This Day in FAA History: November 2nd

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19781102: FAA officially established the Office of the Associate Administrator for Aviation Standards, with the Office of Aviation Safety, the Civil Aviation Security Service, and the Flight Standards Service placed under its executive direction (see July 10, 1979). The agency retitled the position of Assistant Administrator for Aviation Safety the Director of Aviation Safety.
19791102: FAA redesignated the Office of Accounting and Audit the Office of Accounting. FAA’s audit functions had earlier been transferred to the newly created Office of Inspector General in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.
19811102: Effective this date, FAA reestablished 12 inches as the required height for registration marks (N-numbers) on fixed-wing aircraft. This size requirement had originally been established by a rule published on January 6, 1961. In 1977, however, the size of the N-numbers was reduced to 3 inches for small airplanes with speeds not greater than 180 knots. The agency permitted this reduction in response to the Experimental Aircraft Association’s concern to improve the aesthetic appearance of small aircraft. FAA reestablished the 12 inch height after complaints from citizens, law enforcement agencies, and the Defense Department demonstrated that timely and positive visual identification was compromised by the smaller markings. To avoid undue cost, however, FAA allowed owners of existing and certain newly-manufactured aircraft to display the smaller N-numbers until the aircraft was repainted or its marks were restored, repainted, or changed. The new requirement for 12 inch numbers did not affect existing rules on special marking procedures for certain aircraft that were amateur-built, unusually configured, over 30 years old, or operated for exhibition.
19881102: FAA announced it had awarded a contract to Raytheon for 47 Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) systems which would be able to warn of hazardous wind shear conditions and microbursts. The contract followed operational evaluation of a TDWR at Denver Stapleton airport, and further operational evaluations of test units continued. (See August 2, 1985, and July 2, 1994.)
19881102: AN FAA Jet Commander 21 crashed near Latrobe, Pa., after both engines lost power. The accident claimed the lives of all three personnel aboard.
19931102: FAA dedicated the new Leased Interfacility National Airspace Communications (LINCS) telecommunications system following an initial installation that took about nine months. LINCS connected 20 air route traffic control centers, replacing a network of more than 10,000 individual circuits. Expansion to other facilities was planned.
19991102: FAA announced it had awarded a contract worth up to $75 million to L-3 Communications to purchase up to 60 of its explosives detection systems. L-3 Communications was the second manufacturer to offer a system that met the FAA’s rigorous certification standards. Under the contract, FAA could purchase up to 60 eXaminer 3DX 6000 explosives detection systems over three years. (See April 15, 1999; December 21, 1999.)
20101102: FAA issued a final rule amending the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes concerning flight crew alerting. The standards updated definitions, prioritization, color requirements, and performance for flight crew alerting to reflect changes in technology and functionality. This amendment added additional alerting functions, and consolidated and standardized definitions and regulations for flight crew warning, caution, and advisory alerting systems. It also harmonized standards between the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency. The rule became effective on January 3, 2011.
20211102: FAA issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin alerting aviation manufacturers, operators, and pilots to the potential adverse effects of new 5G wireless networks on radio altimeters. The bulletin—AIR-21-18—recommended aircraft and avionics manufacturers and operators voluntarily provide FAA with information on radio altimeter design, functionality, and number of systems installed, and test their equipment to determine its susceptibility to interference from emissions in the 3700-3980 MHz frequency range. Radio altimeters, also called radar altimeters, track an aircraft’s altitude over terrain by measuring reflected signals from about 2,500 ft. above ground level, operating between 4200-4400 MHz. (See November 4, 2021.)
20211102: FAA proposed a rule requiring commercial hot-air-balloon pilots to hold medical certificates when operating for hire. The rule would mandate a second-class medical certificate, the same standard required for commercial pilots.