Federal Aviation Administration June 28, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting comments on the Draft EA for the Blue Origin West Texas Commercial Space Launch Site. Under the proposed action, the FAA would issue one or more experimental permits and/or licenses to Blue Origin to launch reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) \1\ on suborbital, ballistic trajectories. In addition, Blue Origin would construct a private launch site, which would include a vehicle processing facility, launch complex, vehicle landing and recovery area, space flight participant training facility, and other minor support facilities. The EA evaluates potential impacts to the environment from the proposed activities. The FAA may use the analysis in the EA as the basis for making a determination to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement or a Finding of No Significant Impact regarding the issuance of a license and/or permit(s) to Blue Origin.

The FAA publishes a monthly notice, as appropriate, of PFC approvals and disapprovals under the provisions of the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title IX of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Pub. L. 101-508) and part 158 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 158). This notice is published pursuant to paragraph d of Sec. 158.29.

The FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a current information collection. The FAA requires the information in the interest of aviation safety to protect aircraft operations from the potential hazardous effects of laser emissions.

The FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a current information collection. The information collected is needed for the applicant's noise certification compliance report in order to demonstrate compliance with 14 CFR part 36.

This notice sets forth the FAA's proposed decision on the transferability of interim operating authority under the National Parks Air Tour Management Act.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requesting public comment on a proposal to decommission all 54 Direction Finders (DF) and the associated DF approaches in all states other than Alaska. DF's have been used sparingly over the last nine years and the equipment is beyond its useful lifecycle. Improved radar coverage, pilot education and technologies such as area navigation (RNAV) and global positioning satellite (GPS) have reduced the utilization of DF steers and have essentially made DF's obsolete. A Federal Safety Risk Management Panel (SRMP) has determined that if pilots need orientation assistance, that our existing orientation methods, VOR, ADF, and GPS are reliable and meet the needs of our aviation community. Decommissioning would coincide with the Flight Services service provider's plan to consolidate the 58 flight service stations to 20 facilities.

This document proposes to modify Class E airspace at Chamberlain, SD. Standard Instrument Approach Procedures have been developed for Chamberlain Municipal Airport, Chamberlain, SD. Controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth is needed to contain aircraft executing these approaches. This action would increase the area of the existing controlled airspace for Chamberlain, SD.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 757-200 series airplanes. This AD requires a one- time deactivation of the auxiliary fuel system, repetitive venting and draining of the auxiliary fuel tank sumps, and revising the Limitations section of the airplane flight manual to limit the maximum cargo weight. This AD results from a re-evaluation of the floor structure and cargo barriers conducted by the STC holder. We are issuing this AD to prevent structural overload of the auxiliary fuel tank support structure, which could cause the floor beams to fail, damaging the primary flight controls and the auxiliary power unit fuel lines that pass through the floor beams, resulting in loss of control of the airplane. We are also issuing this AD to prevent structural overload of the cargo barriers, which could cause the barriers to fail, allowing the cargo to shift, resulting in damage to the auxiliary fuel tanks, residual fuel leakage, and consequent increased risk of a fire.