A number of major European flight training schools, with financial backing from the European Union and Switzerland's Federal Agency for Education and Science, are launching a joint program to develop a new flight training curriculum for private pilot students. A key element of the program is development of "an Internet-based distance-learning platform" so students can participate in classes without having to travel to a central location.
TEXTRON LYCOMING IO-540 and O-540 engines equipped with Slick Aircraft Products magnetos (Docket No. 98-ANE-81-AD; Amendment 39-11028; AD 99-04-04) - requires removal of the Slick magneto from the engine and inspection of the impulse coupling pawl for wear. This amendment is prompted by several service difficulty reports, two incidents, and an accident involving severely worn and failed impulse couplings. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent failure of the magneto impulse coupling, resulting in seizure of the engine.
SEN. SLADE GORTON (R-Wash.), meanwhile, held a series of meetings last week with several association heads to hash out some of the more contentious issues regarding FAA reauthorization that divide the various industry segments. The meetings, similar to those Gorton held last year, are intended to open a dialogue in a less formal setting than a hearing in an attempt to reach consensus.
GENERAL ELECTRIC installed a veteran GE accountant as SimuFlite Training International's chief financial officer. E. Samuel (Sam) Timothy, a five-year veteran of GE Capital Services insurance and real estate divisions, will be responsible for SimuFlite's finance and accounting activities. He will report to SimuFlite President Jeffrey Roberts. The Dallas-based simulator training company was acquired by GE early last year and became part of its Commercial Equipment Financing Group.
Americans expect United Kingdom senior officials to "speak out loudly in our defense" against certain controversial aviation initiatives in Europe and, if they don't, "it will be a factor in the political reaction to future U.S.-U.K. joint endeavors," Aerospace Industries Association President and Chief Executive John Douglass warned last week.
In a move spurred by a tenuous agreement among association members on fractional ownership, the National Air Transportation Association last week petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to allow air charters to operate under instrument flight rules without an approved weather source at the destination airport.
THE PROSPECTS for passage of FAA reauthorization legislation before Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding expires at the end of March depend on whom you talk to in Washington. Some believe House and Senate leaders will agree to a three-month extension to keep funds flowing for airport construction projects, giving legislators more time to negotiate a comprehensive, long-term bill, but others are more pessimistic. The philosophical differences between Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, and Sen.
A Los Angeles City Council panel last week heard arguments over a proposal that would cap the number of Stage 2 aircraft based at Van Nuys Airport, assess feasibility of capping non-resident Stage 2 aircraft using the airport for repair and maintenance and call for a phase-out of large Stage 2 aircraft by Jan. 1, 2002. The City Council's Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee resurrected and strengthened an earlier Van Nuys "non-addition" proposal, which had been tabled since late 1997 pending the outcome of an economic study.
ROLLS-ROYCE Dart series turboprop engines (Docket No. 98-ANE-46-AD; Amendment 39-11033; AD 99-04-09) - requires initial and repetitive fuel burner fuel flow calibration checks, and overhaul or replacement of fuel burners. This amendment is prompted by reports of an uncontained engine failure and fire due to HPT disk rupture caused by fuel burner failure. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent HPT disk rupture, which can result in an uncontained engine failure, engine fire, and damage to the aircraft.
FIRST, European officials came up with regulations - slated to take effect in July - that effectively would prohibit recognition of flight training conducted in the U.S. for a JAA certificate.Now, five large European flight schools in four countries are joining forces with, and receiving money from, the European Union and national government agencies to develop their own computer-based, standardized private pilot flight training curriculum. See article below.
National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that FAA require disassembly of thousands of jet engines used on nearly one-third of the U.S. commercial fleet, a process that could cost billions of dollars for airlines and other operators of Boeing 727 and 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft.
TEXTRON LYCOMING Model O-540-F1B5 reciprocating engines (Docket No. 98-ANE-73-AD; Amendment 39-11019; AD 99-03-05) - requires the removal and replacement of the crankshaft gear retaining bolts. This amendment is prompted by two reported failures of the crankshaft gear retaining bolts. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent failure of the crankshaft gear retaining bolts, which can result in engine failure and subsequent autorotation and forced landing.
SCHWEIZER Model 269C-1 helicopters (Docket No. 98-SW-39-AD; Amendment 39-11038; AD 99-04-14) - requires a visual inspection of the bond line between the main rotor blade abrasion strip and the blade for voids, separation, or lifting of the abrasion strip; a visual inspection of the adhesive bead around the perimeter of the abrasion strip for erosion, cracks, or blisters; a tap test of the abrasion strip for debonding or hidden corrosion voids; and removal of any blade with an unairworthy abrasion strip and replacement with an airworthy blade.
ROBERT BRENT joined Aerodynamics Incorporated, Waterford, Mich. as director of aircraft interiors. Brent has operational technical and managerial experience in the aviation industry.
ED VOELKER was appointed director-charter department for Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation. Voelker, who has 20 years of aviation industry experience, joined the company in December 1997 as manager of corporate charter.
TEO OZDENER joined international aviation consultants Morten Beyer&Agnew as vice president-technical. Ozdener previously served as technical director of Avitas and is a registered lead aerospace assessor for ISO 9000 and accredited safety auditor.
HARTZELL PROPELLER received new supplemental type certificates for Top Prop conversion kits for Beech Bonanza A36 and B36TC single-engine aircraft powered by Continental IO-550 engines. The systems are available with optional electric de-ice systems and come with Hartzell's Plus Three three-year warranty and a six-year or 2,400-hour recommended time-between-overhaul. The propeller systems are priced at $7,195 or $8,750 with electric de-ice.
CAROL CARMODY, U.S. representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal, Quebec for the past five years, said she is leaving her ICAO post to work as a consultant for the Air Transport Association. Carmody is a former senior Democratic staffer on the Senate Commerce Committee.
THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS will hold its General, Corporate and Regional Aviation Meeting and Exposition April 20-22 at the Century II Conference Center in Wichita, Kan. The meeting, held jointly with the Experimental Aircraft Association, will cover topics including airframe and engine icing, aerodynamics, experimental aircraft, propulsion, flight test, human factors and weather and traffic accident prevention. The meeting will hold a top management panel on Global Design&Manufacturing Beyond 2000 with Cessna Vice Chairman Gary Hay as moderator.
SIKORSKY Model S-76C helicopters (Docket No. 98-SW-81-AD; Amendment 39-11040; AD 99-01-09) - publishes an AD previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of Model S-76C helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires, before further flight, installing a placard in the cockpit adjacent to the fuel quantity gauge that states "No flight operations to be conducted with less than 250 lbs. fuel in each tank." This AD must be placed in the Operating Limitations section of the Rotorcraft Flight Manual.
NAV CANADA today will implement its user fees on recreational as well as commercial operations within Canadian airspace. Under the fee system, aircraft weighing 1,323 pounds or less are exempt from the fees. Aircraft weighing between 1,323 pounds and 6,614 pounds are assessed fees based upon whether the flight is recreational or business. Propeller aircraft weighing more than 6,614 pounds have daily user fees and all jet aircraft will be assessed a terminal service fee and en route fee.
BRITISH AEROSPACE REGIONAL AIRCRAFT will "actively canvass" its top suppliers on the Avro RJ program to secure additional risk sharing partners for the proposed Avro RJX family of aircraft. The manufacturer, which announced selection of the AlliedSignal AS977-1A turbofan to power the RJX line (BA, Feb. 22/88), said it plans "a series of international road shows over the next few months, at which the newly formed Avro RJX project team will present the economic and business case of the RJX."
U.S. airworthiness regulators Wednesday moved to formalize a repetitive inspection requirement on BMW Rolls-Royce BR700 series turbofans recommended by the joint venture in a November service bulletin. A report of an engine compressor core fairing failure during engine ground runs on a Gulfstream V business jet prompted the action, FAA says, noting that "preliminary investigation indicates that the upper right compressor core fairing became detached and lodged in the engine bypass duct."
FAA ADMINISTRATOR Jane Garvey's sense of humor is on display more often these days. During a speech to the Aero Club of Washington last week, Garvey listed the Top Ten Reasons she can't leave FAA until... No. 10 DOT Secretary Rodney Slater tells her, " Gee, I've got an awful lot on my plate. Have you ever thought about being an independent agency?" No. 9 AOPA President Phil Boyer says, "Pilot, schmilot - who cares?"
Summary: 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.
