On March 14 the Senate passed the $52.9 billion federal highway bill (S.1803), which contains significant amendments regarding helicopter tour operations over national parks. Of particular concern is a successful amendment to the bill offered by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that would give the director of the National Park Service (NPS) broad authority to regulate helicopter and fixed-wing tour flights over land under its administration as well as tribal lands, a move that the air-tour business nationwide regards as debilitating.
Constitutional amendment
November 16, 2006 - 11:48am
Rules governing the construction of objectsthat could be an obstruction to safe aircraft operations might get a little more bite. Under proposed amendments to FAR Part 77 published last week, obstruction standards for the so-called “imaginary surfaces” of airports would be revised, resulting in more structures that could be classified as obstructions.
September 25, 2006 - 8:13am
The FAA has amended new regulations regarding aircraft thermal and acoustic insulation in response to industry concerns that the requirements applied to a much broader range of components and airplanes than was originally intended.
