EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350BA and B2 helicopters [Docket No. 2001-SW-62-AD; Amendment 39-12664; AD 2002-04-07] - requires, for helicopters modified with a Eurocopter Canada Limited (ECL) Left-Side-Pilot Configuration kit in accordance with Canadian Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SH96-32 or United States STC SR00429 NY, replacing the collective locking device with a newly designed locking device. This amendment is prompted by a report of a locking device that engaged during flight.
Six consecutive years of record deliveries of new business jets by original equipment manufacturers and widespread concerns about an economic slowdown over the past year have combined to produce one of the strongest buyer's markets for used business jets in recent memory.
THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINSTRATION presented Ken Forester, founder of Million Air Teterboro, with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic award. Named after Charles Taylor, a mechanic for the Wright Brothers airplane, the award recognizes aviation maintenance personnel who have at least 50 years of experience in the industry. Forester earned his private pilot's license in 1939 and a mechanic's license in 1946 after serving as a test pilot in the Army Air Corps. He started Mallard Air Service in the 1940s and founded General Aviation in Teterboro, N.J. in 1958.
The Federal Aviation Administration and other government security agencies are discussing the possibility of using gateway airports as a way to allow business aviation to return to Reagan National Airport, an administration official said last week. The idea was discussed at a meeting with officials from FAA, the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Secret Service at the end of last month, said Lee Longmire, TSA director of civil aviation security operations.
BAE SYSTEMS Model BAe 146 Series airplanes and Model Avro 146-RJ Series airplanes [Docket No. 2001-NM-186-AD; Amendment 39-12666; AD 2002-04-09] - requires modifying the engine start circuit. This action is necessary to prevent overheating of the soft start resistor of the engine start circuit, which could result in smoke and fumes in the cabin and consequent injury to passengers and crew. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition. FAA estimates that 65 Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ series airplanes of U.S.
CIRRUS DESIGN CORP. is boosting the price for its SR20 and SR22 single-engine airplanes beginning March 31. The price for the entry-level SR20, which is powered by a 200-horsepower engine that provides160 knots cruise speed, will increase from $197,600 to $207,800. The SR22, powered by a 310-horspower engine providing 180-kts. cruise speed, will be $289,400, up from $276,600. Cirrus equips the aircraft with IFR avionics packages that include at least one Garmin GNS 430 GPS/nav/com, an S-TEC Meggitt autopilot and an Avidyne FlightMax Pro Multi-Function Display.
THE ALMULLA BUSINESS GROUP of Dubai will partner with Jet Aviation to provide business aviation services to customers in and around Dubai, U.A.E. Jet Aviation expects to open its Dubai facility later this year. The Almulla Business Group is part of the Almulla Family, which holds major interests in luxury hotels, along with trade, finance and medical services.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
JET ASSOCIATES and Business Air Management of Denton, Texas launched a new aircraft ownership program called "Intelli-Jets." Designed to take the "stress out of buying, managing and operating a jet aircraft" for first-time owners, the new program will consolidate and manage crew, fuel, maintenance, hangar rental and insurance costs for aircraft owners, said Jet Associates. "Everything is covered with the payment of the monthly fee and hourly rate."
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8471 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 21.183(c) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Termikas to obtain a standard airworthiness certificate for each of its LET L-13 Blanik sailplanes without a certifying statement from the country of manufacture relating to the sailplanes' airworthiness. Denial, Jan. 4, 2002, Exempt No. 7688
THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION, which last month agreed to an overall framework for aviation security, in April will begin drafting a security plan specifically for general aviation operations. International general aviation organizations, including the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations and the International Business Aviation Council, urged ICAO delegates to recognize the differences between large commercial and business/general aviation operations as they develop new security standards (BA, Feb. 18/87).
RUSS MORRIS was appointed regional sales manager for the mid-Atlantic states at Wood Group Turbopower. He will be responsible for PT6 and Twin Pac sales in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky. Morris is a licensed rotary and fixed-wing pilot, an Armed Services veteran and a former recipient of the Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6 Eagle Award.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON Manufactured Model OH-13E, OH-13H, and OH-13S helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-17-AD; Amendment 39-12657; AD 2002-03-16) - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires either recurring liquid penetrant or eddy current inspections of the main rotor blade grip threads for a crack. If a crack is detected, that AD requires, before further flight, replacing the cracked grip with an airworthy grip. That AD also establishes a retirement life of 1,200 hours time-in-service for each grip.
JOSEPH HANSFORD was named manager of Wood Group Turbopower's newly opened regional turbine shop at Jack Garland Airport in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. He will be responsible for establishing the PT6 operator maintenance support business throughout the region. Hansford, a Transport Canada Category M1 and M2 licensed technician, was most recently director of maintenance at Voyageur Airways.
Illustration: Graph: Used retail jet and turboprop deliveries inside and outside North America for January 2002 Used Retail Deliveries JAN. '99 JAN. '00 JAN. '01 JAN. '02 L M H L M H L M H L M H Jet North 38 26 18 39 26 14 38 18 15 51 38 15 America Jet Outside 5 1 1 4 2 1 4 5 1 5 2 3 N.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B19 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-155-AD; Amendment 39-12655; AD 2002-03-14) - requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the left and right lower wing planks, and repair, if necessary. The actions specified by this AD are intended to find and fix such cracking, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the wing. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 214 airplanes on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $12,840, or $60 per airplane, per inspection cycle. The rule is effective March 27.
Joseph B. (Doc) Hartranft, Jr., 86, the first president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, died Feb. 22 in Annapolis, Md. Hartranft was one of six founders of AOPA in Philadelphia in 1939, a time when "the military's concerns about impending world war threatened the freedom of civilian aviation," according to AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Hartranft's leadership not only preserved general aviation through that dark period, but also enlisted GA in the defense of the nation.
GOODRICH named company veteran Marshall O. Larsen president and chief operating officer of the Charlotte, N.C. company, part of a succession plan approved by the board of directors. He assumed his new roles last week and also will be a candidate for the board of directors at the company's annual shareholders meeting in April. Larsen joined BFGoodrich in 1977 and most recently was serving as executive vice president of the parent company and president and COO of its aerospace business.
Gulfstream sold three G200 business jets to Hainan Airlines of Beijing for $60 million, the company's first sale in the Chinese market. Deliveries of the 10-passenger aircraft are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2002, with the last aircraft to be delivered by the first quarter of 2003. Hainan's Deer Jet subsidiary will operate the aircraft, which will be used for charter service within China and throughout Asia, Gulfstream said. Gulfstream acquired the G200 when its parent company, General Dynamics, bought Galaxy Aerospace last year.
ALETHA LENZ was named aircraft sales manager at Elliott Aviation in Des Moines, Iowa. Lenz will be responsible for sales of new Beech Bonanzas, Barons, King Air C90Bs as well as used turbine and piston aircraft. She will also oversee aircraft brokerage and acquisition services in Central Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and parts of Wisconsin. Lenz, a pilot with commercial, instrument and multi-engine ratings, was previously an aircraft sales representative for a Piper dealer in central Iowa and has experience as a certified flight instructor.
The National Business Aviation Association last week asked the U.S. Customs Service to reopen the comment period on the rule that requires charter operators to electronically transmit crew and passenger manifests before crossing into the U.S. from foreign destinations. Congress called for the rule in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, but the issue erupted last month after charter companies were hit with fines up to $10,000 for landing in the U.S. without first electronically submitting manifests (BA, Feb. 25/93).
HONEYWELL LTS101 series turboshaft and LTP101 series turboprop engines (Docket No. 2000-NE-14-AD; Amendment 39-12650; AD 2002-03-09) - requires a one-time visual inspection for surface finish and a one-time fluorescent penetrant inspection for cracks of certain impellers installed on LTS101 series turboshaft and LTP101 series turboprop engines. This amendment is prompted by a report of a machining discrepancy that may have occurred during manufacture of the affected impellers.
RUNWAY 9L/27R at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Fla. International Airport will be closed in the pre-dawn hours from 12:01 a.m. - 6 a.m. Monday March 4 through Sunday March 20. The closures are designed to permit workers to perform field maintenance and rubber removal from the runway.
British manufacturer Warrior Aero-Marine, Ltd. has secured $1.14 million in new funds to continue development on its prototype amphibious aircraft, allowing the company to move ahead on schedule to make a first flight in 2003.
CIRRUS SR20 AND SR22 AIRCRAFT began returning to the skies last week after installation of a fix to a problem with the Ballistic Recovery System. Cirrus Design Corp. advised owners of some 320 aircraft to ground the airplanes Feb. 22 after parachute designer BRS discovered a problem with the activation cable that could prevent the parachute from deploying. Cirrus and BRS quickly developed a repair - a clamp for the activation cable - and began distribution of the clamps last week.
