FlightSafety International is renewing its offer of free recurrent training for pilots and maintenance techs that have lost their jobs since the start of the year. When the company first offered free training for former customers in 2009, hundreds of out-of-work professionals took advantage of it. “We are pleased and proud to have helped our customers through the Proficiency Protection program in the past. We now offer it again during 2012,” said Bruce Whitman, president & CEO, who noted FlightSafety is the only training provider to offer this type of program.

Idaho Governor Butch Otter has signed bill H.417, which exempts sales tax on aircraft parts installed on out-of-state aircraft. An emergency clause included in the legislation makes the bill take effect immediately. “This is an excellent piece of legislation that creates a net financial gain for the state of Idaho,” said Jeff Mihalic, president of Western Aircraft. “It immediately levels the playing field and will create good-paying aviation jobs at Western Aircraft and at many of the other FAA-approved repair stations in Idaho.” According to Mihalic, the 6-percent tax on parts created a “significant economic disadvantage” for Western, particularly when it came to large refurbishment projects. “Over the past few years we’ve invested heavily in interiors and avionics capability and we’ve added the Challenger 300 and 600 series to our maintenance capabilities. We’ve also expanded our sales force to pursue a much larger market. Elimination of the sales tax will allow us to be more successful capturing new business and expanding our market share, which in turn drives our staffing requirements. Without this legislation, Western’s growth would be modest at best,” he told