Midcoast Aviation said it was designated a Platinum Service Center by Raytheon Aircraft Company, the highest level in RAC's ranking of its authorized service centers.
While FAA last week indicated that it plans to make the Air Defense Identification Zone over the Washington, D.C. area permanent, the agency said it would deny the request of the Department of Defense to convert 11 temporary flight restricted areas over military establishments into permanent prohibited areas. FAA had released two notices of proposed rulemaking to make prohibited areas over U.S. submarine bases in Bangor, Wash. and Kings Bay, Ga., the first of 11 anticipated sites.
Karen Paisley was named president of Aircraft Parts Corp., the Holtsville, N.Y. manufacturer of DC power generation systems for aircraft. Paisley is the daughter of Sy Sherman, the founder and president of APC, who recently died. Paisley worked directly for her father for many years and "has played a key role in the company's plans for growth and long-term stability," APC said in a statement.
National Business Aviation Association is hosting a meeting this week with FAA and DOT officials on the treatment of piggybacking agreements, in which Part 91 operators contract their airplanes and crews to Part 135 operators for on-demand service. DOT has begun to question whether those Part 91 operators must meet economic authority standards to participate in piggybacking arrangements. FAA has begun to question who has "operational control" in those operations.
GAMA URGES EUROPEAN REGULATORS TO ADOPT UNIFORM RULES - The European Union needs to develop a uniform set of regulations covering general aviation operations throughout Europe to help foster a safer environment as well as promote international commerce, a senior official from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) told attendees of the annual U.S./Europe International Aviation Safety Conference in Philadelphia, Pa.
NTSB ASKS FAA TO EXAMINE AIRPORT MARKING GUIDANCE - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants FAA to allow Seattle-Tacoma Airport to use non-standard taxiway markings to prevent repeated aircraft landings on a particular taxiway at the airport. NTSB said flight crews have almost landed or did land on Taxiway T, mistaking it for Runway 16R six times since 1999, with the latest incident occurring in February.
BAE Model 146 series airplanes (Docket No. 2003-NM-94-AD; Amendment 39-13664; AD 2004-12-05) - requires repetitive detailed inspections of the inside of each air conditioning sound-attenuating duct, and corrective actions as necessary. This action is necessary to prevent impairment of the operational skills and abilities of the flightcrew caused by the inhalation of agents released from oil or oil breakdown products, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that 20 airplanes on the U.S.
National Air Transportation Association released its annual survey of general aviation employee compensation, including salary and benefit information for pilots, line-service personnel and maintenance technicians. The compensation information is divided by geographic region, company gross sales, employee base and size of location. Association Research Inc., an economic research firm based in Rockville, conducted the research. The study is available for $50 for NATA members and $100 for non-members.
Gulfstream Aerospace says it reduced prices by up to 48 percent on more than 6,000 consumable spare parts. "Over the past few months, we've been cutting our prices on many of our most popular consumable parts, some by nearly half, and as a result, we've received overwhelmingly positive response from our customers," said Larry Flynn, president of product support for Gulfstream.
Thales last week celebrated the inauguration of new air traffic management systems at the Irish Aviation Authority's air traffic control center in Shannon and Dublin, Ireland. Thales provided EUROCAT air traffic control systems and Voice Communication Control Systems for the air traffic control centers in both Shannon and Dublin under a contract the Irish Aviation Authority awarded in 2000. The systems process radar and flight plan information and cover 500,000 square kilometers of Irish airspace.
Pentastar Aviation's Avionics Department received a supplemental type certificate to install the new Honeywell Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) -217 modification aboard Gulfstream G-1159, G-1159A and G-1159B series aircraft and the EPGWS-218 modification on G-IV series aircraft. The system installed on the G-IV includes the ability to incorporate the Runway Awareness Alerting System, which provides aircraft/airport positioning data to ensure correct runway and taxiway alignment.
July 15-16 - National Business Aviation Association Asian Business Aviation Convention and Exposition, Hong Kong, China, (202) 783-9000 July 27-August 2 - Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh 2004, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-4800 August 24 - National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Seattle, Wash., (202) 783-9000 September 19-21 - National Association of State Aviation Officials, 73rd Annual Convention and Trade Show, Radisson Riverfront Hotel, St. Paul, Minn., (301) 588-0587
Keytech, the aerospace engineering unit of Keystone Ranger Holdings, Inc., Berwyn, Pa., plans to offer its services to a wider segment of the aviation industry. Keytech is an FAA Designated Alteration Station (DAS), which is able to provide sophisticated design and FAA certified engineering modifications, avionics integration and special equipment installations.
GEOFF BLOSS was appointed director of business application development for FlightSafety International. FlightSafety created the position to expand its information technology group. Bloss reports to Chris Weinberg, director of Business Systems. He formerly was a consultant with Verizon's eCommerce and Call Management Systems.
Meggitt/S-TEC said 250 units of its MAGIC EFIS systems have been installed in turboprop aircraft over the past two years. The MAGIC system - MAGIC is a marketing acronym for Meggitt Advanced Generation Integrated Cockpit - includes a primary flight display, navigation display, engine display unit and ADAHRS (Air Data Attitude Heading Reference System). The certified system also includes the 2100 DFCS (digital flight control system), a three-axis, fully digital attitude-based flight control system. Meggitt/S-TEC is headquartered in Mineral Wells, Texas.
Federal Aviation Administration has proposed an advisory circular, AC 20-SV, Satellite Voice Equipment as a Means for Air Traffic Services Communications, that provides guidance on securing design and airworthiness approval for satellite voice equipment. The proposed AC was written for designers, manufacturers and installers of satellite voice equipment. FAA is accepting comments on the proposed AC through Aug. 2.
Butler National's Avcon Industries received an order to install its cargo door modification in two Dassault Falcon 20 airplanes. The installations, which typically are priced at $525,000 each, will be performed at the company's Newton, Kan. facility.
Engineered Support Systems said its Technical and Management Services Corp. won a $4.5 million, two-year contract to support the Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., which provides a wide variety of repair and depot support for Coast Guard aviation assets.
FAA CONSIDERING MORE PROHIBITED FLIGHT AREAS - Five months after releasing a controversial proposal to turn a temporary flight restriction over a U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Ga. into a permanent prohibited area, the agency has proposed a second prohibited area, this time over the Naval Submarine Base at Bangor, Wash. As in the case with Kings Bay, the agency proposal stemmed from a request from the U.S. Navy because of "the current world situation and continued security concerns at this facility."
AOPA'S BOYER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ROCKEFELLER COMMENTS - Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association Phil Boyer expressed "surprise and shock" last week after Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate aviation subcommittee, likened general aviation aircraft to "killing machines" during a hearing on airport screening options. During the June 24 hearing, Rockfeller expressed concern about the damage corporate aircraft could inflict in the hands of terrorists and questioned whether such aircraft should be subject to screening.
AGUSTA Model A109E helicopters (Docket No. 2003-SW-32-AD; Amendment 39-13652; AD 2004-11-06) - requires disabling certain windshield wipers and thereafter modifying the electrical system of the windshield wipers by installing a new resistor and condenser, eliminating incompatibility problems with the relays, and replacing the timed relay for certain windshield wiper kits.
Business Air, a full service fixed-based operation in Denton, Texas, opened a 48,000-square-foot hangar for refurbishment. The company already has begun interior refurbishment in its new facilities, and the paint facility will be operational by mid-September. In addition to aircraft refurbishment, Business Air offers charter and aircraft management as well as corporate aircraft sales and leasing.
Federal Aviation Administration issued a contract to Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif. to modernize portions of the National Airspace System. The Traffic Flow Modernization project is intended to increase the capacity of U.S. airspace and reduce costs by enabling airlines, research organizations and FAA to make collaborative decisions that optimize traffic flow.
CHARTERED SIGHTSEEING HELICOPTER CRASH CLAIMS TWO - Two people were killed and three others seriously injured last month when a Bell 206B flew into power lines and crashed into a river while carrying guests at a birthday party on a sightseeing flight near a small town southwest of Tulsa, Okla. The June 26 accident involved a helicopter, N27TV, owned and operated by Interstate Helicopters, Inc. of Oklahoma City, Okla.
