KIRK KINKEAD was named to Duncan Aviation's avionics sales team. Kinkead has more than 20 years of experience in aviation engineering and customer service.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-9687 (previously Docket No. 30098) Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.152(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To allow PHI to operate its two Bell 212 helicopters (Serial Nos. 30951, and 30957) and its Sikorsky S61N helicopter (Serial No. 61821, Registration No. N264F) without those helicopters being equipped with an approved digital flight data recorder. Grant, 06/13/2001, Exemption No. 7257A
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8269 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 133.33(d)(1) Description of Relief Sought: To permit HLSI to develop, submit, and obtain FAA approval on behalf of Part 133 operators in helicopter lift operations.
The Boeing Company successfully completed the first flight last month of its prototype CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, the sixth Chinook type designed for the U.S. Army. The June 25 flight, which Boeing did not announce until four days later, took place at the company's Philadelphia, Pa. manufacturing facility. The flight included hover and basic maneuvers.
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.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-9283 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 121.411, 121.413, 121.434, 121.440, and 121.441 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit ACA ground training (initial and recurrent), flight training (initial and recurrent), pilot checks (including line checks), and operating experience for the 328JET acquired or accomplished by each pilot or each check airman at ACJet to count for that individual and for ACA as if the individual accomplished the regulatory requirement at ACA.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT agreed to sell the Aircraft Service International Group, Inc. fixed-base operations at Orlando International Airport as a condition of receiving clearance from the Department of Justice to acquire ASIG parent Ranger Aerospace. The Justice Department ruled last month that Signature, which has its own Orlando FBO, must divest a flight support services business, including fueling, ramp, and hangar rentals, at Orlando. DOJ said the merger would have created a monopoly at Orlando. The divestiture will not include ASIG's airline operations at Orlando.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-9579 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.251, 135.255, 135.353, and appendixes I and J to Part 121 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Ashland County Airport and Johnston Aviation to conduct local sightseeing flights at the Ashland County Airport for the annual Open House in July 2001 and the Fall Foliage flights in October 2001 for compensation or hire, without complying with certain anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention requirements of Part 135. Grant, May 9, 2001, Exemption No. 7528
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8423 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.251, 135.255, 135.353, and appendixes I and J of Part 121 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit AFN to conduct no more than four local sightseeing flights at an airport in the vicinity of Kenai, Alaska, as part of a raffle to raise funds for local charities, at a date and time to be determined by you and recipient(s) of the flight, for compensation or hire, without complying with certain anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention requirements of Part 135.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-8750 (previously Docket No. 27429) Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 147.31(c)(2)(iii) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit U.S. Air Force aviation maintenance technicians who have completed military aviation maintenance training courses to be evaluated using the same criteria that are used for the civilian sector. Grant, May 3, 2001, Exemption No. 6094C
DESPITE RECENT MEDIA REPORTS that General Electric officials were willing to consider additional divestitures to win European Union support for the proposed merger with Honeywell, it appeared Friday the deal won't happen. Honeywell Chairman Michael Bonsignore sent a letter to GE Chairman Jack Welch Friday offering to lower the exchange ratio in their merger agreement from 1.055 shares of GE for every Honeywell share to 1.01 shares of GE per Honeywell share.
SIMULA will integrate its air bag technology into the cockpit of a U.S. military helicopter. The U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate awarded Simula the $11.1 million contract for the production of cockpit air bag systems for UH-60A/L Black Hawk helicopters. Completion of 490 systems for retrofit in existing helicopters and additional spare kits is expected by March 2003. Simula, of Phoenix, Ariz., claims this will be "the first application of such technology in any aircraft."
STEPHANIE WRIGHT was named customer service representative for The Air Group in New York. Wright will provide detailed communications to management clients and sales offices by creating and maintaining client profiles and upgrades to related aircraft.
Rockwell International Corp., of Milwaukee, Wis., planned to complete the spinoff of its avionics and communications unit, Rockwell Collins, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at the close of business June 29. For each share of Rockwell International common stock held on June 15, 2001, shareholders will receive one share of Rockwell Collins, Inc., stock.
GROEN BROTHERS AVIATION retained Stern&Co. of New York as investor and media counsel. Stern&Co. will raise investor awareness in the company's aircraft technology and opportunities in military and civil aerospace markets. The company is developing the Hawk 4 gyroplane and claims to have received deposits for more than 140 of the aircraft.
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8514 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 25.857(e)(4) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To provide AAS with relief from 14 CFR 25.857(e)(4) pertaining to the exclusion of hazardous quantities of smoke, flames, and noxious gases from the flight crew compartment to permit supplemental type certification of the Learjet Model 25 series airplanes modified for the carriage of cargo. Grant, April 11, 2001, Exemption No. 7507
ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY Model R44 helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-67-AD) - proposes to require establishing a life limit of 2,200 hours time-in-service (TIS) for affected horizontal stabilizers. This proposal is prompted by engineering analysis, which indicates that certain vertical-to-horizontal stabilizer attach channels will crack sooner than the original life limit of the horizontal stabilizer. FAA estimates that this AD will affect three helicopters on the U.S. Registry. The total cost impact of the proposed AD on U.S. operators is estimated to be $90.
FedEx is writing off its $9 million investment and deposits in the Ayres Loadmaster development program, the small package carrier said last week. FedEx was the launch customer for the twin-engine, single-propeller cargo aircraft, but Ayres Aircraft encountered financial problems.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-9160 (previously Docket No. 24187) Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.209(a)(1) and (b), and (2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit FDLE to conduct operations in support of drug law enforcement and drug traffic interdiction without complying with the visual flight rules cruising altitude requirements or without lighted aircraft position and anticollision lights while operating between sunset and sunrise. Grant, May 4, 2001, Exemption No. 3596G
THE WHITE HOUSE nominated Marion Blakey as chair of the National Transportation Safety Board last week. Blakey was the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1992-1993 and is now the owner of Blakey&Associates, a public relations firm that represents auto industry interests.
New Piper Aircraft recently completed the first phase of its "factory of the future," which company executives describe as a radical change in its approach to the manufacturing process with the implementation of flow technology, new quality standards and inventory control. Those changes replace long-standard "batch" manufacturing practices in the aviation industry and adopt manufacturing processes modeled after the automobile industry, company executives said.
Messier-Dowty last week was awarded 3.4 million euros for the research and design of reduced-noise landing gear. The company's efforts are part of "Silence," a 48-month European Technology Platform launched to improve the "environmental friendliness" of commercial aircraft, including external noise generated by both engines and airframe components such as the undercarriage. For a long time, engine noise dominated overall aircraft noise levels, but the introduction of quieter engine technology has made airframe noise more noticeable.
SABRELINER CORP. won FAA group certification for its modification and data package for the Sabre 65 business jet to operate in reduced vertical separation minimum airspace. Sabreliner said it can complete the RVSM installation within two to three weeks with analog and digital packages costing $189,900 and $239,900, respectively. The company is working toward FAA approval for the Sabre 60 and 80 models, with certification expected next summer.
The House of Representatives approved an amendment by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) to establish the first national toll-free airline customer complaint phone number at the Department of Transportation. The provision, included in the FY 2002 Transportation Appropriations bill, designates $720,000 to fund a phone line and staff at the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division.
Docket No.: FAA-2001-8811 (previously Docket No. 28884) Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 145.37(b) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Aero Sky to continue to hold an FAA repair station certificate (Certificate No. KQ7R556N) without having suitable permanent housing facilities for at least one of the heaviest aircraft within the weight class of the rating it holds. Grant, May 10, 2001, Exemption No. 6673B
