Waller County, Texas officials informed FAA they plan to create a new general aviation airport in their county. Waller County Commissioners, headed by Waller County Judge Glenn Taylor, sent a letter to FAA acting Deputy Associate Administrator Paul Galis expressing their intent "to proceed aggressively to identify a site and establish a new business-class reliever airport for our area" and asked FAA to recommend "how we should proceed."
Docket No.: 29761 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 121.344 (b)(3) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Champion Air to operate two B-727-200 airplanes (Registration Nos. N292AS and N295AS; Serial Nos. 21458 and 22147, respectively) without installing the required DFDR on each airplane until Jan. 15, 2000. Grant, Oct. 1, 1999, Exemption No. 7014
Docket No.: 29540 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.143(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit ACS to operate its Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage (Registration No. N715BB, Serial No. 4636038) under Part 135 without a TSO-C112 (Mode S) transponder installed in the aircraft. Grant, Oct. 7, 1999, Exemption No. 7027
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL received FAA Level D certification for its new Citation Excel flight simulator based at its Toledo, Ohio learning center. The Toledo center houses six flight simulators for the different Citation models, including the Citation X. FlightSafety also offers Citation training at its centers in Wichita, Kan., Long Beach, Calif., Columbus, Ohio, Miami, Fla., San, Antonio, Texas, Vero Beach, Fla. and Paris/Le Bourget, France.
Docket No.: 29759 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.152(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Aviation Ventures, Inc., d/b/a Vision Air, to operate up to 10 DO 228 airplanes under Part 135 without the required DFDR. Grant, Sept. 27, 1999, Exemption No. 7009
S2R series airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-57-AD) - proposes, for S2R series airplanes that are equipped with at least one main landing gear fuselage attach bolt with a grease fitting, to require replacing the main landing gear fuselage attach bolts with undrilled (no grease access) attach bolts. This AD is the result of a report of cracks found in all four main landing gear fuselage attach bolts on one of the affected airplanes.
CPI AEROSTRUCTURES signed a letter of intent to acquire a second privately owned precision machining manufacturer serving the aerospace industry. The unidentified company was expected to have revenues in excess of $20 million in 1999.
Docket No.: 29722 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.243(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought: To allow each of its pilots to act as pilot-in-command under instrument flight rules with a minimum of 800 hours of total flight time, including 330 hours of cross-country flight time, 70 hours of night flight time, and 50 hours of actual or simulated instrument flight time of which 30 hours were in actual flight, in lieu of the flight-time requirements of Sec. 135.243(c)(2).
FAIRCHILD AEROSPACE appointed Achim Rauber senior vice president for the company supply chain. Rauber will oversee a new organization responsible for all company procurement and materiel management functions. He formerly spent six years with Volkswagen's supply chain organization. Most recently he headed the supply chain for the Volkswagen-owned Skoda factory near Prague.
Docket No.: 25863 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 91.117(a) and (b), 91.159(a), and 91.209(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit the DOD to conduct air operations in support of drug law enforcement and traffic interdiction without meeting certain requirements pertaining to (1) aircraft speed, (2) cruising altitudes for flights conducted under visual flight rules, and (3) the use of aircraft position lights. Grant, Sept. 25, 1999, Exemption No. 5100E
AVIALL INC., Dallas, Texas, named Paul E. Fulchino chairman, president and chief executive officer, replacing Eric E. Anderson. Fulchino is the former president and chief operating officer of BE Aerospace, Inc. Before joining BE Aerospace in 1996, Fulchino was president and vice chairman of Mercer Management Consulting Inc., an international management consulting firm.
Docket No.: 29717 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 121.344(b)(3) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Miami Air to install the required digital flight data recorder (DFDR) upgrade for one Boeing 717-200 aircraft (Registration No. N803MA) in two phases instead of one with the final installation completed by Jan. 30, 2000. Grant, Oct. 5, 1999, Exemption No. 7016
PILATUS AIRCRAFT delivered a PC-12 to the Drug Enforcement Administration's Aviation Division. The DEA, in the process of updating its 20-year-old fleet of turboprops, will replace a Turbo Commander with the PC-12. Pilatus said it expects the DEA will add more PC-12s as the fleet upgrade continues. The DEA operates a mixed fleet of more than 100 aircraft - mostly helicopters and single-engine piston aircraft. The DEA fleet also includes 20 pressurized turboprops and two Learjet 35s.
TAG AVIATION signed an exclusive agreement with FlightSafety International for aviation related training over the next four years. The agreement encompasses more than 350 flight crew personnel worldwide and comprehensive maintenance training for all maintenance technicians. Also included in the contract are flight attendant and dispatcher training programs. FSI had signed a similar agreement earlier this year with Wayfarer Aviation (BA, May 24/240), which was later merged into TAG Aviation.
FEDERAL AVIATION EXCISE TAX rates changed once again Jan. 1, the National Air Transportation Association reminded members. The segment fee increased from $2.25 to $2.50, but the fee does not apply to flights to or from rural airports. The ticket tax already was lowered to 7.5 percent from eight percent, effective Oct. 1. The international facilities fees increased to $12.40 per passenger and the ticket taxes for flights to and from Hawaii and Alaska include a $6.20 per passenger international facilities fee plus 7.5 percent of the domestic portion of the flight.
Federal Aviation Administration, noting that Congress approved a series of exemptions for operation of large Stage 2 aircraft past Jan. 1, 2000 (BA, Nov. 22/233), last month published procedures for operators to follow to get authorization for such operations. Congress provided a blanket exemption for Stage 2 aircraft weighing more than 75,000 pounds that are operated either under an experimental certificate or from Hawaii to the contiguous U.S. for maintenance or major alterations.
Docket No.: 29819 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 25.813(e) Description of Relief Sought: To permit doors between passenger compartments on BD700-1A10 airplanes used for corporate transportation.
PRIESTER AVIATION added its fifth Gulfstream II to its charter fleet. The GII, S/N68, will undergo refurbishment with new paint and a 16-seat interior. Priester additionally plans to convert the Stage II aircraft to Stage III this year. The acquisition of the G-II follows the addition of three midsize aircraft - a Citation VII and two Hawkers - to its Part 135 certificate.
Model EMB-135 and EMB-145 series airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-340-AD; Amdt. 39-11437; AD 99-24-13) - requires a revision to the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to prohibit in-flight operations of the autopilot coupled to flight director #2 during certain conditions; and installation of an associated warning placard. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
Federal Aviation Administration last month started controlling arrivals and departures in a Texas air traffic control facility by using the new air traffic controller workstations of its Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) as part of an effort to debug the system before nationwide installation. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey hailed the event as the first major milestone in the agency's modernization program.
Docket No.: 29146 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 145.45(f) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To allow BFGoodrich to make its inspection procedures manual (IPM) available to its supervisory and inspection personnel in lieu of giving a copy of the IPM to each if its supervisory and inspection personnel. Grant, Oct. 4, 1999, Exemption No. 7024
Docket No.: 29800 Section of the FAR Affected: 25.813(e) Description of Petition: To allow doors between passenger compartments on Boeing Model 757-23A and 757-2J4 airplanes.
Docket No.: 29406 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.299(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit FSG pilots to accomplish a line operational evaluation in a Level C or Level D flight simulator in lieu of a line check in an aircraft. Denial, Oct. 5, 1999, Exemption No. 7021
EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY scheduled a series of courses as part of its aviation safety certificate program in Dallas, Daytona Beach, Fla. and Prescott, Ariz. The courses cover Human Performance in Aviation, Accident Investigation and Management, Aviation Safety Program Management and Advanced Accident Investigation. The courses will be held between March 13-25 in Dallas, May 8-20 in Daytona Beach and June 9-22 and October 9-21 in Prescott. For more information, contact Embry-Riddle's Division of Continuing Education at (904) 226-6816.
