The first European air ambulance meeting will be held in conjunction with the general aviation trade show AERO 2010, April 8-11 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The air ambulance meeting will provide a forum for air ambulance industry executives to network and exchange information. For more information, visit www.aero-expo.com.
While the NTSB had not issued a probable cause at the time of this writing, it is pretty certain the Safety Board will address the phenomenon of hydroplaning in its final report and remind pilots to review available information including that below from the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3A. (While the information below does not discuss the utility of anti-skid, thrust reverser or lift dump systems, it does provide some insight into the situation.)
The FAA will defer the cancellation of 22 instrument ground-based approaches in response to comments from the AOPA, the association said. The AOPA gathered information from pilots on 154 instrument approaches that were slated to be removed and recommended that the 22 be retained.
Fokker Services has introduced FLYFokker, a new life-cycle support program for the fleet of out-of-production, Dutch-built regional jets, some of which have been used in corporate operations. Fokker Services (the organization formerly known as Stork Aerospace) is offering four support packages: Take Off, Take Care, Take Over and Take Next. The company says these support options are designed to provide “cost-effective aircraft and service solutions for start-up, mature and phase-out operators.”
A JPMorgan analyst agreed with NBAA’s Bolen. Despite noting the potential loss of a major order for Cessna, the analyst said, “We view this as a short-term blip.” The orders in question for both Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft were primarily for 2013 and beyond, JPMorgan added. Reports of other industry activity also have shown promise, as Bolen noted.
The TSA extended the comment period for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking calling for all aircraft repair stations to adopt security programs, from Jan. 19 until Feb. 18. The extension came at the behest of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association and International Air Transport Association. IATA cited the complexity and scope of the rule and said the additional time was necessary to provide foreign repair station operators time to review the proposal.
The economic downturn has forced some leading fractional share providers to shed aircraft to lower expenses and generate revenue, further depressing airplane values overall and adding to the industry’s already bloated used aircraft inventory.
Houston air traffic controllers are now using ADS-B, a GPS-based, NextGen technology, to separate and monitor aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico. The FAA’s announcement Jan. 12 came as the U.S. Coast Guard was preparing to shut down the U.S. Loran-C chains that for decades have provided long-range position-fixing service to mariners and aviators (see above). Previously, there was virtually no radar coverage over the Gulf, which forced 120-mile in-trail separation of high-altitude IFR traffic.
Norman Schweizer (Washington, DC ), General Services Administration (Washington, DC ), Office of Government-wide Policy (Washington, DC ), Aviation Management Division (Washington, DC )
“Assessing the Auditors” by David Esler (January 2010, page 32) is an excellent encapsulation of today’s various audit standards. The Office of Aviation Management within the General Services Administration (GSA) sets government-wide policy for nonmilitary government aviation operators and I am certain this article will be extremely helpful to our member agencies as we strive to continue to improve safety for government aviation programs.
From the Dec. 22, 2009, Avinode Business Intelligence newsletter: “Interesting to notice is that the price decrease has been stronger on the U.S. air charter market than it has been on the global air charter market. Prices on the U.S. market are approximately 9.5 percent lower today than they were Jan. 1 [2009].””
With the recent transfer of the Bell 47 type certificate to Scott’s Helicopter, all aspects of commercial spares support, technical support and continued airworthiness for the pioneering rotorcraft have become the responsibility of the Bell-approved customer service facility located in Le Sueur, Minn.
The NTSB has drastically expanded notification and reporting requirements regarding aircraft accidents and especially incidents. In particular, the NTSB is adding regulations to require operators to report certain incidents directly and immediately to the NTSB, even though they are already required to be reported to the FAA. Under 14 CFR 21.3, FAA notification is required within 24 hours, or the next business day if the event occurs on a weekend or a holiday. The NTSB says that is not quick enough for its needs.
The White House on Dec. 22 announced President Barack Obama’s new cybersecurity coordinator: Howard A. Schmidt, a former chief security officer at eBay and Microsoft. Last spring, the President declared cybersecurity to be a major national priority.
Proposed Rules Hawker Beechcraft King Air B300 and B300C airplanes — Inspect the terminal board on the circuit-card rack assembly to determine if the correct bus bar is installed. Also, replace the bus bar, if necessary, and check the left and right pitot-heat annunciators for proper operation. Honeywell LTS101-600A, -600A-1A, -700A-1A and 700D-2 engines — Remove certain power turbine blades from service. Piaggio P-180 airplanes — Conduct a dye-penetrant inspection of the “0” pressure bulkhead and reinforce it by installing doublers.
The first Challenger 850 to come out of Flying Colours Corp.’s completion facility in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has been delivered to Moscow, Russia, where the jet will be managed by Chartright Air Group. Flying Colours is working on three additional Challenger 850s and has two more completions scheduled for this year. The 850 work is performed at both Peterborough and at JetCorp Technical Services, Flying Colours’ facility located near St. Louis.
Mike O’Rourke (Herndon, VA ), Former NTSB Investigator and Air Traffic Controller (FAA and USAF) (Herndon, VA )
Regarding “The Trouble With Bubbletown,” it would seem from a review of FAA pay grades that quite a few individuals at the worker-bee level exceed the $100K level, including frontline ATC types at many of the nation’s airports as well maintenance techs, flight inspection pilots, and certain AVN personnel.
Proponents of enhanced Loran as a ground-based backup for GPS were bitterly disappointed when the U.S. Coast Guard said it will begin a permanent shutdown of U.S. Loran-C stations at 2000Z on Feb. 8, 2010. At that time U.S. Loran-C chains should be considered unusable, but 24 U.S. stations that participate in Russian-American and Canadian Loran-C chains under international agreements will temporarily continue to operate. The Canadian Coast Guard announced that Canada will also decommission its Loran-C system this year.
NOAA wants to improve winter storm forecasts for North America. The agency has dispatched its Gulfstream IV research aircraft to the Pacific where most of North America’s weather originates, according to Louis Uccellini, director of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction, to gather data to improve winter storm forecasting, out to as much as six days in advance for North America. The Gulfstream will be stationed at Yokota AFB, Japan through February and reposition to Honolulu in March.
The TSA in January distributed airport threat vulnerability assessment survey forms to 3,000 general aviation airports nationwide with a 2,000-foot runway, or longer, and those near major metropolitan or prohibited areas, AOPA reports. The TSA admits the survey is not based on any “specific, credible information to suggest an imminent threat to the homeland or general aviation.” Airport managers must complete the survey within 60 days of receiving the forms, and the results will be made available to participating airports about 30 days after the survey’s closing period.
Bell 429 Specifications Characteristics Standard Seating 1+7 VIP Luxury Seating 1+4 Capacity Standard Fuel 215 U.S. Gal. Auxiliary Fuel (Optional) 40 U.S. Gal. Cabin Floor Space (cu.
A new FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD 2010-01-03) says that contaminated chemicals in Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd. Portable Halon 1211 cabin and toilet compartment fire extinguishers could not only reduce their fire-suppression properties but may also release injurious toxic fumes. The AD requires the affected extinguishers to be removed and replaced with serviceable units within 90 days of the AD’s Jan. 8 effective date.
Delta AirElite had added a Bombardier Learjet 45XR and Cessna Citation XLS to its fleet. The 2007 Learjet 45XR is based in Jacksonville, Fla., and the 2007 Citation XLS is at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Probably the most significant tool for the marketing of empty legs has been the Internet, where several Web sites have emerged to list one-way trips for consumers, operators and charter brokers. Here are snapshots of four featured in this report:
