House and Senate aviation subcommittees this week begin their work on drafting legislation to authorize aviation programs beyond fiscal 2003. The Senate subcommittee scheduled a hearing Tuesday to discuss reauthorization with testimony from DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead and FAA Administrator Marion Blakey on topics including research and development, modernization, safety, and infrastructure and capacity concerns. The House aviation subcommittee has scheduled its first reauthorization hearing Wednesday.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA Model 407 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-33-AD; Amendment 39-13023; AD 2003-02-06) - requires visually inspecting certain tailboom gearbox support castings for cracks and replacing the tailboom assembly if a crack is found. This amendment is prompted by an incident in which a crack was discovered on the casting that holds the tail rotor gearbox and vertical fin.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES FUNDING FAA AT CURRENT LEVELS - Budget documents sent to Congress by the Bush Administration last week call for continued strong funding levels for FAA, with no mention of new user taxes or fees on direct users of the national aviation system, but with sharply higher portions of Operations funding coming from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
FAA EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON AGING AIRCRAFT RULE, GUIDANCE - The Federal Aviation Administration last week granted industry requests for more time to comment on a rule calling for inspections of aging aircraft. Released in early December as an interim final rule, the regulation requires detailed inspections and records checks of certain aircraft after 14 year of service and at specific intervals after that (BA, Dec. 16/275).
FAA SEEKS COMMENT ON PRIVATIZATION OF LAKEFRONT AIRPORT - FAA is seeking comments on the privatization of New Orleans Lakefront Airport, which stands to become the second airport to enter FAA's pilot privatization program. Federal officials announced Jan. 16 the opening of the 60-day comment period for privatization of Lakefront, which would grant Santa Monica-based American Airports a 50-year lease to run the facility. Only one airport in the U.S. has been privatized under the pilot program - Stewart International in Newburgh, N.Y., starting in April 2000.
Facing tighter budget constraints, an ailing airline industry and a sluggish economy, Senate aviation leaders last week sought solutions on how to meet an estimated $3 billion shortfall in security needs in fiscal 2004. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) vowed to address the rising costs of security but acknowledged that finding the revenues is no easy task.
Need a gift for a current or former flight attendant? Collectors Press, Inc. recently published COME FLY WITH US! A Global History of the Airline Hostess. The heavily illustrated, 160-page volume traces the history of flight attendants from their early days as registered nurses in the 1930s up until the current day with scores of photos depicting the changing aircraft and uniform environment. The book also explains the "wings or rings" dilemma that resulted from a requirement that flight attendants be single (which caused a lot of turnover in personnel).
Emergency & Disaster Management, Inc. will host the third International Symposium on Aviation Emergencies in Miami Beach, Fla., from March 24 to March 27. This year's theme for the four-day event is "Increasing Survivability." Each day will focus on a different aspect of disaster preparedness, including aviation terrorism, integrated command system, plane crashes, calamities at airports, and airport/community emergency planning and response. For more information, contact Gunnar J. Kuepper at (310) 649-1126.
Northrop Grumman will fund pilot training for The Discovery of Flight Foundation's recreation of Orville Wright's first flight. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight, a pilot for The Wright Experience will attempt on Dec. 17, 2003 to duplicate the 120-foot flight in a reproduction of the original plane, at the same location of the original flight at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
The Department of Justice has indicated that it is finally planning to sign off and release rules establishing procedures for non-U.S. citizens to undergo background checks before training on aircraft that weigh 12,500 pounds or more. OMB completed its review of the rules more than a month ago (BA, Jan. 6/1). Such training has been effectively banned since November 2001, and flight schools have lost millions of dollars in revenue.
The U.S. Department of Commerce will sponsor an Aerospace Products Literature Center (APLC) at the 2003 Paris Air Show. For $600, APLC will provide various marketing services to participants including display of sales literature and registration of visitors. APLC also publishes a directory of participants and will forward all leads to participants after the show. The deadline to sign up is May 1. For more information contact Mara Yachnin at (202) 482-3113.
EXTEX, an independent manufacturer of Rolls Royce 250 helicopter engine parts based in Mesa, Ariz., formed the ChoiceAlliance Network. ChoiceAlliance will offer customers certified overhauls and spare parts.
February 9-11 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2003, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646 February 17-19 - NBAA Leadership Conference, Colorado Springs, Colo., (202) 783-9000 March 13-15 - The Associao Brasileira de Aviacao Geral (ABAG)/ NBAA Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE2003), Sao Paulo, Brazil, (202) 783-9000 March 16-20 - NBAA 30th Annual International Operators Conference, Colorado Springs, Colo., (202) 783-9000
TSA EXTENDS COMPLIANCE DATE FOR 12-5, PRIVATE CHARTER - The Transportation Security Administration last week formally extended the compliance date until April 1 for operators to implement security and screening programs called for in the "Twelve-Five" and "Private Charter" security regulations. TSA notified industry groups late last month that it would extend the compliance date for the Twelve-Five regulations from Feb.
Metallurgical Solutions of Middletown, Ohio, earned A2LA certification from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. The certification is awarded to high quality labs that serve the aerospace, automotive and construction industries. "As far as I am aware, we are one of only four A2LA-certified metallurgy labs in the area. That puts us in a unique position to serve the metal manufacturing industries in this area and beyond," said Brian Joyce, metallurgist and director of the lab.
GREG THOMAS REPLACES DAVE HURLEY AS PRIVATAIR CEO - Greg Thomas, 36, chief operating officer of charter operator PrivatAir since December 2000, was named chief executive officer of the company. He succeeds David Hurley, CEO for the past three years and co-founder of Flight Services Group, who was named vice chairman. The company said Thomas, who was COO during a critical period that included the acquisition of Flight Services Group in the U.S.
BUSH PLANS TO NOMINATE RSPA HEAD TO CHAIR NTSB - President Bush plans to nominate Ellen G. Engleman, the administrator of the Transportation Department's Research and Special Programs Administration, to chair the National Transportation Safety Board.
Cessna Aircraft delivered a Citation CJ1 business jet, S/N 505, to Midwest Transplant Network (MTN), a nonprofit corporation that will use the aircraft to transport organs and medical professionals involved in transplantation-related services. MTN, one of more than 50 federally certified Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO), is the OPO for Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri.
All Weather Inc. won a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation to supply and install FAA-certified automated weather systems at 10 general aviation airports. The AWI AWOS IIIP/T will report wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, altimeter settings, density altitude, visibility, cloud height, present weather and thunderstorms in the area.
Still unable to finish its work on a fiscal 2003 budget, the House and Senate passed another continuing resolution, the eighth adopted by both chambers, keeping the government running at fiscal 2002 spending levels until Feb. 20. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) reportedly threatened to pass one last continuing resolution covering the remainder of fiscal 2003 if Congress cannot reach agreement on the budget by the President's Day weekend.
Transportation Security Administration is extending until April 1 the deadline for affected Part 135 operators to implement new security programs under the agency's "Twelve Five" rule, the National Air Transportation Association was told Friday. NATA had been deluged with calls from panicked operators who faced an early February deadline for setting up the mandatory security programs but had not yet seen the final guidance (BA, Jan. 27/35). NATA officials were anxiously awaiting Friday afternoon for written confirmation of the extension from TSA.
DORNIER Model 328-100 and -300 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-77-AD; Amendment 39-13010; AD 2002-26-21) - requires inspecting the electrical wire harness next to the fuel line at the left electric fuel pump for signs of chafing; securing the electrical wire harness to the fuel line using ty-rap; and taking corrective actions, if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent damage to the electrical wire harness, which could result in electrical arcing and an increased potential for fire or explosion. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 100 airplanes on the U.S.
WSI Corporation delivered the first WSI InFlight cockpit weather system for use in a general aviation aircraft. WSI InFlight provides near real-time aviation weather in the cockpit while in flight. The system was developed in coordination with Hampton, Va.-based VIGYAN under a NASA research grant. WSI teamed with Sandia Aerospace last year to bring the technology into the cockpit (BA, June 10/273). The system provides a continuous broadcast of weather information throughout the U.S.
