Docket No.: FAA-2001-10356 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.177(a)(2) and 91.179(b)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit properly equipped USASOC aircraft to conduct low-level operations without complying with en route minimum altitudes for flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) or direction of flight requirements for IFR en route segment in uncontrolled airspace. Grant, 09/29/2001, Exemption No. 7631
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer last week admonished the Radiological Society of North American for perpetuating "fear mongering" about the safety of Meigs Field after the organization asked city planners to close the airport during its Nov. 25-30 convention. The society said it has received calls from attendees of its meeting who were concerned about the proximity of Chicago's McCormick Place to Meigs Field, according to a Chicago Sun-Times article.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B19 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-68-AD; Amendment 39-12488; AD 2001-22-09) - requires repetitive eddy current inspections for cracking of the main landing gear (MLG) main fittings, and replacement with a new or serviceable MLG, if necessary. This action also requires servicing the MLG shock struts; inspecting the MLG shock struts for nitrogen pressure, visible chrome distortion, and oil leakage; and performing corrective actions, if necessary.
SEAN O'KEEFE was nominated as NASA administrator by President Bush. O'Keefe is the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget and is known for his efforts to control spending on the International Space Station. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace outgoing NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, who stepped down last week after a 10-year term. O'Keefe is a former secretary of the Navy and chief financial officer of the Department of Defense.
BOEING AND AIRBUS achieved international technical specification status with their co-developed industry guidelines for bar code parts identification, the two companies announced last week. "Achieving international status supports our vision to deploy an ISO standard that meets the needs of both the commercial and military aviation industries around the world," said Kenneth Porad, program manager of the Permanent Bar Code on Parts Identification Program at Boeing.
THE APPARENT FAILURE of primary composite structure on the A300 Airbus that crashed in New York Monday is raising new questions throughout the aviation industry about the use of such materials in aircraft. National Transportation Safety Board investigators found that the composite brackets that attached the vertical stabilizer to the top of the fuselage snapped, causing the stabilizer to separate and making it impossible for the crew to control the aircraft.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10169 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 145.45(f) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Boeing to give copies of its Inspection Procedures Manual (IPM) to key individuals and make the IPM available electronically to all other employees, rather than giving a paper copy to each of its supervisory and inspection personnel. Grant, 09/21/2001, Exemption No. 7065A
JACQUES BLONDEAU was appointed general manager at Cessna's Greensboro, N.C. Citation Service Center located at Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO). He was most recently manager, business aircraft and military engines customer solutions, for Pratt&Whitney Canada.
The National Air Transportation Association, working with high-tech companies including Lockheed Martin and Microsoft, is developing biometrically encoded identification cards for both passengers and employees of aviation businesses. The new cards, equipped with specific biometric information - such as finger print or retinal scan data - are designed to be quickly checked or scanned to verify the identity of the holder.
MEMBERS of the Fractional Ownership Aviation Rulemaking Committee (FOARC) prided themselves on using a consensus approach in developing a rulemaking proposal that would govern fractional aircraft providers, a proposal that was accepted with very little change by FAA officials and published in a formal notice of proposed rulemaking. That does not mean, however, that everyone likes the proposed rule, as evidenced by some outspoken comments sent to the rulemaking docket. See article below.
FOKKER Model F.28 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-208-AD; Amendment 39-12487; AD 2001-22-08) - requires replacing the main landing gear (MLG) torque link dampers with modified and re-identified dampers. This action is necessary to prevent degradation of the dampers, which could result in MLG high amplitude oscillation in a lateral torsional mode, and consequent MLG damage or separation of the MLG from the airplane. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 147 Model F.28 series airplanes on the U.S.
DASSAULT Model Mystere-Falcon 50, Mystere-Falcon 900, and Falcon 900EX series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-10-AD; Amendment 39-12489; AD 2001-22-10) - requires revising the Emergency Procedures and Abnormal Procedures sections of the airplane flight manual to advise the flight crew to immediately don oxygen masks in the event of significant pressurization or oxygen level changes. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent incapacitation of the flight crew due to lack of oxygen, which could result in their inability to continue to control the airplane.
SPORTY'S PILOT SHOP now offers its Complete Instrument Rating Course on interactive DVD disks. Sporty's said the DVD course breaks down the material into small, easily understood segments, most of which are followed by an interactive quiz using actual FAA test questions with answers and explanations. Each disc also includes a review exam, which combines all of the quizzes from that volume into one test. The DVD discs may be played on a television, portable DVD player or a DVD-equipped computer. The complete DVD instrument flying course is priced at $199.
UAL is planning a media blitz this week to promote its new fractional ownership venture, Avolar, with ads in major newspapers.The promotional campaign comes as UAL continues to seek outside investors to buy a majority interest in Avolar. "It's important that we continue to work to make this UAL subsidiary as attractive as possible to potential investors and customers," Chairman and CEO Jack Creighton said in an internal memo to employees.
ROCKWELL COLLINS TDR-94 and TDR-94D Mode S transponders (Docket No. 2000-CE-32-AD) - proposes to require that the unit be modified to prevent erroneous altitude reporting. The proposed AD is the result of reports that erroneous altitude resolutions could occur when the affected transponders are used in areas with other airplanes equipped with certain aircraft collision avoidance system (ACAS) or traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) configurations.
XCOR AEROSPACE demonstrated a modified Long-EZ aircraft powered by two liquid fuel rocket engines in Mojave, Calif. "The EZ-Rocket provides us with a major step forward in routine operations of liquid-fueled rocket vehicles," said XCOR President Jeff Greason. "The next step is to build a higher performance vehicle that can generate revenue through routine and reliable suborbital transportation."
Robert L. Horowitz, a 29-year aerospace industry veteran, was named chief operating officer of Raytheon Aircraft Company last Thursday. Horowitz, who had been vice president of operations and quality for Raytheon's Electronic Systems business in El Segundo, Calif., was named COO of the Wichita aircraft manufacturer by Jim Schuster, chairman and CEO of RAC. Schuster, who has made a number of organizational changes since assuming control of the troubled aircraft manufacturing unit in mid-year (BA, Oct.
BOEING Model B-17E, F, and G airplanes (Docket No. 95-NM-15-AD; Amendment 39-12485; AD 2001-22-06) - requires inspections to detect cracking and corrosion of the wing spar chords, bolts and bolt holes of the spar chords, and wing terminals; and correction of any discrepancy found during these inspections. This amendment is prompted by reports of cracking and corrosion of the wing spar.
RAISBECK ENGINEERING signed an agreement with American Trans Air under which the airline will install the Raisbeck Hardened Cockpit Security System on its entire fleet of Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft. These include 12 delivered (of 49 ordered) 737s, as well as 20 of their 25 ordered 757s. ATA and Raisbeck are in discussions with Boeing about equipping the balance of the carrier's new aircraft with the Raisbeck cockpit system prior to delivery to ATA.
MICHAEL GIRPS was appointed general manager of Jet Aviation Engineering Services based in Spring Branch, Texas. He will be responsible for the management of daily operations including engineering and administrative duties, sales and customer support. Girps joined Jet Aviation Basel in 1997 and has experience in completions and modification projects on several aircraft.
GEORGE A. SALING was elected chairman of the board of the National Business Aviation Association board for a two-year term. Saling is the vice president, aviation and travel services, for Philip Morris Management Corp. He is responsible for providing aviation and commercial travel support for all of Philip Morris. Before joining the company in 1991, Saling held management positions at FlightSafety International, GTE Service Corp. and Tenneco Inc.
HONEYWELL won a contract to supply its Bendix/King flight information service (FIS) products as standard equipment on Socata Trinidad piston-engine and TBM 700 turboprop aircraft delivered in the U.S. The FIS product line provides real-time local and general weather throughout the U.S. as a test or graphic display. The weather information can be transmitted through the Bendix/King KDR 510 data radio and displayed on Bendix/King KMD 5500 or KMD 850 multifunction displays. The FIS uses a newly designed wholly owned network of more than 200 ground stations.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10509 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.143(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Eagle Air to operate certain aircraft under Part 135 without a TSO-C112 (Mode S) transponder installed in the aircraft. Grant, 10/05/2001, Exemption No. 7639
The Federal Aviation Administration's proposal for regulating fractional providers stems from a "buy-off deal" that trades one safety rule for another and should be withdrawn, a pilot for a major fractional provider charged. FAA released the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in July after gathering recommendations from a 27-member industry task force on whether fractional operations should be regulated under the same standards as Part 135 on-demand carriers or Part 91 operations (BA, July 16/25).
Congress last week stripped out a provision to require background checks on "aliens" who buy or charter aircraft before adopting the sweeping security legislation that reaches into all segments of aviation. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, S.1447, was approved by the Senate Friday morning followed shortly by the House, overhauls aviation security in the U.S.
