ventral tank area; and corrective actions, if necessary. This proposal is prompted by reports indicating that, due to improper routing of a wire bundle, the wire bundle chafed against the forward ventral tank transfer/crossfeed valve, which caused an electrical short and resulted in failure of the landing light.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT delivered a Citation X to Red Aviation in Yeadon, England. The aircraft is the first of the high-speed business jets to be registered in the United Kingdom and the third to operate in Europe. Red Aviation, a private company wholly owned by Barry Rubery, provides air charter throughout Europe.
INCREASING DEMAND for pilots by the large scheduled airlines is manifesting itself in turnover within corporate flight departments. "We are finding pressure on flight departments to provide job incentives" to pilots to keep them flying for flight departments, NBAA President Jack Olcott said last week. The most important incentives are not necessarily higher salaries, he said, but rather more predictable schedules, improved working conditions and increased job security.
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE Thursday approved a resolution that calls the European Commission ban on hushkitted or re-engined aircraft unfair to U.S. aircraft. House approval of the resolution is expected as early as this week. The resolution directs the Clinton Administration to take "all appropriate actions" to ensure that the EC drops its plan. The Senate has approved a similar resolution.
UNITED STATES AIRCRAFT INSURANCE GROUP will hold a free conference on corporate aircraft safety Nov. 5 at The Westin Morristown Hotel in Morristown, N.J. The safety conference will discuss ground handling, Y2K and corporate aircraft response planning. To register, contact Lynda Joyce at (212) 859-3701.
Federal Aviation Administration's Alaska Region awarded a contract valued at $3.9 million to UPS Aviation Technologies to supply advanced navigation equipment for small commercial aircraft that operate in Alaska. The contract calls for UPS Aviation Technologies to provide at least 150 shipsets of avionics and support equipment, including GPS navigation receivers, advanced multi-function cockpit displays and ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) datalink radios.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AVIATION OFFICIALS issued an "Action Call" to its members Friday warning that "the Senate Appropriations Committee is attempting to hijack the General Fund contribution from federal aviation investment legislation." NASAO noted that maintaining the General Fund contribution, which represents about 25 percent of FAA's annual budget, "is critically important to the success of the agency and its programs.
RAYTHEON Beech Models C90A, B200, B300, and 1900D airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-56-AD; Amdt. 39-11281; AD 99-18-15) - requires replacing the landing gear hand pump for airplanes that had a pump within a certain serial number range installed at manufacture; and prohibits the future installation of any of these pumps on all of the affected airplanes. This AD is the result of information from the manufacturer of improper machining of the pump housing on certain landing gear emergency hand pumps on the affected airplanes.
BRITISH AEROSPACE BAe Model ATP airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-19-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspections for chafing on the fuel manifold drain hose and the adjacent access panel; and corrective actions, if necessary; and installation of a protective spiral wrap on the fuel manifold drain hose. This proposal also would provide for an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This proposal is prompted by reports of chafing between the fuel manifold drain hose and the access panel due to contact between the two components over time.
AIR CANADA ordered 25 Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics Head-up Guidance Systems (HGS) for installation on its fleet of Bombardier CRJ-100 and -200 regional aircraft. The HGS system will permit Cat IIIa landing capability in visibility conditions as low as 700 feet runway visual range. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in December.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is investigating the fatal Sept. 18 crash of a Pitts (Aero Design 11, Inc.) Model 11 aerobatic airplane, N11PU. The aircraft was registered to Starting Line Products, Inc. and crashed about six miles east of Iona, Idaho while operating under Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which has been meeting for months with industry representatives to consider how it should regulate fractional aircraft ownership programs, now plans to establish a formal committee to consider the issue.
