Jet Aviation's West Palm Beach maintenance division completed a 2C inspection on a Falcon 50, requiring the complete removal of flight controls and the interior. The 12-year inspection involved removal and overhaul of the landing gear, a dimensional check on the horizontal stabilizer actuator, X-rays for corrosion, transponder, altimeter and major flight control checks, fire bottle and oxygen checks, leak checks and inspection of the fuel tanks.
Demolition crews last week began the final destruction of Chicago's Meigs Field, part of a contract awarded in July by the city to Pacific Construction Services (BA, July 21/23). In reaction, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association - following the Defense Department's example of using a deck of cards to illustrate most-wanted Iraqi leaders - posted a picture on its web site depicting Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in the center of the Ace of Spades. See article below.
CESSNA Models 401, 401A, 401B, 402, 402A, 402B, 411, and 411A airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-05-AD) - provides additional time for the public to comment on a proposal to supersede AD 79-10-15 R2, which currently requires repetitive inspections of the right and left wing spar lower cap areas for fatigue cracks and requires wing spar cap repair or replacement as necessary.
Cessna is offering a new factory authorized panel refurbishment service for older propeller aircraft built by Cessna and many other manufacturers. Customers could save up to 75 percent by having Cessna reilluminate and refurbish avionics on the panels instead of replacing them with new ones, Cessna said. The service can be completed at factory-authorized Cessna service stations. A list of the facilities can be found on the Internet at http:///www.customer.cessna.com/se/locator.chtml.
FAA will begin issuing new credit card-sized airmen certificates to the nation's active pilots, replacing existing paper certificates, Administrator Marion Blakey told an audience at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in. Made from a composite PVC media card stock, the certificates will incorporate security features, such as a hologram of the FAA seal. The certificate will be distributed to airmen when they achieve higher levels or additional ratings. It also will replace certificates that have been lost or damaged.
Mineta also addressed security concerns. The manufacturers urged him to use his position to help further educate the Administration about general aviation and ward off overreaching security initiatives. While Mineta has sympathized with the industry's concerns, he said he was not optimistic that the White House would change its mind about restoring general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association topped the 400,000-member mark, placing it among the top 100 associations in the nation. The association claims 61 percent of the nation's pilots and 75 percent of the general aviation pilot population as members. AOPA reached 200,000 members in 1977 and 300,000 in 1989.
COLORADO SPRINGS NAMES NEW AVIATION DIRECTOR - Colorado Springs, Colo. named Mark Earle as the new aviation director for the city's airport. Earle is scheduled to assume his new duties this week, replacing Gary Green, who retired at the end of May. Earle had been the director of aviation at Lubbock International Airport in Lubbock, Texas since 1995. He is on the board of the American Association of Airport Executives.
The fractional aircraft rule, which has been in development and under review for years, is currently in final review in the office of the FAA Administrator. The rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register this month, barring any unforeseen holdups. Former FAA Deputy Administrator Monte Belger - who was acting administrator at the time - signed the final rule establishing a new Subpart K to Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations nearly a year ago (BA, Sept. 23/135).
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is pleased with the overall downward trend in runway incursion incidents and accidents, particularly those involving scheduled air carriers, but "we need to work harder on the general aviation front," she told reporters last week. One idea being considered is the use of low-power beacon broadcasts to inform pilots about where they are on an airport.
ARINC recently deployed its ForeWarn lightning warning system at four more airports, bringing the total of North American airports using the technology to 15. The new installations are New York LaGuardia, Toronto Pearson International, Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan National airports. The ForeWarn system collects electrical information from ground sensors and combines the data with live satellite information to identify the potential for lightning strikes. The system breaks down threat conditions into five levels displayed through colored lights.
Raytheon Aircraft completed the 100th composite fuselage for the Beech Premier I business jet. The fuselage was moved to Plant Four, where it will join the Premier I assembly line. The Premier I was the first FAA-certified business jet with a fully composite fuselage.
Clay Lacy Aviation, which owns fixed-base operations at Van Nuys, Calif. and Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., has signed with fuel provider Avfuel Corp. to operate as a branded Avfuel dealer.
Federal Aviation Administration released a new advisory circular, AC 45-2B, Identification and Registration Marking, that provides guidance on meeting requirements for identifying aircraft and other products with identification plates and nationality and registration marks. Copies of AC 45-2B can be obtained from the Department of Transportation, Subsequent Distribution Office, Ardmore East Business Center, 3341Q 75th Ave., Landover, Md. 20785.
HARVEY W. COHEN was named senior vice president of development for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Foundation. Cohen will oversee fund raising for the nonprofit organization that provides aviation education and safety programs for general aviation. Cohen was previously chief development officer of the Foundation Fighting Blindness in Owings Mills, Md.
ARINC, the Annapolis, Md., firm that has provided a communications network for airlines and business aircraft operators for decades, is expanding its horizons to include homeland defense. ARINC, in cooperation with the state of Maryland, plans to sponsor a high-technology "business incubator" in Anne Arundel County, Md. that will focus on technologies related to homeland security. The program is supported by the county Department of Economic Development and the National Security Agency.
GARMIN PRODUCES RECORD SECOND QUARTER REVENUE AND EARNINGS - Despite a sagging general aviation market and sluggish national economy, global positioning satellite specialist Garmin Ltd. reported record earnings of $47.2 million on revenues of $143.5 million in the second fiscal quarter ended June 28. The earnings were up 47 percent from $32.1 million recorded in second quarter 2002, and revenues increased 17 percent from the $122.8 million posted a year ago.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association is working to develop a standard for helping pilots transition from the traditional cockpit to an all-glass cockpit on Part 23 aircraft. GAMA members hope the standard will provide a baseline to ensure that cockpit products are designed with enough commonality to help expedite certification and ease pilot training. GAMA members plan to voluntarily comply with the standard. GAMA hopes to complete the first version by yearend.
AVIATION PACKAGE MOVES GENERAL AVIATION CLOSER TO DCA - General aviation operators will take a step closer to regaining access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) if language included in the sweeping FAA reauthorization bill, Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (CARA), is adopted when Congress reconvenes in September. House and Senate negotiators included language that directs the Department of Homeland Security to develop and implement a security plan that would permit GA aircraft to take off and land at DCA.
Banyan Air Service, based at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), extended its maintenance hours and added shifts to reduce turnaround time to help customers who need on-the-spot maintenance during nights and weekends. Banyan's new hours are 7 a.m.-12:30 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekends. Banyan provides service from its 26,000-square-foot turbine maintenance hangar within-site engine shop and a non-destructive testing room; a 20,000-square-foot avionics hangar, including an in-house avionics testing shop.
OMF Aircraft is offering a $2,000 flight-training rebate on Symphony 160 aircraft. The special offer is open to anyone in the United States and Canada who signs a binding purchase agreement for a Symphony 160 and who earns a new FAA rating, private pilot, IFR or commercial pilot, within two years. The offer is limited to one rebate per aircraft.
Canadian Simulator Manufacturer CAE said European regional aircraft manufacturer ATR will upgrade two Thales-built ATR 42/72 full-flight simulators in the Toulouse, France training center with CAE's Tropos visual system. The Tropos system provides high-quality imaging and the ability to simulate actual airport environments so pilots see realistic visual cues, including a wide range of simulated weather.
Federal Aviation Administration has completed work on the final rule to govern sport pilot and light-sport aircraft and sent the document to the Department of Transportation for review, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told attendees at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture fly-in last week. "This is a momentous step in the road to seeing sport pilot and light-sport aircraft become reality," said EAA President Tom Poberezny, who has long sought such a regulation.
