During the first nine months of this year, turbine-powered business aircraft experienced a slight reduction in the number of accidents, but registered a major improvement in both fatal accidents and fatalities over the same period in 2001.
New FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told agency employees in September that she has ``great respect for the people here who deliver the goods each and every day to assure the safety and efficiency of the world's largest aviation system.'' Blakey told her new troops that she puts ``a great deal of emphasis on teamwork'' and ``a unified approach with everyone pulling together'' to achieve objectives.
The HAI urged its members to contact their local congressmen to oppose a measure in the fiscal 2003 transportation appropriations bill that would prevent the FAA from issuing waivers of temporary flight restrictions around large stadiums. While the NFL and other sports organizations have lobbied to keep the TFRs in place, citing security concerns about banner towers, the TFRs cover all aircraft and rotorcraft and in some cases would affect traffic in and out of several key airports.
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Aircraft have unveiled a design concept for a 2.0-plus Mach quiet supersonic cruise business jet with a range of 6,000 nm. The design's sonic boom at cruise could be as much as seven times lower than the Concorde's despite its higher speed. The partners' work is part of a larger, defense-oriented effort backed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that includes a requirement to ``explore synergies with the civil sector,'' the company said.
The FAA's training academy in Oklahoma City is preparing for a sharp increase in air traffic controller trainees as the agency adjusts its hiring plans to account for an expected spike in controller retirements. Ned Reese, manager of the academy's ATC division, told B/CA sister publication Aviation Daily that nearly 400 controllers were trained in Oklahoma in fiscal 2002, up from about 300 the previous year. The academy expects to train 525 next in 2003, and the number will rise steadily to as many as 1,600 a year within six years, Reese said.
A new study by DRI-WEFA in collaboration with The Campbell-Hill Aviation Group entitled, ``The National Economic Impact of Civil Aviation: 2000-12,'' was sponsored by a cross section of organizations in the aviation industry, including the NBAA and GAMA. The study says that in 2000, the aviation industry contributed more than $900 billion to the U.S. economy annually, representing 9 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, and provided 11 million jobs. It also says air traffic delays in 2000, as measured by the FAA, cost the U.S. economy $9.4 billion.
ExxonMobil Aviation, Surprise, Ariz., has appointed Susan Ramsay as manager of customer relations for its worldwide Avitat network. Ramsay, who has 15 years of experience in the aviation community, is also active on the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Committee.
Just over a year ago, the U.K.'s Menzies Aviation Group set itself the target of opening 25 Execair-branded FBOs in Europe by 2003. So far the company has set up a dozen FBOs in Europe and one at Sao Paulo, Brazil. A corporate operation at St. Maarten in the Dutch Antilles should open by year-end. Additionally during the past year, the company refurbished its FBOs at Glasgow, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland, and built new facilities at Shannon, Ireland, and Bournemouth, England, and hopes to upgrade the rest of its FBOs in 2003.
Gulf Coast Avionics Corp.'s new Web site, www.gca.aero, is among the first in a new Internet domain. Dot-aero sites are reserved exclusively for the aviation community, enabling organizations and individuals to clearly present their aviation identity.
Despite a difficult and volatile trading market, BAE Systems' Asset Management team says it has leased a BAe 146-200 to Irish-based, Air France-owned CityJet. West Air Sweden is adding another leased ATP to its fleet of eight, and Origin Pacific Airways of New Zealand took delivery of the first of three Jetstream 32EPs in October. Svenska DirektFlg A.B. has leased an eighth Jetstream 32 for three years, and Canadian operator Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. recently purchased two Jetstream 31s.
After reviewing comments from participants in B/CA's ``Great Raft Rally'' (Sep-tember, page 124), Revere Supply Co. decided to replace the RFD-made Aerolite 10 Type I life raft with the Aerolite 10+. Unlike its predecessor, which was tested in the rally, the new raft features both a furlable canopy and a second boarding ramp -- the two characteristics requested by the participants. Originally designed to handle the rough waters of the North Sea, the Aerolite 10 was ranked #1 for watertightness by the participants in the life raft evaluation.
Canada's Innotech-Execaire has started a new Web site, eCharters.ca, for corporate charter scheduling and booking. The site allows users to research, plan and schedule flights online. ``With eCharters, all the customer is required to do is log on to the Web site, specify their origin, destinations and time of departure, and log off -- we take it from there,'' said Kirk Rowe, Execaire's executive vice president and chief operating officer. Execaire has a charter fleet of 23 aircraft, including Citation and Challenger business jets.
Analysts believe the business jet industry will weather the economic downturn, but airframe manufacturers are making adjustments to slowing orders now, pending a forecast recovery in 2004-5. (See Intelligence, October, page 14) In late September Bombardier announced cost-cutting initiatives, including layoffs of some 2,000 workers in Canada, Wichita and Northern Ireland, and a four-month halt of Learjet 45 and 60 production. Swiss manufacturer Pilatus also has taken steps to reduce costs, sending 300 of its 1,300 employees into part-time work, probably until spring 2003.
The FAA released new guidance to its inspectors as part of an attempt to standardize the field approval process. (See ``Mod Approvals: A Flawed Process,'' page 76.) A common complaint about field approvals is that the process can be different from one FAA Flight Standards District Office to another. Dave Cann, manager of the FAA's aircraft maintenance division, said the guidance is the ``first step'' in several designed to improve the process, adding that inspector training and industry guidance should be coming next.
Dr. Bengt Halse, president and CEO of Saab AB, has been elected president of AECMA -- the European Association of Aerospace Industries -- for 2002-2003. He succeeds Jean-Paul Bechat, chairman and CEO of Snecma.
Piaggio America sold eight Avanti aircraft to fractional operator Skyline Aviation Services. The agreement, for six aircraft with options for two more, is valued at $35 million to $40 million, Piaggio said. According to Piaggio, Skyline chose the nine-passenger pusher turboprop for its cabin size, operating efficiency and the Piaggio Personal Touch Service program. The aircraft has a range of 1,700 nm at speeds up to 395 knots and a maximum cruising altitude of 41,000 feet.
Jet Aviation Saudi Arabia announced it has expanded AOG and line maintenance support, providing 24-hour troubleshooting and ``defect rectification'' at its Jeddah operation as well as developing the capability to fly the Jeddah AOG team to other cities in the Middle East to rescue grounded aircraft. Jet Aviation Jeddah, which has eight maintenance engineers, was established in 1979.
New TSA Chief Adm. James Loy held true to his promise to work with the general aviation community. (See Intelligence, October, page 40.) He recently met with NBAA President Jack Olcott and Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs Pete West regarding possibilities for the NBAA's Transportation Security Administration Access Protocol (TSAAP) proposal, the NBAA executives said.
The FAA commissioned a new 345-foot-tall control tower at Orlando International Airport (MCO) in October. The tower, said to be the tallest in North America, is attached to an 11,700-square-foot base building housing electronic systems and administrative offices. The total project, funded by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, cost $28.7 million.
Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) has sponsored an amendment to the Aviation Security Improvement Act that would prohibit traffic over stadiums during events. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) immediately placed a ``hold'' on the legislation in protest of the Breaux amendment. The two senators have negotiated to find a compromise, but none was reached at press time. General aviation groups, which oppose the measure, also are attempting to prevail on Breaux as well as Rep.
The NBAA has honored five aerospace students from the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota with aviation scholarships totaling $9,000. The recipients are Prashant Franklin, Gregory Peterson, Tina Conover, Justin Fryklund and Jered Lease.
``The certification standard for Chapter IV/Stage 4 shouldn't have an impact on the average operator,'' IBAC Director General Don Spruston told B/CA. ``It is an increased standard and is probably right, and if the states follow ICAO's recommendations -- that it is a certification standard -- it is completely acceptable.''
The House Transportation Appropriations Committee approved the $60 billion fiscal 2003 transportation appropriations bill that includes $13.6 billion for the FAA and $5.1 billion for the Transportation Security Administration. The bill might be rolled into a fiscal 2003 omnibus spending bill as the government continues operating under a resolution that provides interim spending authority.
Bombardier has announced permanent layoffs of nearly 2,000 employees and temporary furloughs of another 2,100 workers in coming weeks, along with drastic production reductions in its Learjet, Challenger and Global business jets as well as its regional turboprop lines. The company said its actions are meant to bring costs and production in line with the current business environment.
The Transportation Safety Administration released its proposed compliance program for operators of charter aircraft that weigh more than 95,000 pounds. The ``95K'' program could cause problems and force some operators, particularly those flying business jets like the Global Express, to seek alternative means of compliance, sources say.
