The FAA has selected the former Vint Hill Farms Army installation in Fauquier County, Va., as the new site for a consolidated Washington, D.C. TRACON. The new facility will combine the operations previously housed at Baltimore-Washington International, Reagan Washington National and Dulles International airports, as well as Andrews Air Force Base
Based on the excellent safety record of FAR Part 135 operators, the NATA has petitioned the FAA to allow on-demand air-charter providers to conduct instrument flights under Part 135 without an approved weather source at the intended airport. Further, NATA is requesting that the agency permit the use of additional weather sources. Those operators qualifying for an exemption would have to use increased approach minima, provide additional crew training and satisfy higher crew experience requirements.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has appealed to ICAO to replace 121.5 MHz as the international emergency frequency in hope of accelerating the influx of new technology. USCG seeks to incorporate 406.0 MHz, which provides emergency location data via GPS satellites. If approved by ICAO, the change will require aircraft operators to exchange their battery-operated emergency locator transmitters (ELT) for more expensive GPS-based units. These ``digital ELTs'' have a stronger signal than the older versions, and provide a crash site fix within three miles.
Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation has acquired the former Albany Air Center FBO at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport (ABY). The facility is the 24th in the chain that was formed by the recent merger of Piedmont Aviation Services, Hawthorne Aviation and American Beechcraft. Phone: (912) 434-8787.
Two FBOs at New Orleans International Airport -- Transit Aviation and General Aviation -- plan to build terminals and hangars on the north side of the field during the next few months. The new location is expected to expand the number of aircraft parking spaces from 42 to 124. Phone: (504) 464-0831.
The Transparency Services Division of Regent Aerospace now is offering AeroGold 24-karat window tint for application on various types of aircraft. The company recently expanded its headquarters in Valencia, Calif.
Raytheon Aircraft Services at Atlantic City International Airport has received an FAA repair station certificate. Meanwhile, a new super unicom has been installed at nearby Bader Field
Echo Flight, Inc. has tapped DTN Kavouras Weather Services (www.dtn.com) to provide current and forecast weather for display on Echo Flight's StratoCHEETAH Flight Manager II GPS moving map and datalink system, which made its debut at the 1998 Experimental Aircraft Association show in Oshkosh. The addition of DTN's weather services enables pilots to obtain recent radar returns from ground radars and current meteorological information on airport conditions anywhere in the United States.
Avfuel Corp., the independent supplier of aviation fuels and services, has established a Web site. Besides information on Avfuel products and services, yne, NATA president.
The AOPA is fighting a proposal by the city of Santa Fe, N.M., to impose fines of up to $500 when aircraft noise is deemed a ``nuisance'' to local residents. ``There is no valid noise study for [Santa Fe Municipal] airport,'' says Bill Dunn, the AOPA's vice president of regional affairs.
This year's schedule of University of Kansas Aerospace Short Courses will include three seminars designed for pilots and maintenance technicians. A course on aircraft icing -- meteorology, protective systems, instrumentation and certification -- will be held April 20-23 at the Seattle Airport Doubletree Hotel and once again on October 25-28 at the University of Kansas main campus in Lawrence, Kan.
Lufthansa Technik has begun outfitting its first Boeing Business Jet at its service center in Hamburg, Germany. The BBJ, which is owned by Michael Chowdry, chairman and CEO of Atlas Air, is to be completed by August. Meanwhile, a recent reorganization of FlightSafety Boeing into four distinct business units has resulted in the appointment of Jon Pollack to head Boeing Business Jet Training, which will be responsible for all BBJ training.
The FAA and the helicopter industry are collaborating to develop a cost-effective heliport lighting system for GPS helicopter approaches. Steve Fisher, the FAA's acting manager of the general aviation and vertical flight program office, said there is a need to develop, install and test candidate lighting systems in different environments throughout the country. The agency is seeking industry recommendations on how to get maximum benefits fast -- ``doing more with smaller budgets.''
Aviation Sales Co. is building a new 630,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Miramar, Fla., which will allow the company to eventually provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul and spare parts distribution from a single location
Helicopter Association International has just completed an update to its recently released Heliport Directory on CD-ROM. The update adds an interface usable on personal computers, while displaying heliport information by location, identification, owner/operator and operations/services. Users also can sort information or search the database, and print the results. More than 45,000 heliports are included in the CD-ROM, available from HAI at a cost of $15 for members and $35 for non-members. The update is free to buyers of the previous version.
Weary of lagging modernization and development efforts at Kennedy and La Guardia airports, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is working to wrest them from the control of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority's lease of the airports expires in 2015, and the city is already advertising for private companies to operate the airports when the lease expires.
The FAA will implement several changes to the airman medical application form in an effort to speed processing. The form will now include a third copy to be retained by the pilot, and previously reported information will not have to be repeated except for a ``no change'' statement. Until now, repeat entries resulted in a ``manual application review,'' resulting in delays. The new form also will include space for reporting the use of previously reported medications, and a question specifying contact lens use.
NTSB says general aviation (GA) accidents totaled 1,907 in 1998, up from 1,858 in 1997. Due to an overall increase in the number of hours flown, the GA accident rate decreased from 7.29 to 7.12 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, the lowest GA accident rate in the past 17 years, while the fatal accident rate declined from 1.40 to 1.35 year to year. Foreign-registered aircraft suffered 18 accidents in the United States last year, including five fatal accidents that claimed 10 lives. U.S.
