FAA GA and Part 135 Activity Survey – Due Nov 30th

CalPilots

faaDear Aircraft Owner: The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting the 34th annual General Aviation (GA) and Part 135 Activity Survey for calendar year 2011. Your participation will allow the FAA to measure the size and activity of the general aviation fleet and better understand how people use general aviation aircraft. The survey also allows us to track the success of our safety initiatives, identify areas for improvement, focus our resources, and better serve the GA community.

The online survey is the only source for this important information. The information collected will be aggregated and used by government agencies, industry, trade associations, and private businesses. These organizations use the data to pinpoint safety problems and to form the basis for critical research and analysis of general aviation issues.

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FAA Targets Part Time IA's – Update

CalPilots

Update – FAA extends comment period on IA proposal

The FAA’s recently proposed change in the definition of “actively engaged” for issuing and renewing an A&P Inspector Authorization (IA) has stirred up a lot of worry in the GA community. The comment period for the notice of proposed policy published on Nov. 5 has been extended to Jan. 17, 2011. According to the FAA, “an individual must be actively engaged, for at least the prior two-year period, in maintaining aircraft to be eligible to either obtain or renew an IA.” This proposal is a significant change to long-established practice for IA qualifications, according to officials at the National Business Aviation Association. Comment on the proposal here, docket number FAA-2010-1060.

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GAO on FAA

CalPilots

The FAA needs to do a better job of issuing certifications and approvals, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a recent report. A lack of efficiency and consistency in how the FAA interprets its own rules adversely affects the aviation industry, causing delays and higher costs, the analysts found.

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FAA Now Requires Re-Registration of Aircraft

CalPilots

N-Numbers For Airplanes That Are Not Re-Registered Will Be Cancelledfaa

Get ready to pony up more paperwork … and fees … to register your airplane, and do it on a regular basis. The FAA has finalized a plan to require re-registration of all civil aircraft over the next three years, with renewal every three years after that. The FAA says the move will create a more accurate aircraft registration database.

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FAA Kills "Taxi To" For Takeoff

Effective June 30, 2010, the FAA is deleting the term “taxi to” from taxi and ground movement operations as it pertains to aircraft cleared to taxi to an assigned takeoff runway. The change requires controllers to issue explicit runway crossing clearances “for each runway (active/inactive or closed) crossing.” And aircraft issued clearance to cross a runway must cross that runway before receiving clearance for a subsequent runway crossing. There is an exception: “At airports where the taxi route between runway centerlines is less than 1,000 feet apart, multiple runway crossings may be issued after receiving approval by the Terminal Services Director of Operations,” according to the FAA.

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FAA LAUNCHES INCURSION CAMPAIGN

CalPilots

FAA LAUNCHES INCURSION CAMPAIGN The FAA is starting an aggressive campaign aimed at curbing runway incursions in general but GA deviations in particular. At Sun ‘n Fun 2010, Wes Timmons, the FAA’s director of runway safety, unveiled a new campaign called “If You’ve Crossed The Line, You’ve Crossed The Line.” As the name implies, the…

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