The Federal Election Commission is promulgating new and revised rules implementing the provision of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act governing noncommercial campaign travel on aircraft. These changes restrict, and in some situations prohibit, Federal candidates and certain political committees from expending campaign funds for noncommercial air travel. Read the Federal Register excerpt here…
FAR Part 61: Road Work Ahead
November 1st, 2009 by
The FAA’s major revision to Part 61 was published August 21, 2009 and became effective October 20th. It is no small task for pilots to keep up the with the changes to Part 61, but the FAA’s job of updating it is an endless, thankless process.
What is Current Maintenance?
October 1st, 2009 by
The correct response depends on whether you are maintaining an aircraft under FAR Part 91, 121 or 135, and the person posing the question.
New York Airspace NPRM, September 16, 2009
September 18th, 2009 by
Proposed modification of the New York Class B Airspace.
Part 61 NPRM, August 31, 2009
September 17th, 2009 by
Proposed changes to Pilot, Flight Instructor and Pilot School Certification
Part 61 Final Rule, August 21, 2009
September 17th, 2009 by
Time to Resolve FAR 135 Rest and Duty Times
September 1st, 2009 by
The current rest and duty regulations for Part 121 and 135 operations date back to 1985. In 2003, the FAA established a joint FAA/Industry Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to provide the agency recommendations regarding the safety and applicability standards for Parts 125 and 135. The ARC did achieve consensus on recommendations for revising the commuter and on-demand flight/rest requirements in Part 135. However, the FAA is yet to produce an NPRM on them. It is time to finish the work that was started years ago. Click here to download full article.
Saving Taxes With an Aircraft Leasing Company
August 14th, 2009 by
The sales and use tax laws generally apply only to the purchase and use of property by the final consumer. To avoid taxing intermediate sales, almost all States have a resale exemption which allows resellers to purchase and use property tax-free. This exemption generally applies to lessors. Instead of paying tax on the purchase or use of the property, the lessor will charge sales tax on the lease payments. An aircraft investor can take advantage of this exemption by creating a captive aircraft leasing company to purchase the aircraft and to lease the aircraft to the users.
The Reward For Filling the Cabin: More Money
July 17th, 2009 by
Flying “off the balance sheet” has always occurred at the fringes of our industry, but now it is becoming mainstream. It shouldn’t be. The IRS seat approach is virtually harmless to companies that have incorporated corporate aircraft shuttles in their flight operations, because the number of business butts in seats then dominates the calculation. That leaves the taxmen little room to disallow deductions for entertainment use of the aircraft by its owners, officers and directors.