FAA, apparently unsatisfied with the direction the general aviation community is taking in developing a "safety metric," is considering establishing its own goals for reducing the number of general aviation accidents over a period of time (BA, July 12/13). The agency asked the industry to draft such a goal, but some industry officials are concerned FAA will use the draft goal to support future rulemaking efforts. The general aviation safety metric, along with the already established airline metric, are expected to be included in FAA personnel performance goals.
CESSNA assembled its 100th Citation X this month, nine years after the program was launched and three years after first delivery. Cessna plans to deliver the 100th Citation X in December. Eighty-three of the Mach .92 business jets operate in more than 11 countries and have combined for more than 70,000 flight hours.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE AVIATION OFFICIALS will hold its 69th NASAO Annual Convention and Trade Show Sept. 8-14, 2000 at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif. The association has scheduled this year's convention Sept. 17-22 at the Williamsburg Marriott Hotel in Williamsburg, Va. For more information, call (301) 588-0587.
Docket No.: 29468 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.251, 135.255, and Appendices I&J of Part 121 Description of Relief Sought: To permit AOPA members to conduct local, nonstop, sightseeing flights under visual flight rules during the day for charity or community events, for compensation or hire, without complying with certain anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention requirements of Part 135.
Proposes to require repetitive inspections of the elevator trim control cables for signs of wear damage or broken wires; replacement of damaged or broken cables with certain new cables; and replacement of all 7x7 cables with 7x19 cables. This proposal is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the elevator trim cable due to fatigue cracking, which, if not corrected, could reduce controllability of the airplane.
MILLION AIR OKLAHOMA CITY, based at Wiley Post Airport, was named an authorized Cessna sales and service operation. With the Cessna authorization Million Air Oklahoma City will be a designated Cessna Pilot Training Center, C-Star sales operation and service and parts center with full warranty repairs. The Oklahoma City fixed-base operation joined the Million Air network in 1985. It services both based and transient aircraft.
KRISTINE ESTES, who joined the General Aviation Manufacturers Association in April 1997 as manager-technical affairs and operations, will join Raytheon Aircraft in mid-September as manager-customer satisfaction program. While at Raytheon, she steps into a newly created position that will oversee surveying of customers for satisfaction with the company, its products and services.
HELIFLITE SHARES, LLC, the helicopter fractional ownership company based at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, appointed George Ferito vice president of operations. Ferito has more than 20 years of aviation management experience, formerly as director of flight operations for Bombardier's Business JetSolutions. Ferito also served as president of SimuFlite Training International and led corporate flight department activities for Frontier Corp.
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.
DAVID LADD was appointed vice president and general manager of ERDA's Aircraft Products Division. Ladd will oversee day-to-day and strategic operations, including engineering, manufacturing, customer service, sales and quality control. Ladd previously served as vice president of manufacturing for ERDA.
FRIENDS OF MEIGS FIELD is sponsoring the Fourth Annual Meigs Field Open House from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 19 on Chicago's lakefront. This year's event, originally planned for two days but scaled back by the City of Chicago to one, will commemorate the general aviation airport's 50th anniversary. The open house is expected to draw 3,000 guests with antique, classic, warbird and general aviation aircraft on display.
LARRY DEAN was appointed regional sales manager for Atlantic Aviation Corp. in Teterboro, N.J. Dean will oversee sales and promotion of Atlantic Aviation's Flight Services Division in the Northeast. An 18-year business aviation industry veteran, Dean formerly served as sales manager of new aircraft sales for Dassault Falcon Jet.
AIRCRAFT PARTS INTERNATIONAL plans to open its second facility in Canada next month near Montreal, Quebec. API-Montreal will serve as a stocking location for more than 150 aerospace products and will house a Stratoflex aerospace hose shop. Coupled with API's facility in Calgary, the Montreal facility will allow API to provide services 24 hours, seven days a week to customers throughout Canada.
KEVIN PICHON was named regional sales manager for the Canadian region for SimuFlite Training International. Pichon, who will cover all of Canada and Alaska, is based at Oakland County/Pontiac Airport in Waterford, Mich. He previously was director of sales and marketing for Airline Crew Training in Dallas.
Federal Aviation Administration is encouraged by the recent agreement between the City of Burbank and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to build a new terminal at the airport and this month expressed optimism to airport authorities that a "properly conducted" Part 161 process for additional noise restrictions could lead to a solution for the long-time contentious dispute between the city and airport.
Proposes to require revisions to Chapter 5, Airworthiness Limitations section, of the AlliedSignal ALF502R and LF507 series engine manuals to include enhanced inspection of selected critical life-limited parts at each piece-part exposure. This proposal also would require an air carrier's approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program to incorporate these inspection procedures.
MD HELICOPTERS, which purchased The Boeing Company's commercial helicopter product lines in February, will reduce the price of its MD600N single-turbine helicopter to $1.2 million - a $50,000 drop. The company previously lowered the prices for the MD Explorer, MD 520N and MD500E.
FRED BREIDENBACH joined the board of directors for Scott Technologies. Breidenbach, who runs his own consulting company, F.A. Breidenbach&Associates, LLC., formerly was president and chief operating officer of Gulfstream Aerospace. He also spent 25 years with General Electric's Aircraft Engine and Aerospace sectors. In addition to Scott, he serves on the board of Sensormatic Electronics Corporation.
THE MARKET for very-long-range business jets continues to grow with manufacturers reporting 315 orders for their aircraft.Gulfstream's G-V accounts for nearly half of those orders with 150. Bombardier's Global Express, which last month won operational clearance, follows with 105 orders and then Boeing's BBJ with 46. The fourth player in the market, Airbus, reports 14 orders and commitments for its Corporate Jetliner.
KELLSTROM unit Solair won a five-year service and supply agreement with Israel Aircraft Industries' Bedek Aviation Group. Under the agreement Kellstrom is IAI's sole source for inventory provisioning, management and purchasing of new and surplus aircraft rotables, expendables and piece parts for Bedek's Component Division. Kellstrom also will administer repair services outsourced by IAI to its U.S. repair and overhaul vendors.
DOUGLAS STARMER was appointed vice president of the maintenance division for Million Air Monterey. Starmer most recently was chief inspector for Pratt&Whitney Engine Services in Los Alamitos, Calif. He also has served as lead inspector for Cessna in Long Beach, Calif.
WILLIAM WALTON joined Midcoast Aviation as director, major modifications. Walton will oversee all aspects of major modification projects at the facility. He has 20 years of aircraft industry experience, working with Cessna, Dassault Falcon Jet and Learjet.
WOMEN IN AVIATION, INTERNATIONAL surpassed the 4,000-member mark last month, some four years after the organization was founded 1995. The organization has begun an incentive program for recruiting new members - WAI Member Challenge: 5,000 in Five Years - that includes rewards such as free membership renewals, conference registrations or airline tickets. The program will run through the end of 2000.
A new, mostly ethanol, replacement for leaded avgas developed by University of North Dakota researchers cleared its first big test, and, if evaluations continue to go well, half of all current general aviation aircraft may be able to use it in about a year and a half.
Federal Aviation Administration's proposal for extensive exhaust system inspections and possible replacements on 6,500 Cessna 300/400 series aircraft likely will lead to "horrendous inspection backlogs and replacement parts shortages," thanks in part to a bankruptcy filing by a chief Cessna supplier, operators of those aircraft predict. This, coupled with a nearly $100 million compliance cost, led those operators and other industry groups to call on the agency to take a different approach to solving Cessna 300/400 series exhaust problems.
