U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue continues to voice his opposition to the FAA's effort to limit the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, which enables operators to ask the FAA to withhold their registration information from flight tracking agreements. “It poses a security threat to users of business aviation,” Donohue told the Chamber of Commerce's 10th annual Aviation Summit.
Max-Viz, Inc. shipped its 1,000th Enhanced Vision System to the AgustaWestland factory in Italy. It was expected to be installed on an AW139 helicopter.
The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) board of directors has selected Dale Forton as president of the association, which represents aviation maintenance personnel. Forton has 32 years of aviation maintenance experience and has been involved in PAMA for more than 26 years. He has served as an airframe and powerplant technician and director of maintenance. He also has been an active PAMA board member, launching a chapter, serving as Great Lakes regional director and vice chairman of the board.
Embraer posted first-quarter 2011 earnings higher than the same quarter last year, reporting a net income of $105.1 million, up from $24.1 million in the first quarter of 2010. The rise largely is attributable to tax credits from the appreciation of Brazil's real. The appreciation of the real is a “real challenge,” the company says, and Embraer's response has been to increase productivity at its manufacturing facilities. Embraer delivered two large business jets and six light jets in the first quarter, which the company said was in line with expectations.
Maintenance standard orders proposed by the FAA would gradually replace maintenance guidance material now provided by CAMs and CARs. MSOs are intended to prescribe maintenance minimums and generally would not go into detail, but would provide for alternate methods acceptable to the FAA. The Bureau of Flight Standards invites industry to comment and has proposed a typical new MSO A-1 relating to tire retread.
In the April 2011 Readers' Feedback (page 12), Kevin Curran voices important safety concerns in a letter titled “Caring About Aviation Safety.” Many of these concerns spring from the article titled “A Failed Culture of Safety” by Richard Aarons, which was printed in this magazine in February 2011 (page 53). As someone who has worked for more than 10 years for the Quest Diagnostics Flight Department, perhaps you would listen to a different view of our organization.
The NBAA Maintenance Manage–ment Conference (MMC) is business aviation's dedicated learning event for those responsible for managing the maintenance function of flight departments. This three-day conference provides valuable information for individuals interested in enhancing their knowledge of aircraft maintenance and management, along with ideas and suggestions for those interested in professional development or meeting career goals.
Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) in Coatesville, Penn., completed modifying a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter for export to Germany's Heliservice International GmbH. Originally designed for VIP transport missions, the aircraft has been reconfigured and equipped for specialty maintenance operations on windmill farms throughout Germany.
Empire Aviation Group (EAG) in Dubai announced plans to begin operations in India, with a new branch office opening in Mumbai by mid-year. The new branch will eventually offer the full range of EAG services on the subcontinent, but will initiallly focus on aircraft sales and management.
In 2009, the DOT ordered CSI Aviation Services Inc. to cease and desist from acting as a broker of air charter services for the federal government. The company appealed, and on April 1, 2011, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals granted CSI's petition for review, finding that the DOT failed to justify its authority to issue the contested order.
AMSTAT, the Tinton Falls, N.J., provider of corporate aviation data, reported that 2.4% of the worldwide active fleet of business jets changed hands via resale retail transactions during the first quarter. While 2.4% is low by historical standards (the 20-yr. average is 3.3%), it is the same level as in fourth quarter 2010. “Thus, for the first time in many years, the business jet market did not experience a significant drop in transaction activity in the first quarter of the year,” said AMSTAT.
Pitch-black darkness, gusting winds and a deep mountain canyon with vertical granite walls climbing up to 12,000 ft. do not make for a helicopter friendly environment. To make matters worse, the winter's worst blizzard was inbound just miles away. Earlier on that January afternoon a backcountry skier had been trapped and injured by an avalanche in very steep terrain. Rescuers had spent hours getting to the downed skier and then maneuvering in steep, snow-covered terrain to get him to a Forest Service parking lot 3 mi. distant and 4,000 ft. down.
Jet Aviation's St. Louis facility has developed an extension for the right-hand table on the Dassault Falcon 7X to make the surface more conducive to working and dining.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt dismissed calls to allow controllers to sleep during shifts to mitigate the effects of fatigue. The agency is currently reviewing 12 recommendations to offset fatigue proposed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association that include breaks of up to 2.5 hr., reduced work hours on certain rotations and increased training on the effects of sleep deprivation and disorders.
Embraer's large cabin Lineage 1000 received its type certificate from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The latest certification is in addition to certifications by Brazil's ANAC and the European Aviation Safety Agency in December 2008, and the U.S. FAA in January 2009. To date, nine Lineage 1000 jets are in operation worldwide.
A new coalition designed to focus on issues affecting general aviation airports has been formed by a group of GA airport operators. The General Aviation Airport Coalition was formed to “preserve and promote our nation's general aviation airports,” according to the mission statement. The coalition began meeting late last year, but recently officially launched as a formal group.
Rizon Jet has opened a two-level FBO and VIP lounge at London Biggin Hill Airport. The FBO will cater to an international clientele, including Middle Eastern families and business travelers. The ground floor includes five open and semi-private seating areas, and the mezzanine floor offers semi-enclosed lounge areas, as well as meeting facilities, including a boardroom with videoconferencing, and a children's corner.
Despite the uncertain economy in recent years, the European Business Aviation Association's membership has more than doubled since 2005. The association picked up 40 new members last year alone. EBAA credits a more proactive membership recruitment approach in 2010 — the association gave a trial membership to anyone who attended last year's European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. The organization went from 211 full members in 2005 to 458 in 2011, including 23 members from the U.S.
When people who know me learn that I'm writing about computers, they smile, shake their heads and say, “This should be cute.” Those who don't know me would surmise that anyone this old and beat up can't have much to teach about the technology. A big "Thank You" to both groups.
Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion, the company's newest and most advanced integrated avionics system, has reached a major milestone by receiving its final FAA Technical Standard Order (TSO). Certification of the avionics hardware and software sets the stage for supplemental type certification on Rockwell Collins' Challenger 601 test aircraft and on Bombardier's Global Express XRS.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a new computer-generated forecast model that is designed to provide pilots with information on the likelihood of encountering dangerous inflight icing conditions. Developed with funding from an FAA grant, the Forecast Icing Product with Severity, or FIP-Severity, provides 12-hr. icing forecasts that are updated hourly for pilots, air traffic controllers and other users of aviation weather information.
I strapped on my first airplane, a 90-hp Aeronca Champ 7EC, in the summer of 1960 and since then my interest in aviation has never wavered. Two years later I was aboard a United Airlines Boeing 720 on the way from my home in New Jersey to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the start of an aviation career.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has appointed three veteran managers to key positions as part of the agency's ongoing review of how the United States oversees its air traffic control system. “I am confident our top-to-bottom review is making our air traffic system even safer,” said Babbitt. That review includes an independent panel to evaluate the agency's air traffic control training curriculum, qualifications and placement process.
