The AOPA launched an online service to help members follow up on special issuance medical applications. The association placed a ``status request form'' on its members-only section that allows members to provide basic medical information confidentially to the AOPA's medical certification staff. The staff will use that information to track applications within the FAA. ``Currently, the FAA is several months behind in proc-essing special issuance medical applications,'' said Gary Crump, AOPA director of medical certification.
The Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) and the Duval County School Board are planning to create a new airframe and powerplant program for high school students. The school system is surveying eighth grade students and their parents to measure interest in aviation maintenance. The school board said the students would take their academic courses at the Frank H. Peterson Academies of Technology, and then later in the day they would be bussed to the new, Cecil Field, Aerospace Center of Excellence that FCCJ plans to complete in November.
Polaris Motor Srl. is now offering a line of flying inflatable boats in the United States. The flying boat comes with two-place seating and an option of two types of Rotax two-cylinder, two-stroke engines. With a useful load of 419 pounds, the boats have a service ceiling of 10,000 feet and can hold over 10.5 gallons of fuel. Utilizing a fiberglass monolithic hull, the boat portion is stronger than the usual catamaran floats used on ultra-lights and can land/take off in two- to three-foot seas.
There is a disturbing array of forces aligning that threaten to limit the flexibility and utility of business aircraft, two of the elements that make them such valuable transportation tools. No, we don't want to sound like Chicken Little, and no, the sky isn't falling. But there are some serious issues gaining momentum that could have very adverse consequences for business aviation. These include proposed restrictions on certain aircraft types at particular airports and outright bans on business aircraft at other facilities.
Are foreign pilots with poor English skills a threat to U.S. air safety? Probably, though the way the FAA collects data on ``near miss'' incidents makes it nearly impossible to prove. Such was the conclusion of a recent study by the DOT's investigative arm, triggered by an April 2000 letter from then Congressman Bob Franks. Franks' letter cited a ``disturbingly high incidence of international pilots flying in U.S. airspace who are unable to communicate with air traffic controllers due to inadequate knowledge of the English language.''
Accidents involving U.S.-registered turbine-powered business aircraft were up slightly in 2000, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, the Florida-based company that tracks mishaps worldwide for operators and the insurance industry. Some 51 accidents were recorded in 2000 compared with 48 in 1999. Sixteen of last year's accidents were fatal, involving the loss of 56 crewmembers and passengers. Fourteen 1999 accidents were fatal with 51 lives lost. These totals include business turbines used in all types of services.
Lynx Air International has launched service from Fort Myers' Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL), using a single Fairchild Metro III turboprop. American Eagle will provide ground and gate support for the start-up carrier at RSW.
When a corporation has maintenance done on an airframe, including a ``heavy maintenance visit,'' are the bills deductible immediately as ordinary and necessary business expenses, or must the cost be ``capitalized'' (depreciated over time)? Business aviation exists to serve at a moment's notice, so it is natural that flight departments want to deduct the full cost of all maintenance immediately. A recent IRS Revenue Ruling explains the factors that it reviews in determining whether an overhaul cost may be expensed, depreciated, or a combination of the two.
Markings on the sidewall of a tire spell out the performance ratings of the tire: tire size, load rating, speed rating, ply rating, molded skid depth (depth of the grooves in the tread) and the applicable TSO. The serial number of the tire provides information to manufacturers and operators alike. The first digit of the eight-character serial number identifies the last number of the year of manufacture (i.e. ``6'' for ``1996''). The next three characters are the Julian date of manufacture. The last four digits are used to aid in tracking tires.
Louisville International Airport, Louisville, Ky., has named Robert Slattery as its first full-time airport noise officer. Slattery, who recently retired from the U.S. Navy, has 20 years experience in compliance and enforcement of aviation and OSHA regulations, and has previously held positions that include aircraft maintenance, quality assurance and safety.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is hoping to influence the new Bush Administration with its recently released list of ``America's 100 Most Needed Airports.'' NATA members selected the ``most vulnerable'' airports that, while not the largest are still ``crucial to a national aviation system.'' Association officials hope to visit most, if not all, of the embattled airports this year. These visits will include educational meetings with local chambers of commerce and residents on the importance of the role their airports play in the community.
BizJet, Tulsa, Okla., has promoted the following employees: John Hiles to avionics program manager; Randy Weierbach to Gulfstream program manager; Doug Bressler to interior completions; and Warren Peck to director of avionics.
Sporty's is now offering the Sigtronics S-8 headset for the taller pilot. Since the main support for the headset is located out of the way, behind the pilot's head, the S-8 headset can be worn comfortably in a cockpit where headroom is an issue. The S-8 has the same features as the S-40 headset, including gel-filled ear seals and an M-90 electret microphone. The headset comes with a five-year warranty and is made in the United States. Price: $259.00 Sporty's Pilot Shop Clermont County Airport Batavia, Ohio 45103-9747
Midcoast Aviation, Cahokia, Ill., and the Illinois Aviation Trades Association have awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Karl Nero of Chicago. Nero had completed seven semesters of a four-year degree in aviation human factors at the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation at Urbana-Champaign.
Online charter booking service eBizJets has signed major league baseball player Alex Rodriguez as its celebrity spokesman. The Texas Rangers shortstop recently signed a record-breaking 10-year, $252 million contract with the team. There is no word on his compensation for the air charter endorsement.
Garrett Aviation, Tempe, Ariz., has appointed Jerry Torrance as vice president/ general manager of its Houston facility. Torrance joins Garrett from Gulfstream Aerospace in Dallas, where he served as director of aircraft services.
The American Airlines DC-9-82 was climbing through 9,000 feet on November 29, 2000, in an area of moderate rain showers after a routine departure from Reagan National Airport (DCA) on an IFR flight plan to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). It was dark -- 1753 EST -- when the cockpit crew was startled by a bright flash on the right side of the aircraft. The pilots scanned the instruments looking for trouble while the smell of burning insulation drifted into the cockpit. The instrument indications were normal.
While automotive and aircraft tires may appear similar, there are distinct differences in both design and performance. An automobile tire is designed for continuous use and maximum traction. Automotive tires typically operate at relatively low speeds and carry lighter loads, but operate continuously for hours on end. As a consequence, they must be designed to dissipate heat at the same rate it is generated.
Photograph: Kman K-Max The U.S. State Department has ordered five Kaman K-MAX helicopters to support counterdrug efforts in Peru, with deliveries planned for April 2001. The $21 million deal marks the first K-MAX sale to the U.S. government, and the first application of the single-seat, helicopter in a law enforcement role. Pilots and mechanics from Peru's National Police will fly and maintain the helicopters, which will be used mainly to transport supplies and equipment to anti-drug forces in the field.
Piedmont Airlines' unionized flight attendants voted to strike if current contract negotiations, ongoing for the past 18 months, fail. The carrier is a significant part of US Airways' regional network, flying 15 percent of the mainline carrier's daily schedule from Charlotte, N.C., for example.
A group of Swiss investors has agreed to acquire Pilatus Aircraft, the Stans, Switzerland-based manufacturer of high-performance single-engine aircraft. Pilatus had been for sale for some time, but officials at parent company Unaxis said they were seeking a buyer committed to existing Pilatus programs, most significant among them the PC-12 turboprop and the proposed PC-21 military trainer.
The FAA has advised the Naples Airport Authority (NAA) to refrain from enforcing its ban on Stage 2 aircraft operations at the Naples, Fla., Municipal Airport until a federally mandated study of the action is complete. The Stage 2 ban was adopted November 16, 2000, though the FAA had not approved the NAA's FAR Part 161 study. The FAA acknowledged that the NAA had provided some additional information toward meeting the Part 161 requirement, but said the action fell short of ``complying with applicable requirements.''
The U.S. Department of the Interior in January ``strongly urged'' the U.S. Air Force to transfer much of the former Homestead Air Force Base in Southern Florida to the DOI to prevent the airfield from being reopened as a commercial airport.
