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.
EUROCOPTER Model SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and SA-366G1 helicopters (Docket No. 96-SW-22-AD) - proposes to require an inspection of the transmission deck for cracks, repair or replacement of any cracked transmission decks and replacement of the transmission deck support beams with redesigned support beams. This proposal is prompted by several reports of cracks in the transmission deck and support beams.
R.V. JONES, considered the father of electronic warfare, died Dec. 17 of a heart attack in a hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was 86. Reginald Victor Jones, born in 1911 in London, was instrumental in developing a means of countering German radio beams that were intended to guide Luftwaffe pilots to targets during the Battle of Britain in World War II.
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS issued a clarification to an impending tax on kerosene to explain that aviation-grade kerosene, or Jet A fuel, should be covered by aviation taxes rather than the 24.4-cent-per-gallon tax on kerosene (BA, Dec. 1/229).
BRITISH AEROSPACE ASSET MANAGEMENT-JETS leased three BAe 146-200s to Air Wisconsin Airlines. The aircraft were formerly operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines. Air Wisconsin has taken delivery of one of the aircraft and expects to receive the other two in February. The three additional aircraft will boost Air Wisconsin's BAe 146 fleet to 18.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE, which has made a habit of selecting "big name" board members, announced last week that former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger is now part of the Gulfstream team. See article below.
GREATER TORONTO AIRPORT AUTHORITY this month completed an initial public offering of $947 million (Canadian) in revenue bonds, which, according to the authority, is the largest bond issue in Canadian corporate history. Proceeds from the offering will be used to pay down debt related to the authority's acquisition of Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
MIKE CROITORU was promoted to manager of FlightSafety International's Learjet learning center in Wichita, Kan. Croitoru, who joined FlightSafety 11 years ago, spent the past three years as manager, Learjet business development. He also has served as FlightSafety's Minneapolis-based regional marketing manager.
Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier and AMR Combs, which joined together two and one-half years ago to compete against Executive Jet in the fractional ownership business jet market (BA, May 8, 1995/193), said last week Bombardier will acquire AMR Combs' share of the program. Terms of the separation agreement were not disclosed.
AMR EAGLE'S Regional Aircraft Maintenance Center won a contract from Atlantic Southeast Airlines to provide maintenance on 12 of ASA's ATR 72 aircraft. The contract calls for AMR Eagle's maintenance center to perform C checks on each ASA aircraft. Regional Aircraft Maintenance Center will provide the maintenance at its new facility, which spans 126,000 square feet at the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Gwinn, Mich.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-1A11 and CL-600-2A12 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-256-AD) - proposes to require replacement of the anti-noise filter on the standby and auxiliary power unit fuel pump assemblies with a new filter. This proposal is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT received an order from Proteus Airlines in Lyon, France for 10 Beech 1900Ds in a contract Raytheon valued at about $50 million, including aircraft, training, spares and technical publications. Proteus is expected to take delivery of the first aircraft this month with the remaining units to be shipped through the third quarter of 1998. Proteus will operate the aircraft throughout France, including its hub at Saint- Etienne as well as Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg and Nice.
Sullivan Higdon&Sink was named agency of record for Allison Engine Company, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Aerospace. Allison, headquartered in Indianapolis, manufactures and supports turbine engines for aviation, marine and industrial applications. Its products include the Allison 250 series engine line that powers more than 60 percent of the light-turbine helicopter market and the 3007 turbofan that powers the Embraer RJ145 airliner and Cessna's top-of-the-line Citation X business jet.
Boeing plans to lay off 12,000 workers next year once it resolves production line problems and nears completion of its current development programs, Ron Woodard, president of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, said last week. The company has stopped hiring except in some critical areas, Woodard told a press conference. He said he did not know how the layoffs will be apportioned among the company's facilities, but that they would occur in the second half of 1998.
DICK TURNER was named manager of FlightSafety International's Sea-Tac Seattle training center. Turner, who has been assistant manager, joined the center earlier this year from FlightSafety's Training Systems Division, where he was a program manager. He also has 20 years of airline piloting and flight operations experience.
LYNTON GROUP, INC., said its U.K. subsidiary entered into an agreement to acquire Magec Aviation Ltd., located at London Luton Airport. Lynton Group is an aircraft charter and management company with operations in the U.S. and U.K. It sells, charters, manages and services corporate jet aircraft and turbine helicopters at locations in Morristown, N.J. and Denham, England.
FAIRCHILD Model F-27 series airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-35-AD; amdt. 39-10204; AD 97-23-15) - requires revising the airplane flight manual to prohibit positioning power levers below the flight idle stop during flight, and to provide a statement of the consequences of such positioning during flight. This amendment is prompted by incidents and accidents involving airplanes equipped with turboprop engines in which the propeller ground beta range was used improperly during flight.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. named Patricia Bergeron vice president of corporate communications and investor relations. She will report to Chris Davis, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and will be responsible for all corporate communications activities as well as developing and coordinating Gulfstream's investor relations effort. Bergeron had been director of investor relations and public affairs at Abbott Laboratories, a $12 billion health care firm in the Chicago, Ill. area. Before that she held a similar position with Johns Manville Corp.
ROLLS-ROYCE plans to build a $68.5 million facility adjacent to its existing plant in Derby, England that will manufacture high-pressure turbine blades for aircraft engines. The investment in the new plant "will create another world class facility within Rolls-Royce" that will "use the very latest developments in technology to meet the demand generated by Rolls-Royce's growing order book." The new plant is expected to be operational by early 1999 and will employ approximately 250 workers.
The Executive Committee of FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee approved an outline of proposed new regulations on commercial air tour overflights of national parks Thursday and told an industry working group to proceed with developing a formal notice of proposed rulemaking.
Bombardier Aerospace is preparing for the first flight of its 70-seat de Havilland Dash 8Q Series 400 before the end of the month. The Canadian manufacturer unveiled the regional turboprop last month at its de Havilland facilities in Downsview, Ontario. The rollout came two and one-half years after the program's official launch with certification scheduled in first quarter of 1999. The flight test program, which will occur at the Bombardier Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kan., will comprise four aircraft over the next year.
Stockholders of FLIR Systems Inc. approved the acquisition of AGEMA Infrared Systems, Stockholm, Sweden, a merger that "creates the world's largest commercial infrared imaging company," according to FLIR officials. FLIR, based in Portland, Ore., will issue 4.2 million shares of the company's stock to AGEMA's parent company, Spectra Physics AB, in exchange for all of AGEMA's stock, a transaction valued at approximately $80 million.
PETER WHITE was appointed a consultant in Simat, Helliesen&Eichner's London office. White previously was general manager of China Aircraft Services Limited, an aircraft maintenance company based in Hong Kong that is jointly owned by British Airways and United Airlines.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued special conditions for Learjet Model 55 airplanes that Learjet modified to incorporate a digital electronic flight instrument system. FAA said the system has "novel and unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisioned" in current regulations. The special conditions provide additional safety standards, the agency said. For more information, contact Connie Beane in FAA's Standardization Branch at (425) 227-2796.
