Yingling Aviation has added a 13th hangar at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport (KICT) to accommodate the expansion of its MRO activities, as well as its government programs. The FBO/MRO acquired the 22,000-sq-ft hangar located at the north end of KICT. It is the eighth hangar Yingling has added in the past three years.
The building features two levels of office and hangar space. Additionally, Yingling will be hiring more than 20 employees with the expansion—airframe and powerplant mechanics, avionics technicians, and program managers.
“The fact that Yingling has flourished during the pandemic and after is proof that our dedication to superior technical support and customer service leads to success and growth,” said Yingling president Andrew Nichols. “The rate of increase of new customers and percentage of repeat business makes everyone at Yingling very, very proud. As we continue to expand our capabilities and support, in response to strong customer demand, this hangar was the perfect solution to ensure our customers continue to receive world-class service.”
The FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop this morning and normal operations resumed at about 9 a.m. EST after an outage of the agency’s Notam system forced the cancellation of more than 800 flights and delayed nearly 5,000 more. According to the OpsGroup, the system failed at 3:28 a.m. EST and had processed no new Notams until about 9 a.m.
Newark Liberty and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airports were the first allowed by the FAA to resume flights due to the level of traffic congestion at those major gateways. The outage stood to affect flight schedules throughout the day as airlines work to mitigate a cascade of disruptions.
An investigation into the cause of the problem continues, but the White House reports no evidence of a cyberattack. The FAA has not provided detail on the potential cause, only publishing updates earlier today that it was working to restore the system and had ordered airlines to pause domestic departures until 9 a.m. to “allow the agency to validate the integrity of the flight and safety information.”
In a Twitter posting, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he had consulted with the FAA over the cause and the best course of action to resolve the situation. “I have directed an after-action process to determine root causes and recommend next steps,” he said.
Av8 Group has added a second coordinate measuring machine system (CMMS) for manufacturing FAA-approved parts under the parts manufacturer approval (PMA) process. The new machine enables more efficient measurement of larger parts and increases the efficiency and value of the Houston company’s landing gear overhaul process.
The new CMMS measures to an accuracy of one ten-thousandth of an inch. Both CMMSs are computer-driven and efficiently measure multiple parts at a time and don’t require an attendant. The additional CMMS doubles Av8’s work capacity and is faster, tripling the throughput of parts inspection, according to the company.
“Av8’s ultimate mission is to overhaul landing gear as quickly and as efficiently as possible while maintaining unmatched value to our customers,” said Av8 CEO Yoel Arnoni. “We are constantly looking for additional ways to vertically integrate all operations currently done by outside sources. We plan on bringing grinding and machining operations in-house very soon as well. This will be an ongoing effort for the company in the foreseeable future.”
The FAA today issued a much-anticipated proposal to update and expand safety management systems (SMS) requirements to encompass aircraft manufacturers and Part 135 charter, commuter, and air-tour operators. “Noticeably absent from the proposal is Part 145 approved maintenance organizations,” noted the Aircraft Electronics Association.
U.S. airlines have been required since 2018 to have an SMS to help identify, monitor, and address potential operational hazards before they become serious problems. The expansion of SMS to other operators and aircraft manufacturers is intended to address a congressional mandate and recommendations from the NTSB and two Aviation Rulemaking Committees (ARCs). Additionally, the proposed rule would more closely align the U.S. with ICAO Annex 19.
Depending on the operation type, the proposal would require those affected to have an SMS in place one to two years after the rule takes effect. The FAA has also opened a 60-day public comment period on the proposed rule.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) president and CEO Pete Bunce said GAMA has been a “strong supporter” for SMS standards at aviation manufacturers and maintenance organizations. “SMS improves safety and fosters a robust safety oversight culture that permeates from top to bottom…We strongly endorse appropriate implementation of SMS standards and look forward to reviewing and commenting on the FAA’s proposed SMS rule.”
With aircraft misfueling still a concern in the general aviation industry, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has released an update to its Safety 1st general aviation misfueling-prevention program. Developed as part of NATA’s industry-standard Safety 1st ground-handling training program, the misfueling-prevention program is a free, online resource for pilots, line service staff, and others in the aircraft fueling arena.
“The new training refreshes the original content and addresses new misfueling risks associated with unleaded avgas and the introduction of an additional grade of fuel at airports,” explained Steve Berry, NATA’s managing director of safety and training. “We encourage every individual throughout the aircraft refueling process to complete the updated training, even those who have already participated in the original program.”
This latest update also includes information on the risk of misfueling a spark ignition, piston-powered aircraft with lower octane avgas than it requires, such as UL94 into an aircraft that requires 100-octane avgas (100LL), Berry told AIN. The UL component of the update is important to highlight as more and more airports begin to offer a UL94 option during the transition period to a commercially available 100-Octane unleaded avgas with fleet-wide approval.
NATA's original program was established in 2015 to conform with standards from the Energy Insitute as well as the association's own best practices derived from its Safety 1st operational training.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which steers aviation policy, has set its leadership for the new Congress, naming Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) chairman and Rick Larsen (D-Washington) as the ranking minority member.
These moves were widely anticipated as Graves already held the ranking Republican position when the Democrats had control of the House. Larsen, meanwhile, had been the chair of the House aviation subcommittee but, with his seniority on the Democrat side, was poised to move into the full committee leadership position.
Graves, a staunch general aviation advocate, and Larsen, who has deep insight into aviation matters, take control of the committee in a year where Congress is preparing its next FAA reauthorization bill, which will establish funding levels and authorize the agency’s continued operations. FAA reauthorization bills also host a variety of other aviation measures.
“One of my highest priorities is a bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of the [FAA] and aviation programs,” Graves said. “As a pilot, I know firsthand just how important a strong U.S. aviation system is in connecting our large, small, and rural communities to each other and the rest of the world.”
“We have a lot of work to do to keep the economy moving and to build a safer and more accessible transportation system,” added Larsen.
With sustainability a major focus of the business aviation community and the availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) slowly increasing, the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association (PNBAA) will hold a free educational “SAF 101” webinar tomorrow.
According to PNBAA, panelists in the session will discuss how to mobilize its constituents to support the wider use of SAF in the region. “The time is now for PNBAA to become a focal point for making SAF more accessible to our membership,” the organization noted. “We believe people should attend to better understand the positive implications of the use of [SAF] on our industry, learn what is being done to produce and distribute SAF, as well as open a dialogue on what can be accomplished at a regional level.”
The webinar, which will run from 10:30 a.m. PST until noon, will feature presentations from Steward D’Leon, NBAA’s director of environment and technical operations; Keith Sawyer, manager of alternative fuels with Avfuel; Carol Sim, Washington State University’s assistant director of office of laboratory partnerships; and Robin Toth, Washington State’s director of economic development for the aerospace sector. The panelists will then take live questions from the audience.
Avionics Services International (ASI) has upgraded the cockpits of a Piper Meridian and a Beechcraft Debonair 35-C33 with new panels and avionics. On the Meridian turboprop single, ASI replaced the panel and added a quad-display Garmin G700 system with a GI 275 multifunction display.
The Debonair received a new panel and dual Garmin G3X Touch displays (10.6-inch landscape and 7-inch portrait), including four-cylinder engine indication system. ASI also installed a GFC 500 autopilot, GTN 750Xi GPS navcom, GNX 375 navigator with ADS-B, and G5 attitude indicator.
“One of the top reasons for a flight deck upgrade is weight savings,” said ASI's Ryan Busby. “We are able to remove outdated instruments and install solid-state digital systems. These also offer better reliability. Pilots and owners see an increase in operational efficiencies.”
Founded in 1988, ASI is experienced with all types of general aviation aircraft, from piston singles to business jets. The San Antonio company’s capabilities include equipment installation, repair, replacement, and diagnostics.
Supersedes but retains the requirements of EASA AD 2022-0145, which mandated amending the aircraft flight manual (AFM) and implementing the master minimum equipment list change project CP0299-PUB and operational suitability manual flight crew DGT 148654 Revision 06. Updated AD requires upgrading the avionics to the EASy II 5th CERT standard and amendment of the AFM.
Model(s): Global Express, XRS, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500
Published: January 11, 2023
Effective: January 25, 2023
Requires the replacement of affected nose wheel steering selector valves with a redesigned valve that has an improved response time. Prompted by an investigation following a runway excursion that revealed the nose wheel steering selector valve can be slow to deactivate under low-temperature conditions. In the event of an uncommanded steering input, a slow steering selector valve deactivation could lead to a delayed transition to free caster mode and result in an aircraft runway excursion, according to Transport Canada.
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