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NATA is the National Air Transportation Association
Founded in 1940, NATA aggressively promotes safety and the success of aviation service businesses through its advocacy efforts before government, the media and the public as well as by providing valuable programs and forums to further its members’ prosperity.
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Professional Line Service Training
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PLST Online provides the most up-to-date training available for line service specialists – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Line service supervisors can conduct the new PLST Online training anytime and from anywhere there is access to the Web. continued |
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139 Fire Safety Training Online
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This training not only meets and exceeds the requirements of 14 CFR 139.321 but also allows you to interact with other students in a group learning environment, receive the very latest NFPA news, watch live training presentations and much more.
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| User Fees Not Included In President’s FY 2011 Budget |
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| Last week, the Obama administration released the details of the president’s federal budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) absent any type of “user fee” proposal for the general aviation community.
“The general aviation community has worked diligently over the last several years with its supporters on Capitol Hill to ensure that any type of user fee proposal contained in the federal budget is essentially dead on arrival,” NATA President James K. Coyne stated. “While general aviation user fees have been offered in previous budgets, Congress continues to oppose these unjustified and unnecessary budget proposals.”
NATA and its general aviation community partners have advocated that the current system of aviation excise taxes has proven to be a stable and efficient source of funding for our aviation system. “Imposing a user fee on aviation would place an undue administrative burden on system users such as small business and general aviation users, without adequately supplementing the Airport and Airways Trust Fund,” Coyne explained.
“We thank Congress for their continued support in opposition to any type of new user fee proposal and welcome the Obama administration’s FY11 budget as recognition that there are better avenues to raise aviation funding than placing an onerous new tax on the general aviation community,” Coyne concluded. “While NATA is pleased with the Obama administration’s choice to omit a user fee proposal in the FY11 budget, the industry must remain vigilant to ensure that any future user fee proposals are unsuccessful.”
To review NATA’s Legislative Report on the FY 2011 budget please click here.
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| NATA’s 2010 Day On The Hill Slated For April 21 |
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| Every spring, NATA holds its annual Day on the Hill event where members, like yourself, can take advantage of the opportunity to meet with Members of Congress to discuss important issues affecting the general aviation industry and your business.
NATA is especially pleased to announce that it will be modifying its Day on the Hill event to include the association’s Annual Meeting, election of officers and annual Industry Excellence Awards Dinner. All three of these events, along with the association’s 2010 Day on the Hill, will take place on Wednesday, April 21. NATA members may view the 2010 Day on the Hill event page, complete with agenda, registration information and white papers, by clicking here.
NATA is also excited that our Industry Excellence Awards will be presented at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, across from the White House, where Thomas J. Donohue, the Chamber’s President and CEO, will discuss with our members many of the issues that were addressed during their visits on Capitol Hill.
Two of NATA’s highest honors, the William A. “Bill” Ong Award and the NATA Award for Distinguished Service, will highlight the evening’s Industry Excellence Awards Dinner with presentations to this year’s winners. We are thrilled to announce that Gary Driggers, long-time executive at Midcoast Aviation, has been selected as this year’s William A. “Bill” Ong Award winner. Driggers, a former NATA chairman and member of the board of directors, recently retired from Midcoast Aviation after 22 years of service. The NATA Award for Distinguished Service will be presented to the Honorable Jerry Costello (D-IL), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation, a long-time supporter of the general aviation community. The association will also be honoring winners for the following awards:
NATA strongly encourages all members to attend this year’s Day on the Hill as it will not only allow you to have your voice heard on Capitol Hill, but it also allows you to network with industry colleagues and take part in honoring some of our industry’s best during the NATA Industry Excellence Awards Dinner.
To learn more about the 2010 Day on the Hill, please click here.
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| Massachusetts Governor Proposes Taxing Aircraft And Aircraft Parts Sales |
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| Last week, Mass. Governor Deval L. Patrick announced his fiscal year 2011 state budget, which begins in July of this year. The governor’s budget increases state spending by 3% from $27.4 billion to $28.2 billion. To pay for this increased spending, the governor has proposed, among other funding methods, applying the state’s 6.25% sales tax to previously exempt aircraft and aircraft parts sales. According to a press release from Governor Patrick’s office, the tax on aircraft and aircraft parts will cost aircraft owners and operators $4.2 million during fiscal year 2011. The press release also touts the governor’s plan to increase spending and increase taxation during our economic recovery as “strong fiscal management.”
The governor’s proposed budget will be debated by the Massachusetts Legislature over the next few weeks.
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| House Subcommittee On Aviation Meets To Discuss Pilot Training And Safety Practices |
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| Last week, members of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing regarding an update on the FAA’s Call to Action on Airline Safety and Pilot Training. The Honorable Calvin Scovel, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT-IG), and the Honorable Randolph Babbitt, administrator of the FAA testified. On June 15, 2009, following the Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash in Buffalo, New York, Administrator Babbitt and the FAA released its industry-wide Airline Safety and Pilot Training “Call to Action” report to reduce risk at regional airlines while prompting best practices from major airlines and seeking industry voluntary compliance with a number of safety initiatives. A follow-up “Call to Action Final Report” was released on January 26, 2010, which showed the responses from 82% of the air carriers that reflected increased commitment to establish voluntary Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP) and flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) programs. Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL) praised the FAA’s quick action to develop key safety initiatives but is concerned with the delays in implementing those rules. “I believe that unless congressional intervention or legislative mandates are in place, the FAA will continue to stall their safety program implementation, resulting in more unnecessary accidents and fatalities,” Costello said. “The development of H.R. 3371, the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009, will help to further the execution of the FAA’s airline safety and pilot training programs in a timely manner and merge the training of regional carriers and commercial airline pilots. Subcommittee members commend both the FAA and DOT-IG on their efficiency and background information to regulate and enforce the programs within commercial and regional airlines to increase safety for everyone.”
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| FAA Issues Final Rule Affecting Sport Pilots |
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Last week, the FAA issued a final rule affecting sport pilots and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating. This final rule is based upon the rule changes proposed in an April 2008 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The rule issued last week did not finalize all of the proposed changes incorporated in the 2008 NPRM. In response to comments issued by the industry, the following proposed rule changes were withdrawn by this final rule:
- Replace sport pilot and sport pilot flight instructor privileges with aircraft category and class ratings
- Require issuance of category and class ratings by designated pilot examiners
- Require one hour of flight training on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments for student pilots seeking a sport pilot certificate to operate an airplane with a VH greater than 87 knots CAS and sport pilots operating airplanes with a VH greater than 87 knots CAS
NATA issued a regulatory report that details all the proposed rule changes in the final rule. That report may be viewed by NATA members by clicking here. NATA will also publish a white paper in the coming weeks that reviews, in detail, the new rules promulgated by this final rule.
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| JetSelect Makes ACSF Industry Audit Standard Registry |
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| The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) last week announced the addition of JetSelect Aviation of Columbus, Ohio, to the ACSF Industry Audit Standard (IAS) Registry. JetSelect joins Executive Fliteways, Million Air Dallas, Sun Air Jets, Jet Solutions, and Bombardier Flexjet as operators that have completed the IAS audit and achieved Registered status with the ACSF.
The IAS is a comprehensive audit for Part 135 and 91K operators that consists of a thorough review of an operator’s processes and procedures and regulatory compliance, as well as the operator’s implementation of and adherence to an SMS.
“Our entire team of aviation professionals takes great pride in achieving this registry status,” said Stephen Lister, vice president of operations and director of safety for JetSelect Aviation. “We know from our long-term experience in business aviation that safety is a condition that happens on purpose and specifically through the dedication and hard work from each of our people. The IAS audit was rigorous and comprehensive, covering every aspect of our program. We are encouraged to see the global aviation community move towards the single set of standards that have been set forth by the Air Charter Safety Foundation that should allow operators such as ourselves more time to focus on practicing the processes and require less time having them measured against the list of various standards that have been in play over the past ten years.”
The ACSF has made an extensive investment to create a comprehensive audit where both operators and their customers can be assured of process integrity and transparency.
Customers should look for the ACSF IAS registered logo and encourage their preferred charter provider to participate in the program. The ACSF makes its operator registry and key company details available at no charge, so verification of IAS registration is quick and easy. Charter consumers can view the registry at www.acsf.aero/registry.
Supporting materials are available at www.acsf.aero/audit. Operators wishing to initiate the audit process should contact Russ Lawton at 1-888-SAFE-135 (888-723-3135).
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| NATA’s Safety 1st Training Offers Unparalleled Guidance On Training |
| Register Now For NATA’s March Spring Training Week |
| NATA’s Safety 1st Trainer Seminar, to be held at AIE on March 17 in Las Vegas, offers the optimum training instruction for your supervisor. Led by training and industry expert Air BP Services’ Walter Chartrand, seminar attendees will gain a thorough understanding of the importance of training, how to develop the right training program, and the keys to successful training as well as participate in group learning and practice opportunities.
Also, included in this seminar are tips and techniques to teach your supervisor how to maximize the benefits of the PLST Online program in your operation. In fact, NATA’s own PLST Online program and admin tool experts Amy Koranda and Louis Soares will walk participants through the trainee and trainer functions of PLST Online and answer questions about the program as well as the administration. When you call NATA’s Safety 1st with a question about PLST Online, Amy and Louis are the professionals to whom you will speak. They are among your most valuable PLST Online resources.
While the PLST Online is very user-friendly, there is also much to learn from the experience of those who are now in the process of training or have already completed the program. NATA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Michael France is a new asset to this seminar with a certified line service supervisor credential on his resume. He speaks from experience and will guide you through effective utilization and customization of the PLST Online and its associated resources to fit your specific FBO training needs. Mike says, “When supervisors become more active participants in training, their trainees have better retention of information, higher morale and superior customer service skills.”
Meet Walter, Amy, Louis and Mike and make them your partners in maximizing the success of your training program.
This seminar is a part of NATA’s Spring Training Week at AIE from March 15-17 in Las Vegas. NATA will also hold its LSST Seminar, Environmental Compliance Seminar and FBO Success Seminar. Visit www.nata.aero/springtraining for more information on these seminars and a link to registration. NATA’s Spring Training Week offers convenient access to a wealth of training and business resources. Join us!
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| New Online Risk Assessment Tool To Be Unveiled At ACSF Symposium |
| Risk Assessment Is A Requirement For An SMS – Be Proactive |
| Convenience and safety are usually not thought of as going hand-in-hand, but in the case of NATA’s new Automated Safety Risk Assessment Tool the efficiency in determining go/no-go decisions for pilots is harmonious with safer operations. The RAT was developed to automate fully the FAA-published Flight Risk Assessment Tool -- a worksheet-based tool designed to consider the probability, severity and weighted value of 38 leading accident causal factors. The FAA issued an InFO outlining a five-step process used to assess risk. The steps involve: completing a system and task analysis, identifying the hazards, analyzing the safety risk, assessing the safety risk and controlling the safety risk. To use the FAA-published tool, operators must create numerical thresholds that trigger additional levels of scrutiny prior to a flight. The RAT application removes subjectivity and standardizes results, saving operators time and money while improving safety. The RAT further streamlines data entry processes and increases convenience as it is fully integrated with CTA’s Flight Operations System (FOS).
At the ACSF Symposium next month, NetJets International Vice President of Safety & Compliance Dave Hewitt will give an overview of implementation and the history of the FAA-published tool, and NATA’s Director of Technology Initiatives David Vernon will introduce the RAT. Hear about the automated tool that can ease implementation for operators of every size and complexity and be among the first to register for a free 30-day trial at the Air Charter Safety Symposium. The Symposium takes place March 2-3 at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia. Visit www.acsf.aero/symposium for more information and to register.
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| Quick Facts On Aviation Fuel Quality Control |
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| In the previous edition of NATA’s Quick Facts on Quality Control, we took a quick look into the ways water can contaminate aviation fuels. With that understanding, this month we would like to examine how FBOs and other fuel service providers get that water out of the fuel. When it comes to removing water from aviation fuels, the physical properties, namely density, are on our side.
Water is denser than fuel and tends to sink to the bottom of a storage container over time. Engineers have taken advantage of this fact and designed storage tanks with a means for removing water from the bottom of the tank. This mechanism is referred to as a sump, and daily, or more frequent, draining of the sump is one of the most proven methods for keeping aviation fuels free from water contamination. However, as discussed previously, sometimes water gets broken down into extremely small droplets that due to their size do not readily sink to the bottom of a storage tank. This type of water is known as entrained or suspended water and can’t easily be removed by draining sumps.
To remove entrained or suspended water, another method must be used. The most common methods for removing entrained water are by the use of a coalesce-separator. A coalesce-separator is a vessel containing two elements, a first stage coalescing element and a second stage separator element. The coalescing element cause the small droplets of water that are suspended in the fuel to come together into larger droplets (or coalesce) as fuel passes through it. These large droplets then have enough weight to drop to the bottom of the vessel. The second stage separator element, usually mounted above the coalescing elements, is basically a fine mesh screen coated with a Teflon-like material. This coated screen allows fuel to pass through but not water. Together, the coalescing element and the separator element provide an excellent defense against suspended water.
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