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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 0552.PDF
U^yJZJtAL AVJAfmM Fractionals could escape change GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC FRACTIONAL ownership programmes should continue to operate under the regulations which govern general aviation, but with the increased safety oversight applied to commercial operators, saysan industry committee formed by the US Federal Aviation Administration to provide guid ance on the contentious issue. The Fractional Ownership Aviation Rulemaking Committee, formed last October, has presented a draft notice of proposed rulemak ing (X PRM) to the FAA for review. It has urged against any changes to the document that could endanger the "100% consensus" reached within the 27-member committee between fractional programme managers, on-demand charter operators, aircraft management companies and traditional corpo rate flight departments. The committee recommends that fractional programmes con tinue to operate under the Part 91 rules that govern corporate flight departments, but are regulated by a new subpart which requires the same FAA safety oversight as NEWS IN BRIEF • TRAVEL AIR SOARS Raytheon Aircraft says its Travel Air fractional owner ship subsidiary sold 25% more aircraft shares than forecast in 1999, its second full year of operation. The company ended the year with 489 shareowners, up 132% from 1998, while its fleet expanded from 35 aircraft to 59 and hours flown almost doubled, to 40,290h. • SJ30-2 AIRFRAME Spain's Gamesa Aeronautica will complete delayed deliv ery of the major airframe sec tions for the first conforming prototype SJ30-2 business jet in March, with wing halves arriving at Sino Swearingen Aircraft's Texas plant. charter companies operating under Part 135 rules. At the same time, the draft NPRM proposes changes to Part 135 that would provide charter companies with some of the oper ating flexibility benefits enjoyed by the fractionals. Importantly, the proposals do not affect the regula tion of other Part 91 operators. The proposed new subpart K "codifies the best practices of the major fractionals", says committee chairman Jim Christiansen, chief operating officer of TAG Aviation USA - a large Part 135 operator and aircraft management company which has its own fractional owner ship programme. Christiansen says die committee decided fractional programmes did not need to be moved into Part 13 5 because of their excellent safety record under Part 91. To maintain safety as new companies enter die market, the proposed new subpart requires the issue of "management specifications" that set standards for such programmes. Because of the safety record Fractionals like Bombardier's Flexjet could soon be regulated by new subpart established by die fractionals, the committee proposes including some of their best practices in Part 135. This would allow on-demand operators to serve a larger number of smaller airports, "and open up charter to more communities", says Christiansen. It would also make charter operators more com petitive with fractionals. Proposed changes include allowing qualified on-demand operators - those meeting strict pilot training and pairing require ments - to use 85% or more of runway length when calculating take-off and landing distances, instead of the current 60% permit ted by Part 135. This will allow use of smaller airports. In a poll conducted last year by the US National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), corporate flight departments voted over whelmingly for fractionals to be "surgically removed" from Part91 and inserted into Part 135, without any other changes or new regula tions in Part 91. NBAA president Jack Olcott says the draft NPRM "is the best articulation of what our members asked for. It is impossible to give them both". • Diamond plans for triple expansion DIAMOND Aircraft plans a family of general aviation air craft to add to its line-up, which includes the DA20-C1 Katana trainer and the new DA40 Diamond Star piston single. "We have come up with three aircraft types, which we feel will be welcomed by the marketplace. Our decision is based on extensive cus tomer research and long-term dis cussions on the future of our product line," says Diamond exec utive vice-president Jeff Owens. Although few details of die pro grammes are available, Diamond says the new line will include a six- seat single, a four-seat pressurised single and a four-seat twin. "It is too early to reveal technical details, but the aircraft will share similar fea tures," adds Owens. Privately owned Diamond believes the market is ready for new general aviation aircraft and early indications suggest the first air craft, as yet unrevealed, should appear within five years. "We can not identify a timeframe at this stage. It is a moving target, but we realise this is the right time [eco nomically] to proceed," says Owens. Development work will be divided between Diamond's facto ries in Vienna, Austria, and London, Ontario. Meanwhile, European Joint Airworthiness regulations J AR-2 3 certification of die company's four- seat Diamond Star has slipped by six months to mid-June. US certifi cation is set for year-end. The fourth of five conforming all- composite prototype aircraft was set to make its North American debut on 24 February in Ontario. The official unveiling will kick- start a regional marketing cam paign for the aircraft, which costs S185,000 and for which more than 300 orders and options have been chalked up. Owens says: "'This aircraft has completed l,000h of flight testing and 1,500 landings and we will see out its first TBO [time between overhauls] as part of our aggressive testing process." The Vienna site is gearing up for production of the first batch of up to 60 aircraft for 2001. Manu facturing is expected to double the following year when the Canadian Diamond Star production line is up and running. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 29 February - 6 March 2000
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