NATA Pushes for Greater GA Role in Vaccine Distribution
A small but growing number of Part 135 operators have jumped into the Covid-19 vaccine distribution effort as rural communities continue to seek support. But much more can and needs to be done on the distribution front, said Ryan Waguespack, senior v-p of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), who added the group has been trying to connect operators with state and local health departments.
NATA today issued a call to action to encourage operators to get involved and assembled a working white paper, which notes that Congress in December appropriated $8.7 billion for distribution and the Part 135 community is “uniquely positioned to assist outlying communities."
Some of this activity is already ongoing, Waguespack said, pointing to Part 135 operations in Washington and Alaska to distribute vaccines to Native American territories and remote regions. Another operator was participating in a beta trial with the Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver vaccines in Montana. Waguespack said the VA is looking to scale these types of operations.
GA airports can play a role, he said, adding Arlington Municipal Airport in Washington has served as a vaccine clinic site. NATA is advising operators to reach out to their state and local health departments, as well as the VA, to discuss how they can help.
Jetcraft Sees New Bizjets Hitting Used Market Sooner
Jetcraft has completed what it said is the first transaction of a preowned Embraer Praetor 600—a deal that also signifies a noteworthy change in which new business jet types are coming to the used market more quickly, according to company president Chad Anderson. The milestone deal follows Jetcraft’s previous brokerage of new-to-market business aircraft, including the first transaction of a preowned Gulfstream G500 and one of the first preowned sales of a Bombardier Global 7500 shortly after type certification.
“As we continue to see fresh innovations from OEMs, we’re witnessing a step-change in ownership patterns,” Anderson said. “Some buyers are seeking to quickly upgrade their aircraft to the latest model, meaning a preowned jet can now be available a year or two after its original certification.”
The super-midsize Praetor 600 received type approval from Brazil’s ANAC, the FAA, and EASA in the second quarter of 2019. Kicking off 2021 with the sale of the first preowned Praetor 600 “builds upon positive momentum” for the remainder of the year, the broker noted in an announcement yesterday.
Jetcraft said 2020 transactions were comparable to previous years despite “an essential halt in aircraft sales” in the second quarter. “We’re seeing a pent-up demand for travel, with a healthy number of sale acquisition and trade-in inquiries already this year, buoyed by growing market confidence,” Anderson added.
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson is returning for another NBAA virtual town hall on March 3. Dickson, who participated in an NBAA town hall in August, will join NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen next month in a discussion on a range of pressing issues affecting the business aviation community, including those surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.
NBAA further expects the Virtual Business Aviation Town Hall will address business aviation adoption of safety management systems, NextGen advancements, sustainability, and innovations such as supersonic flight and advanced air mobility.
“I’m pleased to welcome Administrator Dickson for this informative and insightful town hall,” Bolen said. “In particular, I look forward to discussing areas of shared interest and focus between our industry and the Biden administration, including our mutual goals of building a safer, more efficient, more inclusive, and more sustainable business aviation industry.”
Scheduled at 1 p.m. on March 3, NBAA anticipates the hour-long session will provide ample time for audience questions.
LAS Renamed Harry Reid International Airport
Visitors to Las Vegas will no longer arrive at McCarran International Airport, which was renamed on Tuesday during a meeting by the Clark County Commission. The measure to rename the airport after former Senate majority leader and Nevada native son Harry Reid was unanimously endorsed by the commission.
Since 1948, the airport had carried the name of the late Senator and fellow Nevadan Patrick McCarran, who served in Congress for more than two decades bracketing World War II. While a strong advocate for aviation as a sponsor of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 and the Federal Airport Act of 1945, McCarran’s personal views on racism and overt actions in that regard caused state legislators to introduce a bill in the state senate in 2017 to remove his name from the airport. The measure failed to be passed before the end of that legislative session but was successful on its next attempt.
Reid, lauded for his environmental protection, represented Nevada in the Senate for 30 years starting in 1987 and served as majority leader from 2007 until 2015.
The airport will retain its LAS identifier, while the FAA will begin work on administrative changes such as revising aeronautical charts and maps, which could take several months. According to reports, the estimated $2 million in airport rebranding costs will be covered by private contributions.
Air Nav Provider Applies Aireon ADS-B in North Atlantic
Aireon’s space-based ADS-B system has been successfully implemented by Isavia ANS, Iceland’s air navigation service provider. Isavia controls 5.4 million sq km of airspace, and this makes it one of the largest deployments to date, Aireon announced yesterday. Iceland’s airspace is bounded by the North Pole south to Scotland, and from the Greenwich Meridian to the east and Greenland to the west.
With the new system, Isavia’s ground-based air traffic surveillance will be enhanced by providing real-time surveillance in an area connecting Europe and North America. Further, with Isavia’s initial use of Aireon’s system in airspace south of 70 degrees north, it will enhance surveillance of an area where weather disruptions can create issues and ground sensor maintenance is a challenge, Aireon said.
“With the operational deployment of Aireon's air traffic surveillance system, the coverage of Isavia ANS's vast control area was fortified immediately, enabling both increased efficiency and safety of our service,” said Isavia project manager Guðmundur Kristjánsson. “Aireon’s implementation team worked around the clock with our operational staff, during a global pandemic, to complete the system acceptance phase and usher in our next generation of real-time air traffic capabilities.”
NATA Fights Fuel Farm Modifications
With the public comment window on the National Fire Protection Association’s changes to NFPA 407 Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing now open, NATA is urging the industry to support its Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA) 1558, which calls for the removal of requirements for automatic shutdown systems at all airport loading racks that are compatible with mobile refuelers. In 2017, NFPA created a revision to 407, giving the industry five years to comply with a requirement for automatic shutdown systems that can communicate with the sensor modules on the refuelers.
“It kind of flew under the radar,” said Steve Berry, NATA’s manager of fuel quality and safety. “A lot of people weren’t aware of it until it came to our attention mid-last year, and we started to looking into it and seeing how we can work with the technical committee to come to a reasonable solution.”
While this regulation could result in tens of thousands of dollars in retrofit costs for fuel farm operators, NATA continues to argue that there is no body of data in the form of bottom-loading refueller accidents to support the mandate. It has discussed the situation with fuel suppliers and FBO chains, which agree that, with the current requirements and equipment, there is no problem.
Helicopter rideshare service Blade is expanding into Chicago, announcing today that it will base aircraft at Vertiport Chicago to provide service to destinations such as O’Hare International Airport, Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, and the tony summer vacation community of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The vertiport is located eight blocks south of the University of Illinois campus, near the downtown South Loop.
Blade will have the exclusive right to offer passenger flights sold by-the-seat at the vertiport, which will be rebranded “Vertiport Chicago Powered by Blade.” The company will also have the right to build an on-site branded passenger terminal. “The build-out of infrastructure for next-generation vertical air travel in Chicago is beginning now. Our alliance with Blade will only serve to accelerate our ability to help create the network of landing zones our city needs to be competitive in the future,” said Daniel Mojica of Vertiport Chicago, referencing the anticipated future arrival of eVTOL advanced air mobility aircraft.
“There are a number of passenger routes where we see real potential, and we look forward to enabling local hospitals to take advantage of Blade’s cost-effective MediMobility human organ air transport business,” said Blade president Melissa Tomkiel. The vertiport is near several Chicago hospitals, including Rush, Stroger, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and the University of Illinois Medical Center.
United Airlines has become the first major scheduled carrier to show an interest in adding eVTOL aircraft to its fleet, with a provisional deal to buy up to 200 of Archer Aviation’s four-passenger model. Archer also announced a $1.1 billion flotation with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, as speculation grows that several rivals in this cash-hungry sector could soon go down the same path.
OBSTACLE CRANES AT FLW LOCATIONS 184 FT AMSL BRG 002 MAG 1.27 NM FM ARP 1094 FT AMSL BRG 003 MAG 5.25NM FM ARP 499 FT AMSL BRG 004 MAG 3.48 NM FM ARP 430 FT AMSL BRG 005 MAG 3.35 NM FM ARP 953 FT AMSL BRG 005 MAG 5.26 NM FM ARP 475 FT AMSL BRG 006 MAG 3.43 NM FM ARP 453 FT AMSL BRG 006 MAG 3.38 NM FM ARP 290 FT AMSL BRG 018 MAG 2.75 NM FM ARP 246 FT AMSL BRG 026 MAG 2.56 NM FM ARP OBST MARKING NON STANDARD 41 FT AMSL BRG 028 MAG 0.42 NM FM ARP 335 FT AMSL BRG 031 MAG 3.45 NM FM ARP 599 FT AMSL BRG 033 MAG 4.74 NM FM ARP 653 FT AMSL BRG 035 MAG 4.99 NM FM ARP 481 FT AMSL BRG 047 MAG 3.44 NM FM ARP 210 FT AMSL BRG 048 MAG 3.04 NM FM ARP OBST UNLIT 243 FT AMSL BRG 219 MAG 1.37 NM FM ARP 243 FT AMSL BRG 229 MAG 2.38 NM FM ARP 241 FT AMSL BRG 231 MAG 2.21 NM FM ARP 220 FT AMSL BRG 232 MAG 2.21 NM FM ARP 198 FT AMSL BRG 233 MAG 2.17 NM FM ARP OBST UNLIT 464 FT AMSL BRG 234 MAG 3.54 NM FM ARP 171 FT AMSL BRG 242 MAG 1.98 NM FM ARP 258 FT AMSL BRG 251 MAG 2.58 NM FM ARP 214 FT AMSL BRG 277 MAG 1.46 NM FM ARP 234 FT AMSL BRG 314 MAG 2.33 NM FM ARP OBST UNLIT 229 FT AMSL BRG 321 MAG 3.26 NM FM ARP 274 FT AMSL BRG 326 MAG 3.26 NM FM ARP 236 FT AMSL BRG 327 MAG 3.22 NM FM ARP 272 FT AMSL BRG 327 MAG 3.28 NM FM ARP 705 FT AMSL BRG 349 MAG 7.63 NM FM ARP 177 FT AMSL BRG 351 MAG 2.32 NM FM ARP 226 FT AMSL BRG 351 MAG 1.92 NM FM ARP 972 FT AMSL BRG 354 MAG 7.29 NM FM ARP 960 FT AMSL BRG 354 MAG 7.31 NM FM ARP CREATED: 16 Feb 2021 05:49:00 SOURCE: YBBBZEZX
In each Thursday issue of AINalerts, we will publish an unhelpful Notam (Notice to Airmen) to highlight the poor use of the Notam system by airports and authorities all over the world. This is intended to point out that many Notams are useless in terms of their intended purpose, which is to enhance safety. And the more of these terrible Notams clogging the system, the lower the chances of them preventing an undesired outcome. If you find a particularly useless Notam during your travels, please send them to ctrautvetter@ainonline.com.
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