The NBAA has joined the National Air Transportation Association in asking the FAA to halt its proposed rulemaking seeking upgraded cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) and digital flight data recorders (DFDRs) in FAR Part 91 and 135 aircraft until the agency fully analyzes the costs of the new requirements. Nevertheless, the FAA has stated that it believes the proposed rule would not have a substantial impact on a large number of small ``non-airline'' entities.
As the National Air Transportation Association's Jackie Rosser points out, there are two types of authority necessary to be a commercial operator: operational and economic. The FAA addresses the former by issuing the Air Carrier Certificate to FAR Part 135 and 121 operators, while the DOT awards a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to charter operators and scheduled airlines.
A high-speed rejected takeoff requires the absolute maximum in crew coordination and performance. Identifying who will make the decision to abort and what specific actions will be quickly performed should be clearly specified and practiced long beforehand so that when the event occurs -- unexpectedly and quite suddenly, always -- the crew's reaction is automatic and correct.
FBO Manager software has been certified to accept ExxonMobil cards. When ExxonMobil customers first began processing transactions on the FBO Manager system in August 1, 2000, traditional phone lines were required to acquire authorization. FBO Manager can now support all of the ExxonMobil cards including the new Pilots Rewards Plus loyalty card. ``FBO Manager's credit card processing capabilities add speed and efficiency to our point of sale processes.
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has opened its third service center in Brazil. The new facility is in Gaviao Peixoto, 230 miles from Sao Jose dos Campos, where Embraer is headquartered. The new 32,300-square-foot facility is authorized to perform maintenance under the requirements of both the U.S. FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The facility has seven buildings -- five hangars and two administrative offices. Embraer has 48 employees at the Gaviao Peixoto site, but that number is expected to grow to about 74 by year-end.
With the addition of Dassault Falcon Jet's FalconCare into the Maintenance Cost Control Program (MCCP) arena in 2005, operators have even more choices. And with everything negotiable in GE Aircraft Engines' OnPoint MCCP service, new levels of program flexibility are available as well. This year, we also have included offerings from the four major helicopter manufacturers in our coverage.
ExpressJet has bought a non-controlling interest in Wing Aviation, a full-service FBO at Houston's Hobby Airport that is involved in a wide range of aviation activities, including aircraft charter and management, maintenance, avionics installation and aircraft painting. The company also has offices at Lone Star Executive airport. The two companies will work together in providing private and commercial travel, as well as in the maintenance and installation areas.
Jim Franklin and Bobby Younkin were killed performing their ``Masters of Disaster'' air show act July 10 when their aircraft collided over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Jim LeRoy, another member of the team, was in the air at the same time in his Bulldog biplane, but he landed safely without injury. The Experimental Aircraft Association said Franklin was best known for his vintage Waco biplane that included a jet engine for greater climb performance. Franklin often performed with his son, Kyle, who was not in the airplane at the time of the accident.
Kaman's K-Max is now a flying fire truck. The Firemax is a K-MAX medium-lift helicopter equipped with a new removable 700-gallon (2,660 liter) fixed-tank system designed and manufactured by Kawak Aviation Technologies of Bend, Ore. John Vogan, assistant chief pilot for Superior Helicopter of Grants Pass, Ore., flew the first flight on June 14. The aircraft performed over 100 water drops in the evaluation. The U-shaped tank system was designed for quick installation and is equipped with a hydraulic-powered hover pump that refills the system in 25 seconds.
FlightSafety International will provide three advanced technology aircraft simulators for the Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) program of the Canadian Forces. Allied Wings, a consortium of Canadian companies led by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. of British Columbia, was awarded the CFTS program contract by the Canadian government earlier this year.
Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., of Houston, Tex., has released upgrades to its online Trip Status service. Trip Status offers registered users current information about their trips when working with Universal's Trip Support Services.
Cessna Aircraft (Wichita) -- Dane Jenning, the company's director of used Citation aircraft, is retiring effective August 1. He plans to launch his own aviation-related company in the near future.
Elliott Aviation is working toward an FAA STC to upgrade the cockpit on the Falcon 10/100 aircraft with a Universal EFI 890R large-format instrument suite that will include air data computers for RVSM compliance; a UNS-1F FMS; TAWS; Universal Vision-1 synthetic vision; Universal cockpit display with electronic charts, checklist and WSI Nexrad weather; TCAS II; airborne collision avoidance system; weather radar; and Stormscope sensor data.
The FAA's underlying charge against Platinum is that it ``did not hold an air carrier certificate under FAR Part 119, did not have operations specifications to operate under Part 135 and was not authorized to engage in common carriage.'' The FAA said Platinum had leased three Challenger 600s from three different entities: N370V from 448 Alliance, LLC of Dallas; N60S from 60 S LLC, of Lake Park, Fla.; and N260V from DDH Aircraft Corp. of Dallas. On Nov.
Jet Source, Carlsbad, Calif., named Ron Mahan chief pilot for the company. He will direct the flight operations department with responsibility for building the staff and coordinating crewmember planning. Mahan has over 19 years of combined experience as a professional pilot and flight department manager .
The Garmin G1000 integrated avionics system will be standard on the Diamond D-JET personal jet. The G1000 integrates primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather, engine instrumentation and crew-alerting system data on three high-definition displays -- two primary flight displays and a centrally located multi-function display. The five-seat D-JET will cruise at 315 knots and have a maximum operating altitude of 25,000 feet. Diamond expects to begin deliveries in early 2007.
Le Bourget in Paris is to get a new FBO passenger terminal with work scheduled to start in 2006. A multi-story building, adjacent to the north end of its five UTA hangars, is to be completely refurbished and offer homes to several FBOs, according to Philippe Platek of Aeroports de Paris, which owns the airfield. The building once housed the restaurant for UTA airline workers.
For the third consecutive year, Pan Am International Flight Academy's (PAIFA's) Career Pilot Development Campus in Phoenix received the FAA's Diamond Award of Excellence. The award is granted to aviation maintenance technicians and their employers for their participation in initial and recurrent training to assure safety as part of the FAA Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) awards program.
The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), awarded Nick Frisch, director of Flight Training at Galvin Flying Services, Inc., in Seattle, the Jack J. Eggspuehler Award. The award is presented in recognition of an outstanding contribution to aviation education and training.
Embraer's ERJ 145, which was to be modified as the ``Aerial Common Sensor'' for the U.S. Army and Navy under the leadership of Lockheed Martin, has been dropped for the mission on the grounds that the airframe is now considered too small for its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensor packages -- despite the aircraft having met the original selection specifications in 2004. At press time, sources at both companies said that the Army was evaluating larger aircraft types.
The White House on July 14 sent two DHS-related nominations to the Senate. President Bush nominated Stewart Baker, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, to serve as assistant secretary of homeland security for policy, a new position. He also nominated Tracy Henke to be executive director of the state and local government coordination and preparedness office at the DHS.
Mooney Airplane Co. CEO Gretchen Jahn and aviatrix Ruby Sheldon were awarded 10th place in the Air Race Classic. The world's only all-women transcontinental air race drew 42 teams in June, and over the course of the four-day race beginning at Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind., pilots covered more than 2,000 nm before circling back to the finish line in Lafayette.
Sovereign Bank (Philadelphia) -- Joseph Dini has been appointed senior vice president and director of the financial services company's Aviation Finance Group. Dini oversees a team of six individuals and a dozen lenders who provide financing and leasing for private and corporate aircraft. Dini formerly was vice president and group manager of Merrill Lynch Capital. Earlier he served as managing director of the GMAC Commercial Finance Business Aviation Finance Group and founded the business aviation finance group of Finova Capital Corp.
The Keystone Group, from Niwot, Colo., introduces a battery-powered alternative to road flares for hazard warning needs. Road flares can easily ignite spilled gasoline or kerosene vapor, and burn the clothes or skin of even the most experienced user. The FlareAlert contains 12 high-output LEDs that make the unit visible for miles, from both the ground and air. However, unlike other battery-powered safety flares, the FlareAlert has a built-in magnetic base that allows the unit to be temporarily mounted on a disabled vehicle for increased visibility.
Delta AirElite is offering revenue and flight hour guarantee programs to qualifying aircraft owners enrolled in its charter management program. The guarantees are based on aircraft type, availability for charter flying and geographic base location. ``Several of our aircraft management clients generated more than $1 million in charter revenue in 2004 that helped offset their aircraft ownership costs,'' said Michael B. Green, Delta AirElite's president and CEO.
