FAA is soliciting advice on a congressionally mandated pilot program to integrate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the national airspace. The mandate was adopted as part of the recently passed FAA reauthorization bill, along with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed by President Barack Obama late last year. Congress directed the agency to establish six UAS test sites to help FAA safely and efficiently integrate civil, public and military UAS into the same airspace with manned airplanes by 2015.
Helicopter Association International is trying to block progress on Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) amendment to mandate helicopter routes over Los Angeles County and Long Island, saying the provision could set a national precedent of legislating local noise issues at the federal level. Schumer is hoping to offer the amendment as part of the highway bill that is pending before Congress.
Fantasy of Flight, which maintains one of the largest private collections of vintage aircraft, has joined the Lindbergh Foundation’s Aviation Green Alliance as a founding member. The Lindbergh Foundation launched the alliance in spring 2011 to support and encourage organizations that are proactively addressing aviation environmental challenges. The alliance is creating multiple platforms for members to share strategies, findings, progress and ideas on aviation environmental challenges.
March 15-16 — Aviation Week Innovation Challenge Showcase, Orlando, Fla., www.aviationweek.com/events March 19-21—International Academy of Astronautics/American Astronautical Society’s Conference on Dynamics & Control of Space Systems, Hotel Ipanema, Porto, Portugal, www.astrodynamics.org.pt/ March 19-22—Practical Aeronautics Short Course: “Introduction to Aeronautics—A Practical Perspective,” National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, Va., (970) 887-3155, www.practicalaero.com
The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) named Richard Sherlock CEO. He also will serve as CEO of MedEvac Foundation International. Sherlock has a background in strategic planning, operations, training, resource management and human resource management, as well as rotor-wing aviation operations, maintenance, and safety programs. He retired from the U.S. Army as a major general, most recently serving as the chief of staff and the director of strategy, plans, and programs for U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany.
Click here to view the pdf General Aviation Aircraft Fuel Consumption,(In Millions of Gallons) General Aviation Aircraft Fuel Consumption, (In Millions of Gallons) CalendarYear Fixed Wing Rotorcraft Exp
Another environmental group is intensifying pressure on the federal government to get leaded aviation fuel off the market, filing a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to act on the issue. The Friends of the Earth lawsuit claims EPA failed to respond to its 2006 petition asking for the regulation of lead emissions from general aviation under the Clean Air Act.
Bombardier recently celebrated the delivery of the 400th Learjet 60. The aircraft, a Learjet 60 XR, was handed over to Cinépolis, a corporation based in Morelia, Mexico, during a Feb. 28 ceremony in Morelia. Founded in 1994, Cinépolis operates 265 cinemas in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and India. The Learjet 60 was certified in 1993, and the 60 XR replaced the original 60 on the production line in 2007.
Industry officials are laying the groundwork with economic ministers to build the business aviation market in the Asia Pacific region. At the invitation of the U.S. Department of Transportation, representatives from the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and General Aviation Manufacturers Association met with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Transportation working group to explain the benefits of business aviation and provide suggestions on oversight as the market expands in the region.
Israel Aerospace Industries’ ELTA unit has started exploring potential use of the Gulfstream G280 as an intelligence-collection platform even as it presses ahead with work on the G550-based Multimission Airborne Reconnaissance Surveillance System (MARS2). The G280-based system is targeted at customers who cannot afford the higher-end MARS2 approach.
Flightline was appointed a dealer for the GippsAERO GA8 single-piston utility aircraft and future GippsAERO models. Flightline will represent GippsAERO in a nine-state territory in the Southeast – Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and North Carolina. Executives from GippsAero and parent company Mahindra Aerospace visited Flightline in Tallahassee, Fla., late last month to finalize the agreement. Tallahassee city and community officials were on hand for the event.
Travel Management Company has equipped its fleet of 22 Hawker 800/850XPs with Aircell’s Gogo Biz inflight Internet capability and will begin offering the service to its charter customers. Gogo Biz enables passengers to surf the Internet, send and receive email and download attachments using a modified version of 3G mobile technology.
Bombardier is ramping up its business jet production with planned deliveries of 180 aircraft in 2012, up from the 163 delivered in 2011. But the gap between its business jet and commercial aircraft production is expected to widen, with commercial deliveries anticipated to fall to 55 this year. That compares with the 97 commercial aircraft delivered in 2010 and 78 last year.
Hawker Beechcraft has welcomed the U.S. Air Force’s Feb. 28 decision to cancel Sierra Nevada Corp.’s $355 million contract to supply Embraer Super Tucanos for the Afghan air force, but whether the competition will be restaged remains unclear.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, and CL-604 Variants) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0146; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-115-AD] – proposes to require inspecting to determine if certain oxygen pressure regulators are installed and replacing oxygen CRAs containing pressure regulators that do not meet the required material properties. This proposed AD would also require inspecting for damaged wiring and repairing or replacing wiring if necessary.
The Teamsters Local Union 1108 has terminated negotiations with CitationAir management on a furlough letter of agreement as the fractional ownership provider prepares to phase out its fleet and furlough pilots, beginning this month. CitationAir announced last month it would exit the fractional business, but continue to support its existing shareholders–which numbered about 400 last month–for the life of the current contracts. Instead, CitationAir will focus on its Jet Card and Jet Management Business.
BOMBARDIER Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1092; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-111-AD; Amendment 39-16946; AD 2012-03-05] – requires an inspection to determine if a certain oxygen CRA is installed and the replacement of oxygen CRAs containing pressure regulators having a certain part number. This AD was prompted by a report of deformation at the neck of the pressure regulator body on certain oxygen cylinder and regulator assemblies (CRA).
JEFF CURRY joined Business Jet Access at Dallas Love Field as managing director. Curry will oversee both the technical and business divisions for the company, which operates a repair station, charter and management business at the airport. A 25-year aviation services veteran, Curry formerly had served as business unit manager at Pratt & Whitney’s Grand Prairie, Texas facility. He also has held a number of positions with Gulfstream Aerospace, including as aircraft completions manager.
With a new FAA reauthorization act provision mandating the creation of an alternative jet fuel center of excellence, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), is asking the FAA to follow through. Cantwell, the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation aviation subcommittee, wrote a letter to FAA Acting Director Michael Huerta highlighting Washington state’s work in alternative jet fuels.
Government and industry officials need to collaborate on ways to mitigate runway incursions before another disaster happens, says Christopher Hart, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “If we don’t get our hands around this problem—and we don’t have our hands around this—sooner or later it’s going to happen again,” Hart told the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s 2012 Air Charter Safety Symposium this week.
FAA is working with its inspector base to ward off minor compliance issues that could be addressed directly with companies before enforcement actions are taken, says FAA Flight Standards Service Director John Allen.
DAMON DANNEKER was promoted to director of operations for JetFlite International. Danneker joined JetFlite in 2008 as director of training and subsequently was named chief pilot. He also has served with JetDirect’s facility at Van Nuys Airport in California. He also has been a lead flight instructor and check airman for Sierra West Airlines.
