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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3216.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT PILOT REGULATIONS US crew duty time enforcement pushed back US airlines have successfully stalled the US Federal Aviation Administration's enforcement of a 16h maximum crew duty day by winning an action in the US Court of Appeals. The FAA enforcement date was 17 November, and this action means US carriers will have until at least January to adjust their current schedules. The Regional Airlines Association (F?AA) president Deborah McElroy says that the FAA had recognised that it would take carriers a "significant amount of time to comply" with the 16h crew duty time (CDT) regulation, and that the Court of Appeals had recognised this. McElroy claims that many of the F!AA airlines CDT limits are in their contracts, and that the FAA should examine "fatigue issues that may exist from pilots' other activities". The Air Transport Association's (ATA) president Carol Hallett agrees that the FAA should rule that pilots have an obligation to ensure that they are properly rested and fit for duty. The ATA has recommended a duty limit of 14h, extendable to 16h to accommodate "unusual circumstances beyond the control of the airline". The Air Line Pilots Association president, Duane Woerth, says the decision is "incomprehensible and totally unacceptable", and has asked the FAA to issue an expedited rule with a 60-day comment period. Woerth alleges that the air lines are trying to kill - or at least delay - the 16h enforcement, and blames them for the FAA's failure to overhaul the fatigue regulations, which have been on the cards for six years. AIRCRAFT DEVELOPMENT GUY NORRIS / SEATTLE Airlines beg Boeing for supersonic sonic cruiser Manufacturer wary of going beyond sound barrier with "supersonic" dash capability Airlines working with Boeing on the initial configuration of the sonic cruiser high-speed airliner are asking it to design in a supersonic dash capability, despite apparent resistance from the manufacturer to step beyond the sound barrier with its new concept. Sources among the 15-strong air line group involved in the configu ration studies say: "We are asking Boeing to look at a supersonic dash capability because, seeing as it has to be certified beyond Mach 1 for upsets, why not use the capability when over water?" Boeing sonic cruiser vice president and general manager Walt Gillette says newly completed wind-tunnel tests have been completed up to speeds of Mach 1.08, but insists that the company is not considering cruise speeds in excess of Ml. "This is a sonic cruiser. We are looking at Mach 1, not any faster right now because, frankly, the technology is not here yet for a Mach 1.4, 1.6 to Mach 2 aircraft." Individual airlines, like suppliers involved in the sonic cruiser, are reluctant to be identified because of strict security rules laid down by Boeing as part of the development effort. However, several of the group say they have indicated a The high-speed airliner's pitch characteristics are "steady and level preference for supersonic capability to Ml.02 and Ml.05 in answers to a multipage questionnaire issued by Boeing as part of the initial configuration studies. Should Boeing concede to the airlines' wishes it now knows that, following the first round of low and high-speed wind-tunnel tests, the basic stability and control char acteristics were confirmed through speeds up to M1.08. "When we looked at the first data we just said 'wow'," says Gillette. Speaking at the Aerospace North America exhibition in Seattle, Washington, Gillette says the pitch characteristics of the canard-equipped, swept wing air liner were "steady and level". The design showed no evidence of Mach tuck, a concern of all new designs operating in the transonic speed range, and "showed no sign of buffet onset", he adds. The tests mark the first stages of the configuration definition process which Boeing hopes to complete around November. The images of the model, which was tested in the low-speed tunnel at the University of Washington and Boeing's transonic tunnel, are the first to be released that show the actual shape of the pro posed aircraft. MAINTENANCE NICHOLAS IONIDES / SINGAPORE ST Aero to expand operations in USA Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) is proceeding with plans to expand its operations in the USA with the signing of a memo randum of understanding which will allow the construction of a third aircraft repair facility in the country. The ST Engineering subsidiary says its third US facility will be in Corpus Christi in Texas. The two- bay centre is expected to open in 2004. A memorandum of understand ing has been signed with the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp (CCREDC), which will construct the facility for ST Aero. The Singapore-based company says the memorandum also "out lines ST Aero's intent to lease the two-bay hangar to be built by CCREDC as part of ST Aero's expansion in aircraft maintenance activities in the US". ST Aero has been on the look out for a site for a third US mainte nance base for some time. It already has two facilities in the country, one at Mobile, Alabama, known as ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering, and the other at Dallas, Texas, known as DalFort Aerospace. ST Aero says negotiations on the Corpus Christi facility are expected to be completed by the end of the year, after which the CCREDC will start the construction which is expected to take around 24 months. 12 25 SEPTEMBER - 1 OCTOBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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