Dean Thomas, 46, a veteran of Piper Aircraft's marketing department who was named president of Commander Aircraft Company this spring, died Dec. 4 in his sleep. The death was a shock given Thomas's age and apparent good health, Commander officials said.
FRANK WOLF (R-Va.), chairman of the House transportation appropriations subcommittee, said Administration and congressional leaders need to take a comprehensive look at FAA and its problems rather than addressing them through separate proposals such as user fees and peak-hour pricing. FAA "probably needs to be independent," Wolf told BA, saying the agency could be modeled after NASA. He noted all the funding and flexibility Congress has given FAA, and yet problems persist.
MAYO AVIATION added a Challenger 600 to its charter fleet. Mayo is managing the Challenger for a private customer and expects to begin flying the aircraft for charter next month. The Challenger increases Mayo's charter fleet to 16 aircraft.
MATTHEW HUFF joined Signature Combs Aircraft Sales Inc. as vice president of the Dallas operation. Huff has more than 24 years of aviation marketing experience serving as associate publisher for A/C Flyer and vice president at Tyler Jet.
Rockwell International is splitting in two, creating stand-alone avionics and communications companies by spinning off Rockwell Collins to shareholders in a tax-free share distribution, the company says.
GENERAL AVIATION LEADERS were shocked by Rep. Duncan's remarks and are concerned that growing frustration with airline delays at major airports could lead to similar calls for bans or restrictions on GA flights. One GA trade association president noted that general aviation operations at the big airline airports constitute only a low-single-digit share of total operations.
Model BH.125, DH.125, and HS.125 series airplanes Docket No. 99-NM-345-AD; Amendment 39-11943; AD 2000-21-11) - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires a one-time inspection to detect scoring of the upper fuselage skin around the periphery of the cockpit canopy blister interface, and repair, if necessary. This amendment expands the applicability of the existing AD to include additional airplanes, and requires that the actions be accomplished in accordance with revised service information for the newly added airplanes.
Docket No.: 28557 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Secs. 43.9(a)(4), 43.11(a)(3), and 145.57(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Chromalloy and other persons holding return-to-service authority under the relevant, respective Inspection Procedures Manuals, to use electronic signatures in lieu of physical signatures to satisfy the requirements of FAA Form 8130-3, Airworthiness Approval Tag. Grant, Sept. 29, 2000, Exemption No. 6513B
Model 402C airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-66-AD; Amendment 39-11971; AD 2000-23-01) - supersedes AD 99-11-13, which currently requires inspecting (one-time) the forward, aft and auxiliary wing spars for cracks on certain Cessna Model 402C airplanes and repairing any cracks found. AD 99-11-13 also requires reporting the results of the inspection to FAA to help determine whether the inspection should be repetitive.
Docket No.: 28517 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.109(a) and (b)(3) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit James to conduct certain flight instruction and simulated instrument flights to meet the recent experience requirements in Beechcraft airplanes equipped with a functioning throwover control wheel in place of functioning dual controls. Grant, Oct. 3, 2000, Exemption No. 6532B
Model Hawker 800XP and Hawker 800 (U-125A) series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-46-AD; Amendment 39-11970; AD 2000-22-22) - requires inspection of the wire bundle to relay "KT" on panel "JA" for correct routing, adequate clearance from the fuel cross-feed valve operating lever, and the presence of chafing; this amendment also requires corrective action, if necessary. The actions specified by this AD are intended to detect and correct chafing of the wire bundle exiting panel "JA" due to insufficient clearance from the fuel cross-feed valve operating lever.
JOHN DUNCAN (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, suggested general aviation may have to shoulder part of the burden of easing congestion at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA).FAA conducted a lottery Dec. 4 to cut back on slots awarded at LGA through AIR-21, but FAA and others say the airport still will be congested.
President Clinton last week ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to form a new air traffic organization (ATO) within the agency that would be funded through "cost-based charges on commercial users" and called for other market-based reforms, including peak-hour pricing at high-density airports.
LAKELAND, FLA. LINDER REGIONAL AIRPORT last week broke ground for the construction of a new $6.7 million terminal that will replace the 41-year-old existing terminal. The new 27,000-square-foot terminal will be built on a 13-acre tract about 600 feet north of the existing terminal.
CITY OF CINCINNATI General Aviation Division of the General Services Department is seeking proposals until 5 p.m. Jan. 5 for a professional aviation consulting firm to design, install and provide data from an automated aircraft identification system for use at Cincinnati Lunken Airport. The system will be used to track daily aircraft arrivals and departures, identify aircraft for noise abatement, audit aircraft by N-number, type and ownership and offer real-time data acquisition by the user.
Docket No.: 29182 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 121.434(c)(1)(ii) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Chautauqua to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in place of an FAA inspector to observe a qualifying PIC who is completing initial or upgrade training specified in Sec. 121.424 during at least one flight leg that includes a takeoff and a landing. Grant, Sept. 22, 2000, Exemption No. 7353
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION is planning a 13-day advertising campaign, beginning Dec. 22, to promote the value of local airports. The commercials were adapted from AOPA's Local Airports-Access to America video, which it uses for the Airport Support Network. The campaign will involve 161 commercials on the Weather Channel. The association said it chose the Weather Channel because it hopes to capture the attention of people frequently checking weather as they travel during the holiday season.
Cirrus Design Corp., Duluth, Minn., won FAA approval for its new SR22 single-engine aircraft. The SR22 is powered by a 310-horsepower Teledyne Continental IO-550-N engine and cruises at 180 knots at 75 percent power.
Federal Aviation Administration partnered with the Brazil Directorate of Electronics and Fire Protection in a demonstration program late last month that the agencies hope will help encourage widespread use of satellite navigation in the Caribbean and South America. The program demonstrated civil applications of the Global Positioning System in a series of exercises with civil aircraft, search and rescue maritime vessels and emergency vehicles.
Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. marked a milestone in civil tiltrotor technology as it mated the wing and fuselage for the first prototype of its BA609 aircraft this month at Bell's Flight Research Center, Arlington, Tex. The company is a joint venture of Bell Helicopter Textron and Agusta, a Finmeccanica company, to design, develop and manufacture the BA609 civil tiltrotor and the AB139, a conventional twin-engine helicopter. The company plans to build four prototype tiltrotor aircraft for flight testing and certification.
Bombardier, Inc., announced a major reshuffling of its top executive ranks Wednesday, part of a program of "aggressively moving people between divisions" to help grow the Canadian conglomerate's management depth, according to Robert Brown, president and chief executive officer. Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Recreational Products, will become president of Bombardier Aerospace, Business Aircraft, effective Feb. 1. He will report to Michael Graff, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace.
PETER LOEB was appointed chief operating officer of BIZJET International. Loeb formerly was managing director of the Howard Company, a Germany-based international manufacturing concern. Loeb also has served with AlliedSignal Aerospace.
John Rahilly, who joined Signature Flight Support 15 months ago to oversee aircraft maintenance activities for the company, is departing to pursue his own business endeavors. Rahilly, the former president of K-C Aviation, joined Signature after Gulfstream acquired the K-C modification and completion facilities in Appleton, Wis. and Dallas, Texas (BA, Sept.
Model 188A and 188C series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-265-AD; Amendment 39-11980; AD 2000-23-10) - requires a revision of the Airplane Flight Manual to add procedures for donning the flightcrew oxygen masks when the cabin altitude warning horn is activated. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent incapacitation of the flightcrew as a result of lack of oxygen and consequent loss of control of the airplane due to absence of AFM procedures for donning the flightcrew oxygen masks when the cabin altitude warning horn is activated.
Model 1121, 1121A, 1121B, 1123, 1124, and 1124A series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-364-AD; Amendment 39-11985; AD 2000-23-13) - requires a one-time inspection, and corrective action if necessary, to ensure the proper installation of the tie rod through the dust shield and both jackscrew assemblies on the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator. This action is necessary to prevent jamming or disconnection of the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator, which could reduce pitch control of the airplane. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.
