Salina, Kan. March 24, 2006
In Congressional testimony, Aerospace Systems and
Technologies, Inc. President Kevin E. Hawley called
for more Federal Aviation Administration certification
and regulation resources, product liability
improvements and better immigration policies to ease
engineer recruiting shortages.
Hawley presented his views this week before the
U.S. House Aviation Sub-Committee of the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,
meeting in Wichita, Kan. Also providing testimony
were Cessna Chairman, CEO and President Jack J.
Pelton, Raytheon Aircraft Chairman and CEO James E.
Schuster, and Spirit AeroSystems President & CEO
Jeffrey L. Turner.
FAA Resources
In his testimony, Hawley said, "We have a good
working relationship with our cognizant FAA
representatives and appreciate efforts directed
towards our programs. We see, however, that the
work load of the FAA continues to grow while staff
size remains dormant or decreases."
Hawley added, "Certification workload is transferred
to companies via delegation, increasing the demands
on the company's resources both from a personnel
and a financial standpoint."
"I also find that regulations are becoming more
restrictive, but not necessarily to the benefit of the
general public. Pursuit of regulatory safety is the
noblest of goals and an absolute requirement for
aviation products, but not at the expense of the
introduction of safety products to the market," he
added.
Product Liability
Hawley testified, "My experience indicates that the
aviation industry is often treated unfairly in the
litigation world. Pre-trial arbitration may be one form
of relief, a system that could potentially weigh the
true merit of a case. The allowance of countersuit
for damage may be another means of support,
deterring frivolous lawsuits."
Recruiting
Hawley commented on a short-term solution to
engineer shortages that trouble the industry. "It
would be beneficial to all technical companies if
immigration quotas were expanded for foreigners with
technical degrees. As an example, our company
could recruit new foreign aerospace or aeronautical
engineers from our own regents' schools, such as
Wichita State or the University of Kansas as
needed," Hawley said.
AS&T markets ice protection systems to end users
and OEMs of aircraft ranging from high performance
piston-powered airplanes to business jets. AS&T's
TKS system has become the standard for these
general aviation aircraft.
Kevin Hawley's complete testimony
AS&T is a subsidiary of CAV Aerospace Ltd. in
Consett County Durham, UK. Most of the ice
protection system is manufactured in the U.K. and
sold in the United States, where AS&T is the focal
point for this commerce. AS&T is headquartered at
the Salina Municipal Airport.
AS&T manufactures and installs systems for flight
into known icing and to provide de-ice capabilities for
inadvertent encounters. Its TKS ice protection
system kits are available on a number of aircraft
including the Cessna 210, 208, 206, and
182, Socata TB20/21, Mooney, Bonanza, Baron,
Commander Aircraft, Aero Commander 500, Piper PA-
32, and Diamond DA-42. AS&T's system is also on
Raytheon's Hawker Jet, Cessna Citation SII, and the
General Atomics' Predator UAV.
For AS&T's TKS system, porous, laser drilled titanium
panels are installed on the leading edges of the
wings, and horizontal and vertical stabilizers. A
slinger ring is installed on the propeller and a spray
bar is positioned on the windshield for protection. A
glycol-based fluid is exuded through the panels and
flows over these surfaces keeping the aircraft
virtually ice free. For more information go to http://www.w
eepingwings.com.
