U.S. House and Senate lawmakers are holding out hope to push through the five-year FAA reauthorization bill this week before the agency’s operating authority is set to expire at the end of Friday, but negotiations regarding potential amendments, including those unrelated to the bill, have muddied the path.

The leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee and House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee early last week unveiled their comprehensive 1,069-page FAA package, H.R.3935, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, and the Senate began consideration of the bill also last week.

However, some Senators have looked at the bill—considered a must-pass measure—as a possible venue to attach provisions that otherwise may not pass, including one from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) surrounding a radiation compensation program. This was one of many for debate—nearly 100 amendments were filed since the compromise agreement was unveiled. The concern is that, even if the Senate were to adopt some of these measures, they could sink the bill in the House.

Meanwhile, aviation leaders are urging Congress to pass the bill, and NBAA put out a call to its members to weigh in on the issue through a joint open letter. “We urge you to oppose non-germane amendments and swiftly pass this important legislation before the current authorization expires,” the letter states. “These measures will not only ensure the continued safe operation of general aviation but also promote innovation and technological advancement within the industry.”

Textron Aviation has opened its expanded global parts distribution center in Wichita. With an additional 180,000 sq ft of floor space and state-of-the-art package sorting facilities, the company says it will be able to store more airplane parts and ship them to customers faster.

“Being centrally located in the United States, we can pretty much ship a part overnight and have it to a customer first thing in the morning as long as the order comes in before 6 p.m. the day before,” Brad White, Textron Aviation’s senior vice president of global parts distribution, told reporters during a tour last week.

Also known as P43, the expanded facility now covers 245,000 sq ft and stocks around 150,000 active part numbers for new and existing models of Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker aircraft. It ships the parts to more than 170 countries, and the company has satellite warehouses and operations around the world. Textron Aviation’s aftermarket business accounts for more than 20% of the company’s total revenues.

“We were running our warehouse out of potentially five different buildings here within Wichita, and we were able to consolidate all of that into one single footprint here,” White said. “We now can repurpose those other buildings for other needs,” such as the new hiring and learning center on its East Wichita campus, he added.

The FAA has updated its guidelines for aviation medical examiners to expand the list of antidepressant drugs that pilots and air traffic controllers can take and maintain their medical certificates.

Effective as of April 24, the FAA’s list of “conditionally acceptable” antidepressant medications for special issuance authorization of a medical certificate now includes desvenlafaxine (Pristiq), duloxetine (Cymbalta), and venlafaxine (Effexor). These three drugs are classified as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or SNRIs.

Up until last year, the list of FAA-approved antidepressant medications was limited to a class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Pilots and air traffic control specialists taking one of four SSRI drugs—fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro), or citalopram (Celexa)—have been eligible for special issuance of a medical certificate since 2010. In May 2023, the FAA added bupropion (Wellbutrin) to that list, making it the first non-SSRI drug that pilots and air traffic controllers were allowed to take for the treatment of depression.

In light of the expanded list of drug options, the FAA has chosen to rename the SSRI Protocol to “Antidepressant Protocol” in the latest version of its guide for aviation medical examiners. The guide now lists a total of eight “conditionally acceptable” medications that will not disqualify people from seeking special issuance of a medical certificate.

Fractional ownership group SkyShare this week introduced new financing options for its fleet of business aircraft. Today, the U.S. company unveiled terms that reduce the initial investment to be made by shareowners and cut some monthly management fees by reorganizing its fleet by aircraft size.

For aircraft offered through the standard SFX program, which includes the Pilatus PC-12 and Textron Aviation's Cessna Citation CJ2 and Excel light and midsize models, share prices start at $335,000. SkyShare now only requires 35% of that total ($117,250) as a down payment, with monthly finance payments starting at $2,354.

For the super-midsize and heavy aircraft offered through the recently introduced SFX+ program, shares begin at $950,000, with financing options based on down payments of $332,500 and $6,684 monthly finance payments.

SkyShare offers shares in increments of 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4, conferring annual access to the aircraft ranging from 20 to 80 days. The ownership terms run for three years, at the end of which the company sells the aircraft and distributes funds back to owners, who have the right to opt out of the program early. Flight hour fees run from $1,500 for the PC-12 up to $6,500 for the G450.

Aerospace Quality Research & Development (AQRD), an engineering and business aircraft maintenance provider at Dallas-area Addison Airport (KADS), has expanded its facility on the northeastern side of the field.

The company, which has had a presence at KADS for more than 20 years and specializes in composite materials, has added an additional 20,000-sq-ft hangar to its FAA Part 145 repair station, augmenting its structures, accessories, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic capabilities, and bringing the complex to five dedicated hangars, totaling 60,000 sq ft.

This marks the culmination of a $5 million, three-year renovation and expansion project that saw the company’s existing hangars rebuilt to meet new FAA standards and completely renovated and upgraded with new fire-suppression systems and power installation. According to company CEO Raj Narayanan, the improvements will also bolster its composite repair capacity with new clean rooms, ovens, and a finishing booth.

While it supports more than 4,000 engineering projects a year, the additional hangar space will allow AQRD to house customer aircraft while major on-wing and other structural repairs are conducted.

“AQRD’s expansion of its facilities will allow faster and higher quality throughput of engineered repairs of aircraft, facilitating our vision and mission of returning aircraft to service, supporting our customers faster and better than ever before,” Narayanan told AIN.

The three-day 2024 NBAA Maintenance Conference concluded last week, and NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen congratulated attendees from 46 states who traveled to Portland, Oregon, for the annual celebration of the business aviation maintenance segment.

“We are thrilled that this year’s conference brought people together to learn from each other, to embrace change, and to inspire the next generation of maintenance professionals,” Bolen said. “We set a new standard with sessions on the latest thinking in safety management systems, expert panels focused on emerging technologies for aircraft maintenance, and an inspiring youth competition. Clearly, this event put a spotlight on a profession that is evolving in compelling directions.”

Although some exhibitors noted a thin crowd in the exhibit hall, education sessions were well attended and appreciated, as were keynote presentations by former U.S. Navy Blue Angels commanding officer Greg Wooldridge and organizational psychologist Amy Grubb, who is digital transformation advisor to the FBI’s chief information officer.

“Everything at the conference was about offering effective solutions for maintenance teams, and operators in general, to meet the industry challenges ahead,” said NBAA Maintenance Committee chair Nate Dietsch.

“Projected growth in business aviation means the sector will need thousands of new workers in the next decade, alone,” added vice chair Brett Semple.

Next year’s NBAA Maintenance Conference will be in Columbus, Ohio, from April 29 to May 1.

Wholly owned Dassault Aviation subsidiary ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia held a grand opening ceremony last week for its purpose-built MRO facility at Subang Airport.

Measuring 149,500 sq ft, the facility ranks as Malaysia’s largest business aviation MRO center. It covers more than twice the area of ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia’s previous operation and serves business jet operators from across Asia.

Guests of honor included YB Anthony Loke, the country's Minister of Transport; Jean Kayanakis, senior v-p of worldwide Falcon customer service and service center network at Dassault Aviation; and Graeme Duckworth, president of ExecuJet MRO Services Group.

“Today’s opening marks a pivotal moment for ExecuJet MRO Services’ presence in the region,” said Duckworth. “We are expanding support for operators of multiple aircraft brands across the region. The Subang facility is key to that strategy.”

ExecuJet MRO Services invests heavily in internationally certified training for its personnel, allowing it to perform line and heavy maintenance on Falcon, Bombardier, and Gulfstream aircraft registered with regional civil aviation authorities and with the FAA and EASA.

The facility includes new training space at Subang to support such authorizations and expand the workforce. Ivan Lim, ExecuJet MRO Services’ regional v-p for Asia, said the company expects to increase the size of the Subang workforce from 84 to 100 by the end of the year.