News: Datalink assistance for aircraft based in Europe
Eurocontrol and the European Commission have issued a last application call to provide aircraft operators with financial assistance to equip their aircraft with datalink systems, which will be mandated in Europe for all new aircraft by Jan. 1, 2011, and all in-service aircraft by Feb. 5, 2015. Business aircraft operators based in Europe can receive up to 20 percent of datalink installation costs. Deadline for application submissions is September 12.

News: New NOTAMs Eliminate Waiver Requirements for International Flights
Effective September 1, Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) 0/6432 and 0/6433 will eliminate the need for most operators to obtain special airspace waivers to conduct international flights to the U.S. Operators with aircraft registered outside the U.S. will soon be able to conduct flights into the country without obtaining an airspace waiver. This change will eliminate overlapping regulatory requirements while preserving stringent security protocols. Data collected by the Customs and Border Protection Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) will be used to conduct the necessary vetting of international fights. Operators have been successfully meeting APIS requirements for over a year, with compliance at nearly 100 percent. To learn more, visit:
http://www.nbaa.org/airspace/alerts/notams/20100901

News: FAA to Implement ICAO 'Line Up and Wait' Phraseology, Sept. 30
As NBAA first reported this past January, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) "line up and wait" phraseology will be effective on September 30. This replaces the current FAA phraseology, "taxi in to position and hold." Pilots need to be familiar with and be ready to read-back and accept instructions from air traffic control using the new phraseology. For more information, contact NBAA's Bob Lamond at rlamond@nbaa.org. To review FAA order 7210.754, which details the new procedure, visit:
http://www.nbaa.org/ops/airspace/issues/index.php

News: EUROCONTROL Releases Small Emitters' Tool for ETS Compliance
Many business aviation operators may opt to use a simplified method to determine their fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) monitoring and reporting purposes. EUROCONTROL has released a European Commission-approved tool in the form of a Microsoft Excel file that allows an operator to calculate and record its annual emissions that are subject to the EU-ETS. For more information and to download the Excel file, visit:
http://www.nbaa.org/ops/environment/eu-ets

News: TSA Adds Two Airports as DASSP Gateways
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the additions of Republic Airport (FRG) in Farmingdale, NY, and Nashville International Airport (BNA) in Nashville, TN, to the DCA Access Standard Security Program (DASSP), which allows certain general aviation aircraft to apply for access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Flights granted access under the DASSP must be screened at an approved FBO on a gateway airport prior to arriving at DCA. Starting on August 18, DASSP screening will be available at SheltAir Aviation Services in Farmingdale and at Signature Flight Support in Nashville. For more information, contact the NBAA Operations Service Group at info@nbaa.org or visit:
http://www.nbaa.org/ops/security/programs/dassp

News: FAA: Aircraft Re-registration To Begin This Fall
The FAA yesterday issued its final ruling mandating the re-registration of all U.S. civil aircraft. In an effort to clear clutter from the aircraft registry and provide more up-to-date information to law enforcement and other agencies, the FAA will require owners to begin re-registering their aircraft in a rolling program that will begin November 1 and end in December 2013. The first three-month window will involve only aircraft whose certificates were issued in March of any year. The registration process will then move on to certificates issued in April and so on for the next three years. The ruling also calls for aircraft registration renewals every three years. While owners with no changes to their registration will be able to re-register their aircraft online, those with changes will be required to submit their applications through the mail. Industry experts, including Jeff Wieand of Business Jet Traveler magazine, are advising owners to submit their applications as early as possible in their appropriate window to allow the agency time to process and mail the new registrations. The FAA, which maintains information on 357,000 aircraft in its registry, said that nearly one third are no longer eligible for registration because of incorrect addresses or other registration errors, aircraft inactivity or disposal and/or revoked certificates. This new ruling could result in the cancellation of registration of more than 100,000 aircraft over the next three years.

News: FCC Seeks To Outlaw 121.5-MHz ELTs
Aircraft owners in the U.S. are bristling after the Federal Communications Commission announced plans last week to impose a total ban on the "certification, manufacture, importation, sale or continued use of 121.5-MHz ELTs." If adopted, the FCC rule could take effect as early as August. FAA regulations require U.S.-registered aircraft to carry fixed emergency locator transmitters, but the rule doesn't specify whether they should operate on 121.5 or 406 MHz. Although satellites have not listened for 121.5-MHz signals since February 1 last year, the frequency is still monitored by ATC, the military and other pilots. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said it is "aggressively pursuing all options" to delay the rule's adoption, warning of serious economic and operational consequences for more than 220,000 aircraft in the general aviation fleet that still carry 121.5-MHz ELTs. Interestingly, the rule includes an exemption for the Breitling Emergency Watch, which uses the 121.5-MHz frequency to broadcast its distress signal.

News: U.S. Customs Expands Shannon Pre-Clearance
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has expanded the pre-clearance program that allows business aircraft passengers and crew to complete immigration and customs procedures in Shannon, Ireland, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It is now available to aircraft operated under Part 135, rather than just Part 91, and the facility's hours have been expanded to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. The last appointments of the day, however, are one hour before these closing times. Another improvement is that the U.S. officials will now allow one crewmember to remain aboard the aircraft to oversee fueling and catering, while the other crew and passengers proceed to the pre-clearance facility. When they return, the supervising crewmember is escorted to the CBP post for inspection. Part 135 operators have to give 48 hours' notice to use the pre-clearance service; Part 91 requires only 24 hours' notice. Once cleared in Shannon, operators have to fly into one of some 230 designated U.S. airports. Shannon Airport charges a fee of €10.50 ($13) per person to use the pre-clearance service, with a minimum charge of €150 ($185) per aircraft.

News: New ATC Runway Clearances Take Effect June 30
As of June 30, pilots can expect to receive different runway crossing clearances from ATC, according to the FAA. Starting then, controllers will be required to issue specific clearances for each runway the airplane crosses or operates on. Departing aircraft will no longer receive the familiar "taxi to" instruction, which allowed pilots to cross all runways en route to the intended takeoff runway. Instead, the new clearances will start with the assigned runway and then specify taxi route and any initial runway crossing and/or hold-short instructions. As an example, the former "Taxi to Runway 14 via Echo, Delta, Bravo" would be replaced with "Runway 14, taxi via Echo, Delta, Bravo, cross Runway 17, hold short of Runway 18." Controllers will no longer issue multiple runway-crossing clearances at the same time, unless the distance between two runway centerlines is less than 1,000 feet. The FAA urges that if pilots are in doubt about whether they have permission to cross a runway, they should stop before crossing the holding-position marking and contact ATC.

News: FAA Continues 'NextGen' Rollout
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued plans for implementing Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) "out" equipage for aircraft operators. The guidelines require ADS-B out to be installed on aircraft operating in Class A, B and C airspace by 2020. The business aviation community has long supported continued transformation to a Next Generation Air Traffic Control system, or "NextGen," and ADS-B is seen as the cornerstone technology for such a system. "The FAA's plan for implementing ADS-B over the next 10 years, developed in consultation with all aviation stakeholders, demonstrates the shared priority government and industry have placed on aviation system modernization," NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen recently told media organizations. For more information, and to review the final rule, visit: http://www.nbaa.org/member/ops/cns/adsb