Beechjet Operators Receive AFM Changes
Raytheon Aircraft has provided operators of the Beechjet/Hawker 400XP with revised airplane flight manual (AFM) pages on the use of engine anti-icing procedures intended to prevent further flameouts on the P&WC JT15D-powered twinjet. The revisions, based on Raytheon Aircraft Safety Communiqué No. 272 released August 8, also clarify the definition of high-altitude engine icing conditions and the use of engine anti-ice procedures within these conditions–namely, removing the 90-percent N1 limitation to turn on the engine anti-ice system. “It has been determined that reduction of power below 90-percent N1 is not required to prevent transient exceedance of engine ITT limits,” according to the communiqué. Raytheon Aircraft, along with the FAA, Transport Canada and Pratt & Whitney Canada, has been actively working with the NTSB to address four Beechjet dual flameout incidents. “The Beechjet/Hawker 400XP fleet of more than 625 aircraft has accumulated over three million flight hours with an extraordinary safety record,” a Raytheon spokesman said. Last Friday, the NTSB issued recommendations widening the engine icing issue to all turbine aircraft.

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GA and Regionals Affected by La Guardia Plan
General aviation operators at New York La Guardia Airport who are waiting eagerly for the expiration next January 1 of the reservation and slot program under the high-density rule shouldn’t hold their breath. On Tuesday the FAA issued a proposal that would continue the slot-reservation system for general aviation operations (six slots are available per day between 6:30 a.m. and 10 p.m.). Also under the proposal an airline’s annual “average seat size” would have to meet or exceed the airport-wide target of between 105 and 122 seats at La Guardia or the FAA would withdraw operating authorization from the carrier. The proposal would continue to limit the number of scheduled flights to 75 per hour. According to the FAA, the proposed rule would allow “up to four million more people a year to fly into and out of La Guardia without increasing delays.” Comments are due by October 30.

Lockheed To Disclose ADS-B Contract Team
Lockheed Martin is expected soon to make a surprise announcement about its bid for the FAA’s forthcoming ADS-B contract, said to be valued at around $2 billion over its lifetime. The surprise will be Lockheed’s recruitment of Sensis and Rannoch as team members; both are leading ADS-B ground station manufacturers that previously have been strong competitors. Until recently, Sensis and Rannoch had separately been aggressively courted by other aerospace giants, including Raytheon, which was erroneously reported last week in some publications as announcing that Rannoch had joined its team. Under the FAA’s new performance-based contracting approach, aimed at saving the agency’s dwindling capital resources, the contract winner will finance, build, own and operate as many as 500 ground stations nationwide, and sell its ADS-B signals to the FAA under a turnkey agreement.  

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NATA Appeals to OMB on 15-percent Rule
In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget this week, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) requested the agency’s intervention to ensure that the new FAA policy requiring landing performance assessments before landing, including a new requirement for a mandatory 15-percent margin, for fractional and charter jets complies with all statutory requirements. “It appears that the FAA is overstepping its authority by issuing this notice and, thereby, establishing new requirements without completing the necessary rulemaking process,” NATA said. “To impose such a specific and detailed new process on operators without following the mandates of the Administrative Procedures Act is unacceptable.” The letter points to requests made to the FAA to postpone this notice and related OpSpecs for a minimum of 60 days to allow time for the agency to address industry concerns. “Unfortunately, the association has received no response to our concerns,” NATA said.

RTCA Gets the Ball Rolling on Helicopter TAWS
On September 21, the FAA has scheduled the first public meeting to discuss RTCA’s Special Committee (SC) 212 on helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS). The committee’s work and recommendations to the FAA could lead to a proposal to require TAWS on private or commercial turbine rotorcraft. Currently, TAWS is required only on certain private and commercial turbine airplanes. SC-212 was established in June at the request of the FAA. An RTCA review of helicopter accident data from 1994 thru 2004 “indicates that controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) is a major contributor to these accidents,” said the organization. “Development of helicopter TAWS performance standards to reduce the accidents resulting from CFIT is necessary.” To accomplish this, SC-212 is tasked with developing by next March helicopter TAWS protection scenarios for VFR and IFR helicopter operations and, by March 2008, developing minimum operational performance standards for helicopter TAWS.