Expressing the view that the Federal Aviation Administration "overreached in its issuance of the emergency suspension and revocation" of AMI Jet Charter's Part 135 operating certificate, National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne last week warned his organization's member companies that they have to be extremely diligent of FAA requirements to avoid a fate similar to that suffered by AMIJC.
The U.S. Air Force wants its fleet certified to fly on a synthetic fuel blend by 2011, and has begun testing in earnest, including a flight a week ago on a C-17. "We've developed a three-part energy strategy," William Anderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, told media at a Foreign Press Center briefing in Washington Oct. 26. "We're looking to reduce demand, find alternative supply sources and change the culture of every airman so they make energy a consideration in all that they do."
National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen appealed to senior Internal Revenue Service officials to revise proposed requirements for limits on aircraft deductions when senior executives use company aircraft for entertainment purposes. Bolen testified late last month during a public hearing the IRS held to discuss a proposal the agency released in June that would rewrite the tax code to incorporate measures limiting certain business aircraft deductions that Congress adopted in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (BA, June 25/279).
EXECUJET added to its charter fleet the first Bombardier Learjet 60 XR to be registered in Europe. The midsize business jet received EASA certification Oct. 24. The seven-seat Learjet 60XR joins the 15-aircraft ExecuJet fleet that operates out of the airport at Roskilde, Denmark.
Four of FAA's most prominent contractor companies have formed an alliance to increase the interoperability of the ATC systems they are building for the agency. The four companies - Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Harris Corp. and Computer Sciences Corp. - say their collaborative agreement aligns with an FAA initiative known as systemwide information management (SWIM). The goal of SWIM is to give relevant systems and stakeholders access to the operational data they need, and to make sure they are all working from the same real-time picture.
A BK117 CYCLE COUNTER manufactured by AKV, Inc., of Moorpark, Calif., received FAA STC and PMA approval. According to the company, the cycle counter enables operators to fully conform to the engine manufacturer's requirements for gas producer (Ng) and free turbine (Np) cycle counting. The new counter is designed to replace OEM gauges in the overhead console of the Honeywell LTS101-powered BK117.
ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27785; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-267-AD] - This proposed rule, which resulted from an MCAI originated by an aviation authority of another country, would require operators to perform functional checks of the flight guidance control system (FGCS) channels engagement in accordance with the applicable Embraer service bulletin (either 170-22-0003 or 190-22-0002, both dated Nov. 9, 2006).
CAE received a five-year agreement to provide maintenance training for Hawker Pacific and its clients in the Southeast Asia region. Hawker Pacific has bases throughout Australia along with New Zealand, the Middle East and Asia. CAE began providing technical training for maintenance technicians at Hawker Pacific's Singapore facility and is expected to offer training at other locations in Asia this fall.
The number of fatal general aviation accidents dropped by five percent below FAA's target goal in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, the agency said. GA aircraft were involved in 314 fatal accidents in fiscal 2007. FAA had established a goal of lowering the number of fatal GA accidents to 331 for the year. The number of fatalities dropped from 676 in fiscal 2006 to 564 in fiscal 2007. FAA includes both Part 91 and non-scheduled Part 135 operations in its calculations.
TRUE FLIGHT HOLDINGS last week unveiled plans to move production of Tiger aircraft models to Valodsta Airport in South Georgia. True Flight in August won U.S. Bankruptcy Court clearance to buy the assets of Tiger Aircraft, including the type certificates, the tooling, intellectual property rights, parts and inventory (BA, Aug. 13/66). True Flight Thursday detailed plans to build a 60,000-square-foot facility on a 13-acre parcel next to the Valdosta Airport. The company plans initially to hire 25 employees, but expects employment to grow to 150 over three years.
HAL SHEVERS celebrated the 50th anniversary of his solo flight in a Piper J-3 Cub on Oct. 30. The founder and current chairman of Sporty's Pilot Shop was a college student studying engineering at Purdue University when he soloed. Earlier in October, Shevers attended the groundbreaking of a new aviation technology facility at the Lafayette, Indiana college. He also recently was inducted into the Flight Instructors Hall of Fame. Shevers, who has amassed more than 12,000 hours of flight time, has been an instrument flight instructor since 1961.
Was appointed chief financial officer of Executive Jet Management. Smith previously was senior vice president, financial planning and analysis for NetJets. He has more than 22 years of finance and accounting experience, serving in the aviation, consumer products, retail and public accounting markets.
PRATT & WHITNEY completed assembly of a full-scale geared turbofan engine at the company's Engine Center in Middletown, Conn. and shipped it to P&W's Advanced Test Facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. The engine is expected to begin ground testing in Florida early this month. "This is an exciting time at Pratt & Whitney," said Bob Saia, vice president of the Next Generation Product Family.
NASA will release aviation incident data gleaned from a controversial pilot survey that the agency originally decided not to provide, NASA's top official told Congress Oct. 31, but the scrubbing process required by law could take up to two months. "The survey results that we can legally release will be released. Period," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told the House Science and Technology Committee during a hearing into the two-year delay in making the $11 million survey's results public.
Model 525, 525A and 525B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28956; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-068-AD] - This proposed AD would require operators to disable the cockpit-mounted pilot relief tube and inspect the lower wing skin structure, forward wing spar, lower fuselage skin, fairings and the external fairing frames for corrosion. If any corrosion damage were to be found, repairs would need to be made, including application of a corrosion inhibitive sealant to the fuselage fairings before reinstalling them.
ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-0082; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-219-AD] - Remove the wiring connections from Pins 51 and 52 in the electrical connectors of both inertial reference units (IRUs) in accordance with the instructions contained in the applicable Embraer service bulletin (either 170-34-0019 or 190-34-0009, both of which are dated February 26, 2007). This proposed AD resulted from an MCAI originated by the ANAC, the aviation authority for Brazil.
JEAN-PIERRE MORTEUX, the president and CEO of CMC Electronics, Inc., was elected chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) at the organization's annual general meeting last month. The AIAC represents the interests of some 400 companies across Canada. With annual revenues of $22 billion, Canada's aerospace industry is the largest outside the U.S. and Europe, ranking fourth in output following the U.S., the United Kingdom and France. The aerospace industry employs more than 79,000 Canadians.
FAA's DECISION to issue an emergency revocation of AMI Jet Charter's Part 135 certificate has been widely criticized within the aviation community, but FAA isn't backing down. "This case sends a clear message that the FAA will act when it finds evidence that any air carrier is engaged in the franchising or rental of its air carrier certificate," said Nicholas Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for Aviation Safety, in an Oct. 31 press release issued by the agency.
EMBRAER created a new Environmental Strategies and Technologies Office designed to integrate and expand the company's environmental initiatives, the Brazilian plane maker said. Satoshi Yokota, Embraer executive vice president, strategic planning and technology, will head the new office and, Graciliano Campos has been named director, environmental strategies and technologies, reporting to Yokota. The office will develop strategies for reducing the environmental impact of its production processes and manufactured products.
Joined Schubach Aviation as general manager. Irwin will be responsible for day-to-day management and business development of the Carlsbad, Calif.-based charter operator. He has more than 30 years of aviation experience in sales, marketing, management and as a pilot. Most recently he was general manager of West Coast Charters in Orange County, Calif. and before that, director of sales and marketing at JetCorp in St. Louis, Mo.
EMB-135BJ, -135ER, -135KE, -135KL, -135LR, -145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-0083; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-266-AD] - Inspect the engine anti-icing system valves and tubes to detect damage and, if necessary, replace the valves. This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the ANAC, the aviation authority for Brazil, was prompted by several occurrences of engine anti-ice system valve failure in which the valve spring seat broke and obstructed the anti-ice system venturi tube.
ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGE and the UND Aerospace Foundation celebrated the opening Oct. 29 of a new 8,000-square-foot hangar at the Lumberton, N.C. Municipal Airport (LBT), which will house classrooms, offices and a state-of-the-art flight simulator. The two schools partnered last year to provide collegiate flight training to meet the growing demands for new pilots and other aviation professionals.
