September

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) voiced its opposition to the European Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) proposal to require all European corporate aviation operators to register with their National Aviation Authority (NAA). The Advance Notice of Proposed Amendment (A-NPA), designated JAR OPS-2, would require corporations with a European operating base to register with their NAA as a non-commercial operator. The proposed regulation defined an operating base as any location where operational control of flights is exercised, including scheduling and flight planning. In related news, charter flights across Australia became subject to a new set of proposed aviation rules. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) issued detailed draft rules for the operation of all commercial passenger-carrying small aircraft. A key change under the proposed new rules was the introduction of comprehensive pilot training and checkout requirements for all small-aircraft charter operations. Here in the U.S., National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James K. Coyne urged support of the Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed weight-based restrictions at airports, as long as the restrictions are not used as a substitute for limiting aircraft noise. “It certainly makes sense to protect pavement from damage from aircraft that exceed the design criteria by a significant margin,” said Coyne. “What we would object to is using ‘weight-based restrictions’ as a way to limit noise by restricting access to an airport by a certain class of aircraft.”