The FAA has released the following statement from Randy Babbitt: "Today I submitted my resignation to Secretary Ray LaHood and it has been accepted. Serving as FAA Administrator has been an absolute honor and the highlight of my professional career. But I am unwilling to let anything cast a shadow on the outstanding work done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by my colleagues at the FAA. They run the...

This robust little engine with a very rich American history was first designed by the Allison Division of General Motors in the late 1950s. This was in response to the U.S. Army’s invitations to produce a new turbine engine for a light observation helicopter (LOH). On Dec.19, 1962, the FAA issued the original Type Certificate E4CE to the proud grass roots family at General Motors. The birth of...

During a recent conversation with our editor Fred Polak, he asked me why we don’t have a reader feedback section. My reply was simple — we do. Well…sort of. We had a reader feedback section in our second issue (one year ago this issue). I would like to have a regular reader feedback section in the magazine, but I need regular feedback to do that. We have recently received a couple of notes from...

Hoffman Engineering, based in Stamford, CT, announces the recent FAA TSO authorization of its LED standard and dual mode aircraft navigation and position lights. The standard lights are functional for daytime operations, while the dual-mode versions feature covert lighting for use with night vision devices during night operations. The statement of conformance under TSO-C30c Type I, II, and III,...

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) has received Transport Canada type certification for its PW210S engine, selected by Sikorsky for the S-76D medium-sized helicopter targeting corporate, offshore oil, medical, airline and government operators around the world. Pratt & Whitney Canada is a United Technologies Corp. company. The PW210S incorporates the most recent advances in materials...

Scott’s - Bell 47, Inc., announces an agreement with Instrument Specialties Co., Inc. (INSCO) to design & build new Instrument Panel Assemblies for the model 47 helicopter. INSCO will partner with AeroPanel Corporation & Geneva Aviation to provide a turnkey solution for a modern cockpit interface to be made available for upgrade of existing model 47 helicopters and for new model 47...

BLR Aerospace announces an FAA-certified performance increase for its Bell 212 FastFin® System. The FAA has approved a Flight Manual Supplement (FMS) certifying up to 500 pounds of additional out-of-ground effect hover performance for Bell 212s equipped with FastFin. The same approval is expected soon from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). With the FastFin® System, most Bell 212...

Ramco Systems, the Global Aviation Maintenance & Engineering (M&E) and Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) software provider, announced today that Columbia Helicopters, Incorporated (CHI) has purchased Ramco’s Series 5 Aviation software suite. Under the agreement, Ramco will deliver Series 5 M&E and MRO, Ramco’s Aviation Analytics®, ePublications®, Financials and eSignatures® as...

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, announces the signing of a non exclusive agreement with United Rotorcraft, an Air Methods division, to design an air ambulance interior concept for the AW169 helicopter. The agreement includes AgustaWestland providing United Rotorcraft a full scale cabin Mock-up of the AW169 aircraft for design and full integration of the EMS interior. This solution will...