AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION told its members Friday it was hoping for an imminent relaxation of airspace restrictions in the Washington, D.C. area, which would permit resumption of GA flights at some small airports in the area.
Aviation General, Inc. reported significant losses for the quarter and nine-month periods ended Sept. 30, a situation the company attributed to the slumping U.S. economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The company also said it plans to seek additional capital or a merger. The Bethany, Okla. manufacturer had a net loss of $559,764 in the third quarter, compared with net income of $252,353 during the same period a year ago. Revenues for the quarter plunged - from $4.8 million a year ago to just $1.55 million in the most recent period.
ASTRAL AVIATION, d/b/a Skyway Airlines, placed an order with Fairchild Dornier for four additional 328JETs and took options on 10 additional aircraft. The order is valued at $177 million. Skyway, a subsidiary of Midwest Express Airlines, currently operates eight 328JETs. The first of the new aircraft is scheduled for delivery in January 2002, with the remaining three to be delivered by December 2002. "The 328JET is the perfect solution to our 32-seat requirements," said Astral President James Rankin.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10391 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 65.104 Description of Relief Sought: To permit Hoare to be eligible to apply for a repairman certificate for his Seaward aircraft (Registration No. N20W) without being a citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
JIM COYNE, president of the National Air Transportation Association, is hopeful that federal officials will eventually permit business aviation flights to resume at Washington Reagan National Airport. There is a strong demand among business leaders for the return of such flights and, "If our nation's premier airport is closed, it sends the wrong message," Coyne said. While some have expressed the view that airplanes flying near the nation's capital represent a threat for attacks similar to those staged on Sept.
Gulfstream Aerospace won a contract valued at $100 million to provide two Gulfstream V aircraft to the Japan Coast Guard. The contract, awarded with its Japanese partner Marubeni Aerospace, also includes engineering support for modification of the aircraft and integration of mission systems. The aircraft, which will be used for ocean surveillance and rescue missions, will be equipped with airborne surveillance radar, forward-looking infrared system and other search and rescue equipment.
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.
GOODRICH CORP. won Technical Standard Order (TSO) approval from FAA for its new Sky Watch HP Traffic Collision Avoidance System, and the manufacturer said it plans to begin delivering the units to customers immediately. The Sky Watch HP is an active surveillance advisory system that operates as an air-to-air or ground-to-air interrogation device. After receiving replies to its interrogations, the unit computes the responding aircraft's range, bearing, relative altitude and closure rate, predicting potential traffic conflicts.
ILLINOIS GOV. George Ryan (R) and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (D) were contemplating a compromise agreement that would keep Meigs Field open for another two years while the city works on capacity enhancement projects at O'Hare. Several Meigs advocates, including representatives from Washington, D.C.-based general aviation organizations, met with Ryan and Illinois Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown to urge their continued support of the airport.
TAG AVIATION added a Falcon 900 and a Citation X to its fleet. The Falcon 900 is based in Carlsbad, Calif., while the Citation X is based in Denver, Colo. TAG manages nearly 150 aircraft at 50 bases about the world.
UNITED AIR LINES, following the lead of regional carrier Mesa Airlines, announced Thursday that it plans to install Taser electronic stun guns in the cockpits of its aircraft to defend against hijackings. The decision is subject to FAA approval. United said the Taser weapons will be kept in electronically coded lock boxes.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-9811 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 61.89(a)(5) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Fly BVI student pilots to fly between Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and the airports of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico while fulfilling the cross-country requirements for a private pilot certificate. Grant, 10/02/2001, Exemption No. 5796D
MESA, which announced plans earlier to equip its pilots with Taser weapons, said Friday it plans to employ trained security personnel on board selected America West Express flights out of its Phoenix hub.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10283 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.529(a)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Butler to operate its McDonnell Douglas DC-6 and DC-7 airplanes without a flight engineer during flightcrew training, ferry operations, and test flights that are conducted to prepare for firefighting operations carried out under 14 CFR Part 137.
NOT ALL comments will be as glowing on the fractional proposal. One comment, submitted by a representative from the Teamsters Miscellaneous and Industrial Workers Union, complained that the proposal was "written, argued about, negotiated, and trades made, in a room full of company management personnel." The commenter argued that the proposal is not a strengthening of fractional rules, but rather a "dumbing down" of Part 135 requirements.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-10787 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 25.807 Description of Relief Sought: To allow the petitioner to install two 26-inch horizontal by 19-inch vertical oval overwing emergency exits in lieu of a Type III overwing exit on the right side of the new Gulfstream GV-SP aircraft.
Cessna Aircraft Company plans to build a new $60 million Citation Service Center at its campus on Wichita Mid-Continent airport that will cover 443,000 square feet. The facility, which will be longer than five football fields, will be built on a 150-acre tract that the Wichita Airport Authority leased to Cessna. Construction will kick off this year, the company said, and take between 18 and 20 months.
AAR and KLM uk Engineering Limited signed a three-year service agreement for KLM's 15 Fokker 100s. Under the agreement, AAR Aircraft Component Services-Amsterdam will manage and repair Fokker 100 components. The service provider also works on KLM's BAe 146 fleet. AAR Aircraft Component Services repairs, overhauls and maintains more than 22,000 parts.
JOE GRAMZINSKI was promoted to director of quality assurance for Professional Aircraft Accessories. He has more than 15 years' experience in aircraft maintenance and overhaul. Gramzinski was formerly chief inspector for the repair station.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION named retired Rear Adm. Paul Busick as the agency's new security chief. Busick succeeds Michael Canavan as associate administrator for civil aviation security. Canavan resigned in early October after serving in the post for less than a year (BA, Oct. 8/172). A former commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in San Francisco, Calif., and Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., Busick has served as national security adviser in the Department of Transportation's Office of Intelligence and Security.
HONEYWELL LTP 101 series turboprop and LTS101 series turboshaft engines (Docket No. 99-NE-16-AD; Amendment 39-12486; AD 2001-22-07) - requires a new life limitation and removal of rigid tube fuel manifold assemblies and replacement with serviceable assemblies. This amendment is prompted by reports of cracking and fuel leakage of rigid tube fuel manifolds. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent engine fuel leakage due to low-cycle fatigue (LCF) cracking of the rigid tube fuel manifold, which could result in an in-flight fire.
EAGLE AIRCRAFT Model 150B airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-03-AD) - proposes to require modification of the attachment of the port and starboard throttle arms, and the starboard bushing of the throttle torque tube. This proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Australia. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the throttle control assembly caused by wrong-sized rivets. Such failure could reduce control of the airplane.
JENNIFER JENNINGS was named SimuFlite's regional sales manager, Central Region, which covers Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and North and South Dakota. She joined SimuFlite in 1996 and was most recently sales manager for the QuickTurn division.
