NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION Friday planned to appeal to its members to help Iowa state aviation officials fight for their funding. The Iowa state legislature is considering eliminating all general funds for aviation and possibly capital improvement funds as well. The general fund pays for the state's Airport Improvement Program for GA airside improvements and marketing efforts. The state paid $2.5 million in fiscal 2000 in general fund money for those aviation programs.
Declaring general aviation the "forgotten victim" of Sept. 11, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members Wednesday approved a bill to provide general aviation businesses up to $5.5 billion in direct compensation and loans to cover their losses stemming from the terrorist attacks. The committee passed by voice vote a scaled-down version of the $7.5 billion General Aviation Industry Reparations Act of 2001 that aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) introduced late last year (BA, Dec. 3/257).
A new Florida-based airline is gearing up to begin specialized service later this year for passengers traveling with their pets. Companion Air, founded by Rick and Diana Roof of Boca Raton, Fla., will allow pets to stay in the cabin and visit with owners during the flight, instead of being transported as cargo.
FOKKER Model F27 Mark 050 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-332-AD; Amendment 39-12660; AD 2002-04-03) - requires reinforcement of the structural provisions for the Global Positioning System antenna by replacement of existing fasteners with new fasteners, and installation of conical washers and a doubler plate at Stringer 26, as applicable.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Norman Mineta is expected to return to work today after a month of rehabilitation following Jan. 31 hip replacement surgery (BA, Feb. 4/63).
MICHAEL AUTREY was appointed PT6 field service and special projects manager at Wood Group Turbopower in Miami Lakes, Fla. In the newly created position, Autrey will assist customers with services such as engine maintenance, inspection programs, cost analysis, and rigging. Autrey, an FAA airframe and powerplant certified technician, has more than 20 years of experience in the turbine engine maintenance industry, primarily dealing with PT6 and Twin Pac engine support.
SHORT BROTHERS Model SD3-60, SD3-60 SHERPA, and SD3-SHERPA series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-143-AD; Amendment 39-12654; AD 2002-03-13) - requires a one-time inspection of the wiring harness and power cables of the heated windshield to detect inadequate clearance, inadequate support, or chafing. This amendment also requires corrective action (including re-routing for adequate clearance or replacing damaged cables, as applicable), if necessary.
Bombardier Finds Asian Customer For Its Global 5000 Business Jet BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE found an Asian customer for its Global 5000 business jet, announcing an order from Sino Private Aviation Ltd. of Hong Kong. Bombardier launched the Global 5000 last month after receiving letters of intent for 15 of the aircraft, which will compete against the Dassault Falcon 900 and the Gulfstream IV in the "super-large" business jet category (BA, Feb. 11/72).
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B19 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-49-AD) - proposes to require a one-time inspection of the fuel-level sensing wires in the center fuel tank for damage and for clearance from the adjacent structure. This proposal also awould require corrective action, if necessary.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES is concerned about a delay by FAA in responding to a court order regarding the agency's contract tower program. The National Air Traffic Controllers Organization has challenged that program in court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Ohio set a March 7 deadline for FAA to provide a status report. At issue is FAA's delay in finishing an A-76 study that federal agencies must complete before contracting functions to the private sector.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-140-AD; Amendment 39-12653; AD 2002-03-12) - requires a modification and a replacement affecting the fuel tanks in the wings. All affected airplanes require modification of the clearance of the fuel tank vent lines to the left and the right wing fuel tanks. Some affected airplanes also require replacement of three existing fuel probes from the center fuel tank on the left and right wings with new production fuel probes.
AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION formally petitioned the Transportation Department Friday seeking new regulations that would permit pilots to have firearms in the cockpit under specific conditions. Under the ALPA proposal, arming of pilots would be voluntary.
THE V-22 OSPREY is scheduled to resume flight testing in late April at the Naval Air Warfare Center at Patuxent River, Md., the Naval Air Systems Command said last week. The V-22, which has been grounded following a series of accidents and intensive studies by government officials, will undergo another 1,800 hours of test flying.
Three of FAA's en route centers - Memphis, Indianapolis and Cleveland - went on line in recent weeks with the agency's User Request Evaluation Tool (URET). FAA said URET is the final stage of Free Flight Phase One. It was rolled out at the Kansas City en route center in early December, replacing a prototype system, and will be deployed at the Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington centers this spring. URET contains "over 600,000 lines of software code that help controllers provide direct routes to high-altitude aircraft more quickly," FAA said.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE was awarded modifications to two existing U.S. Air Force contracts to provide logistics support and communication systems upgrades for C-37A Gulfstream V aircraft. One contract, for $10.3 million for fiscal 2002, includes contractor logistics support for Air Force C-37A aircraft. The second authorizes $7.7 million for C-37A communications system upgrades to be completed by September 2006.
CHRIS A. DAVIS, a former member of the top management team at Gulfstream Aerospace, was elected to the Rockwell Collins board of directors. Davis is chief operating and financial officer for McLeodUSA Inc. She was previously chief financial and administrative officer of ONI Systems, San Jose, Calif., and prior to that was executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer and a member of the board at Gulfstream Aerospace. Before Gulfstream, Davis spent 17 years in various managerial and executive positions with General Electric Co.
Despite a reservations system that couldn't handle initial demand for slots into the four gateway airports, industry and FAA officials agreed last week that business/corporate aviation operations in and out of Salt Lake City during the Winter Olympics ran well despite unprecedented security requirements.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION last week continued to press government leaders to open Washington Reagan National Airport to non-airline flights. The Transportation Department has publicly stated that it expects to release a plan shortly to return the airport to full operations for the airlines, but still has not given word when GA can get back in.
DORNIER Model 328-100 and -300 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-185-AD; Amendment 39-12656; AD 2002-03-15) - requires testing of the left- and right-hand potentiometer levers of the aileron flight control system, and follow-on or corrective action, as applicable. This amendment is necessary to prevent detachment of an aileron potentiometer lever, which could result in jamming of the elevator and/or aileron flight control systems and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 89 aircraft on the U.S.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT flew its newest mid-size business jet, the Citation Sovereign, for the first time last week on a one hour and 10-minute flight from Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. Cessna test pilots Wayne Spriggs and Bruce Rice tested the plane's basic stability, flap extension and retraction, controllability, trim actuation and other flight characteristics. Certification of the aircraft is slated for late 2003 with delivery beginning in early 2004.
ECLIPSE AVIATION is incorporating features in the software architecture of its Eclipse 500 entry-level business jet to support the use of a biometric identification system and card reader. Eclipse President Vern Raburn does not plan to make such a device part of the FAA aircraft certification package, but he told BA he wanted to incorporate the capability to use such systems in the Eclipse in the event such systems prove desirable or become required at some point (BA, Feb. 18/81). See related article on Page 95.
BAE SYSTEMS Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-224-AD; Amendment 39-12648; AD 2002-03-07) - requires a one-time inspection to detect corrosion of the flap structure and machined ribs, corrective actions if necessary, and reprotection of the rib boss bores. This action is necessary to detect and correct corrosion in the flap structure and machined ribs, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 60 aircraft on the U.S.
THE BRAZILIAN MANUFACTURER also was claiming victory last week in its long-running trade dispute with Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier before the World Trade Organization. Embraer said Bombardier's decision not to appeal a WTO finding that Canada had been unfairly subsidizing buyers of its regional jets "amounts to an admission by Canada that the panel was correct, and that Canada has been silently violating the rules since as early as 1996," said Mauricio Botelho, president and CEO of Embraer.
Not satisfied with manufacturer-recommended inspection schedules for propeller blades on ATR 42-500/700 turboprop aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board wants FAA to order more aggressive inspection schedules for the blades.
