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AD Watch...
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
This amendment [Docket No. 99-CE-85-AD; Amendment 39-12917; AD 2002-21-11] adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain EXTRA Flugzeugbau GmbH (EXTRA) Model EA-300S airplanes. |
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For The Record
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
The phone number 866-GA-SECURE (feel free to leave off that final "E" when dialing) will in early December begin accepting reports of suspicious activity on or around general aviation airports. |
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AD Watch
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Manufacturers who think they can talk customers into accepting a new airplane with a used engine are invited to have a look at this advisory circular. |
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Snoopy Takes A Nosedive
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
Good grief, Charlie Brown! Snoopy is grounded. Is seems that MetLife's blimp -- Snoopy One – encountered some foul weather recently and the result was a rather rough landing. |
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Scholarship Honors Flight 93 Hero
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
The LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation is currently accepting applications for their aviation scholarship. Three scholarships will be awarded next spring in memory of LeRoy Homer. |
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Politically Correct? Post-Election Prognosis For GA
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
Last week's elections were not only important from a partisan point of view, but a potentially big deal for general aviation as well. AOPA's legislative affairs department reports that of the candidates supported by AOPA, 90 percent were elected to serve in the 108th Congress. |
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More Headaches In Store For The Holidays
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
Someone really had their thinking cap on when they came up with this one. The federally mandated luggage-screening systems must be in operation by December 31 – just in time for the busy New Year’s travel period. |
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Freezing Solution On Stream
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Well, it seems the solution to fuel freezing problems in high altitude aircraft was in our jeans. Scientists at the University of Dayton have discovered they can significantly lower the freezing temperatures of jet fuel by treating it with urea, the main ingredient of urine. |
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Forest Service Struggles To Respond To Terrorist Threat
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
The embattled Forest Service is struggling to respond to warnings that its firefighting airplanes, which fell from the sky at a disconcerting rate this summer, could be potential targets for terrorists. |
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For The Record
November 21, 2002
By Russ Niles
Cessna Aircraft is disputing AVweb's characterization of a modification program for its Encore business jets as a recall. |
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American Pilots Talk
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
Allied Pilots Association President John Darrah met this week with American Airlines chief Don Carty to ask for a role in the planning process as the nation's largest airline looks at cost-cutting. |
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SLC Hosts ACI-NA Conference
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
Starting today, the Salt Lake City Department of Airports will host the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Annual Conference and Exhibition. |
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Dassault To Reduce Falcon Biz Jet Production
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
Weak demand for aircraft has prompted Dassault to cut production of its Falcon business jets for next year. The company currently has a backlog of 159 aircraft, according to Dassault Chairman/CEO Charles Edelstenne. |
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See Alaska, Before You Fly
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
When you're flying, it's always nice to see where you're going, especially if you're flying in Alaska. And now you can do it from the comfort of your computer room. |
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Nav Canada Fees Increase
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Canadian pilots are footing the bill for Nav Canada's labor relations problems, says the president of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. |
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Boeing Promises To Stay In Seattle
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
After all of the layoffs, cross-country moves and sheer instability of Boeing, local Seattle residents are a bit wary of the company's next step. |
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AD Watch -- Cessna And Robinson
November 21, 2002
By Russ Niles
All Cessna 208 and 208B aircraft are covered by an Airworthiness Directive requiring repetitive inspection of the inboard forward bellcrancks for cracks or replacement of the bellcranks, depending on usage. |
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United’s Attendants Could Agree To Cuts
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
United Air Lines says it's reached an agreement with its flight attendants ... maybe. The airline announced a tentative agreement had been reached to cut costs and hopefully avoid bankruptcy. |
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Watch Those TFRs: Example, Ever-Changing P-40
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
Call and call frequently. Over the weekend, the FAA published NOTAM 2/1730 that enlarged P-40, the Restricted Area around Camp David near Thurmont, Md., to twice the size of combined P-40 and R-4009 depicted on the special new "Blue Dot" Baltimore-Washington VFR Terminal Area Chart. |
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U.S. Defense, Made In Europe?
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
Airbus is just about to knock Boeing out of the top spot as the world’s number-one commercial aircraft manufacturer. Now, the European-based company wants a piece of the U.S. defense market. |
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STARS Wars Continue
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
FAA system specialists say there's no way the FAA can safely meet a November 17 target to deploy the controversial STARS system in Philadelphia. |
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Airport Funds Frozen
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Virginia has become the latest state to freeze aviation program funding but that may be temporary. The state government has frozen spending of the $14.2 million budget until Dec. 1. |
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Airport Growing Pains
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
Airports across the country continue their fights to grow despite the economic and aviation-specific complications of the post-9/11 world. For general aviation strips, it's largely a matter of increased interest in a reduced-hassle method of transportation. |
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Blakey Fills Her Cabinet
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey announced the following appointments by President George W. Bush to top agency posts: Robert Sturgell has been appointed Senior Counsel to the Administrator. |
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Capstone Technology Saves Pilot
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
Capstone has completed its first real-world test and saved a life in the process. Launched in 1999, the program has installed $19,000 worth of special navigation equipment on 189 commercial airplanes operating in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. |
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Cirrus Crash Third In Five Weeks
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
A Cirrus SR20 crashed November 3 on relatively flat terrain in a wildlife refuge near Las Vegas, N.M., killing Ralph Steenson, the aircraft's non-instrument-rated private pilot and sole occupant. |
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Dodging The President
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
If you're flying in Texas, today, please heed this reminder that the president ... or someone else important ... is at his Crawford ranch overnight. |
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FAA Unions Picket
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Some of the FAA's unionized members are taking their message and their fears to the streets at Detroit Metro Airport today. |
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Insurance Issues Get Global Attention
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
While many American aviators wallow in their insurance woes, they can at least take some comfort knowing that the big boys are suffering too ... globally. |
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Time Running Out For United?
November 21, 2002
By Russ Niles
The clock is ticking for United Air Lines and its new CEO is trying desperately to keep it wound. |
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More Gold For Vegas
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
The best odds in Vegas can't be found on a blackjack table. They're in real estate, and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nev., is a prime example. |
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Aviation Companies Sued By Test Pilot’s Family
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
The family of a Bombardier test pilot who was killed the crash of a Canadair Challenger in Wichita, Kan., filed suit against four manufacturers: Rockwell Collins Inc., Parker Hannifin Corp., Honeywell, and Lucas Aerospace Power Equipment Corp. |
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Polishing STARS
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
As AVweb reported last week, the implementation of the new STARS system is still drawing much criticism -- now, it appears the FAA may be listening. |
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Oberstar Promotes Recorders For Small Aircraft
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
The crash of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone’s airplane is reason enough the FAA should require cockpit voice and data recorders be installed in smaller commercial aircraft, according to U.S. Representative James Oberstar (D-Minn.). |
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Light Sport Documents Near Completion
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
As AVweb reported last week, work is progressing toward a mid-2003 launch of the Light Sport Aircraft / Sport Pilot classifications. |
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Charter Safety Tips From The Journal?
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Perhaps AVweb should start dispensing financial advice after the next stock market crash. In the wake of the crash of a King Air that killed Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone and members of his family, The Wall Street Journal has published a list of tips that it believes can make your next charter flight safer. |
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Bomb-Sniffer Deadline Relaxed ... Somewhat
November 21, 2002
By Russ Niles
They probably weren't going to be able to do it, anyway, so it might as well be legal for airports to miss the Dec. 31, 2002, deadline to have bomb sniffers in place. |
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B-29: Restore And Remember
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
There are too many young pups out there who don’t really realize, let alone appreciate, the extent of what has been sacrificed in so many conflicts around the globe so that the rest of us can live and prosper in the freedom we enjoy today. |
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FSS Privatization, NAATS Vs. AOPA?
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
AOPA wants a say in designing the service criteria for whatever results from a contracting-out study of U.S. flight service stations -- and isn't yet taking a stand against privatization. |
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P-38 Resurrection Earns Following
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
Local politicians and townspeople are working together to raise money to create a fitting home/museum in the town of Middlesboro, Ky., for the restored P-38F known as Glacier Girl. |
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Con At The Controls!
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
When the occupants of Sen. Paul Wellstone's charter aircraft were bouncing through the muck of a late fall storm last week, it's hard to imagine a 12-year-old fraud conviction against their pilot would have made much difference to them or in any way impaired that pilot's abilities. |
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Thy Neighbor's Keeper
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Here's a number to put in your little black book. It's 866-GA-SECURE (866-427-3287) and it will be a direct line to the national Response Center where pilots can report any suspicious activity. |
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Lancair (Certified) Gets New Investor
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
It looks like the folks at Lancair's certified aircraft division will get a much-needed cash-flow infusion, as the company is close to sealing a deal --- as early as November -- with a new investor. |
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Pilots Fear More Hijackings, Want Guns
November 21, 2002
By Russ Niles
Some airline pilots believe terrorists are laying the groundwork for another wave of hijackings and they want to have guns in the cockpit as soon as possible. |
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TSA Extends Deadline For 12-5 Rule
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) formally moved the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program implementation date to February 1, 2003. |
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ExxonMobil Replacing Questionable Oil
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
While the folks at ExxonMobil say metal particles found in Exxon Elite are nothing to worry about, the company is offering free replacement for pilots who would just as soon have metal-free oil, thanks. |
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FAA Designates Internet As Official Source
November 19, 2002
By Brenda Carol
Well, no one ever accused the FAA of rushing into things. The FAA has accepted the Internet as a valid source of information for pilots to obtain weather and NOTAMs, but only from qualified Web sites. |
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587 Blamefest
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
The public hearing into the crash of an American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed in New York last November 12 killing all 260 aboard and five on the ground, has degenerated into a polarized blamefest over rudder movement. |
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Heavy Rudder Use Blamed In Crash
November 19, 2002
By Russ Niles
Vigorous use of the rudder is being blamed for the crash of an American Airlines Airbus last November even though company officials and the NTSB may have known excessive rudder use could cause the airframe to fail. |
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NTSB Probes Wellstone Crash
November 19, 2002
By Arturo Weiss
NTSB and FAA officials Sunday continued their investigation into the cause of Friday's crash of a King Air A-100 that claimed the life of Minnesota Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.), one of the Senate's leading liberals. |
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NATA Urges LORAN Upgrade
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
It may not be as flashy or capable as GPS but Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN) is almost bulletproof when the going gets tough, and that’s why the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is urging the federal government to improve it. The feds have asked for opinions on what to do with LORAN, a ground-based system that uses the time difference of low-frequency radio signals between the receiver and ground stations to plot the position of the receiver. Although GPS is now the favored navigational aid for everyone from pilots to hikers, NATA says it’s also vulnerable to disruption from weather and terrorists, while the long waves of RF from LORAN are hard to jam. “LORAN provides a critical back-up should GPS malfunction or become unavailable,” NATA says in its comments to the Department of Transportation. |
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Freight Company Blames ATC For Taxiway Collision
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
The owner of two small cargo aircraft that collided at Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport last Wednesday says both pilots were complying with instructions from the tower. One of the pilots was slightly injured when the Cessna 402 and Beech 99, both owned by Freight Runners Express, came together at the intersection of three taxiways just off the airport’s main runway. "Both aircraft were operating in controlled areas under explicit instructions of air traffic control," Freight Runners said in a statement quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Neither pilot was notified by [air traffic control] of the impending conflict at the intersection, which would have prevented this accident." The NTSB hasn’t decided whether it will investigate. |
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Vietnam’s First Homebuilt Set To Fly?
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
Vietnam’s flying farmers (well, technically, they haven’t really flown yet) are at it again and this time, according to VietNamNet Bridge, it looks like they might actually put some air between themselves and the ground. As AVweb reported in 2004, Tran Quoc Hai and Le Van Danh from Tay Ninh Province cobbled together a helicopter from salvage parts and a Russian truck engine, and the Vietnam government (perhaps wisely) confiscated it before it they could test fly it properly, although they said at the time they’d hovered it about 18 inches above the ground. Undeterred, the duo started construction on another aircraft, which looks a little like a recycling bin with a rotor, but which they say is much improved over the first one. Now comes word that the country’s prime minister has decided to give his blessing (and you thought the bureaucracy was tough in North America and Europe) to a test flight, provided the ministry of defense and other relevant agencies agree the chopper is airworthy. |
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Soccer Squad Under Aerial Surveillance
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
The British media is buzzing about a covert video and photo surveillance mission that’s worthy of an Ian Fleming novel. But unlike a Fleming book, there’s nothing as paltry as the future of mankind at stake. This plot has shaken and stirred something far more important—soccer (or, as they prefer to call it in Britain, football). According to the Daily Mirror, a highly modified Cessna 172 has been flying over the heavily guarded training complex of Manchester United as the lads practice and set tactics for future matches. United appears to be the team to beat in Britain’s top league and the video and still pictures taken “during the astonishing spying mission could be invaluable to rival clubs,” the newspaper speculated. |
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A Strange But Familiar View
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
After presenting himself to the cabin crew, Stephen Brown was asked to sit in one of the front passenger seats while the right-seat pilot switched sides. He then transitioned from a 182 cockpit to the glass screen spectacle that is a modern airliner’s command post. “Gosh, there’s a lot going on in there compared to a 182,” he said. Brown said the pilot introduced himself as a 28-year veteran of this world. “At that moment I was probably the least nervous person on the plane,” he said. Brown said it was obvious the pilot was more than capable of safely landing the plane himself but the concept of cockpit resource management dictates that two sets of eyes, hands and feet are better than one and, despite his relative lack of experience, he was able to make a contribution. |
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150-Hour Cessna Pilot Helps Out In Continental Emergency
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
Stephen Brown says he has no intention of abandoning his successful air conditioning business in Albuquerque, but he’s done something most private pilots haven’t. The 47-year-old 182 pilot was asked to take the right seat of a Continental Airlines Boeing 757 after the captain collapsed at the controls (he later died) shortly after takeoff from Houston bound for Puerto Vallarta 10 days ago. Brown, along with his wife and some friends, was among 210 passengers heading on vacation when, less than an hour into the flight, Brown said he knew something was terribly wrong not long after a flight attendant asked if there was a doctor on board. “Anyone who could see up front could see them pulling one of the pilots out of the cockpit,” Brown told AVweb in an exclusive interview. |
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Liberty Honors Symphony And Tiger Deposits
January 28, 2007
By Russ Niles
Symphony Aircraft and Tiger Aircraft customers may be down but they're not necessarily out. Liberty Aerospace, which came on the scene roughly concurrently with the now-bankrupt Symphony and Tiger, is offering to honor the deposits of customers of its former competitor toward the purchase of a Liberty two-place touring aircraft. "The exit of these two companies is a tremendous loss to the aviation community," Keith Markley, chief operating officer of Liberty Aerospace, said in a news release. "Pilots and the rest of the industry have a strong history of working together and our wish is to keep the aviation community flying by delivering to those who still desire a new aircraft." |
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Superior's New President And (Soon) Certified Engine
January 26, 2007
By Glenn Pew
Frank Thielert, the CEO of Thielert AG, announced that Kent Abercrombie has been selected as the new president of Superior Air Parts. Abercrombie joined Superior in December of 2000 as the director of finance and was promoted to V.P. of finance in September 2005. Last year Superior experienced 25-percent growth, and further growth is expected since Superior aims to offer the four-cylinder 220-hp angle-head XP400 engine as a certified product, according to the company. Thielert AG, whose diesel engines have won industry acclaim for efficiency serving in the sleek Diamond TwinStar, acquired Superior last spring. |
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NTSB: OSU King Air Crash Leaves Legacy Of Safety
January 26, 2007
By Glenn Pew
An NTSB recommendation resulting from its investigation of a January 2001 King Air crash that killed all aboard -- two crew and eight members of the Oklahoma State University basketball team -- has borne fruit. NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker praised the "admirable work" of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and other student athletic organizations as "above and beyond" for the creation of a 64-page "Safety in Student Transportation" guidance manual that has since June been distributed to some 9,200 presidents of colleges and universities, athletics directors and business and risk managers at educational institutions across the country. If officials implement the policies, "We will have gone a long way toward making something good come out of a tragic accident," said Rosenker. |
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What's Next For The Symphony 160?
January 26, 2007
By Glenn Pew
As for the future of the Symphony 160, "I don't know, specifically," Jeremy Keninger, the company's former national sales director, told AVweb. "I don't think it's the end of the aircraft -- it's a great value at that price point [IFR-equipped for about $165,000]," Keninger said. "It's too bad it didn't work out in Canada," where the company in recent years completed manufacturing facilities. Keninger could not confirm rumblings that the current lead creditor is thinking about resurrecting the company and bringing it to the U.S., where the cost of labor and efficient building practices would likely remain key issues. For aspiring owners with deposits already paid, "they will be treated as unsecured debts of [Symphony]," writes former president Paul Costanzo. "It is extremely unlikely that the proceeds of liquidation will be sufficient to pay the secured creditors, and as such the entirety of these deposit amounts will more than likely be lost." |
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Symphony Aircraft Faces The Music
January 26, 2007
By Glenn Pew
The eleventh-hour balk of a Symphony Aircraft Industries investor has forced the company, which shipped five aircraft in 2006 (all in the first two quarters), to lay off all employees and declare bankruptcy, according to a letter sent Tuesday to dealers by now former President Paul Costanzo. "It was a big shock for the dealers," said Florida dealer Jeff Ermish, who also sells Storm LSAs. Other knowledgeable sources on Thursday told AVweb that the company had told dealers in a Jan. 5 conference call that a plan to secure funding for continued operations and production of the Symphony 160 – a two-seat, fixed-gear, high-wing airplane that sold for roughly $160,000 -- was approved and moving forward. The turn of events is rumored to have been ignited by a late change in the funding plan that would have required a larger investment from a lead investor who on Jan. 19 reviewed that change and pulled out of the deal. |
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Details Remain Sketchy On Continental Pilot's Death
January 24, 2007
By Mary Grady
The pilot who died while flying a Boeing 757 for Continental Airlines on Saturday afternoon "experienced a serious medical problem which required the aircraft to land immediately," Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark told AVweb on Wednesday. The pilot's name and age have not been released yet by the airline, and the company is not releasing additional details about the pilot or the nature of his affliction, "although he is believed to have died of natural causes," Clark said. She added that he was based in Newark, N.J., and had 21 years of service with the airline. The co-pilot diverted the aircraft to McAllen International Airport in south Texas, where an ambulance crew was waiting. Lt. Scott Luke of the McAllen Police Department told the Houston Chronicle that doctors and nurses who were among the flight's 210 passengers had assisted the crew in trying to revive the stricken pilot. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
January 24, 2007
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly business newsletter, AVwebBiz? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 24, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with AOPA's Kathleen Vascouselos. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Maule Air's Mikel Boorom; Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan; aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In Monday's news summary, hear about Tiger Aircraft's bankruptcy filing, staffing problems at contract control towers, TSA security ramp checks for GA aircraft, the FAA's imminent decision on the age-60 rule and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Biplane Design Found In Ancient Fossils
January 24, 2007
By Mary Grady
It turns out that the Boeing 727 might not be the true "Jurassic jet." Just as human aviation pioneers started out flying biplanes, allowing for high lift at low speeds, the early ancestors of birds may have done the same. Researchers Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University and R. Jack Templin of Ottawa, Canada, have found that Microraptor, one of the earliest feathered dinosaurs, might have used a staggered biplane configuration during flight. The creature's second set of wings, which were attached to the legs, would have been more efficient if held forward to form a lower wing, rather than trailing behind to form double wings like those of a dragonfly. Their study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Aircraft designers have mimicked many of nature's flight 'inventions,' usually inadvertently," Chatterjee wrote. "Now, it seems likely that Microraptor invented the biplane 125 million years before the Wright 1903 Flyer."
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Quiz #116
January 24, 2007
BRAINTEASERS INDEX
Quiz #116: Along the Airways
Before you can truly appreciate the ease and convenience of the modern sat/nav world, the pilot should master the pre-Columbian world of federal airways. See what you know about these ancient routes between ground-based navaids.
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Automated Flight Following Now In Alaska
January 24, 2007
By Mary Grady
Flight Service Stations in Alaska now have an extra tool they can use to help track some aircraft that request flight-following services. FAA personnel will have access to a Web site from a private vendor that tracks the airplanes via satellites and displays their track on a map of the region. Tony Wylie, manager of the Alaska Flight Services Information Area Group, said staff won't actually monitor the flights, but will have immediate access to the information if the flight needs search and rescue. The FAA service will be extended only to aircraft operated by the federal government. It costs about $5,000 to equip each airplane with the "automated flight following" gear, which transmits the aircraft's location, speed, heading and altitude to a satellite. Vendors charge about $20 per hour for the monitoring service. |
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NATA Wants Fuel-Pump Rules Clarified
January 24, 2007
By Mary Grady
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) says rules for aviation self-fuel pumps need to be rewritten because some FBOs in Alabama have been sanctioned for violating rules that NATA says are not necessary for aviation operations. Current legal standards for weights and measures require that all self-fuel dispensers display the price per gallon and the amount of fuel pumped during a particular transaction, but most airport fuel pumps don't work that way. NATA says the rules should be changed so aviation vendors can be in compliance without having to replace their current equipment, which is already adequate to provide the information required by the legal standards. |
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NTSB: Crew Failed To Deice, Citation Stalled In Fatal Crash
January 24, 2007
By Mary Grady
A Circuit City Citation business jet carrying two crew and six passengers crashed on approach to Pueblo (Colo.) Memorial Airport in February 2005 because it stalled, the NTSB said on Tuesday. All on board were killed. During the flight, the wing leading edges had picked up a layer of thin, rough ice that degraded the aircraft's performance. The crew didn't activate the deicing boots, and also didn't increase their approach speed as the flight manual dictates anytime ice is present or expected, the NTSB said. The jet's stall-warning system didn't activate until after the aerodynamic stall occurred, which the Safety Board cited as a contributing factor. The Board recommended that the FAA require modification of the Cessna 560's stall-warning system to provide an adequate warning margin in icing conditions, when the stall speed may be higher than normal. |
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Airline Passengers Demand Rights
January 23, 2007
By Mary Grady
Here's a story to make you even happier that you fly general aviation. A group of passengers was recently stranded for more than eight hours aboard an American Airlines jet that was diverted to Austin, Texas, due to weather. They had no food, the toilets clogged and overflowed and the stale air reeked. Now some of those passengers are joining a push to get Congress to pass a comprehensive Passengers Bill of Rights. "We feel that enough is enough. This is not the first time, nor is it likely to be the last, that this kind of degrading treatment is visited on passengers," said Kate Hanni, one of those who endured the experience. "Thousands of legitimate complaints by travelers mistreated by the airlines are regularly dismissed or inadequately addressed by the industry." |
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ACI Chimes In On Airport Infrastructure Funding
January 23, 2007
By Glenn Pew
The Airports Council International-North America (ACI) recently announced its hopes for the FAA's next reauthorization bill with a focus on passenger facility charges (PFCs) and airport improvement program (AIP) funds, according to a recent report by Aviation Week. ACI believes that inflation will reduce the impact of PFCs while the air transportation system bloats with 300 million new users over the next decade. To prepare for the passenger surge, ACI urges that PFCs in coming years be increased to adjust for inflation and AIP funds be protected to ensure that all airports in need get the TLC they'll need. According to ACI, it's a matter (in part) of recognizing PFCs as an indispensable part of funding projects; converting their taxable perception from private party bonds to use as public purpose bonds; and rolling them out on a widespread basis. |
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Community, Witham Airport At Odds Over Improvement
January 23, 2007
By Glenn Pew
The Martin County Commission, influenced by community-developed noise and pollution concerns, more than six months ago voted to stop using a 460-foot section of runway at Witham Field in Stuart, Fla. Unfortunately, in 1998 the FAA approved the runway for extension. And so it is that while the FAA's regional office in Orlando has suggested moving a fence farther from the runway and into a country club to provide a proper safety zone, Dave Shore, president of the Witham Airport Action Majority (WAAM), has suggested pulling a Richard Daley by removing the runway from service whether the FAA likes it or not. |
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FAA, NATCA Not On Same Frequency Over Wx Radios
January 23, 2007
By Glenn Pew
It turns out that NATCA and the FAA agree on something – "commercial" radios aren't allowed to be kept by controllers working in the tower. It's a simple rule intended to eliminate distractions from a controller's work environment, but one that was perhaps complicated by a tornado last Christmas that flipped some 50 Cessnas at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus while controllers in the nearby Daytona Beach International Airport tower claim they sat blissfully unaware. In recognition of that precise set of circumstances, two emergency weather alert radios were placed in the tower on Dec. 27. A few days later, re-recognition of the rule apparently led to the radios' recent removal. And so the earth will not go spinning off its axis -- NATCA and the FAA are again at odds. |
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Controllers Share Blame in Brazilian Midair
January 22, 2007
By Chad Trautvetter
On Sunday, Brazilian lead aviation accident investigator Renato Sayao for the first time acknowledged air traffic controllers share some of the blame for the Sept. 29 midair that killed 154 people when a Legacy business jet collided with a Gol Airlines 737 over the Amazon jungle. But the Legacy pilots -- Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino of New York, both of whom survived the collision along with their five passengers – might not be off the hook entirely. According to The Associated Press, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said both the pilots and controllers were likely at fault, though she stopped short of saying if criminal charges will be filed against Lepore and Paladino. The prosecutor's office cannot press charges against the Brazilian controllers since they are military personnel; instead it can only submit findings to military justice officials, who would then pursue any further action. |
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Cirrus Offers Built-In Safety Reminder
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
If it’s not enough that your family is worried about you, your fellow pilots keep tabs and the whole aviation system is built around this notion, now your airplane can remind you to fly safely. Cirrus Design has introduced a feature on its Avidyne multifunction display that will invite some introspection along those lines. Those with revision 6 of the software for the system will get three pages displayed on startup that ask questions Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier thinks every pilot should answer before releasing the brakes. “As a Cirrus owner and pilot, I appreciate the friendly reminder to make sure that I am personally prepared to fly myself and my passengers safely to our destination,” Klapmeier said. “It was natural to add ‘Risk Assessment Tool’ as a function of the versatile Avidyne Entegra MFD.” |
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FAA Approves New Zealand Training Aircraft
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
The Alpha 160A, an adaptation of the French-designed Robin R2160, has been granted FAA certification, and New Zealand-based Alpha Aviation says there’s strong interest in the aerobatic two-seater among flight schools in the U.S. "Our aircraft have already proven to be of considerable interest to United States aero clubs and flying schools,” said Alpha’s managing director, Richard Sealy. “FAA certification will now enable us to actively market and sell our aircraft in this hugely significant market," he said. |
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Nine-Year-Old Breaches Airport Security
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
OK, so he’s more capable and perhaps a little more driven than your average nine-year-old (or 39-year-old for that matter), but the fact remains that Samaj Booker got through several layers of security and came within one flight of reaching his destination of Dallas from his starting point at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last week. According to an AFP report, Lieutenant David Guttu of the police department in Booker’s new hometown of Lakewood, Wash., described the four-foot-nine, 90-pound Booker as "pretty dedicated, highly motivated and focused" to make it back to Dallas, where his family had moved from a few months before. The boy managed to convince Southwest Airlines agents that he belonged on a plane to Phoenix, and was allowed to change planes for a flight to San Antonio, where suspicious agents finally put a stop to his trip. |
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Going Batty For Future Mini-UAV Design
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
Birds may be prettier, but bats have all the moves when it comes to maneuverability and aerodynamic efficiency, according to a study by Brown University researchers. Using sophisticated video gear, the study team found that while birds can rotate and retract their wings in flight, bats have much more flexibility in the articulating membrane they use for flight and this makes them much more agile. And since agility, flexibility and efficiency are also great qualities in micro-sized UAVs that are proliferating, the Brown team says there are lessons to be learned from bats. "Bats have unique capabilities," said Kenneth Breuer, an engineering professor at Brown who did the study with Sharon Swartz, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. "But the goal is not to build something that looks like a bat. We want to understand bat flight and be able to incorporate some of the features of bat flight into an engineered vehicle." |
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U.S. Pilot Numbers Dip Below 600,000
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
Despite aggressive action -- including a whole new certificate classification -- to attract more people to flying, the number of certificated pilots in the U.S. dropped to 597,109, according to year-end preliminary stats released by the FAA. Rather than attract new pilots, the new Sport Pilot certificate appears to be extending the flying activity of older pilots. The average age of pilots as a whole was 45.6 years while the average of the 939 sport pilot holders was 52.9 years. AOPA’s mentorship program, Project Pilot, is reporting some success in encouraging people to learn to fly and there are plenty of instructors waiting. More than 90,000 pilots, almost one in six, are instructors. |
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Dark Runway "Weird" To Comair Pilot
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
The flying pilot in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 noted the runway was "weird with no lights" as he rolled the aircraft down the wrong runway. The cockpit voice recorder transcripts released by the NTSB also show co-pilot James Polehinke and captain Jefferey Clay talked about their kids and their dogs as they taxied to line up on that runway at the Lexington, Ky., airport (LEX) on the morning of Aug. 27. The chatter was in violation of an FAA regulation that bans "nonessential cockpit conversation" during taxi, takeoff and landing. The last word recorded was Clay saying "Whoa" just before the Bombardier regional jet smashed through a fence at the end of 3,500-foot Runway 26, became briefly airborne and crashed in a field, killing 49 people -- everyone on board except Polehinke, who lost a leg and suffered brain damage. The NTSB documents also identify Christopher Damron as the lone air traffic controller on duty at the time. |
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Age-60 Decision Near
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
FocusFAA, the FAA’s internal newsletter, says the online publication of the report of a committee looking at the contentious mandatory retirement of airline pilots at age 60 means FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is close to making a decision. And if we're reading between the lines correctly, it would appear Blakey is prepared to fall in line with other members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and allow pilots to keep flying until age 65 as long as there's another pilot younger than 60 in the cockpit with them. However, the newsletter says Blakey might need some legislative help to shield the government from a rash of lawsuits that could result from the move. |
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TSA Starts Random Ramp Checks Of GA Aircraft
January 21, 2007
By Russ Niles
If you thought flying your own aircraft was a way to avoid the scrutiny of the Transportation Safety Administration, think again. While you’ll likely be able to keep your shoes on, don’t be surprised if a TSA official checks out you and your plane at any of the hundreds of U.S. airports with scheduled airline service. According to AOPA, the TSA isn’t concerned about the toothpaste you carry on your own plane, but it does want to make sure banned items don’t get smuggled aboard an airliner. AOPA’s Rob Hackman said it’s part of a larger effort to ensure contraband is kept off airliners. "While GA access points will be randomly checked with all other points of entry, GA is not being targeted," he said. Pilots in Melbourne, Fla., were briefed by a TSA official on the program at a meeting last Thursday. Meanwhile, some lawmakers are saying GA is getting a free ride in the security department, and they want the TSA to give private aircraft more attention. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 21, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with AOPA's Kathleen Vascouselos. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Maule Air's Mikel Boorom; Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan; aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In today's news summary, hear about Tiger Aircraft's bankruptcy filing, staffing problems at contract control towers, TSA security ramp checks for GA aircraft, the FAA's imminent decision on the age-60 rule and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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AVweb's Friday Podcast:
AOPA Spokeswoman Kathleen Vascouselos on the Declining Pilot Population
January 19, 2007
By AVweb's Audio News Team
AVweb sat down with AOPA spokeswoman Kathleen Vascouselos to talk about the disturbing downward trend of the U.S. pilot population, which the FAA recently said has dipped below the 600,000 mark.
Click here to listen.
Bonus Audio from Aviation Consumer
At Oshkosh last July, Garmin unveiled the G600, which looked like a pale offshoot of the G1000. But hold the phone; there's a lot more to this glass panel than meets the eye. Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, recently reviewed the product and interviewed Garmin's Carl Wolf on the future of glass panels for the aftermarket.
Click here to listen.
Bonus Audio from Aviation Safety
The editors of Aviation Safety caught up with Brent Blue, co-founder of the very successful aviation medical and safety technology vendor Aeromedix.com. His company has brought to the general aviation marketplace numerous products previously unavailable to pilots at any price.
Click here to listen.
These podcasts were brought to you by
Bose Corporation.
New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click through to the podcast download page, then click on "download this podcast" link (by the orange POD logo) and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.)
Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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Columbia Delivered Record Numbers In 2006
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
Columbia Aircraft, of Bend, Ore., delivered a record 185 aircraft last year, the company said on Wednesday, despite delays certifying the Garmin G1000 glass panel and a summer hailstorm that affected more than 60 aircraft. The aircraft weren't significantly damaged but all had to be refinished. “No doubt, we endured more than our fair share of challenges in the first half of 2006,” said Randy Bolinger, Columbia vice president of marketing. The company's previous record for one year was 114 aircraft delivered, set in 2005. The 2006 total included 146 Columbia 400s and 39 Columbia 350s. The company also said that overall, orders last year were up more than 200 percent over the previous year. |
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Ohio Pilots Targeted In Anti-Terrorism Effort
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
Aircraft owners who live in Ohio now must sign a declaration stating they are not involved in terrorist activity when they renew their annual aircraft registration. Owners of other vehicles are not required to do this by the state Department of Transportation, only owners of aircraft. AOPA said on Tuesday it is "extremely displeased at this discrimination." The association has asked the state to remove this requirement. "Frankly, it is offensive to Ohio's pilot population to suggest that they are more suspect than people who own boats, trucks, or automobiles," wrote Greg Pecoraro, AOPA vice president of regional affairs, in a letter to the state's department of public safety. |
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Pilots Express Concerns About Safety At Indonesian Airline
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
"Every time you flew, you had to fight with the ground staff and the
management about all the regulations you had to violate," Feisal
Banser, 30, a former captain for Adam Air, has told http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-01162007-1058803.html "
target="_blank">The Associated Press. An Adam Air 737 went
missing on Jan. 1 with 102 people on board; the wreck has still not
been found. In May 2005, a group of 17 pilots jointly resigned from
the airline, citing alleged safety concerns, the AP said. The airline
is now suing them, saying they violated their contracts and must
refund money the airline spent on their training. Banser says he was
grounded for a week in 2005 after he refused to fly because he had
already flow five takeoffs, the daily limit. When the airline started
up four years ago, pilots lined up to sign on. But within months, at
least 20 left, citing safety concerns, according to the AP. |
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FedEx Jet Flying With Anti-Missile System
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
An anti-missile system is being tested aboard a FedEx MD-10 during its regular cargo flights, Northrop Grumman said this week. The airplane launched on Tuesday from Los Angeles International Airport with the Guardian system installed, starting the operational test and evaluation portion of the program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The tests will continue through March 2008. The Guardian system uses proven military technology to defend against shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, Northrop Grumman said. The system detects an approaching missile and directs a non-visible, eye-safe laser toward it to disrupt its guidance signals. |
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Concorde Fans Hope For Legislative Support
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
British fans of the Concorde are not giving up in the fight to restore one of the elegant birds to airworthy condition, and they are focusing on the London Olympics of 2012 as an event that deserves to be commemorated with a Concorde fly-by. Last week, they won some support in the British House of Commons when a bill was introduced that would promote the maintenance and preservation of "certain vehicles of cultural value." The legislation, if it passes, would authorize the restoration of a Concorde to airworthy condition for use on ceremonial occasions. Britain's Save Concorde Group is encouraged by support for new legislation. |
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Ethics Reform Bill Could Snag Flying Legislators
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
The newly installed House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., got to work last week, eager to approve a new ethics package during their first hours on the job. But EAA says their proposed law includes a provision that could prevent pilots who serve in Congress from flying their own aircraft. Intended to curb lawmakers from accepting free rides in corporate jets, the language reflects a lack of understanding about how aviation works -- a lack that's all too familiar to most aviators. According to EAA, the ethics legislation states that members of Congress "may not use personal funds, official funds or campaign funds for a flight on a non-government airplane that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate for compensation or hire." But the FAA licenses carriers, not airplanes. The wording would virtually ban travel on any private aircraft. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 17, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Mikel Boorom at Maule Air. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan; aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In Monday's news summary, hear about how the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo drew record crowds and exhibitors, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's planned use of UAVs along the Canadian border, a midair collision that controllers failed to prevent, an upcoming ADS-B mandate and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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AOPA: San Diego Building A Threat To Air Traffic
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
Less than a mile from Montgomery Field, a busy GA airport just outside San Diego, developer Sunroad Centrum is moving forward with plans to finish up a 180-foot-tall building that the FAA has deemed a hazard to navigation. That's a bad idea, AOPA said last week. "This is a critical safety issue not only to pilots using the airport, but also to workers in the new office complex," said AOPA Vice President of Airports Bill Dunn. "AOPA is appalled that the developer is blatantly ignoring the FAA's ruling and the city's order to stop working on the building." AOPA has joined the city of San Diego and the California Department of Transportation as a real party of interest in a suit against the developer. A local pilots group, the Community Airfields Association of San Diego, has also joined in the suit. |
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Raytheon Aircraft Cuts Baron, Bonanza Prices
January 17, 2007
By Mary Grady
Raytheon Aircraft Company said on Tuesday it will cut the list prices of its 2007-model Bonanza single-engine airplanes by 14 percent over last year's prices. Beechcraft Baron twins will sell for 12 percent less. Additionally, the cost of popular options such as SkyWatch and Stormscope will be cut by up to 20 percent. The company said it can offer the new prices because of gains in production efficiency and strategic sourcing. The list price for a typically-equipped Bonanza G36 was $667,000 in 2006; this year it will be $574,000, a drop of $93,000. The price of a typically equipped Beechcraft Baron G58 last year was $1,186,000; this year it will be $1,046,000, saving $140,000. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 14, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Mikel Boorom at Maule Air. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan; aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In today's news summary, hear about how the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo drew record crowds and exhibitors, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's planned use of UAVs along the Canadian border, a midair collision that controllers failed to prevent, an upcoming ADS-B mandate and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Embry-Riddle: Flight Training Continues After Christmas Storm
January 14, 2007
By Glenn Pew
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Thursday announced students will return to classes on Jan. 16 at its Daytona Beach campus, following Christmas Day tornadoes that destroyed or severely damaged a number of aircraft, leveled a maintenance hangar and rendered unusable the main administration building. All the aircraft lost to the storm have been replaced "with others of the same high quality" and flight training has already resumed. "The best way to describe the spirit on campus is: onward and upward," said John P. Johnson, president of Embry-Riddle. Some classes and more than 120 employees have been displaced while repairs are made to the administration building. |
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Air Force Officer Wants His Airmen Back
January 14, 2007
By Russ Niles
A senior officer at a key strategic bomber base says he hopes the Army can stop using his personnel as cannon fodder and let them concentrate on their real job of "putting bombs on target from B-1s." In a commentary that appeared in Air Combat Command's Web newsletter on Wednesday, Lt. Col. Gerald Goodfellow of the 28th Operations Group at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota says that while he's proud of the job Air Force personnel do when they are assigned "light infantry" positions in the Army, it's not what they signed on for and he's worried it could sap the Air Force's strength. "In America's current wars the Air Force has found itself in a situation where it, in effect, has to pay for and train its Airmen to serve ground duty (a form of 'light infantry,' to quote Gen. Ronald Keys, Air Combat Command commander) and then pay to supply that light infantry with items from bullet proof vests to armored vehicles to keep them safe," Goodfellow wrote. "I believe the Air Force should spend its money on capabilities that will ensure future air dominance." |
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Flight Services Suit Against FAA Proceeds
January 14, 2007
By Russ Niles
Flight service specialists whose jobs were outsourced or eliminated when Lockheed Martin won the contract to take over the FSS system will get their day in court after all. According to the Federal Times, on Jan. 8, U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Roberts denied the Department of Transportation's application for dismissal of the case, ruling that his court does have jurisdiction over the age discrimination issues raised in the suit. Roberts is the same judge who, in 2005, refused to delay the transfer of the FSS system to Lockheed Martin pending the outcome of the suit, saying the employees “are not likely to succeed on the merits of the age discrimination claim.” But whether he thinks they'll win the case or not, Roberts ruled they should at least have the chance to try. |
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ADS-B Airspace In Place By 2020
January 14, 2007
By Russ Niles
Your airplane will have to be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) gear by 2020 to have full access to the National Airspace System. According to Flight International, Nicholas Sabatini, the FAA’s associate director for flight safety, told an agency workshop last week that the FAA will soon issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will make ADS-B a requirement to “assure access to certain airspace.” It’s not clear exactly which class, or classes, of airspace will require ADS-B or whether a new airspace designation is in the works. FAA officials have been publicly touting the benefits of the system for a couple of years, and it’s believed to be the pivotal technology for modernization of air traffic control. |
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American Airlines Passengers Trapped On Diverted Plane
January 14, 2007
By Russ Niles
American Airlines says it will apologize to 138 passengers who spent nine hours stuck on the ground in Austin and ended up with overflowing toilets, no water to drink and only pretzels to eat. And the ordeal could have lasted even longer if the captain of the crammed MD-80 hadn’t defied company orders and taxied to an open gate without permission. "The stewardesses desperately tried to keep the tempers and the temperament of the passengers down,” passenger Kati Hanni told NBC News. By the time passengers got off the plane, they’d been on it for 15 hours and they weren’t at their final destination of Dallas yet. |
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Carter Aviation Enters Fly-From-The-Driveway Sweepstakes
January 14, 2007
By Russ Niles
Carter Aviation Technologies says it has developed a gyrocopter that will land and take off vertically. The company says the gyro, based on a commercially available kit-built aircraft, will evolve into the Personal Aerial Vehicle (PAV) the world has been waiting for. “We feel the [gyro] can now visually demonstrate that the age of true personal flight is at hand,” said Carter President Jay Carter Jr. “We now have a vehicle that can safely take off from your driveway, fly 200 miles and then safely land and take-off from a truck stop to refuel, or a restaurant to eat, or a hotel where you can spend the night.” |
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Controllers Ignored Alarms Before Fatal Collision
January 14, 2007
By Russ Niles
A review of audiotapes and computer records from the Gillespie Tower and Southern California Terminal Radar Control Center shows controllers failed to warn the pilots of two Cessnas of a potential collision even though the alarms sounded and displayed visual warnings for 51 seconds before the planes collided over La Mesa, Calif. All three occupants of the two aircraft died when the Cessna 182 and a 172 collided in midair, erupted into fireballs and rained burning debris over a square mile last Feb. 8. NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker released a letter outlining safety concerns arising from the accident in July and the San Diego Union Tribune recently obtained copies of the audiotapes and computer records through a freedom of information request. |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast:
Maule Air's Mikel 'Mike' Boorom
January 11, 2007
By AVweb's Audio News Team
AVweb caught up with Maule Air chief engineer Mikel "Mike" Boorom at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo this week in Sebring, Florida. While the family-owned company didn't show up with a light sport aircraft at the show, it does have intentions to enter this growing market segment. It's also working on several other projects to expand its product line.
Click here to listen.
Brought to you by
Bose Corporation.
New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click through to the podcast download page, then click on "download this podcast" link (by the orange POD logo) and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.)
Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 10, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan. aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In Monday's news summary, hear about Mooney laying claim to the fastest piston single with the certification of the Acclaim, Thielert AG's successful year, a 15-year-old who's building his own RV-7A, OP Technologies move to steal Chelton's experimental EFIS customers who ordered equipment from now-defunct distributor Direct To Avionics and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Need Maintenance? When One Door Closes, Others Open Wide
January 10, 2007
By Mary Grady
Whatever you might say about the aviation industry, you can't say it’s not proactive. Over the last week, competitors jumped to the plate to scoop up customers dismayed by the closing of Direct To Avionics. And now, repair shops are speaking up to welcome owners of older aircraft who have been turned away elsewhere. Lynn Nichols, president of Yingling Aviation at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, told AVweb on Wednesday that airplanes 18 years old and up are welcome to darken his hangar door anytime. "We believe we can provide them with what is arguably the best service available," he said. "We have established maintenance procedures, tooling and expertise working on Cessna single and twin-engine aircraft, and located across from the factory, so if we run into an anomaly, Cessna’s product support is minutes away.” |
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Jury Awards $10.5 Million For Fatal Airshow Crash
January 10, 2007
By Mary Grady
The family of a man who died after crashing at the Arlington (Wash.) Fly-in in 1999 was awarded $10.5 million this week by a jury that found EAA and the Northwest EAA didn't provide adequate fire and emergency response services, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on Wednesday. Don Corbitt crashed while attempting to take off in his homebuilt RV-6. According to the plaintiffs' lawyers, Corbitt survived the crash but died in a post-crash fire, and rescuers on the field took more than five minutes to respond. According to the NTSB, the limited capacity of the portable fire extinguishers proved insufficient to put out the fire, and because the pilot's leg was jammed in the wreckage, witnesses were unable to pull him free before the heat of the fire became to intense to continue attempts to rescue him. Within a minute after the aircraft impacted the ground, the volunteer fire truck arrived at the scene and within a minute to a minute and a half after their arrival, the fire was extinguished, the Board said. EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski told AVweb on Wednesday that "EAA's position on the accident and related matters differ from the plaintiff's position. Although a jury verdict has been rendered, there are still post-trial proceedings that further address and could materially affect the jury decision. As the case is still active in the courts, it would be premature to comment further at this time." |
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NTSB Blames Crew For Pinnacle Airlines CRJ Crash
January 10, 2007
By Mary Grady
The NTSB on Tuesday blamed the pilots of a Pinnacle Airlines Bombardier CL-600-2B19 regional jet for the crash that killed them both in October 2004. "This accident was caused by the pilots' inappropriate and unprofessional behavior," said NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker in a news release. "Simply adhering to standard operating procedures and correctly implementing emergency procedures would have gone a long way to averting this tragic accident." But a contributing factor, the Board said, was that the engine cores locked, which prevented at least one engine from being restarted, and the airplane flight manuals didn't communicate to pilots the importance of maintaining a minimum airspeed to keep the engine cores rotating. The Safety Board also recommended that the FAA should require air carriers to provide their pilots with opportunities to practice high-altitude stall-recovery techniques in the simulator. |
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Build A Plane, Wathen Foundation Join Forces
January 10, 2007
By Mary Grady
Build A Plane, a nonprofit group that has donated more than 30 aircraft to schools in the U.S., has teamed up with the Thomas W. Wathen Foundation in Riverside, Calif., an aviation-education operation based at Flabob Airport. The new partners aim to develop world-class aviation education curricula to motivate students to learn science, technology, engineering and math. "It’s really a dream come true for us," said Lyn Freeman, founder of Build A Plane. "The goals of the Wathen Foundation are in perfect alignment with Build A Plane’s, and I felt this was a once in a lifetime opportunity." Freeman will oversee the growth of the new aviation education task force. |
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Loran's Last Chance?
January 9, 2007
By Mary Grady
With GPS available everywhere, cheap and reliable, do we really still need Loran, the venerable long-range navigation system? The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday issued a request for public comment to search for reasons to continue to maintain the aging system -- or not -- beyond the end of fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30). At question is whether Loran should be decommissioned; maintained as is; or upgraded to be used either as a back-up or as a complement to GPS. If you have an opinion, DOT wants to hear from you by February 7. |
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FAA InFO: Dangers Of Noise-Canceling (ANR) Headsets
January 9, 2007
By Glenn Pew
The idea is simple enough: What you don't hear could kill you. The Flight Standards Service last week released an InFO to alert operators that "noise-canceling" headsets might be susceptible to "misdetection" and subsequent electronic attenuation of some things you'd probably rather hear. (Note: The memo might also pertain to what many pilots refer to as active noise reduction [ANR] headsets, but that specific verbiage was not used.) The alert states that the range of frequencies attenuated by a noise-canceling headset is often proprietary and may not be publicly available. This makes it "difficult to assess any effects" of attenuation, particularly as they pertain to things like communications, abnormal mechanical noises, audible alarms, vibrations, wind noises and other sounds that might alert an unattenuated observer to impending doom. For now, rather than regulate, the FAA's solution involves passing the buck to you. |
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FAA Approval For ATG Javelin Requires Trial By Fire
January 8, 2007
By Glenn Pew
As Aviation Technology Group works toward certification of its 500-knot, $2.795 million Javelin executive jet and military trainer aircraft, the FAA on Monday proposed special conditions regarding the aircraft's internally-mounted turbofans. The FAA believes "applicable [Part 23] airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards" for two turbofans set side by side inside the fuselage and "not in the pilots' field of view." Central to the issue is fire suppression and specifically how one ill-fated engine's malaise (read: violent conflagration) would be isolated from the adjacent engine, fuel lines, a nearby 280-gallon fuel tank and primary structure and systems "passing through or near the engines" that support "critical flight controls." So far, the FAA is suggesting that the Javelin 100 be required to incorporate extinguishing along with fire detection systems and fire isolation. ATG told AVweb it is aware of the special conditions and is working closely with the FAA. "It is not uncommon for jets to have special conditions under Part 23. We don't expect any problems in certifying the Javelin," spokeswoman Sara Newton said. |
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New Articles and Features on AVweb
January 7, 2007
COLUMNS
Pelican's Perch #82: The Dreaded Three-Engine 747
With 27 years as a worldwide 747 captain, five as a worldwide Gulfstream IV captain, and lots of overwater time in a host of piston aircraft (including singles), AVweb's John Deakin has some pretty strong opinions about overwater flying in general, and about the recent flight of a British Airways 747 from Los Angeles to England with one engine inoperative. As usual, he seems to be in the minority.
WHAT'S NEW
This month AVweb's survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners brings you a Husky tow kit, aviator wings, metal bending tools and more.
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Teen Tackles Homebuilt Airplane Project
January 7, 2007
By Russ Niles
While there may be nothing unusual about a 15-year-old spending the holidays working on an airplane kit, Rusty McCullough plans to do more than hang this one from his bedroom ceiling. Just before Christmas, McCullough, who lives in Tehachapi, Calif., received the empennage of an RV-7A he's now building at the local airport. “It's a lot of fun, but it's going to be a lot of work to build this airplane,” Rusty told the Tehachapi News. "This will be a bit more complicated than the Lego models I used to put together." The only help he's getting from adults is a lift to and from the airport, as well as some carefully selected Christmas presents in the form of some of the tools he needs. |
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Embry-Riddle Back In The Air Jan. 16
January 7, 2007
By Russ Niles
Just three weeks after tornadoes destroyed most its training aircraft, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU's) Daytona Beach campus will resume flight training Jan. 16. ERAU is leasing airplanes from other flight schools, Cessna dealers and several individuals to replace the 40 airplanes that were tossed to destruction by two Christmas Day tornadoes. The twisters also did substantial damage to nine of the campus's buildings. EAA sent an alert to its members looking for Cessna 172s for the university to borrow and hundreds of responses were received. AVweb is spearheading a fundraising drive to help the university mitigate insurance deductibles and other non-insured costs arising from the storm. |
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FAA: Plastic Pilot Certificates Mandatory in 2009
January 7, 2007
By Russ Niles
Your paper pilot certificate will be suitable for framing -- and not much else -- likely sometime in 2009 as the FAA puts every pilot on plastic. The new, more forgery-resistant certificates were introduced at EAA AirVenture in 2005 as a security enhancement. The FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) Friday that will make them mandatory two years after the final rule is adopted. A comment period lasts until March 6 so the final rule could be adopted as early as this coming spring. Those holding mechanic or flight engineer certificates will have five years to convert, but student pilots won't be affected. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 7, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan. aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In today's news summary, hear about Mooney laying claim to the fastest piston single with the certification of the Acclaim, Thielert AG's successful year, a 15-year-old who's building his own RV-7A, OP Technologies move to steal Chelton's experimental EFIS customers who ordered equipment from now-defunct distributor Direct To Avionics and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
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Competitor Offers D2A Customers A Discount
January 6, 2007
By Russ Niles
A rival avionics company is offering some solace for customers of Direct To Avionics (D2A) who may have been left hanging by the company's abrupt closure late last month. OP Technologies of Beaverton, Ore., is offering a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of one of its EFIS systems to D2A customers who have been financially affected by the closure. The systems have to be purchased by Jan. 31, 2007. D2A was the exclusive dealer for Chelton EFIS systems for experimental aircraft. |
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Mooney Acclaim Certified
January 5, 2007
By Russ Niles
Mooney is now formally laying claim to the title of "fastest piston single" with the final certification of its Acclaim speedster. The aircraft, which was introduced at Sun 'n’ Fun last April, sports twin intercooled turbochargers on its 280-hp TSIO-550-G Continental engine. The airplane is said to hit 237 ktas while cruising at its 25,000-foot service ceiling. Next fastest is the Columbia 400, which is marginally slower (two knots so) with a similar engine (it's a C model rather than a G). The Columbia model previously held the "fastest" title for several years. "With the certification of the Acclaim, the debate is over," said Mooney Vice President of Sales and Marketing David Copeland. "Now there’s no question which single engine piston airplane can claim the title as the ‘fastest’ since the Acclaim clearly boasts the highest maximum cruise speed and it is now officially 'in service.'"
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Bombardier Water Bomber Wins Kudos
January 5, 2007
By Glenn Pew
Bombardier was recently awarded by Spain for the "greatest technological advancement in firefighting," citing the accomplishments of the 1960's era Canadair CL-215, -215T and, since 1994 its current incarnation, the Bombardier 415. Continuous improvements were credited for making the series "the most efficient tool for the aerial combat of forest fires," a status held "over more than 30 years." Two juries composed of "the most reputed and recognized technicians in firefighting in Spain" offered the award. In accepting, Bombardier noted that 64 of its latest model (the 415) have been delivered to and put to work in Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Ontario, Quebec and Spain. |
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Stealing From Peter's Airport To Pay For Paul's
January 5, 2007
By Glenn Pew
Tracy Municipal Airport in California is getting $500,000 for upgrades that will at least make trips to the bathroom there more pleasant, but are ultimately intended to draw more business to the field. Toward that end, the city will seek more than $2 million in state loans for the purpose of adding 44 hangars. City staff intends to repay that loan with increased fuel sales that would result from the population increase created by the new hangars and estimates those sales could generate almost $90,000 in profit by 2011. The airport already owes the city more than $1 million, which it is paying off at a rate of $20,000 per year and the effort comes at the continued expense of New Jerusalem airport. |
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Rigby's Recognition
January 5, 2007
By Glenn Pew
Alden Rigby, who on Jan. 1, 1945, shot down four German aircraft in 25 minutes, on Memorial Day (May 28) will join the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame at the Hill Aerospace Museum. Rigby and fellow WWII fighter pilots found themselves on the runway at their base in Asch, Belgium, when it was attacked by an estimated 50-plus German fighters, part of a coordinated attack aimed at 16 Allied bases. Over Rigby's base that day, 11 American P-51s downed 23 German aircraft without losing one of their own in a battle that has come to be known as the legend of Y-29. Rigby's own account of the battle can be found here. |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast:
PAMA's Brian Finnegan on the Current State of Airplane Maintenance
January 5, 2007
By AVweb's Audio News Team
In today's Friday podcast, AVweb literally talks shop with Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) President Brian Finnegan. He dismisses the notion reported in AVweb earlier this week that insurance concerns are behind some maintenance shops' decision to refuse to work on older airplanes. Instead, he suggests that a shortage of skilled maintenance technicians could be behind the problem. To hear about this and the expected looming maintenance technician shortage, click here to listen.
Brought to you by
Bose Corporation.
New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click through to the podcast download page, then click on "download this podcast" link (by the orange POD logo) and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.)
Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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Clarification
January 3, 2007
In Monday's "On The Fly," an item about an Eaglet in Kansas City looking for a new home contained a link to Marty Reichelt's Eaglet Web page. While his airplane is indeed an Eaglet, it is not the specific one mentioned in the item. AVweb apologizes for any confusion this might have caused. |
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AVweb Audio News
January 3, 2007
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; and Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton. In Monday's news summary, hear about how two shops in the Southwest are refusing to work on airplanes that are more than 18 years old, the FAA's ban on "commercial" radios endangers safety, the Wright Experience's quest to replicate the Wright Military Flyer, Ballistic Recovery Systems' turnaround year, the FAA's push to roll out ADS-B throughout the entire U.S. and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Tower Alert System Cited In Fatal Crash
January 3, 2007
By Mary Grady
The "inadequate design and function" of the Minimum Safe Altitude Warning System in an FAA airport tower was cited as a contributing factor by the NTSB in its final report on the fatal crash of a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 in Colorado in August 2005. The approach controller handed off the flight to the tower when it was about 10 miles out, but the tower controller's radar display issued an aural alarm to warn of terrain conflict only within five miles of the airport. The discrepancy meant the tower controller was not warned until it was too late. The commercial pilot, who was flying cargo, was attempting a precision instrument approach at about 2 a.m. in instrument meteorological conditions when the airplane collided with terrain about four miles short of the runway. |
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Report: 2006 A Safe Year For Aviation
January 3, 2007
By Mary Grady
Around the world, 1,292 people died in plane crashes in 2006, according to the Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office (ACRO). That was the lowest total since 1963, and a drop of 11 percent from the year before. The group keeps track of crashes involving commercial airplanes that seat at least six people, plus the crew. About one-third of the accidents occurred in North America, with 45 accidents in the U.S., according to ACRO, and about three-quarters of the crashes involved piston-powered aircraft. Among airliners, two Airbus jets crashed, five built by Boeing and 16 Antonovs built in the Ukraine.
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Iceland Air Traffic Controllers Protest Privatization
January 3, 2007
By Mary Grady
With the new year, the administration of Iceland's air traffic control system shifted to a new public corporation, Flugstodir ohf, and controllers are apparently not happy about the change, which affects salaries and pension funds. About 60 of the controllers said they would resign on Jan. 1, which an Iceland Express official said would have "catastrophic" effects on the aviation system. But the two sides have been in talks since Sunday, trying to resolve the issues. |
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AOPA Sets Agenda For 2007
January 2, 2007
By Mary Grady
"We must increase the number of student pilots," says AOPA President Phil Boyer, in setting out his priorities for the coming year. "For our own survival, we must grow the pilot population ... [or] general aviation will become here what it is in much of the rest of the world -- something enjoyed only by some businesses and the wealthy few," he said. At one time, there were more than 800,000 active pilots in the U.S., but now this number has dropped below 600,000. To encourage more people to start flying, Boyer is asking all pilots to step forward and mentor a newcomer. He also encourages pilots simply to fly more often, which not only keeps skills sharp, but creates more opportunities to bring passengers aloft and introduce them to the benefits of general aviation. |
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UFO Takes A Look At O'Hare, Retreats
January 2, 2007
By Mary Grady
If a spaceship were to travel across the vast emptiness of space, enter Earth's atmosphere, and then find itself hovering above the busy ramp at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, can you blame those astronauts for deciding to just turn around and leave, without even stopping to say hello? According to about a dozen United Air Lines workers, including some pilots, that's just what happened one overcast night in November. The observers said they saw a flying elliptical object, dark gray and about 20 feet across, that hovered about 1,000 feet or so above the airport for several minutes about 4:30 p.m. They told their story to the FAA and the airline, who kept it quiet until a Chicago Tribune reporter got a whiff recently and started asking questions. The FAA at first denied any knowledge of the event, but after the Tribune filed a request for documents a record of a telephone call from a United supervisor surfaced. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 31, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; and Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton. In today's news summary, hear about how two shops in the Southwest are refusing to work on airplanes that are more than 18 years old, the FAA's ban on "commercial" radios endangers safety, the Wright Experience's quest to replicate the Wright Military Flyer, Ballistic Recovery Systems' turnaround year, the FAA's push to roll out ADS-B throughout the entire U.S. and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Capstone Goes Mainstream
December 31, 2006
By Russ Niles
Lessons learned in the wilds of Alaska may soon be applied at an airport near you. The FAA has announced that the experimental Capstone program, which implemented automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) service in some of the most challenging flying environments on earth, will be rolled into the national program to exploit the technology in the Lower 48. But the FAA says Alaskans need not fear the advances in safety and convenience they’ve pioneered will be somehow diluted as they join the national effort. In a Dec. 22 news release, the FAA promises that combining the programs “will advance the national ADS-B deployment while it accelerates safety improvements in Alaska.” |
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LSAs Help BRS Back Into The Black
December 31, 2006
By Russ Niles
Ballistic Recovery Systems increased sales by 13.3 percent in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 and recorded a small profit of about $45,000. And while that might not seem much for a company that sold almost $10 million worth of airframe parachutes last year, it’s a major improvement over the $1.76 million loss it recorded in the previous year. "We are pleased with our fourth quarter and full year performance as well as our ability to achieve consistent growth in revenue and a return to profitability,” said CEO Larry Williams in a news release. Fueling that growth was a 47-percent increase in sales to the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) sector. |
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Hanging Around With The Wrights
December 31, 2006
By Russ Niles
Although the big anniversary associated with the Wright brothers has passed, a potentially more significant milestone in the development of practical aircraft comes up in 2009. That’s when the Wrights sold a wary U.S. military its first aircraft. The original Wright Military Flyer is hanging from the ceiling of the National Air and Space Museum. Significant though it might be, however, that’s not the airplane Ken Hyde and his crew from The Wright Experience want to replicate. The 1909 plane was an evolution of a 1908 aircraft that crashed during a demonstration flight for the Army and has the same engine. It’s an important link to the 1908 aircraft and one that Hyde wants to get right. After erecting scaffolding and lighting inside the museum, Hyde’s engine expert Greg Cone was allowed to measure the parts inside the engine after its cover was removed by museum staff. It was the first time the cover had been removed since the Signal Corps transferred the aircraft to the Smithsonian in 1911. |
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Angel Flight Flap
December 31, 2006
By Russ Niles
Angel Flight Georgia (AFGA) has won a court battle for exclusive use of the name Angel Flight in the Southeast after a judge ruled that Florida-based Angel Flight Southeast (AFSE), which is not affiliated with the Georgia group, had not only inappropriately taken the name but had exploited the confusion that resulted from having two similarly named volunteer pilot organizations operating in the same general area. In his Nov. 20 ruling, U.S. District Judge Jack Camp says AFSE siphoned donation money away from AFGA by contacting known supporters of AFGA (gleaned from an AFGA pamphlet) and asking for donations without drawing a distinction between the two groups. “The record evidences that AFSE has intended for the public to be confused and to benefit from that confusion,” Camp wrote. “AFSE contacted AFGA donors that AFSE would not have normally contacted due to the donors’ size and location, except that they were known AFGA donors who could be expected to donate to 'Angel Flight.'” Neither AFGA nor AFSE officials returned AVweb's phone and e-mail messages requesting comment. |
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Unconscious Pilot, Passenger Pulled From Plane
December 31, 2006
By Russ Niles
A Cincinnati couple is in an Indianapolis hospital after apparently being overcome by exhaust fumes while taxiing their aircraft at Delaware County Airport in Muncie, Ind., on Wednesday. Thomas and Marilyn Kroll were pulled from their aircraft by another pilot after the airplane was seen taxiing off the edge of the pavement. Gene Marlin was also taxiing nearby and pulled up beside the Krolls' plane to see what was going on. "Whenever I got there, the line-boy had the door open but the gentlemen and the lady were still in the airplane and the airplane was running," Marlin told Indianapolis television station WTHR. "I just shut the engine off and pulled the people from the airplane out." As AVweb reported in November, the FAA issued a safety bulletin reminding mechanics to be especially careful in checking exhaust systems and heat exchangers as the cold weather approached. |
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Where Will The PiperJet Be Built?
December 31, 2006
By Russ Niles
The hot topic in political circles around Vero Beach, Fla., these days is the future of its largest manufacturer, Piper Aircraft, and it appears some local officials are ready to use taxpayers' money to ensure that the company's latest project -- the PiperJet -- is built there. A proposal is being floated that would involve Indian River County becoming Piper's benevolent landlord. "I'd like to see them build the jet here in Indian River County," County Commission Chairman Gary Wheeler told Scripps News Service on Thursday. "I'd like to see something worked out where the county buys the land and leases it back for $1." On Dec. 20, Piper CFO Michael Kelley wrote Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard to let him know Piper had hired a Boston consultant to scout potential locations for the jet plant. Among the options consultant BDO Siedman has been told to consider is an expansion of the existing facilities at Vero Beach. |
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Direct-To Avionics Closes Its Doors?
December 31, 2006
By Marc Cook
Direct-To Avionics has reportedly ceased operations as of late last month, leaving potentially dozens of kitbuilders without equipment or immediate support for experimental versions of the Chelton EFIS. Chelton sold experimental versions of its EFIS systems to dealers exclusively through Direct-To. While some builders claim to have paid for components that have not been delivered, Chelton’s official release said, “Chelton has received various inquiries from persons who have alleged that they were told by D2A [Direct-To Avionics] that parts for which they claimed to have paid D2A were ‘back ordered.’ Chelton currently has no purchase orders from D2A and there are no ‘back orders’ to be filled. Chelton has also suspended taking any further purchase orders from D2A and has suspended D2A's status as an authorized distributor." |
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AVweb Fund To Help Rebuild Embry-Riddle Fleet
December 29, 2006
AVweb has set up a "Rebuild the Fleet Fund" to help Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach, Fla. campus get back in the air following a direct hit from two devastating F2 tornadoes on Christmas day. University President John Johnson estimates that the Daytona Beach campus suffered between $50 million and $60 million in damage, $11 million of which is from the 40 airplanes that were destroyed and another 10 that were damaged. We've been assured that any donations to Embry-Riddle will be devoted to the flight line, and to help students continue their training. Contributions will be allocated to meet the school's significant insurance deductible, we're told, but also to help defray the cost of flying in leased replacements and to reduce losses by fixing repairable damage. The bottom line is that AVweb wants to support any mission that helps build tomorrow's pilots, so we consider a donation as an investment in the future.
To kick-start the "Rebuild the Fleet Fund," AVweb's parent company, Belvoir Media Group, is contributing $1,000. AVweb subscribers will soon be able to donate online to the fund, but for now those wishing to help can send checks to:
The AVweb Rebuild The Fleet Fund
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Office of Development
600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Attn.: Jamie Belongia |
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NATCA: Radio Ban Threatens Safety
December 29, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the FAA's decision in early September to ban "commercial" AM/FM radios and cellphones from ATC facilities placed Daytona Beach Airport (Fla.) controllers -- as well the crew and passengers aboard a landing Comair regional jet -- in "extreme danger" last Monday. One of the two tornadoes that ripped apart Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's on-airport campus came within 150 yards of the ATC tower on Christmas afternoon, and without an emergency weather radio the six controllers in the facility had no forewarning, NATCA said. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen confirmed that the agency in September banned, and removed, "commercial" radios in ATC facilities because "most were tuned to music stations during tours by FAA officials, which is a distraction to on-duty controllers." She also verified the cellphone ban. |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast:
The Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia Looks to the Future of GA
December 29, 2006
By AVweb's Audio News Team
The planets aligned for the general aviation industry in 2006 with growth in sales of corporate aircraft roughly matching the bottom lines of the people who buy the airplanes. What with Cessna taking on Gulfstream and Gulfstream taking on Boeing for the top end of the market, is there any end in sight for the GA boom? The Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia recently spoke with AVweb about a very prosperous year for aviation companies and how the future looks.
Click here to listen.
Bonus Audio!
Everyone knows Honda is building a jet -- but at the same time, they're building an engine, along with some help from General Electric. Although few (even in the industry) know it, Honda isn't exactly a newcomer to the jet engine business, having begun work on the HF118 that will power the HondaJet some 20 years ago. And that experience is why GE thinks the HF118 will sail through its certification paces. In this podcast from Aviation Consumer, you'll hear the Honda story from GE's Mark Wagoner and Rick Kennedy.
Click here to listen.
Brought to you by
Bose Corporation.
New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click through to the podcast download page, then click on "download this podcast" link (by the orange POD logo) and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.)
Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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The Fight For Mars
December 28, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Built in Baltimore in the early 1940s, the last two remaining four-engine Martin Mars seaplanes, now owned by TimberWest of Vancouver, British Columbia, are up for sale -- but the owners may be among a local minority that would like to see the aircraft go. And so it is that while the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum seeks your support for a fundraising effort to "bring one home," governments of more combustible provinces in Canada have maneuvered to seek funds to retain the immense and unique water bombers. The fully operational Martin Mars airplanes can each carry 60,000 pounds of water, and that puts them in a very elite (and hard to replace) class of water-hauling aircraft. But at 65 years of age, their abilities may not be the only thing that's hard to replace. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 27, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with NORAD's Stacia Reddish on its Santa tracking project. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; and Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. In Monday's news summary, hear about the Goldman Sachs/Onex deal to buy Raytheon Aircraft for $3.3 billion, Loran making a resurgence in the UK as a GPS backup, a truly personal jet called Jet-Man, Pratt & Whitney Canada's plans to build more fuel-efficient turbofans and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Industry To Focus On New Pilot Starts
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Despite the interest in sport-pilot training, the number of pilots in the U.S. has been steadily declining for the last 20 years, and that has repercussions through all of aviation, The Wichita Eagle reported on Wednesday. Manufacturers worry that the market for their aircraft won't be there in the future. Airlines and other operators worry that they won't be able to find qualified pilots. And with thousands of very light jets expected to join the fleet in the next few years, the demand for professional pilots will likely grow. The trend has not gone unnoticed. AOPA, for example, has recently refocused its efforts on Project Pilot, which recruits current pilots to act as mentors to new students. |
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Sportsplanes.com Expands LSA Training Network
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
As the sport aircraft sector has ramped up in the last couple of years, one concern has been getting enough qualified instructors and sport aircraft at airports around the country to train eager new students. One company working on a solution is Sportsplanes.com, which has created a network of Sport Aircraft Regional Centers. On Wednesday, CEO Josh Foss said Leading Edge Aviation, of Rutherfordton, N.C., is the latest addition to that network. "It was a perfect fit with our plans for expansion," said Greg Turner, manager of Leading Edge. |
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New Injector Tested For Hypersonic Engine
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
A team of engineers in Maryland has developed a scramjet engine design that they say solves the problem of how to mix fuel efficiently in an aircraft that might be traveling as fast as Mach 25 (that's not a typo). Faculty members from the University of Maryland teamed with Astrox Corp. to develop the combustor design. Astrox President Ajay Kothari said the engine is shaped like a funnel, with air entering through a circular opening, which develops more thrust and less heating than a rectangular scramjet engine. Kothari and the research team designed an injector resembling a small aerodynamic wing, which enters the engine at an angle in the same direction the air is flowing. Fuel is injected just at the wake where the air, which is moving at supersonic speeds, crosses the injector. The novel design provides both strong thrust and good mixing. |
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DOT Blocks Virgin America Launch
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Virgin America's application to operate in the U.S. was tentatively denied Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Virgin America would have to demonstrate that it is independent of the Virgin Group and other non-U.S. citizens, and that the president of the company and at least two-thirds of the board of directors are U.S. citizens, before it can receive an operating certificate, the DOT said. Just last week, Virgin America said it passed a comprehensive FAA review and all it needed to start operations was the OK from the DOT. |
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Pilot Convicted In Alaska "Air Rage" Incident
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
A pilot in Alaska endangered hunters, guides and another pilot when he harassed them with his Super Cub, a jury decided last week. Edward Lamb, 38, a hunting guide, was found guilty of assault for the aerial attacks, the Anchorage Daily News reported. In one incident, Lamb buzzed a competing guide who was scouting in a meadow with two clients, forcing them to run for cover in the trees. Another time, Lamb circled above as another pilot was trying to take off from a lake after picking up the competitor. Lamb told the Daily News that the issue is complicated and he is innocent. The competitor was working in area traditionally used by Lamb, according to The Associated Press.
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Skyhawks Selling In Europe
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
The venerable Cessna 172 Skyhawk faces a lot of competition these days for spots on the flight school lines where it once dominated. But four European flight schools are upgrading their aircraft fleets with new Skyhawks, Cessna said last week. Flight schools in Romania, Italy, Spain and Germany have ordered a total of 22 new Skyhawks, four of them with G1000 glass cockpits. "The Skyhawk combines safe and economical operation with the best avionics on the market," said Pana Poulios, regional sales manager for Cessna. |
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Able Flight Awards First Two Scholarships
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
A new scholarship program that helps people with disabilities learn to fly gave away its first two awards last week in Atlanta. Able Flight chose Brad Jones and Stephany Glassing to take part in an intensive and demanding flight-training program. "Able Flight's goal is to challenge its scholarship winners so that their own achievements will help them become more self-reliant and confident in their abilities,” said Executive Director Charles Stites. Jones, 22, was paralyzed in an automobile accident last summer. Glassing was also injured in an auto accident, 22 years ago, when she was a teenager. "Being in a chair instantaneously makes everyday life and events challenging," said Jones. "The challenge of learning to fly will be a difficult one, but upon successfully completing the training, will bring a renewed sense that anything is possible, no matter what other challenges life might have for me in the future." |
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New York Pilots Caught In Restricted Airspace
December 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Pilots flying above New York City are getting sloppier, according to an analysis by the New York Post based on FAA data. Incidents of pilots flying into restricted airspace in the area in the last year increased 42 percent over the year before, according to the Post. Violations included flying into temporary restricted areas over Yankee and Shea Stadiums during games, and flying into airspace restricted during visits by President Bush, the Post said. Private pilots weren't the only violators -- on Sept. 18 jets were scrambled when a State Police helicopter violated a presidential TFR.
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AVweb Audio News
December 23, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with NORAD's Stacia Reddish on its Santa tracking project. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; and Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. In today's news summary, hear about the Goldman Sachs/Onex deal to buy Raytheon Aircraft for $3.3 billion, Loran making a resurgence in the UK as a GPS backup, a truly personal jet called Jet-Man, Pratt & Whitney Canada's plans to build more fuel-efficient turbofans and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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The Ultimate Personal Jet?
December 23, 2006
By Russ Niles
While it may not be exactly what more traditional aircraft makers have in mind for the term, it would be hard to argue the definition with Yves Rossy. The 47-year-old adventurer, who made headlines two years ago by gliding across the English Channel with a pair of strap-on wings, has taken the natural evolution of that feat and added power -- and plenty of it -- to his birdman exploits. For the past couple of years he’s been tinkering with model jet engines and earlier this year felt ready to demonstrate their remarkable effectiveness with the fold-out, strap-on wings that he’d developed earlier and produced a pretty interesting video of his exploits. |
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Runway Closure An Improvement?
December 23, 2006
By Russ Niles
Officials in Hickory, N.C., say one way to improve the Hickory Airport would be to close a 4,400-foot runway. The runway, which sees only 6 percent of the airport’s traffic, will need a $2.3 million paving job in a few years and that got the creative thinkers at city hall pondering its fate. Tearing up the asphalt and relying entirely on the 6,400-foot main runway would pave the way for more hangars and commercial development, they reason. “This is an opportunity to have more planes and more activity at the airport that will make it more self-sufficient in the long term,” Assistant City Manager Tom Carr told the Hickory Record. |
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Will That Be One Hump Or Two?
December 23, 2006
By Russ Niles
The maintenance supervisor for Turkish Airlines lost his job, but it was a camel that paid the ultimate price for a maintenance crew’s jubilation over the retirement of a particularly troublesome aircraft. As is customary during times of great joy in Turkey, the maintenance crew was so happy to be rid of the Avro RJ100 aircraft the airline had leased for the past 13 years that they decided to kill a camel -- on the tarmac at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport. According to The Associated Press, newspapers carried photos of the joyous event, which is apparently in step with the tradition in Turkey of sacrificing an animal to God when wishes come true. Well quaint though it might be, Turkish officials thought the ritual slaughter was a little too old-fashioned for a country that’s trying to get in step with more modern practices as it tries to join the European Union. So Turkish Airline officials called for chief mechanic Sukru Can’s head (figuratively, of course). |
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Seattle’s Big Blow A Matter Of Perception
December 23, 2006
By Russ Niles
While a union spokesman described a “state of panic” in air traffic control facilities in Seattle Dec. 15 during a record storm that interrupted power, the FAA was patting itself on the back for a system that functioned “almost uninterrupted thanks to ingenious coast-to-coast ATO teamwork and a new organization-wide contingency plan.” These notably divergent points of view grew from the system’s experience with one of the worst storms ever to blow through the Pacific Northwest. When power went out to the Seattle terminal radar approach control center (TRACON), an emergency generator kicked in as planned. But the generator failed 16 hours later, leaving the TRACON on battery power. Before the batteries faded, the decision was made to move TRACON controllers to the Sea-Tac tower and an air route traffic control center (ARTCC) 25 miles away. According to local rep for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Dan Olson, that’s where things fell apart. |
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Obstruction Light Focus Of Crash Probe
December 23, 2006
By Russ Niles
The NTSB is looking into the role a reportedly unreliable obstruction light played in the crash of a Cessna 210 at Lee Airport in Edgewater, Md., on Dec. 9. According to the NTSB preliminary report, witnesses who arrived on the scene shortly after the crash reported that the light was not illuminated and a pilot who landed there three days earlier had also reported the light wasn’t on. However, tests conducted by the NTSB the day after the crash showed the light was in proper operating condition, and “when power was applied to the switch, the light illuminated.” The light is about 30 feet below the tops of 130-foot trees and 560 feet from the runway. The 210 hit those trees about 15 feet from the light before cartwheeling to the ground, killing the pilot and part owner of the aircraft, Timothy Kramer, and his passenger Deborah Giant. |
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Britain Eyes "New" Loran
December 23, 2006
By Russ Niles
Even though you likely turn it on only to see if it still lights up, it might be premature to throw out that old Loran taking up space on your panel. What’s old is new again as Britain is considering revamping the venerable ground-based radio navigation system as a backup for GPS. And, according to a report in FCW.com, the U.S. is looking at a similar system to ensure precision navigation is available if GPS signals suddenly become unavailable because of jamming or other causes. Whether your current gear will work on the so-called eLoran (the "e" is for extended range) is not clear in the reports. |
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When Santa Flies, Satellites Will Be Watching
December 22, 2006
By Mary Grady
 Starting at 2 a.m. Mountain Time on Sunday, Christmas Eve, visitors to NORAD's Web site will be able to track Santa's progress around the world online. NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, has been offering the Santa-tracking updates for over 50 years. Four high-tech systems are used to do the job -- radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft, the site says. Originally a phone-in service, with updates mainly heard via news shows and radio, the Web site has been tracking Santa online since 1998. Last year, the site got over 900 million hits. Other options are available, too. Google Earth uses its satellite imagery to capture activity on the runway at the North Pole, and Flight Explorer is watching Santa's flight plans and practice flights. |
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FSS: Lockheed's Graduating Class
December 22, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Lockheed Martin recently graduated 46 Flight Service Specialists from its Flight Service Academy in Prescott Valley, Ariz. The class includes U.S. Air Force veteran John Lockheed, great grandson of company founder Allan Loughead. Together with the group, Lockheed will have experienced 10 weeks of academic classes that present "pre-requisite core knowledge, including meteorology and basic navigation." The classes and graduation will be followed by deployment -- the students will be sent to actual Flight Service Stations to receive on-the-job training with an end goal of certification as Lockheed-employed Flight Service Specialists. Presumably the move brings Lockheed Martin closer to its own stated goal for FSS. |
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P&WC Takes Aim On Light Turbines
December 22, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Lighter, more fuel-efficient gas-turbine engines are $1.5 billion closer to reality, or at least closer to creating some 1,500 jobs at Pratt & Whitney Canada's facilities and its network of suppliers. The company is investing its own money (and the equivalent of $350 million from the Canadian government) in what company President Alain Bellemare told CBC News is "the most important commitment made by [Pratt & Whitney Canada] in its history." Company facilities at Longueuil and Mississauga, Ont., will bear the brunt of research and development while Pratt & Whitney Canada itself bears the brunt of rhetoric from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast: Maj. Stacia Reddish Explains How NORAD Tracks Santa Every Christmas Eve ...
December 21, 2006
By AVweb's Audio News Team
In the spirit of the holidays, AVweb got the skinny on the fat guy in the big red suit from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which for the past 51 years has been tracking Santa on his 'round-the-world-trip on Christmas Eve. We talked with NORAD Tracks Santa Project Officer Major Stacia Reddish to find out how the defense group got into the Santa-tracking business and how it performs this unique mission.
Click here to listen.
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New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click on the "download this podcast" link and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.) Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 20, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Bill Lear Jr. on light jet progress. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; and Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. In Monday's news summary, hear about the DOT Inspector General is starting an audit to determine who is using U.S. airspace, Diamond Aircraft's possible foray into a high-performance piston single, the FAA's use of crushable concrete for runway arresting systems and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Is New Piper Ready For A Move?
December 20, 2006
By Mary Grady
A story in TCPalm.com on Wednesday said local officials are concerned that New Piper Aircraft might be weighing offers to move out of Vero Beach, Fla. "We've all heard the rumors, and at this point it's time to get a hold of [New Piper CEO Jim] Bass," County Commission Chairman Gary Wheeler told TCPalm. New Piper spokesman Mark Miller told AVweb on Wednesday afternoon that those concerns have been "blown out of proportion." Officials from other counties in Florida and other states have expressed an interest in wooing the company's PiperJet production facility, he said, but the company is not out there looking for offers. "Would I say we would never leave Florida? No, but we don't have any agenda or mandate to move." |
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Eclipse Secondary Sales Brisk
December 20, 2006
By Russ Niles
Although Eclipse Aviation has yet to actually deliver an airplane, there are dozens of Eclipse 500s for sale as the secondary market picks up. And, according to analyst Michael Press, Eclipse itself is dabbling in the market, selling an unconfirmed number of early positions for $1.75 million, well above the $995,000 that Eclipse spokesman Andrew Broom said it would have originally realized on the sale of a so-called Platinum position. Press suggests the Albuquerque, N.M.-based start-up manufacturer might have even undervalued those sales, since the owners of positions No. 3 and 19 are currently asking $1.85 million and getting interest. There are now 39 Eclipse positions listed for sale on Controller.com. |
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Appeal Of Anti-homebuilding Law Fails
December 20, 2006
By Mary Grady
When Jacksonville, Fla., passed a city ordinance in June banning the home-based construction of aircraft, it seemed so unfair that it was expected to fail under court scrutiny. But now an appeal to the courts to reverse the ban has been rejected. "Cities have the right to zone based on aesthetic (or noise) considerations," Judge John Moran said in his ruling on the case, according to the Jacksonville Times-Union. While aviation enthusiasts may disagree with the policy, that doesn't mean the city's decision was "arbitrary and capricious," he said. Homebuilder Brian Kraut had challenged the law as unconstitutional. It was imposed after neighbors complained about his working on a Midget Mustang. |
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AOPA Report Shows Rise In GA Accidents
December 20, 2006
By Mary Grady
AOPA this week released its annual review of aviation safety, the Nall Report, and this year's edition shows the overall 2005 accident rate increased to 7.2 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, compared with 6.5 the year before. The rate of fatal accidents also increased, from 1.3 to 1.4 per 100,000 flight hours. "While the sky certainly isn't falling, the record that we chalked up in 2005 could stand some improvement," said Bruce Landsberg, executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. The number of fatal accidents related to weather declined, but the number due to maneuvering flight rose. In response, the ASF will produce a new online course to help improve those pilot skills. |
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Pilot Charged With Manslaughter After Fatal Crash
December 20, 2006
By Mary Grady
A 30-year-old man who was flying a 1972 Bellanca Super Viking when it crashed into a lake in northeastern Oklahoma on Saturday night, killing all three passengers, has been charged with three counts of manslaughter. Thomas Brent Caldwell, 30, of Pryor, Okla., apparently never had a pilot certificate and was drinking at the time of the accident, authorities said. Killed in the crash were Mariano Carlos, 15, of Pryor; and Eduardo Robles, 20, and Campos Gonzalez, 33, both from Mexico. Investigators said it appears the engine was not producing power when the airplane hit the water, and the passengers appear to have drowned. |
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Airplane Crashes Into Sewage Pool
December 19, 2006
By Mary Grady
On Tuesday morning, officials in Gilroy, Calif., drained a sewage tank that held the wreck of a small airplane. The aircraft was a Beech 95 Travel Air that went missing on Monday afternoon after taking off from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose with an instructor and two students on board. All three were Japanese, and a Japanese passport was found near the site of the wreck, according to the FAA. The tank is about 20 feet deep and 25 feet in diameter, and took most of the morning to drain to recover the aircraft. |
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Your New Pilot: H.A.L.
December 19, 2006
By Glenn Pew
The European Commission (EC) is funding development of a 230-seat pilotless airliner, according to a report this week by Flight International. According to the magazine, the math behind the program forecasts a jet with 10 more seats than its piloted brethren plus design and technology improvements that would allow it to burn 1,500 fewer gallons while also requiring less maintenance. The report does not indicate if those advances would be for some reason unavailable to pilot-included aircraft. The EC's $691 million project aims to produce an aircraft "capable of seamless operations in the proposed Innovative Future Air Traffic System." |
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More Details Emerge For Diamond's Super Star
December 19, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Diamond Aircraft's Austrian unit today announced the DA50 Super Star five-place "up to 350 hp" aircraft, offering what it says will be "the most spacious in the new generation of single-engine aircraft in General Aviation." An image of the aircraft shows a DA40-like planform (fixed-gear, low-wing and T-tail), but the horizontal stabilizer sports anhedral tips and on the opposite end, the close-cowled powerplant shows only one front-side opening below the prop -- a fat four-blade MT. The aircraft was "unofficially presented" to attendees at a Diamond Christmas party in Austria. Diamond's North American arm told AVweb they offered no additional comments, but said more information would be forthcoming from its headquarters in Austria. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 17, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Bill Lear Jr. on light jet progress. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; and Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. In today's news summary, hear about the DOT Inspector General is starting an audit to determine who is using U.S. airspace, Diamond Aircraft's possible foray into a high-performance piston single, the FAA's use of crushable concrete for runway arresting systems and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Another Great Year
December 17, 2006
By Russ Niles
The aerospace industry had record sales for the third year in a row, according to an analysis by the Aviation Industries Association (AIA). In its annual review of aviation commerce, AIA said total sales were up $14 billion to $184.4 billion, an increase of 8.4 percent over 2005. "It would be hard to overstate aerospace's positive contributions to our national economy, as evidenced by these very strong indicators," said AIA CEO John Douglass. He also noted that the total represented a positive trade balance of more than $52 billion and he said there’s no immediate end in sight. |
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Fourth New York Airport Eyed
December 17, 2006
By Russ Niles
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has set aside $150 million to invest in a fourth major airport to serve the metropolitan area over the next 10 years and the favored location appears to be Stewart International Airport, about 50 miles north of the city. The airport is a former Air Force base and boasts a runway almost 12,000 feet long. It’s currently an Air National Guard base. There is scheduled air service by several airlines (including a shuttle to JFK). But despite these significant attributes, there’s another factor the Port Authority might find hard to ignore. The community seems to actually want the airport. |
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Aircraft Drown Out Nature?
December 17, 2006
By Russ Niles
Residents of Pacific Palisades, Calif., are complaining that increased jet and helicopter traffic is affecting their quality of life. A story in the Palisadian Post even suggests a cover-up, of sorts. "I have a neighbor who used to sunbathe nude,” laments one unnamed resident of Marques Knolls. “But she stopped because she felt as if her privacy was violated by all the low-flying airplanes and helicopters.” According to the Post, jet traffic is up 1,400 percent in the last 23 years and helicopter flights now make up 3 percent of the operations in and out of nearby Santa Monica Airport (KSMO) and that’s making it hard to hear the birds and the bees. “The reason that the Palisades is so nice is that you can hear nature,” resident Hal Oliver told the Post. “But all these planes are changing that.” |
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Grob Jet Program Proceeds
December 17, 2006
By Russ Niles
Grob Aerospace says European certification of its SPn business jet has been pushed back about six months to early 2008 due to the crash of the second prototype on a demonstration flight in Germany on Nov. 29. The crash -- which occurred near the manufacturer’s Mattsies-Tussenhausen, Germany facility -- killed test pilot Gérard Guillaumaud. While the company awaits the cause of the accident from German authorities, work is proceeding on a new test aircraft, which should be flying in the New Year. In a news release, CEO Niall Oliver said Grob remains committed to developing the $7 million jet and that customers have been “superb” in their understanding and reaction to the tragedy. |
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Aspen Avionics Fights Eclipse Suit
December 17, 2006
By Russ Niles
Aspen Avionics founders Peter Lyons and Jeff Bethel say their hazard awareness system retrofit for older aircraft was developed before they went to work for Eclipse Aviation and that invention and non-disclosure forms they signed with Eclipse weren’t valid. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Lyons and Bethel claim -- in a response to Eclipse’s October lawsuit over ownership of the AT300 Hazard Awareness Display -- that they developed the technology in 2001 and 2002, before joining Eclipse in late 2002. Lyons and Bethel also say the only invention and disclosure agreements they signed were during the interview process and not as employees of Eclipse. Eclipse claims the pair created the device and developed their business plan on company time. |
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Is Diamond Taking On Cirrus, Columbia, Mooney?
December 17, 2006
By Russ Niles
A report out of Eastern Europe suggests Diamond Aircraft is ready to mix it up in the 200+ knot piston single range. The Ukrainian Web site wing.com.ua is reporting that Diamond intends to build a 350-hp, five-place, fixed-gear airplane that promises to be the “most spacious” of piston aircraft in its class. There’s nothing on the Diamond Web site to confirm this, and the company's North Amertican office in London, Ontario, was closed for the weekend when we called, but the platform suggests an adaptation of the D-Jet configuration, which also has room for five. |
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FAA's Attempts To Stop Overruns
December 15, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Brought into the headlines by overruns at acreage-challenged airports like Chicago and Teterboro, the FAA-approved engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) now crowns 21 runways at 16 airports, with four more airports and five runways due for the upgrade in the next year. Teterboro recently had one of the systems installed at the end of 6,015 foot Runway 6 to the tune of $8.5 million (all but $1 million covered by the FAA). That system was unwittingly put to use October 25, when a Challenger made a $15,000 wrong turn (estimated EMAS repair costs) on the way to the terminal. Teterboro Airport's second system will reside at the south end of Runway 18 following the relocation of Redneck Avenue. |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast: Bill Lear Jr. on the Lear 23 Bizjet and Its Successors
December 14, 2006
By AVweb's Audio News Team
Athough you'll get some arguments in some quarters, it's generally accepted that the Lear 23 was the first practical business jet. It's been flying for more than 43 years, and, remarkably, of the 100 Lear 23s made, 45 are still flying. Bill Lear Jr. worked on the project with his father Bill Sr., and he wonders just how much progress the new crop of very light jets represents, in light of the relatively fast, relatively inexpensive, and relatively problem-free development of the 23. Bill Lear Jr. spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles on the history — and the future — of small jets.
Click here to listen.
Bonus Audio!
In a special bonus interview, AVweb's Glenn Pew (on assignment for our sister publication IFR Magazine) speaks with AOPA Air Safety Foundation Executive Director Bruce Landsberg. In just over 12 minutes, Landsberg shares a wealth of knowledge on the causes of accidents; flying in inclement weather; and ways you can train yourself to reduce risk — regardless of whether you fly IFR or VFR.
Click here to listen.
Brought to you by
Bose Corporation.
New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click on the "download this podcast" link and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.) Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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Brazil Midair: Police Release Preliminary Report
December 14, 2006
By Glenn Pew
On Wednesday, a preliminary police report released in Brazil said U.S. pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino could have prevented the Sept. 29 midair that killed 154 people when the Legacy jet they were flying collided with a Gol Airlines 737 if they had noticed their transponder was turned off, according to The Associated Press. The two men returned home to New York on Dec. 9 after being detained by authorities in Brazil for more than two months. According to the police report, the Legacy's transponder was turned off for at least 50 minutes before the crash and turned on two minutes after, but the report does not determine whether the pilots or the instrument itself failed. Police investigators have asked for an extra 30 days before presenting a final report. A judge will then decide whether an indictment and trial will follow.
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AVweb Daily News Coverage
December 13, 2006
You can now get the latest general aviation news from AVweb -- the world's premier independent aviation news source -- as it happens at AVweb.com. Or sign up for our news feed and have the most recent headlines pushed directly to your RSS-based news reader. Either way, you'll be able to read the same concise, but comprehensive, news stories that you've come to expect from AVweb. And for major breaking general aviation news, AVweb will send out news alerts via e-mail to keep subscribers informed. Don’t worry -- you'll also continue to receive AVwebFlash every Monday and Thursday. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 13, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with NATA President Jim Coyne. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; and Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. In Monday's news summary, hear about what's next for the Legacy midair pilots now that they're back home, the possible acquisition if Raytheon Aircraft by Onex, safer ATC in Europe, China's proposed GPS system and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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NTSB: Crews Should Check Runway Heading Before Departure
December 13, 2006
By Mary Grady
When a Comair CRJ-100 crashed in August while trying to depart from the wrong runway at Lexington (Ky.) Airport, killing 49 people, it was one of those error chains that gave pause to many pilots. While most aviators will say that checking the runway heading is part of their pre-takeoff routine, many admit they don't always do it, and many checklists don't include it. Now the NTSB wants that to change, at least for airline crews. In recommendations issued on Tuesday, the safety board asks the FAA to require all Part 121 operators to establish procedures for flight crews to positively confirm and cross-check the airplane's location before crossing the hold-short line for takeoff. The NTSB also wants those operators to provide specific guidance to pilots regarding the runway lighting requirements for takeoff operations at night. |
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A380 Gets Joint FAA-EASA Certification
December 13, 2006
By Mary Grady
The world's largest commercial airliner, the 555-seat Airbus A380, received joint European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and FAA Type Certification on Tuesday in a ceremony held at the Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was there, and said it was "a great day for aviation." It was the first-ever concurrent certification between EASA and FAA, Blakey said. The A380 is also the first aircraft to which 21st century certification standards were applied, according to Airbus. The company said it has 166 orders for the A380, with the first copy due to be delivered to first operator Singapore Airlines next October. |
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Learjet Loses Part Of Tail, Lands Safely
December 13, 2006
By Mary Grady
A Learjet 36 was flying off the coast of San Diego on Friday, Dec.1, when it sustained "an in-flight loss of the right elevator," the NTSB says. In its preliminary report, the Safety Board said the flight had departed from the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego at about 9:30 a.m. On board were an ATP-rated pilot, a commercial-rated second pilot and one passenger. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. "The operator reported that the airplane joined up with another airplane, and was doing a cross-under maneuver," says the report. |
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FAA: Deactivate Thermawing Deicers
December 13, 2006
By Mary Grady
Some owners of Columbia aircraft who were looking forward to flying through the winter with heated wings will have to put those plans on ice, at least for now. The FAA says all Thermawing (aka E-Vade) systems on Columbia airplanes must be deactivated and a placard must be installed in the cockpit that clearly says the deicer is offline. The compulsory Airworthiness Directive (AD) follows up on a recent Service Bulletin issued by Kelly Aerospace, which builds the wing deicing system. The deicer, which has been STC'd for some Columbia models, can short circuit if it's not installed correctly, says the FAA, causing possible burning of the wings and horizontal stabilizer, as well as a possible reduction in structural integrity. |
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Forget Flying Cars -- Personal Blimp Is Flying Today
December 13, 2006
By Mary Grady
It might not be the perfect vehicle for everyone -- and its usefulness is yet to be proved -- but for the pilot who yearns to simply launch from the backyard and tool around for fun, the personal hot-air blimp could fit the bill. Dan Nachbar of Amherst, Mass., launched his homebuilt airship for the first time in late October, and recently completed its first 10 hours of test flights. Unlike other hot-air blimps, Nachbar's design has a rigid internal frame. And unlike helium blimps, it can be deflated and stored between flights, without the need for a hangar. The internal frame also can be folded for storage. "Our team's mission has been clear -- to create a unique aircraft capable of quiet, steerable, safe and affordable flight," Nachbar said Tuesday. "We have succeeded beyond our wildest imagination." |
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WSJ: FAA Likely To Retire Age-60 Rule
December 12, 2006
By Mary Grady
Citing unnamed sources in government and industry, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the FAA is likely to propose a rule change to raise the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to 65 early next year. The report said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey "is crafting the new position slowly but steadily." Pressure for a change has grown since the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recently implemented a rule for airline crews that allows one pilot to be over age 60, but not more than 65, as long as the other pilot is under 60. The WSJ also cited a tight labor market and the lack of data to substantiate safety concerns as adding to the impetus for change. |
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Report: Raytheon Aircraft May Sell For $3 Billion
December 12, 2006
By Mary Grady
An offer to buy Raytheon Aircraft Company may reach $3 billion, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Citing an unnamed source "with knowledge of the agreement," Bloomberg said Onex Corp., a buyout firm based in Toronto, and Goldman Sachs Group would each acquire stakes of under 50 percent in the company, with the rest being held by the current management team. The deal is expected to be publicly announced by the end of the month. Raytheon Aircraft, based in Wichita, Kan., manufactures the Beechcraft Bonanza G36, Baron G58, King Air series and Premier IA and Hawker 400XP, 850XP and 4000, as well as the T-6A/B military trainer. |
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End Of The Line For EAA Sport Pilot Tour
December 12, 2006
By Glenn Pew
The last scheduled event of the EAA's Sport Pilot Tour took place this past weekend at Brown Field in sport-pilot-friendly San Diego and capped a 13-stop run that began in 2005. AVweb was there to collect a summation from industry advocate Dan Johnson, who told us enthusiasm for the category (mostly from an estimated 100,000 pilots nearing or already enjoying their golden years) currently has demand outpacing supply. Deliveries for aircraft ordered today have, for many manufacturers, backed up until next March or April, said Johnson, and the small, local events that often included less than 20 static display aircraft seduced about 500 to 800 enthusiasts per stop.
Click here for a gallery of AVweb photos from the event. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 10, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with NATA President Jim Coyne. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; and Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. In today's news summary, hear about what's next for the Legacy midair pilots now that they're back home, the possible acquisition if Raytheon Aircraft by Onex, safer ATC in Europe, China's proposed GPS system and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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Crash Site Landowner Wants More Money
December 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
The owner of a farm where Comair Flight 5191 crashed has sued the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board over its valuation of the property, which it would need to lengthen the runway that the regional jet mistakenly took off from. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Elkhorn Bend, a limited liability company that owns the 115-acre property off the end of 3,500-foot Runway 26, paid $748,000 for the land in 2005. Now it says it's worth $3.4 million. A certified appraisal commissioned by the airport board pegged the value at $1.75 million last May. Elkhorn Bend filed the suit Nov. 28, saying the county intends to acquire the property through condemnation and the suit is intended to prevent it from paying too little. |
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Maryland Authorities Consider Airport
December 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
Cecil County commissioners have voted to keep studying the possible construction of a relatively large county airport on land near I-95. The county has been given an FAA grant to study the feasibility of an airport and gauge public opinion. The commissioners are looking for an airport that can handle corporate jets. Raintree Airport, the existing private facility now serving the county, doesn't cater to bizjets but it is undergoing expansion. The commissioners insist their airport won't compete directly with the private airport. |
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FAA Top Gun Moves To Private Sector
December 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
Former FAA Director of Oceanic and Offshore Services David Ford, who led a series of successful initiatives to make airspace more efficient, has joined Rannoch Corporation. Ford recently retired from the FAA after a 31-year career. He led the team that developed the Advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures (ATOP) system that allowed a reduction in lateral separation of transoceanic flights from 300 miles to 100 miles. Ford also helped develop a daily tracking system for transoceanic flights and helped develop airport surface movement monitoring systems using ADS-B and multilateration. At Rannoch, Ford will be the vice president of strategic operations, where he'll manage development and implementation of ADS-B and multilateration gear "to improve air traffic safety, capacity and efficiency for the next generation of air traffic management," according to Rannoch. |
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China Wants Its Own GPS
December 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
China is expected to launch two satellites next year that will start its GPS constellation. The Beidou (Compass) satellites will provide coverage for most of China and some neighboring countries before the country launches the remaining 33 satellites to yield worldwide coverage. The plan was confirmed by state-controlled news services last week. The open frequency from the system will give navigational accuracy to 10 meters, with speed accuracy to within 0.2 meters per second and timing accuracy to within 50 nanoseconds. The "authorized" service will be better on all three counts. |
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Prince Charles Flies "Green"
December 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
Well, we don't expect to sit beside him while we're putting our shoes back on after security at the airport, but Britain's Prince Charles says he's going to skip the convenience of private transport as his sacrifice to help save the planet. Starting in February (no point in rushing these things), Charles reportedly intends to make more use of commercial airlines, trains and biodiesel-powered cars to commute between his various castles and his princely appointments, rather than hop on a private helicopter or bizjet. A spokesman for the prince says he's determined to "reduce our carbon footprint" and will be taking a variety of measures to lighten his considerable environmental load. |
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European Skies "Safer," Report Says
December 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
Air traffic safety has improved dramatically since ATC-related accidents in Milan and Uberlingen, Germany, according a report issued by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol). The group says the average "level of air traffic safety mechanisms" among the 42 countries whose airspace management systems it represents is now 70 percent, up from 55 percent in 2002, while regulators have lagged behind at 65 percent. It seems like an average of extremes, however, since more than 25 percent of European countries achieved scores above 90 percent. It would then follow that the bottom quarter is somewhere below the 50-percent mark. The Eurocontrol release did not give a country-by-country breakdown of the safety levels. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
December 9, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly business newsletter, AVwebBiz? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/. |
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Pierce County Pilots Fighting Rent Increases
December 8, 2006
By Russ Niles
A hangar tenant at Washington state's Pierce County Airport (Thun Field) is trying to rally local pilots against hangar and tie-down rent increases that he claims are at least immoral and may be unconstitutional. John Prukop, "organizer" of the Thun Field Pilots' Association, says the proposed increase (to $197 a month) was approved at the Nov. 21 meeting of the local county board, only three days after most tenants at the airport received notice. He claims the increase is unjustified because there have been no improvements to the already-substandard hangars (no doors, leaking roofs) and there's no economic justification because the airport is debt free and covering its costs. But what he says particularly rankles him is that the county ordinance wording appears to apply retroactive rate increases for 2004, 2005 and 2006 in a section that says "Pierce County Public Works and Utilities is proposing an increase to the fees representing a 5-percent increase per year for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006." |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast: One-on-One with NATA President Jim Coyne
December 7, 2006
By AVweb's Audio News Team
NATA president Jim Coyne knows Washington, D.C., having served as a Congressman and as an aviation association head for many years. AVweb asked him to clarify the FAA reauthorization debate and give his insight into other aviation-related hot topics on Capitol Hill. Click here to listen.
Brought to you by
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New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click on the "download this podcast" link and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.) Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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AOPA Takes On New York's Pilot Background Checks
December 7, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Buttressing its argument with the negative effect on small business and significant logistical obstacles that prevent the law from fully achieving its goals, AOPA has filed a federal lawsuit against New York state's pilot criminal background check requirement. More to the point: "This law is unnecessary, discriminatory, anti-business and ineffective," said AOPA president Phil Boyer, "and it violates the U.S. Constitution." AOPA further argues that because Congress has enacted legislation to create a single system of aviation security regulation to be maintained by the federal government, any state attempt to do so is therefore preempted. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 6, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue; and Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam. In Monday's news summary, hear about how Lexington Airport denies any liability for the Comair crash, the age-60 commission deadlocked on extending the retirement age for airline pilots, rules for maintenance facilities and technicians could get more strict, a bomber that crashed some 62 years ago was unearthed and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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AVweb's Business AVflash
December 6, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
December 6, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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AVweb Now Has Daily GA News Coverage
December 6, 2006
You can now get the latest general aviation news from AVweb -- the world's premier independent aviation news source -- as it happens at AVweb.com. Or sign up for our news feed and have the most recent headlines pushed directly to your RSS-based news reader. Either way, you'll be able to read the same concise, but comprehensive, news stories that you've come to expect from AVweb. And for major breaking general aviation news, AVweb will send out news alerts via e-mail to keep subscribers informed. Don’t worry -- you'll also continue to receive AVwebFlash every Monday and Thursday. |
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Stunning Number Of TFR Violations Since 9/11
December 6, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
According to data obtained from the FAA by AOPA, there have been 6,658 Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) violations between Sept. 11, 2001, and the end of last month. Broken down even further, 1,632 of these infringements are presidential TFR busts and another 3,254 are due to "Washington, D.C. security-related" breaches, AOPA said. Some 2,672 of the Washington violations are related to pilots straying into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) surrounding the nation's capital. The good news is that Washington ADIZ busts are trending downward, an AOPA spokesman told AVweb. Late last year, the FAA introduced a D.C. ADIZ training course, which might account for the decline in these violations. |
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Helicopter Departs For Flight Across North And South Poles
December 6, 2006
By Mary Grady
Two helicopter pilots, Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill, took off from Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday on the first leg of a flight that will take them to both the North and South Poles. If they succeed, it will be a first. The two will fly their Bell 407 helicopter through 34 countries and cover more than 36,000 miles in about six months. From Texas, they will head south to Mexico and South America, and are scheduled to reach the South Pole on Jan. 9. They head back across South America and along the U.S. West Coast to Alaska and Canada, reaching the North Pole on April 13. They plan to return via Russia, Europe and across the North Atlantic, reaching Fort Worth on May 23. You can follow their flight at their Web site, polarfirst.com. The same team attempted a similar flight in 2003, but crashed in Antarctica. |
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Virgin Atlantic To Test Clean-Air Strategy
December 6, 2006
By Mary Grady
Virgin Atlantic is making good on recent promises from CEO Richard Branson to cut emissions of carbon dioxide. Driven by intense consumer concern about global warming in the U.K. and the rest of Europe, Branson has committed billions to research for new biofuels, but also said he'd work to cut consumption right away by reducing waste. The airline will carry out tests with its Boeing 747s throughout December at London Gatwick and Heathrow Airports. The idea is to create a holding area for airliners close to the runway that they can be towed to, so they don't use so much fuel taxiing from the gate and then holding on the taxiway. A longer, more detailed trial is then expected to take place in the first quarter of 2007. |
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More Than Just Runway Repaired At Venice Municipal
December 6, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
"This doesn't happen that often," AOPA President Phil Boyer said Tuesday morning at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to reopen a refurbished Runway 13/31 at Venice (Fla.) Municipal Airport. According to FAA Regional Administrator Doug Murphy, the FAA picked up all but $200,000 of the $4 million tab to repair the 5,000-foot runway. "The runway refurb was done with complete cooperation between local, state and federal officials, as well as the airport users," Boyer added. But just a decade ago this cordial relationship between airport and community was nowhere to be found. In fact, the FAA twice cut off federal funding due to spats with previous local leaders. Now Venice Mayor R. Fred Hammett calls the Gulf Coast airport "a lifeline for our community." |
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Brazil Allowing U.S. Pilots To Return Home
December 5, 2006
By Mary Grady
The two U.S. pilots who have been held in Rio de Janeiro since a fatal midair collision in September will be allowed to go home, a Brazilian court said on Tuesday. The pilots -- Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, both of New York -- will have their passports returned to them and can leave the country in 72 hours, after being further debriefed by police, the court said. The two must agree to return to Brazil for any further inquiry and judicial action. "Restricting the freedom of movement for foreigners is not backed by the domestic legal system," the court's statement said, according to Reuters. Brazil is still investigating the crash, which was the worst in the country's history. |
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UND Flight Students Crash In Minnesota
December 5, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Two teenage freshmen students attending the University of North Dakota (UND) were killed Friday in the crash of a 1971 Cessna 172L not owned by the school. The aircraft departed Crookston Municipal Airport (Minn.) at roughly 5:30 p.m. for the purpose of closed pattern work, which was expected to last an hour, according to a friend (and fellow student) who spoke with the students before the flight. The plane's wreckage was discovered at 1:40 a.m. in a field about one mile southwest of the airport. Lowell Miller, manager of the Crookston airport, told The Associated Press that high winds and sporadic snowfall were present at the time of the flight. Jacob Rueth, 18, was the flight's pilot and a pre-commercial aviation major at UND. FAA records indicate he had been a certificated private pilot since July. |
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NTSB Investigating First Frax Cirrus Accident
December 4, 2006
By AVweb News Team
The NTSB has finished its on-scene investigation of a Cirrus SR22 that crashed Thursday night while on approach to Runway 18R at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Killed in the crash of N665CD was George Vrana, the sole-occupant pilot and a partner with accounting firm Ernst & Young. Notably, the event marks the first accident at AirShares Elite, which managed the airplane under its fractional program. According to the NTSB, the Cirrus's recovery parachute and rocket separated from the aircraft, most likely during the impact sequence, yielding no early clue as to whether the pilot tried to deploy the emergency system before the single-engine airplane crashed seven miles from the airport. The Safety Board has examined the airplane's engine and is still interviewing witnesses and gathering ATC communications and radar data. A preliminary report is expected to be issued later this week. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 4, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn. Honda v-p Jeffrey Smith, who talked everything HondaJet with AVweb at Honda Aircraft's open house last Monday. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue; and Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam. In today's news summary, hear about how Lexington Airport denies any liability for the Comair crash, the age-60 commission deadlocked on extending the retirement age for airline pilots, rules for maintenance facilities and technicians could get more strict, a bomber that crashed some 62 years ago was unearthed and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by
Bose Corporation.
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AVweb's Business AVflash
December 4, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
December 4, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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AVweb Now Has Daily GA News Coverage
December 4, 2006
You can now get the latest general aviation news from AVweb -- the world's premier independent aviation news source -- as it happens at AVweb.com. Or sign up for our news feed and have the most recent headlines pushed directly to your RSS-based news reader. Either way, you'll be able to read the same concise, but comprehensive, news stories that you've come to expect from AVweb. And for major breaking general aviation news, AVweb will send out news alerts via e-mail to keep subscribers informed. Don’t worry -- you'll also continue to receive AVwebFlash every Monday and Thursday morning. |
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AVweb Audio News
December 3, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn. Honda v-p Jeffrey Smith, who talked everything HondaJet with AVweb at Honda Aircraft's open house last Monday. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue; and Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam. In today's news summary, hear about how Lexington Airport denies any liability for the Comair crash, the age-60 commission deadlocked on extending the retirement age for airline pilots, rules for maintenance facilities and technicians could get more strict, a bomber that crashed some 62 years ago was unearthed and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
December 3, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
December 3, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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Bones Recovered From WWII Bomber Wreck
December 3, 2006
By Russ Niles
Human remains have been recovered from the wreck of a Halifax bomber that was shot down in Poland in 1944. Ground penetrating radar was used to pinpoint the hulk of the four-engine bomber that was on a secret mission to supply Polish resistance forces. It was brought down by anti-aircraft fire, killing five Canadian and two British crewmembers. "It turned out that there is only a few tons of scrap, but we also found personal belongings, badges, maps, containers with ammo and cardigan pullovers," Piotr Sliwowski, chief historian of the Warsaw Rising Museum told CanWest News. "The most important were, of course, human remnants which gave it another, deeper dimension." |
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Small Airport Lands Re-Engining Facility
December 3, 2006
By Russ Niles
Inspiration for all those little airports out there looking for industry to help justify the business case for their existence comes from Three Rivers, Mich. The small community (8,000) has been chosen by the Clifford Development Group and Hov-Aire as the site for facility to install FADEC-controlled Williams FJ44 engines in Citation II aircraft. The mod, which is expected to be STC'd in 2007, boosts performance and range in the older-model Cessnas. The program was announced at the National Business Aviation Association's convention in October. |
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Barnstable Airport Welcomes Audit
December 3, 2006
By Russ Niles
The manager of Barnstable Airport in Hyannis, Mass., says he's looking forward to the results of an audit by FAA officials last week. "I think it will help us," said Airport Manager Quincy "Doc" Mosby. "I'm positive that we'll do fine." For whatever reason Barnstable, which is served by a handful of regional airlines flying to Cape Cod and nearby islands, is one of just two airports in the U.S. chosen by the FAA for audit this year, according to the Yarmouthport Register. A lawsuit launched by one of the airport's tenants, Rectrix Aerodrome Centers, over the alleged improper use of airport funds might have something to do with it, but the FAA isn't saying. According to the Register, Rectrix claims it was prevented from selling jet fuel at the airport when regulations that would have permitted the sales were concealed by the airport. |
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Wagstaff, Diamandis Honored
December 3, 2006
By Russ Niles
Aerobatic performer and competitor Patty Wagstaff was named the first winner of the Greater Miami Aviation Association's Amelia Earhart Award recognizing outstanding achievement in aviation by women. Another new award, the Neil Armstrong Award for aerospace leaders, went to Peter Diamandis, the CEO of the X Prize Foundation, which sponsored the competition for privately funded space exploration won by SpaceShipOne in 2005. The awards were handed out as part of the association's Wright Brothers Memorial Awards Gala Evening on Nov. 17. "We are the oldest aviation association in the U.S., and we are honoring women in aviation for their contribution through the years for the first time," Association President Oscar Garcia told the Miami Herald. |
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GAO Recommends NTSB Tighten Up
December 1, 2006
By Russ Niles
The Government Accountability Office wants the NTSB to tighten up its operation on several fronts while doing more in-depth analysis on transportation safety issues. The GAO recently completed a report on the internal practices of the NTSB and found, essentially, that it was very busy investigating accidents and had not fully implemented so-called "leading management practices" in seven identified functions. The best definition for that process we could find is that functions are codified and written down so that all staff (theoretically) follow the same game plan. At any rate, the NTSB says it agrees it needs to pull up its socks in that area and also that it should do more safety studies when it sees trends developing in accidents. It's done four such studies in the last six years. On the financial side, the GAO says the NTSB's money-losing training center should either be made more effective or closed. |
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NATA: TEB Town Hall Meeting An "Outstanding Exchange"
December 1, 2006
By Glenn Pew
A town hall meeting held in Teterboro this week to discuss traffic patterns at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey (the ILS approach takes aircraft directly over Hackensack Hospital) and safety and security concerns was "an outstanding exchange between the members of the community surrounding Teterboro Airport and the airport operators and tenants," according to National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James K. Coyne. Residents not attuned to aircraft noise, emissions and traffic were introduced to new technologies including Required Navigation Performance and the elimination of circle-to-land approaches aimed at improving safety while also addressing quality-of-life issues for groundlings. Other steps have already been taken to improve airport/community relations. |
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ATL Class B: Legislation Without Representation?
December 1, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Atlanta's Class B airspace changed in October through direct final rule action, and EAA Wednesday publicized its discontent with the FAA's choice to exclude general aviation from that rulemaking process. According to EAA, exclusion of affected parties disregards the FAA's own guidelines for "input by those who will be affected by rule changes." The FAA contends that actions were taken to "enhance safety and to prevent significant air traffic delays in the National Airspace System," but EAA made clear its position that such reasoning in this case is not supported by "valid and legal reasoning" and it fears that such action could be used to set a precedent. |
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AVweb's (2-Part) Friday Podcast: Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn Discusses Delays
December 1, 2006
 Following up on Eclipse's pre-Thanksgiving announcement that there are unavoidable delays in the completion and delivery of the EclipseJet, company CEO and President Vern Raburn joins us for a special 2-part podcast.
In Part 1 (7.3MB / 8 mins.), Raburn answers Eclipse critics with an upbeat eye toward the future of the EclipseJet. Go behind the announcement as Raburn explains that this is all part of the process and provides some insight into what's causing the delays.
In Part 2 (11MB / 12 mins.), Raburn addresses some of the many contributing factors that have caused the delay, including vendor and supplier problems. And if Eclipse jets are going to hit their promised price mark, the company will need to sell an awful lot of them to turn a profit, won't it?
New to podcasts and audio news? You don't need an iPod (or any other special equipment) to listen! Our podcast is a simple .mp3 audio file. To listen, just click on the "download this podcast" link and play the file in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or any other desktop audio player. (The file may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed.)
Click here for more AVweb podcasts. |
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Boeing Demonstrates Automated Aerial Refueling Capability
November 29, 2006
By Mary Grady
Automated flight systems took another step forward in August, when Boeing's Automated Aerial Refueling test program successfully demonstrated for the first time an unmanned air vehicle's ability to autonomously maintain a steady refueling station behind a tanker aircraft, the company said this week. The idea is to develop UAVs that will be able to fly up to a tanker and refuel themselves. "This can enable a quicker response for time-critical targets and will reduce the need for forward-staging refueling areas," said David Riley, manager of the program for Boeing Phantom Works. "Another benefit is increased in-theater military presence with fewer military assets." |
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Another Chance For Taylorcraft
November 29, 2006
By Mary Grady
A few weeks ago, Taylorcraft President Harry Ingram, facing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was told he would have to vacate his hangar at the Brownsville/South Padre Island (Texas) International Airport. A city attorney at the time said "the outcome is inevitable," but that just goes to prove how the future defies prediction. This week, the city and Ingram reached an agreement that will allow the airplane manufacturer to stay. “The opportunity doesn’t happen ordinarily,” City Commissioner Ricardo Longoria Jr. told Ingram, the Brownsville Herald reported. But it happened this time, and that gives Taylorcraft another chance. |
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Sound-Wave Detector Could Enhance Aviation Safety
November 29, 2006
By Mary Grady
Ash from volcanic activity can be a real hazard aloft -- over the last 20 years, more than 200 aircraft have reported encounters with ash, and seven lost engine power. Now a new method of sonic detection may help to predict where the ash will occur, so airplanes can have advance warning to avoid the area. Milton Garces of the University of Hawaii has developed a prototype system known as ASHE (Acoustical Surveillance for Hazardous Eruptions). In January, his team deployed the system in Ecuador, and it detected distinctly different infrasound signals between ash-rich eruptions that occurred in July and August and an eruption in May that injected very little ash into the atmosphere. |
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FAA's Blakey: Better Icing Info Coming Soon
November 29, 2006
By Mary Grady
General aviation pilots will soon have access to new icing forecasts, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said on Tuesday. The Current Icing Product Severity tool, which has been in testing and development for a few years, will be fully operational in two months or less, she said, in time for much of this icing season. "This product combines observations from satellite, radar, surface, lightning networks and pilot weather reports with model output to provide a detailed, hourly, three-dimensional diagnosis of in-flight icing conditions and potential for super-cooled liquid droplets," Blakey said. Speaking at the Washington, D.C., Aero Club on Tuesday, Blakey also described other weather-enhancement programs in the works. |
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AVweb Audio News
November 29, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Honda v-p Jeffrey Smith, who talked everything HondaJet with AVweb at Honda Aircraft's open house last Monday. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue; Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam; and New Piper CEO Jim Bass. In Monday's news summary, hear about who's bidding for Raytheon Aircraft, another Lycoming crankshaft lawsuit, a smaller turbofan engine that could spawn more personal jets, Project Pilot gift-giving idea and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 29, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 29, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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Air Tour Final Rule Due Soon, Says EAA
November 29, 2006
By Mary Grady
When the FAA published its proposed Air Tour Safety rule back in 2003, it was met with just about universal opposition from the aviation community. Comments and hearings went on through 2004, and since then, the FAA has quietly been working on its final version of the rule. EAA has been carefully watching the progress of the rule through the bureaucratic maze, and says it should be published sometime in the next month or so. The FAA is not giving any hints about what to expect. “We usually get some sort of an indication as to what a final rule will look like, but not this time,” says EAA's Earl Lawrence, vice president for industry and regulatory affairs. |
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Cirrus Design Expands Global Sales, Sets New Record
November 29, 2006
By Mary Grady
Cirrus Design Corp. hit a new record for aircraft orders in the third quarter, the company announced on Monday. As reported in the General Aviation Manufacturers (GAMA) third-quarter report, Cirrus has sold 529 airplanes so far this year. The company credits the creation of a worldwide sales network for the increase. International orders accounted for 24 percent of all business through October, up from 5 percent in 2002. John Bingham, vice president of sales, says the Cirrus strategy of shipping airplanes overseas for local reassembly is paying off. Cirrus aircraft are distributed from the U.K. for European sales and from Australia for buyers in that country and Asia. “Once again, our factory-direct-to-the-consumer sales model has proven itself," Bingham said. “In 2005, we anticipated a 26-percent increase in overall international sales, and we are on target to make and exceed that goal.” |
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The Semantics Of "Known Icing Conditions"
November 27, 2006
By Glenn Pew
AOPA on Monday reported that wording contained in a June 6 letter from the FAA's Eastern Region counsel attempting to clarify the legal interpretation of "known icing conditions," would, if literally applied, "unnecessarily ground many safe general aviation flights" this winter. A sentence in the counsel's letter reads, "Reduced to basic terms, known icing conditions exist when visible moisture or high relative humidity combines with temperatures near or below freezing," and thereby introduces "high relative humidity" as a factor that contributes to structural icing in flight, according to AOPA. Cryogenics aside, the association argues the wording would place anyone flying any aircraft not equipped for known icing in conditions of high relative humidity and temperatures at or near freezing in violation of federal regulations. |
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Vintage Aircraft Seeking Peace In Phoenix
November 27, 2006
By Glenn Pew
The potential for a new vintage aircraft museum housed at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport has all but evaporated after Councilman Dave Siebert (the project's main proponent) withdrew the motion from the City Council agenda. Mayor Phil Gordon told Tucson's KVOA news that Siebert withdrew the item to defuse division between veterans and arts groups, which may have squabbled over the source of the funds. Siebert may yet seek alternative methods of funding, including community support through the city's next bond program and/or corporate sponsorship, but the proposed $9 million vintage aircraft museum plan has already been countered by a feasibility study setting the mark at $50 million for a "premiere museum," according to KVOA. |
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Flight To Canada By "Refugee" Raises Security Concerns
November 26, 2006
By Mary Grady
A Colombian man living in the U.S. was refused permission to enter Canada when he tried to cross the border earlier this month. So he rented a Piper Cherokee in Illinois, flew across the border, landed at Windsor Airport in Ontario and claimed to be a refugee. Officials wouldn't release many details about the case, but said the man was returned to the U.S., according to Canada.com. The incident raised concerns about security. ''The broader question is a very important one,'' said Canadian Senator Colin Kenny, who chairs a committee on national defense. ''What protections are in place in the event the plane was larger and loaded with explosives?" |
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Insurer Asks Victim's Widow To Pay Court Costs
November 26, 2006
By Mary Grady
Ellen Dixon, of Brentwood, Calif., survived the helicopter crash that killed her husband, David, at a Livermore air show 11 years ago. She won a lawsuit against the helicopter company -- the pilot had run out of gas -- but there was little money there to collect. She also won a suit against the city, which sponsored the show, but it was overturned on appeal. Now the city's insurance company is demanding that Dixon come up with $41,000 to pay their legal bills -- money that Dixon, who still suffers pain from the injuries she suffered in the crash, doesn't have, reports the Tri-Valley Herald. The only way she could raise it is to sell the house that she bought with her husband, where she still lives. |
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Give The Gift Of Flight Via Project Pilot
November 26, 2006
By Mary Grady
Most pilots know somebody who's shown an interest in learning to fly "someday," and you can help bring that day closer with the gift of a Project Pilot introductory flight. AOPA's new learn-to-fly initiative has an online database of over 3,500 flight schools, many offering first flights for $49 to $89. The Web site also has FAQs for beginners, an introductory video, tips for choosing a flight school and an instructor and advice on how to finance training. At the airport, the gift recipient will be shown how to preflight the aircraft, how to taxi and take off and go for a local flight. It’s a gift that’s more memorable than just another gift card or necktie. |
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Socata And EAA Offer Oshkosh And Paris To College Interns
November 26, 2006
By Mary Grady
Two North American college students will get a chance to intern at EADS Socata in France next summer, under a new program developed by Socata and EAA. The students, who must be juniors or seniors pursuing an aviation career, will spend five weeks in France. They'll visit several Socata factories and tour the Paris Air Show. Then they’ll spend a week in Oshkosh at the EAA Advanced Air Academy, where they'll act as mentors to the youngsters at the camp and attend AirVenture. The internships, which include transportation and accommodation, will be awarded to one male and one female student. |
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Personal Jet Engine In Development
November 26, 2006
By Russ Niles
So-called personal jet manufacturers may soon have another power option for their aircraft. Price Induction, of Tarnos, France, has reportedly test run its DGEN380 turbofan engine, which is designed specifically for aircraft weighing as little as 1,650 lbs. Company President Bernard Etcheparre told AVweb Sunday the engine was run on the bench for the first time three weeks ago. We target a certification type CS-E for the end of 2008, meaning a first flight around the beginning of 2008," Etchebarre said in an email. "But this phase is a complex period and you have to be conscious of the difficulties [in following] this timing." The engine puts out about 600 lbs. of thrust (most current VLJ engines are 1,100 lbs. and up) and weighs just 150 lbs. (dry but including the accessories needed to run it). |
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Martinsburg Picked For Corporate FBO
November 26, 2006
By Russ Niles
Arcadia Aviation is building a $20 million corporate aviation center at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport (MRB) in Martinsburg, W. Va., just outside the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) that surrounds Washington, D.C. The company announced last week that it will initially build a 20,000-sq.-ft. hangar and administrative offices, but future plans call for purpose-built facilities that can handle Boeing Business Jets, 757s and other airliners. Arcadia also operates the full-service FBO at the airport. The airport will have no problem accommodating the big iron Arcadia hopes to attract, thanks to the West Virginia Air National Guard. |
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GAMA Elects Officers
November 26, 2006
By Russ Niles
John J. Grisik, Executive Vice President of Operational Excellence and Technology at Goodrich Corp., has been elected chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association for 2007. Grisik is vice chairman for 2006 and Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier will move into that spot next year. GAMA also announced that it had accepted three new members, including Eclipse Aviation, Sino Swearingen and SMA. Eclipse and Sino Swearingen recently received type certification for their Model 500 and SJ30 jets, and GAMA CEO Pete Bunce said it’s the first time GAMA has simultaneously added two OEMs with freshly certified products to its ranks. SMA is developing diesel light aircraft engines and is based in France. |
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Point2Point Growing Exponentially
November 26, 2006
By Russ Niles
A North Dakota air taxi operator that uses Cirrus SR22 aircraft has doubled its business in each of the last two quarters. In an update to city of Bismarck officials, principal John Boehle says he expects to have 100 airplanes (not necessarily all Cirruses) and 134 pilots by 2010. The company started last January and flew about 30,000 miles in the first three months, Boehle told the civic officials (who fronted $1.25 million in public funds for the startup). Business almost doubled to 54,000 miles in the second quarter and it doubled again in the third quarter to 112,000 miles. A 600-mile round-trip flight costs about $500 per seat, according to a report in the Bismarck Tribune. |
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Identity Theft Unlikely In DOT Laptop Thefts
November 26, 2006
By Russ Niles
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) says it’s unlikely that any of the personal information on 9,500 pilots stored in two laptops stolen from its agents earlier this year will be used for identity theft. And in determining that welcome news, the OIG may have helped bust up a laptop-theft ring in Miami. In July, a laptop containing the names, Social Security numbers and other personal information on the pilots was taken from a locked car outside a restaurant in Miami. Three months earlier, another OIG laptop went missing in Orlando. To date, according to the OIG, none of the information has been used to commit fraud. In fact, in the case of the Miami laptop, it’s more likely to have been used on a teenager’s term paper. |
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Another Lycoming Crankshaft Lawsuit Filed
November 26, 2006
By Glenn Pew
A separate legal complaint recently filed in Illinois against Lycoming carries similar wording, and may be added to, original suits filed this September (see AVweb's prior coverage) seeking class action status representing owners ill-affected by a series of Lycoming Service Bulletins (SBs) ultimately calling for "early retirement" of nearly 4,000 Lycoming crankshafts within three years. Attorney Robert Mills, who filed the initial suits (two in Philadelphia covering 49 states, and one in California), this weekend told AVweb that six law firms are already working cooperatively on the case and the new filing may seek inclusion, or lead to wrangling for lead attorney status. The case has been stayed and awaits review -- either in January, or more likely March -- by a multi-district litigation panel that will determine its class certification and assignment, or throw it out altogether, Mills said. |
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AVweb Audio News
November 26, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Honda v-p Jeffrey Smith, who talked everything HondaJet with AVweb at Honda Aircraft's open house last Monday. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier; Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton; Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue; Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam; and New Piper CEO Jim Bass. In Today's news summary, hear about who's bidding for Raytheon Aircraft, another Lycoming crankshaft lawsuit, a smaller turbofan engine that could spawn more personal jets, Project Pilot gift-giving idea and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 26, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 26, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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FAA OKs Honeywell's New Radar
November 22, 2006
By Mary Grady
The FAA last week approved a new onboard radar system by Honeywell that helps airline pilots detect turbulence and wind shear in the air mass directly ahead of them. The new RDR-4000 radar's patented 3-D scanning technology introduces new capabilities, Honeywell said. It scans ahead of the aircraft from the nose out to 320 nautical miles, and from the ground to 60,000 feet, or more than 1.5 million cubic miles. It includes a unique vertical profile view of weather ahead of the aircraft that can be presented simultaneously with the normal radar view. It suppresses ground clutter and automatically compensates for the curvature of the earth. |
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Get Your (LoPresti) Fury Going For Christmas
November 22, 2006
By Glenn Pew
LoPresti Wednesday announced that position holders for its two-place 215-mph-on-10.5-gph cross-country and aerobatic Fury aircraft will now have first dibs on special pricing for the first 60 Furys produced ... but there's a twist. The company says it has the names of 615 individuals who ordered 615 aircraft; however, through years of difficulty in bringing the aircraft to market, some of those names have moved on to new addresses and the company has lost touch. "To fulfill a promise" LoPresti is reaching out to those 615 individuals and will "start taking orders Monday morning." The first 60 from that 615 will secure their aircraft at a reserve price only available to the previous position holders. The company plans to build the aircraft at its yet to be built Belen, N.M., facility (groundbreaking is set for January). But that's not all. |
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Cessna Beats Out Eclipse In First VLJ Delivery
November 22, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
On Wednesday, Cessna delivered the first Citation Mustang very light jet (VLJ) following the receipt of the FAA production certificate for the aircraft’s Independence, Kan. assembly line. The Mustang became the first FAA-certified VLJ on Sept. 8, and this delivery marks another first in the emerging VLJ class. Last month the six-seat, $2.65 million jet received FAA approval for flight into known icing. Cessna said Mustang Management Group (MMG) of Fresno, Calif., took delivery of the first Mustang and will lease back the aircraft for 10 months as a demonstrator. MMG then plans to use the Mustang in its Scott Aviation subsidiary for flight training. |
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AVweb Audio News
November 22, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier, who addresses the rash of fatal accidents in October involving Cirrus pistons. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton, Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue, Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass. In Monday's news summary, hear about how the DOT Inspector General supports aviation user fees, the looming air traffic controller shortage, a call condemning "criminalization" of aviation accidents, Eagle Aircraft bids to open a second FBO at Tallahassee Airport and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 22, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 22, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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Treaty Notices Mislead Owners, Reports NBAA
November 22, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and Edward H. Kammerer of law firm Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge say letters or e-mails from a company called International Aircraft Registry (IAR) in Oklahoma City are misleading and can be disregarded. Apparently, the communication from the company informs aircraft owners that they have not registered their aircraft in compliance with the Cape Town Convention, allegedly putting their lien and/or title position at stake. According to NBAA spokesman Dan Hubbard, “NBAA has received reports of mailings sent to Members related to registering aircraft to the Cape Town International Registry (CTIR), an international aircraft registry that went into effect on March 1, 2006. [Those] with ownership or international interests in aircraft assets that have been in place since before the effective date of the CTIR -- March 1, 2006 -- are grandfathered, and therefore are not required to register those assets.” |
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Raytheon Hawker 4000 Finally Earns Its Wings
November 22, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Better late than never. On Tuesday, Raytheon Aircraft Company said it finally received FAA type certification (TC) for its Hawker 4000 super-midsize business jet. The approval is some five-and-a-half years later than originally planned and couldn’t come at a better time – on May 31 Raytheon missed the FAA’s five-year limit for certification of the Hawker 4000 and had to apply for, and was granted, an extension to December 31. However, the extension also means that the Hawker 4000 must comply with Part 25 amendments adopted between May 31, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2001, notably more restrictive fuel-tank and hydraulic regulations. |
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Columbia Reshuffles Production Line
November 21, 2006
By Mary Grady
Out in Oregon, Columbia Aircraft is working to rebalance its production line as it regroups following last June's hailstorm, and the process could result in some workers seeing a cut in hours over the next month or two, Vice President Ron Wright told AVweb on Tuesday. When about 20 percent of the crew was redeployed to repair the 66 airplanes damaged by hail, the production line got out of balance, Wright said. "We ended up with not enough of some parts, and too many of others." With the hail repairs complete, managers have been working to redeploy workers and get back to building five to six aircraft a week, after cutting back to four. But there are limits to that strategy, Wright said, because the workers all have different skills and are not interchangeable. |
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New AFSS System Faces Growing Pains
November 21, 2006
By Mary Grady
Despite occasional complaints from pilots about long hold times, Lockheed Martin's new Automated Flight Service Stations are working pretty well overall, according to Program Manager Dan Courain. "At times, when the weather is bad, there have been some long wait times," Courain told AVweb on Tuesday. "We're limited in staffing. We try to offload the calls but sometimes we do get behind." Overall, the average wait time is just 19 seconds, he said, but about 2 percent of callers hang up without getting through. New technology that will come on line early next year should resolve the sporadic back-up issues, Courain said. AOPA spokesman Chris Dancy told AVweb that when pilots do complain, Lockheed Martin has been "very responsive." |
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Embraer Announces Delivery Forecast
November 21, 2006
By Glenn Pew
Embraer's market outlook sees demand for 11,115 business jets over the next 10 years. With most pundits predicting boom years ahead for business aviation that figure may come as little surprise, but it's the very light jet (VLJ) market where analysts are most at odds. That said, the company is projecting delivery of 2,715 of its VLJs between 2008 and 2016, and lists current orders at more than 340. The number includes both the six-seat Phenom 100 and the eight-seat Phenom 300. |
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Cessna Offers Online Ice Training
November 19, 2006
By Russ Niles
Cessna Caravan operators and pilots who want to beat the rush can register now for an online training package that will likely be mandated by the FAA for those who operate in known icing. The curriculum was developed by Cessna with help from the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association in response to a series of Caravan accidents where icing may have been a factor. Hundreds of Caravans are in use by cargo companies and are exposed to icing conditions almost every day during the icing season. |
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FAA Chimes In On Ethanol In Fuel
November 19, 2006
By Russ Niles
The FAA has issued a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) explaining the hazards posed to aircraft operation with automotive fuels that contain alcohol. EAA and other aviation groups have been warning about the increased use of ethanol in fuels. The alcohol is a substitute for chemical oxygenates MTBE and ETBE that have been linked to environmental concerns. But while ethanol may be safer for the environment, it’s toxic to airplane engines and the FAA says that if you can’t find alcohol-free mogas for your STC’d aircraft engine, you’ll have to switch back to 100LL. |
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New FBO For Tallahassee?
November 19, 2006
By Russ Niles
A Tallahassee firm hopes to become the city airport’s second FBO but, as there always seems to be, there are a few wrinkles to iron out. Eagle Aircraft Group has applied to open fueling and maintenance facilities to compete with Flightline Group, which has operated Tallahassee Regional Airport’s only FBO for decades. However, it appears that before Eagle Aircraft can open its doors, it will need concessions from the company it intends to compete with. Both companies have their eyes on an old FedEx hangar and it will be up to council to decide how the property is used. |
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AD Process Streamlined On Foreign Notifications
November 19, 2006
By Russ Niles
The FAA says it’s streamlining the process of turning around airworthiness directives from other countries on aircraft that are flying in the U.S. Last week, the agency issued two ADs on TBM 700 aircraft that relate to problems found in France one and two years ago, respectively. France issued an AD in 2005 regarding loose rivets in the tail assembly and, a year earlier, French authorities ordered inspections of a tail attachment fitting after corrosion was found on an aircraft in service. Chances are that the work on U.S.-registered aircraft has already been done because manufacturer EADS Socata issued mandatory service bulletins for both problems, but the catch-up AD from the FAA formalizes the actions prescribed by those MSBs.
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Lawyer Urges Release Of Pilots
November 19, 2006
By Russ Niles
The lawyer for American pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino says a preliminary report into the collision of their Embraer Legacy business jet and a GOL Boeing 737 fails to establish a cause for the accident and it could be 10 months or more before one is established. In news release, Robert Torricella also noted the report clearly shows the pilots held their assigned altitude and did not perform the “stunts” that some Brazilian officials alleged occurred before the collision, which caused the 737 to crash, killing all 154 on board. Torricella also notes that Brazilian Air Force Col. Rufino Antonio Da Silva Ferreira noted that flight plans are not necessarily the final word on determining an aircraft’s flight profile, but he stopped short of explaining that air traffic control guidance supersedes them. The Legacy was assigned 37,000 feet by ATC even though its northwesterly track should have put it at 36,000 feet, which was what the crew had flight planned. It’s still not clear why they were assigned the unusual altitude. |
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Accident "Criminalization" Prompts Action
November 19, 2006
By Russ Niles
Some high-profile organizations have issued statements condemning the so-called “criminalization” of aircraft accidents and are calling on the world’s aviation authorities to pull the focus of accident investigations back to cause rather than blame. The protracted confinement and threat of criminal charges against two American pilots over the collision between their Legacy 600 business jet and a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 (the 737 crashed, killing all 154 aboard) in Brazil has prompted the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations and a multinational group of aviation industry organizations from the U.S. and Europe to call on governments to leave criminal proceedings out of accident investigations unless there is evidence of “extremely egregious” behavior (like flying drunk or sabotage). They agree that the threat of prosecution stifles the free flow of information that not only helps establish cause, but also could help prevent future accidents. |
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AVweb Audio News
November 17, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier, who addresses the rash of fatal accidents in October involving Cirrus pistons. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton, Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue, Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass. In today's news summary, hear about how the DOT Inspector General supports aviation user fees, the looming air traffic controller shortage, a call condemning "criminalization" of aviation accidents, Eagle Aircraft bids to open a second FBO at Tallahassee Airport and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 17, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 17, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard?
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FAA Staffing A Factor In Fatal Crashes, Says NATCA
November 15, 2006
By Mary Grady
Two fatal crashes this year might have been affected by FAA staff changes, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said yesterday. In one incident, a local radar facility was closed for the night when a twin-engine Beech Baron crashed on approach in Lawrenceville, Ill., last month, killing the pilot. NATCA says local approach controllers should have been guiding the aircraft, but instead the flight was being handled by the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center. An accident in April at the Bloomington, Ind., airport, in which five people aboard a Cessna U206G were killed, also resulted from the reduced quality of air traffic services available to the pilot, NATCA said. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told AVweb yesterday that the NTSB has not yet determined a probable cause for either of those two accidents. She added that many airports have transferred their approach control radar services over to a center during times of low activity. |
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Freedom Amphibian LSA Certified
November 15, 2006
By Mary Grady
The Freedom amphibian, built by Spanish manufacturer Colyaer, was approved last week as a Special Light Sport Aircraft. The airplane, which is built of carbon fiber, Kevlar, Nomex and epoxy, won recognition earlier this year at Sun 'n Fun, where it was named best composite seaplane. It also won a takeoff award, averaging six to eight seconds to skip into the air. Its three-bladed pusher prop is powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912, and its 40-foot wingspan brings a reported 20:1 glide ratio. It's been tested in seas as high as one foot, and the retractable landing gear is designed to tolerate unimproved fields. The FAA's rule against reconfiguring the landing gear in flight remains in force. |
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New Garmin Autopilot Approved For Mooney Cockpits
November 15, 2006
By Mary Grady
Mooney's Acclaim, Ovation2 GX and Ovation3 can now be equipped with Garmin's new GFC 700 autopilot, Mooney said this week. The FAA has certified the installation on all three models. The GFC 700 is a three-axis, fully digital, dual-channel, fail-passive Automatic Flight Control System. "The GFC 700 marks the first time single-engine piston pilots will have the option of flying with a completely integrated cockpit -- where all of the elements of the avionics panel are designed to communicate with each other for the purpose of reducing pilot workload and enhancing safety of flight," said David Copeland, Mooney's vice president of sales and marketing. |
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First Flight: Veterans Airlift Command
November 15, 2006
By Mary Grady
Wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have many challenges ahead, but finding transportation shouldn't be one of them. That's the view of a new nonprofit group, Veterans Airlift Command (VAC), which is recruiting volunteer pilots and aircraft owners to lend air support to recovering soldiers and their families. The group recently flew its first mission, bringing an injured Marine from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., to his home in Florida. Walt Fricke, founder and CEO of VAC, called on father and son Billy and Christopher Ball to pilot the first mission. They flew their Cirrus from Jacksonville, Fla., to pick up Cpl. Christopher Brink. The trip home to Florida, which would have required 13 hours and three layovers on commercial flights, took only three hours in the Cirrus. |
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Thielert Denies Fraud Allegations
November 15, 2006
By Mary Grady
Thielert, a German company that builds diesel aircraft engines, has rebutted accusations alleging that some of its financial reports were fraudulent. The allegations first surfaced in October, and briefly deflated the company's stock price by 40 percent, Thielert says. At that time, the company said its balance sheets had been approved by auditors and also passed an additional stringent review before its initial public offering. CEO Frank Thielert comments: "We are confident that our good products and excellent market position will enable us to press ahead ... We will do everything in our power to defuse the allegations as quickly as possible." |
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Rotax Kills V6 Program
November 15, 2006
By Mary Grady
The new V-6 engine that was promoted at Oshkosh last summer as the REV will be shelved, BRP-Rotax said this week. BRP-Rotax, based in Austria, said it will complete the certification of the engine next month, but then will not proceed with bringing it to market. The company will continue to offer its 912 and 914 models for recreational aircraft. "We have come a long way with the V6 engine and are proud of what we have accomplished," said Gerd Ohrnberger, general manager of BRP-Rotax. "However, when BRP was sold three years ago, management decided to concentrate the company's core activities on powersports products. Today's announcement will ensure that BRP-Rotax's human and financial resources continue to contribute to our company's mainstream activities and its growth." |
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AVweb Audio News
November 15, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton, covering the company's light sport aircraft and next-generation piston family. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue, Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass. In Monday's news summary, hear about how the elections will affect the user-fee push; the FAA takes a hard stand on preserving airports; AOPA Expo sets record attendance in Palm Springs; Foxjet revived after being on the shelf for nearly 30 years; the Aviation Safety Reporting System celebrates 30 years; and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 15, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 15, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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New Features This Month
November 12, 2006
WHAT'S NEW FOR NOVEMBER
This month AVweb's survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners brings you diesel engines for new Skyhawks, glass-cockpit flight training devices, an electric folding bike and more. |
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AVweb Audio News
November 12, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton, covering the company's light sport aircraft and next-generation piston family. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue, Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass. In today's news summary, hear about how the elections will affect the user-fee push; the FAA takes a hard stand on preserving airports; AOPA Expo sets record attendance in Palm Springs; Foxjet revived after being on the shelf for nearly 30 years; the Aviation Safety Reporting System celebrates 30 years; and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 12, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 12, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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Dynasty Makes Public Debut At AOPA Expo
November 12, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
With some 1,100 hours of flight testing logged, the Epic Dynasty -- the $1.9 million certified version of the owner-assisted-built Epic LT -- made its first public display last week at AOPA Expo in Palm Springs, Calif. With a high-speed cruise of up to 340 knots and an 1,874-nm NBAA IFR range, Epic said the single-turboprop pressurized Dynasty is very competitive with very light jets. AVweb had the opportunity to conduct a short demo flight of the Dynasty on Saturday at the show, and the airplane appears to be a solid performer. |
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Tiger On The Ropes?
November 12, 2006
By Russ Niles
The media around Martinsburg, W. Va., are chronicling the fortunes of Tiger Aircraft and the implication is that the company can't last much longer. According to a story in the Martinsburg Journal, the latest nail in the coffin is that the company owes $115,000 in back taxes. It has, however, paid its lease to the airport through next April for a building that, according to the Journal, houses only two employees at the moment. The company hasn't shipped any airplanes for at least three months and civic politicians are now pondering the potential demise of the company. "You sense it's coming," noted Bob Crawford, executive director of the Berkeley County Development Authority. The Journal says a company employee declined comment. A phone message left by AVweb this weekend was not immediately returned. |
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Aerostar Aircraft Introduces Newest Model
November 12, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Hayden Lake, Idaho-based Aerostar Aircraft unveiled its latest model, the Aerostar 702P, at AOPA Expo. The company holds the type certificate of the venerable recip twin, but is now only modifying previously manufactured Aerostars to this new model. Aerostar vice president Jim Christy told AVweb at the show that the 702P recently completed extensive FAA flight testing that allows for an increased max takeoff weight of 6,850 pounds, a 2,200-pound useful load and a 6,850-pound max landing weight. To handle the extra loads, Aerostar beefed up the landing gear and brakes on the airplane. |
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RV-12 Prototype Flies
November 12, 2006
By Russ Niles
Van's Aircraft's entry in the LSA category had its first flight last Thursday. The mini-RV, which sports many of the characteristics of its larger stablemates (bubble canopy and a big, fat wing), was flown by company founder Dick VanGrunsven, who put it through a variety of speed profiles and basic handling tests. "It’s far too early to make any statements about what the airplane is like or what it will do, or what the performance numbers may eventually be," said Van's Web site. "We can report that when Van taxied in and opened the swing-up canopy, he was grinning." |
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NTSB Issues Update On Comair Crash
November 12, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Late last week the NTSB said its investigation of Comair Flight 5191 continues to make progress. The board will not hold a public hearing on this investigation, but the public docket is expected to open in January. According to the NTSB, the docket will contain the cockpit voice recorder transcript, flight data recorder information and the other group factual reports, including interviews. |
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Nexaer Took Low-Altitude Route To Expo
November 12, 2006
By Russ Niles
One of the first high-tech American-built light sport aircraft (LSA) made the trip to Palm Springs for AOPA Expo on a trailer, but it should be flying freely soon. The Nexaer LS1, with its distinctive swooping fuselage, has flown a couple of hours at home base at Meadow Lake Airport near Peyton, Colo., but its experimental research and development designation with the FAA prevented it from being flown to the show, said spokesman Scott Belliveau. The plane, which is surprisingly large for an LSA, made its first flight in October but then the emphasis switched to getting it painted and in show condition in time for Expo, Belliveau said. The aircraft is only being flown a few feet above the runway at first to assess its flying qualities and the FAA restrictions will keep it within a few miles of Meadow Lake when it does put some air under its wings. |
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Aviation Safety Reporting System Turns 30
November 12, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), which is widely used by pilots and other airline employees to identify potential safety hazards, last week marked its 30-year anniversary. Established under a memorandum of understanding between NASA and the FAA, the system collects, analyzes and responds to voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports to reduce aviation accidents and improve safety. The confidential reports are also used to identify deficiencies and discrepancies in the National Aviation System that need to be remedied. |
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Foxjet Revived After Nearly 30 Years
November 12, 2006
By Russ Niles
The project that started the very light jet movement almost 30 years ago might be revived in a modern form. Millennium Aerospace earlier this year purchased the rights to manufacture the rakish little jet that Tony Fox predicted would revolutionize air travel when he introduced it in 1977. Although there are plenty of opinions about why the project never progressed beyond the mockup stage (it still hasn't), Fox says it was just too far ahead of its time. His plan was to use modified cruise missile engines from Williams International (sound familiar?) but the federal government wasn't keen on having the technology released to the public at that time and there were no suitable substitutes. Fox, now 85 and promoting his latest invention, talking garbage cans for fast food restaurants, said times have changed and the world is ready for his jet, even though he considers himself too old to take it the rest of the way. "I just want to see it take off," he told AVweb last week at AOPA Expo. |
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(Almost) "Live" from Palm Springs: AOPA Expo 2006 Photo Gallery, Day Two
November 11, 2006
By Russ Niles
 AVweb staffers managed to see quite a bit at the AOPA Expo on Friday — and in between press conferences and tire-kicking, we even managed to snap a few photos. Sample the sights of the AOPA Expo without ever leaving your computer chair, in our Day Two Gallery. |
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Diesels for Cessnas
November 10, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
At AOPA Expo, both Thielert Aircraft Engines and SMA are promoting their diesel engines for light general aviation airplanes as efficient and greener alternatives to avgas-fueled powerplants. On Thursday, Thielert said Van Bortel Aircraft in Arlington, Va., will install the Centurion 1.7 diesel aircraft engines in brand-new Cessna 172 Skyhawks, which Bortel will then resell worldwide. Van Bortel has already retrofitted several Skyhawks, one of which is at the static display at the show in Palm Springs, Calif. Meanwhile, SMA said it recently delivered 18 of its SR305-230 diesel engines to U.S. distributors for installation in Cessna 182Q/R models. SMA received an STC for the re-engine modification in late July. |
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Microsoft Flight Sim as Learning Tool?
November 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
Can a video game (albeit a pretty sophisticated video game) make you a better pilot? Bruce Williams thinks so and he's written the book on the subject, called Microsoft Flight Simulator as a Training Aid. Williams, a 30-year pilot and instructor who was also the business development director for Microsoft Flight Simulator, told a news conference at AOPA Expo that the software package can be a powerful training tool if it's used to focus on specific topics in a logical order. "Using the parts is better than trying to use the whole," he said. Williams said the tendency is to try and create a complete flying experience with the simulator when it's greatest training strengths lie in the details. In addition to the written word, Williams has included a CD with hundreds of "practice flights" which teach a specific skill or range of knowledge. For instance, one lesson focuses on VOR navigation with specific tasks to accomplish. |
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VFLITE Series Takes Training to a Higher Plane
November 10, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Pegasus Interactive is at AOPA Expo touting new additions to its VFLITE series of aviation training software for PCs, including the Weight & Balance Visualizer, CFI iTools and GPSMAP 496 Interactive Guide. Its new VFLITE Weight & Balance Visualizer software instantly determines and displays center of gravity and weight loading, ensuring that an aircraft is properly loaded before takeoff. The program, which costs $39.95, provides fast loading of fuel via a draggable slider, while other inputs are made in an overhead view of the cabin. CFI iTools (retail price $34.95) is a suite of multimedia-based modules that enable and enhance live training and student practice. |
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Delta Connection Academy Flight School Picks Cirrus
November 10, 2006
By Russ Niles
Delta Connection Academy will buy 50 Cirrus SR20 aircraft in a fleet modernization program that it says will better equip its graduates to enter the modern world of airline operations. At a news conference at AOPA Expo on Thursday, Delta Connection CEO Capt. Gary Beck said the company researched the market for three years before settling on Cirrus. The company will do its ab initio training on the Cirrus so that students are exposed to the technology from the start. "The SR20 G2 incorporates the latest advancements in flight technology to provide our students a realistic, airline-style flight training environment," he said. The school is a busy one and will put the Cirruses through their paces. "We do 100-hour inspections an average of every nine days," Beck said. |
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Mountain High Makes It Easier to Breathe Easier (And Longer)
November 10, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Redmond, Ore.-based Mountain High announced at AOPA Expo that it is now shipping the single-user EDS-O2D1 digital "pulse demand" oxygen delivery system. According to the company, the shirt-pocket-size system automatically regulates the flow to deliver only the needed amount of oxygen, cutting consumption by up to six times that of constant-flow systems. Additionally, the system profiles the breather and adjusts the flow as needed and warns the user when not breathing enough through the canulla or face mask to prevent hypoxia. |
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AVweb's Friday Podcast: Cessna's Jack Pelton
November 10, 2006
By AVweb's Audio News Team
Today's podcast features an interview with Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton at AOPA Expo. Pelton talks about his company's next-generation small airplanes, namely Cessna's light sport airplane and Next Generation Piston family, both of which are being spotlighted at the show. Click here to listen. |
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Bonanza Turns 60 and Has Never Looked Better
November 10, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
A special 60th anniversary package was revealed yesterday by Raytheon Aircraft for 2007 model-year Beechcraft Bonanza G36s. The anniversary editions will come with several upgrades, including a redesigned sidewall that offers more space and comfort, leather seats tailored with a combination of embossed stingray and wheat leather, removable headrest covers embossed with the Bonanza shield, leather-wrapped control wheels, tweed carpet and a sculpted 60th anniversary entry mat. Raytheon said the exterior will preserve the Bonanza legacy, while advancing technology and design with specially formulated paints. |
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Mustang Approved for Flight into Known Icing
November 10, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Cessna yesterday said the FAA cleared the Citation Mustang for flight into known icing, some two months after the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F-powered very light jet received type approval. "While approval for flight into icing is not required for certification of the airplane, we wanted to have this in place prior to delivering our first Mustang and in advance of this year's major icing season," said Cessna Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Pelton. "The Citation Mustang has met or exceeded every performance objective established when we announced the program in 2002, and we beat the schedule doing it." |
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Pilot/Journalist Barry Schiff Entertains Crowd
November 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
Barry Schiff has been checked out in more types of airplanes than most people have probably even seen in a lifetime but his message is consistent. "It doesn't matter what you fly," he told the opening luncheon crowd at AOPA Expo. "What matters is that you fly." Schiff, who retired as a Boeing 747 captain in 1998 after 34 years with TWA, has more than 300 types in his logbook and he's aiming for 400. While aviation has been his job for his entire adult life, he said he's never forgotten to have fun with it. Schiff, who has written several books and numerous magazine articles on the subject, said he tries to make his love and awe of aviation infectious. "And I urge you to pass it to others," he said. |
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Garmin GNS 400/500 Series Get WAAS TSO
November 9, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Garmin announced yesterday that the GNS 400/500 series have been TSO'd for lateral-precision with vertical (LPV) guidance approaches and receive GPS navigation via the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The FAA also granted approved model list STC approval, allowing the 400W/500W equipment to be installed on more than 980 makes and models of aircraft. The GNS 400/500W series joins the G1000 and GNS 480 in providing WAAS enabled navigation for aircraft. |
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Diamond Announces D-Jet Fleet Order
November 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
Airline Transport Professionals, which provides direct track training for airline pilots, announced the purchase of 20 Diamond D-Jets at AOPA Expo. In turn Diamond has announced that ATP will develop and provide type certificate training for the D-Jet. Diamond President Peter Maurer said training is a key component of any jet program, because of the type certificate requirement, and he noted that ATP trains about 300 transport-rated pilots a month. Diamond is also developing a simulator. But the training arrangement goes both ways and ATP President Derek Dennis said the D-Jet is an ideal platform for his airline ticket students. "What the airlines want is jet time," he said. |
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Piper Picks Williams Power
November 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
The PiperJet will be packing plenty of punch when it flies off the drawing board. Piper President Jim Bass announced yesterday at AOPA Expo that a Williams FJ44-3AP will be in the tail-mounted nacelle of the jet. The engine is normally rated at 3,000 pounds of thrust, but this one will be derated to 2,400 pounds, giving it 1,000 pounds more than the belly-mounted FJ33 on the Diamond D-Jet, and 500 more than the-jet proposed by Cirrus, which will also have an FJ33. Bass told AVweb he wanted a big engine in the plane to ensure it had the kind of performance he desired. But he also said the derated engine gives them the flexibility to make larger versions of the aircraft as demand warrants. Bass said Williams was the clear choice even though Piper has a business arrangement with Honda, which has developed a new jet engine in cooperation with GE. |
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AVweb At AOPA Expo
November 9, 2006
Not going to AOPA Expo this week? Don't worry, AVweb is, and we'll be delivering the latest news from the show to your inbox. Check your e-mail inbox tomorrow and Saturday morning for special issues written and produced from the show.
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AVweb Audio News
November 8, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Last Friday's podcast, you'll find a one-on-one interview with Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass, recorded live at the recent NBAA Convention in Orlando. In Monday's news summary, hear about how ATC transcripts might vindicate Legacy pilots in Brazilian midair; NTSB says wind was a factor in NYC crash of Cory Lidle's SR20; more air traffic controllers complain of six-day workweeks; NavCanada turns 10; Russia relaxes constraints on general aviation; FAA issues safety bulletin for Continental engines with ECi cylinders; "safety admonition" released for aircraft exhaust systems; future of airspace management takes root in Cleveland. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 8, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb’s NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile / .… |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 8, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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Explore Costa Rica With LightHawk
November 8, 2006
By Mary Grady
LightHawk has been working for 25 years to provide free flights to conservation groups in the fight to protect the environment. Now the group is organizing a special fundraising airborne eco-tour of Costa Rica for February 2007. LightHawk adventurers will visit the beautiful Osa Peninsula and go flying above some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, while receiving an unparalleled education in the environmental issues facing the area. The tour group will stay in the Iguana Lodge, meet LightHawk's local conservation partners and get the full briefing on how they are working to protect this incredible region. Ready to go? |
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Lessons Learned In Past Midairs
November 8, 2006
By Mary Grady
The NTSB has determined that in two midair collisions involving GA aircraft, the failure of the pilots to see and avoid was the main cause of the accident. However, in both cases failures of air traffic control were cited as contributing causes. In 2002, three people died when a Mooney and a Beech Duchess collided while on downwind for Runway 24 at Palomar, in Carlsbad, Calif. In August 2005, a Cessna 150 and a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver collided in Renton, Wash. A student and instructor in the 150 were killed. In the two cases, a controller either gave inadequate information or missed a chance to avert the crash, the NTSB said. |
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Two Bonanzas Land On Same Runway, At Same Time
November 8, 2006
By Mary Grady
On Monday afternoon, pilot Robert Johnson had just touched down in his Bonanza at the Los Alamos County Airport in New Mexico when his passenger noticed an ominous-looking shadow just ahead. Another Bonanza, on short final, was trying to land on the same runway, and crashed into the top of Johnson's airplane. Unhurt, Johnson struggled to maintain control as the two entangled aircraft rolled down the runway and coasted to a stop. The pilot of the second airplane, who also was uninjured, said he'd mistakenly been tuned to the wrong radio frequency, and the first Bonanza was not visible to him as he flew the approach. Johnson and his passenger were unable to open the doors or windows and had to be extricated from the cockpit by rescue workers. A similar accident occurred in Florida in December 1999. |
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"Silent Aircraft" Debuts Loudly
November 8, 2006
By Mary Grady
Plans for a quiet, energy-efficient airliner that could be flying in less than 25 years were unveiled Monday afternoon by researchers from Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The design uses technology that should be ready to fly by 2030. Besides reducing noise around airports, the airplane would require about 25 percent less fuel. It would use a flying-wing design, eliminate flaps and slats, simplify the landing gear, improve its aerodynamics and mount the engines above the fuselage to screen the noise from the ground. Variable-size jet nozzles would allow for slower jet propulsion during takeoff and climb for low noise, and would be optimized for maximum efficiency during cruise. |
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Changes In Congress Will Affect GA, Says AOPA
November 8, 2006
By Mary Grady
On Tuesday, voters changed the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, and apparently the Senate, from Republican to Democratic, and this will have a positive impact for pilots, says AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Now we can be assured of a fair hearing from people who understand aviation and aren't beholden to the White House," Boyer said. Aviation user fees have been strongly pushed by the Bush administration. But the power shift in the House will most likely put Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., in charge of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and he is a long-time friend to GA, AOPA said yesterday. |
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AVweb Audio News
November 5, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find a one-on-one interview with Spectrum Aeronautical chairman Linden Blue. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass, recorded live at the recent NBAA Convention in Orlando. And in Monday's news summary, hear about how ATC transcripts might vindicate Legacy pilots in Brazilian midair; NTSB says wind was a factor in NYC crash of Cory Lidle's SR20; more air traffic controllers complain of six-day workweeks; NavCanada turns 10; Russia relaxes constraints on general aviation; FAA issues safety bulletin for Continental engines with ECi cylinders; "safety admonition" released for aircraft exhaust systems; future of airspace management takes root in Cleveland; first officer named in Comair crash lawsuit. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
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AVweb's Business AVflash
November 5, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 5, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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AVweb At AOPA Expo
November 5, 2006
Not going to AOPA Expo this week? Don't worry, AVweb is, and we'll be delivering the latest news from the show to your inbox, starting with the regular Thursday AVwebFlash on the opening day of AOPA Expo. Then check your e-mail inbox on Friday and Saturday morning for special issues written and produced from the show. |
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Comair First Officer Named In Crash Suit
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
First Officer James Polehinke, the lone survivor of the Comair Flight 5191 crash, is among those named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of a Florida man who died in the crash. In a news release, lawyer Stephen Marks, who has won a number of multimillion-dollar settlements in airplane crash suits, said he tried to keep Polehinke out of the case directly but he was unable to come to terms with his insurance company. The suit also names Comair. |
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Cleveland Picked For NGATS Test
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
The future of airspace management might start in Cleveland. Sensis Corporation, in partnership with federal and local governments, is installing equipment at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland that will link three local airports to a system that will include, among other things, “4D trajectories and virtual air traffic control towers.” It’s all part of the Next Generation Air Traffic System (NGATS) research effort to try and find technological solutions to the capacity and congestion problems that are looming in the skies. Datalinks, “decision support systems” and a whole range of futuristic-sounding gear will be part of the system. |
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Forecasters Predict Legal Action
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
The National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO) says it will take legal action against the FAA’s plan to eliminate on-site weather forecasters at 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers. In a letter to the agency, Richard J. Hirn, the NWSEO’s general counsel, says the FAA’s plan to centralize the weather-forecasting operation in a single, contracted-out facility violates various laws that, in a nutshell, say it’s the National Weather Service’s job to provide weather information to the FAA. Hirn also notes that NWS forecasters have been consistently exempt from contracting out because they provide services that are “inherently governmental.” |
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Carbon Monoxide Warning
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
In what it calls a http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/alerts/aviation_maintenance/media/2006/2006_10_Alert.pdf " target="_blank">“safety admonition,” the FAA is reminding aircraft mechanics to pay special attention to the exhaust and heater systems on light planes at this time of year. It’s also a good idea to check and/or replace the carbon monoxide detector in your plane. (You do have one, right?) Most small aircraft have some sort of heat-exchanger setup on the exhaust system to provide cabin and defroster heat. If the exhaust system leaks, engine gases can get into the heating systems and pump carbon monoxide into the cockpit. “Technicians should inspect all exhaust system components for condition with particular attention to areas associated with cabin heat and defrost systems,” wrote aerospace engineer Barry Ballenger from the FAA’s Kansas City Office of Continued Operational Safety. “Look for deformation, corrosion, erosion, cracks, burned spots, and loose or missing hardware.” |
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Cylinder Crack Alert
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin recommending that owners of certain larger Continental engines with ECi cylinder assemblies inspect the cylinders for cracks every 50 hours after they’ve accumulated more than 500 hours in service. The bulletin affects 520- and 550-series engines with certain ECi components. The cracks started showing up in 2003 and start as fatigue cracks that eventually go through the cylinder wall near the exhaust valve seat. This causes decreased compression but is unlikely to cause separation of the cylinder from the engine, according to the FAA. |
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Russia Relaxes GA Regs
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
Russia has significantly relaxed constraints on general aviation in a move that’s expected to stimulate growth of business and private flying. According to Flight International, regulators have dropped rules that required GA operators to get permission for each flight. The new rules also make aircraft ownership, certification, registration and maintenance a lot easier. Of particular note to the burgeoning bizjet business is the elimination of a rule that required filing of flight plans for cross-border flights a minimum of 24 hours in advance. "It's a long-overdue decision," Alexander Yevdokimov, managing director of JetTransfer, told Flight International. "It will help us compete with foreign rivals who enjoy fast-track treatment by their regulators." It might also help open up an overland route from North America to Europe. For the past five years, a group of Alaskans has been working with Russian authorities to establish VFR routes in the Russian Far East. It’s now possible, but not very convenient, to fly from Alaska to a couple of airports on the east coast of Russia. The goal of the Alaskan effort is to open up GA routes that will link North America with Russia, Asia, Europe and Africa, with the longest open-water crossing being about 30 nm over the Bering Strait. |
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Nav Canada Marks 10th Anniversary
November 5, 2006
By Russ Niles
Canada’s private-sector provider of air traffic control, information and weather service for civilian aviation is celebrating its 10th birthday and it says the system is in better shape and costs less than when it was in government hands. Nav Canada bought Canada’s airspace management system lock, stock and console for $1.5 billion in 1996 and since then it says it has thoroughly modernized equipment and facilities, developed airspace-management software that’s in demand in other countries, increased the number of air traffic controllers by 250 and improved safety (loss of separation incidents are down by 40 percent). According to its math, it’s done all this while at the same time charging about 20 percent less on a per-passenger basis than the old ticket tax its direct-billing system replaced. However, the company-generated news release glosses over some significant controversies that have erupted over the past decade, most notably the introduction of general aviation user fees. |
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Audio News
November 1, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Last Friday's podcastcontains exclusive news about rumored changes to the ADIZ. AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass, recorded live at the recent NBAA Convention in Orlando. Monday's news summary covers the rash of Cirrus accidents in recent weeks and Cirrus' appeals to pilots to fly within their limits; a recent VLJ forecast; GAMA aircraft exports; the new LAAS contract; the law officer that beat an FAA rap; a controller that allegedly fell asleep at the scope; FAA rejection of AOPA's efforts for reduced medical requirements; and use of aircraft to help predict weather. Plus: Listen in to an exclusive interview with Cirrus' Dale Klapmeier about the current state of Cirrus Serial Number 1, courtesty of our sister publication, Aviation Consumer. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
November 1, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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FAA To Overhaul Part 21 Regs
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
The FAA is proposing a major rewrite of the Part 21 regulations affecting the production of aviation parts, the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) said this week. According to the FAA, the update is needed to address changes in the global aviation market since the current rules were written back in the 1960s. The proposed changes affect every element of producing aircraft parts including standard parts, owner-produced parts and parts produced as part of maintenance. Primarily, the proposed rule would standardize requirements for production approval holders; require production approval holders to issue airworthiness approvals for aircraft engines, propellers and other aviation parts; require manufacturers to mark all parts and components; and revise export airworthiness approval requirements to facilitate global manufacturing. |
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Evektor Flies SuperCobra
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Evektor flew its new SuperCobra for the first time last week, from its base in the Czech Republic. The all-metal single-engine four-seater features retractable landing gear and is powered by a 315-hp Lycoming IO-580A1B. "It's a real predator in the sky," said test pilot Josef Charvat. "It will be a fantastic pilot touring airplane." The airplane is an upgrade of Evektor's 200-hp model, the VUT100 Cobra. The SuperCobra is designed to reach a top cruise speed of 175 knots, with a range of 1,000 nm and useful load of 1,260 pounds. The cabin is the widest in its class, the company says, and a glass cockpit is standard. Evektor hopes to achieve EASA and FAA certification in early 2008. |
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Cessna's LSA On Exhibit Next Week
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
AOPA Expo starts a week from today in Palm Springs, Calif., and among a few other things, Cessna's new Light Sport Aircraft will be there. The airplane flew for the first time just a couple of weeks ago. CEO Jack Pelton says he expects to decide by early next year whether Cessna will produce the airplane. "An important part of our thought process in looking at LSA is the value in terms of new pilot starts," Pelton said. "Experience has shown that Cessna brand loyalty is a powerful force in our success, and we believe this new category of aircraft could provide a conduit for new pilots to grow through the Cessna product line in the years ahead." |
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Next-Generation Systems Moving Forward, FAA Says
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Tests of an airborne networking system that will help make possible the next-generation air transportation system (NGATS) were successfully completed over the summer, the FAA said this week. The trials showed that messages can be relayed air-to-air, enabling radio communications to reach very long distances, greater than the curvature of the earth normally allows. This capability was achieved by establishing connectivity between a distant aircraft, an intermediate-placed aircraft and a ground station. Tests were conducted using a Bombardier Global 5000 business jet. The project engineers successfully relayed messages and simulated flight-planning information from one aircraft to another, and then to the ground station, over an extended airborne network. |
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Chalk's Airline To Resume Flights
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Chalk's Ocean Airways, which operated seaplanes out of Fort Lauderdale for decades before a fatal flight last year grounded the fleet, is ready to resume service to the Bahamas on Nov. 9. Instead of its Grumman Mallards, the company, now known as Chalk's International Airlines, will operate a 19-seat Beech 1900D leased from Big Sky Airlines of Billings, Mont. Chalk's is working with the FAA to eventually return its Mallards to the air. The airplanes were grounded after a crash that killed 20 people on Dec. 19, 2005. |
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FAA Warns Of Avidyne Glitch
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Owners of Cirrus, Columbia and Piper airplanes with Avidyne primary flight displays were advised by the FAA on Tuesday of a possible glitch in the system. The FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin said a modification is available to eliminate the possibility that the system will display misleading attitude and heading information. Avidyne has already issued a Service Alert to owners. The FAA recommends that pilots using the Avidyne panel should pay increased attention to standard and emergency operating procedures when flying in instrument metrological conditions. Avidyne can modify the units to prevent the problem, and owners should call Avidyne to ensure that modification is completed, the FAA said. |
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NTSB: Challenger Pilots Didn't Check Weight And Balance
November 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
A Bombardier Challenger CL-600-1A11 that ran off the departure end of a Teterboro runway while trying to take off in February 2005 was incorrectly loaded, the NTSB said in its final report that was released on Tuesday. The jet was not within weight-and-balance limits and the center of gravity was well forward of the forward takeoff limit, which prevented the airplane from rotating upon takeoff, the Safety Board said. Neither pilot properly checked the weight and balance before takeoff. "This accident clearly shows what can happen when crucial operating steps are not adhered to," said NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker. "When it comes to transportation safety there are no shortcuts and it is important that operators and flight crews ensure that proper procedures are followed at all times." |
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Audio News
October 29, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find exclusive news about rumored changes to the ADIZ. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass, recorded live at the recent NBAA Convention in Orlando. And in Monday's news summary, hear from Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan and Dale Klapmeier and more. Plus: Listen in to an exclusive interview with Cirrus' Dale Klapmeier about the current state of Cirrus Serial Number 1, courtesy of our sister publication, Aviation Consumer. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 29, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
October 29, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to
newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard?
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A Note to Readers
October 29, 2006
By Paul Bertorelli
With this week's edition of AVweb news, we have two staff changes to announce, one a new face and the second the departure of an old friend. Joining the AVweb staff as editor in chief is Chad Trautvetter, a seasoned aviation journalist, CFII and graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Before joining AVweb, Trautvetter was most recently an editor at Aviation International News and before that, he did a stint as an editor at Pro Pilot. He'll join AVweb as part of an ongoing expansion of our Sarasota, Fla., editorial offices. We were unable to pry Glenn Pew loose from California to join us here in Florida, but he'll remain aboard as a contributing news editor. Long time AVweb readers have come to appreciate the entertaining and insightful writing of Michael Maya Charles in his As the Beacon Turns column. But even good things must end and as of this week, Michael will be moving on to other writing pursuits, including growing his own publishing company, Artful Publishing. You can follow Michael's career and order a copy of his book at www.artfulpublishing.com. We wish him the best in both his continuing flying and publishing careers. |
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Weather Gathering Service Expands
October 29, 2006
By Russ Niles
Next time you get bounced into the headliner on a short-haul flight you can take some comfort that you might be helping other aircraft avoid that weather. After an initial trial of Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) with Mesaba Airlines, AirDat LLC has attached weather sensors to aircraft toiling for regional carriers in all areas of the continental U.S., providing real-time, real-world meteorological data through satellite transmissions. AirDat CEO Jay Ladd said in a news release that the rich stream of data from airliners-turned-weather-stations is improving forecasting accuracy and allowing the airlines to adjust routing and scheduling on the fly to minimize weather delays. |
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Driver's License Medicals Rejected (Again)
October 29, 2006
By Russ Niles
AOPA says it won't give up trying to convince the FAA to accept a state driver's license as proof of medical fitness to fly with a recreational permit. Recreational pilots are restricted to fixed-gear, 180-hp, four-place aircraft flown day VFR only. AOPA argues that the difference in performance and weight between the recreational permit privileges and those allowed under the new sport pilot permit (which allows the driver's license medical) are not enough to continue requiring a third class medical for the recreational certificate. "Too many healthy pilots have lost their medicals, yet they could still fly simple aircraft like Cessna 172s safely," AOPA's VP of government affairs noted in a news release. "We're going to find a way to make that happen." |
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Asleep At The Console?
October 29, 2006
By Russ Niles
The FAA isn't saying whether a controller who allegedly fell asleep while on duty in Charleston, S.C., last month has faced disciplinary action. But spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen did say that he's been cleared medically and has returned to work. A fellow controller arriving for work allegedly found his colleague dozing at the scope about 6 a.m. on Sept. 13. "He allegedly dozed off for a few minutes," Bergen told The Associated Press. "We're looking into the circumstances surrounding the allegations that someone was sleeping on duty." No flights were affected but things were about to get busy with the early morning departures. Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) told The Associated Press he wasn't surprised, since a shortage of staff has resulted in six-day workweeks and a heavy workload for many controllers. Not all controllers agree. |
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Law Enforcement Pilot Beats FAA Rap
October 29, 2006
By Russ Niles
A law enforcement pilot for the State of Wisconsin has been cleared of all charges that he violated airport procedures at Chetek Airport in Wisconsin. According to the Chetek Alert newspaper, Larry Schasinger was originally found guilty by an FAA administrative judge of flying a right-hand pattern, in his personal aircraft, a Christavia, at Chetek instead of the standard left-hand pattern. He appealed to the National Transportation Safety Board and the charge was dismissed. Schlasinger offered as evidence documents showing he was flying in his law enforcement role for the state on Aug. 6, 2003, the day he's alleged to have fudged the approach to Chetek. He also entered his plane's maintenance log, which showed it was grounded for propeller work at the time of the alleged incident. As you might expect, there's more to this story. |
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First WAAS, Now LAAS
October 29, 2006
By Russ Niles
Work is continuing on development of Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) to further enhance GPS navigation, particularly during precision approaches. The Wide Area Augmentation System has been running for about three years and has opened up hundreds of airports for ILS approaches, to established minimums, using GPS data. The LAAS system is another refinement of GPS that allows even greater precision. "LAAS will offer very precise guidance to aircraft, eventually providing guidance all the way to the runway surface even when visibility is near zero," said Rick Cassell, head of safety systems for Rannoch Corporation. Rannoch recently won an FAA contract to provide engineering support on the project. |
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GAMA Says Exports Help GA Boom
October 29, 2006
By Russ Niles
Emerging markets in Europe, Russia, China and India are helping fuel the continuing boom in aircraft sales worldwide, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association's (GAMA's) report on third-quarter results for 2006. Most companies are reporting healthy sales increases both in terms of billings and in the numbers of units sold. And an increasing number of those aircraft are being shipped overseas. "Our manufacturers have seen growth in all airplane segments, part of which we attribute to strengthening sales in Europe, and into Russia, China, and India," GAMA President Pete Bunce said in a news release. "Business people and government officials are recognizing the dynamic role that general aviation plays in building a vibrant economy and, as our manufacturers continue to bring new innovations to market, we expect this trend to continue." |
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New Articles and Features on AVweb
October 25, 2006
COLUMNS
The Savvy Aviator #37: Scope That Jug!
Pulling a cylinder without first borescoping it is a lot like performing major surgery without first getting a CT or MRI. If your A&P doesn't have a borescope or doesn't know how to use one, you'd be wise to educate him ... or find another mechanic.
WHAT'S NEW
This month AVweb's survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners brings you an aircraft engine calendar, a weight & balance visualizer, a cargo/pilot bag and more.
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Audio News
October 25, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news straight from the horse's mouth.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam, Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan and Dale Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 25, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
October 25, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? |
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Epic Plans Lasting Dynasty
October 25, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
With the lawsuit between it and Farnborough Aircraft resolved by mediation in July, Epic Aircraft is now fully focused on developing the Dynasty turboprop single on its own, as well as a derivative Elite Jet with Republic of Georgia-based Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing. The two aircraft will be completely certified at the Canadian Center for Aircraft Certification in Calgary, with approvals for the $1.9 million turboprop and $2.235 million twinjet expected in the first and third quarters of 2008, respectively. Epic CEO Rick Schrameck told AVweb that the turboprop fleet has logged more than 1,100 hours, while the Elite Jet is scheduled to make its first flight early next year. |
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Taylorcraft Aviation Faces Eviction, Chapter 11
October 25, 2006
By Mary Grady
In the last couple of years, Taylorcraft Aviation moved to Brownsville, Texas, and earned Special Light Sport Aircraft approval to manufacture its Taylor Sport airplane. But now the company is being evicted from its manufacturing facility at the airport and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company listed 23 creditors that are seeking a combined $847,400, The Brownsville Herald reported last week. Taylorcraft President Harry Ingram said he hopes to work things out and stay at the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, which is operated by the city. |
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Sikorsky Tests Advanced Hover Capability
October 25, 2006
By Mary Grady
A new system being tested by Sikorsky Aircraft will make it possible for pilots to lock in and fly point-in-space approaches, hands-off, and hover for rescues, the company said in a news release on Tuesday. "This system does a fully coupled approach, hover and departure. A nighttime, IFR rescue in icing conditions is now possible, military or civilian," said test pilot Ron Doeppner. The tests were completed flying an S-92 helicopter. The system can fly automated approaches to a set position "hooked" by a search radar, flight management system waypoint, thermal imager or digital map. |
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A Fresh Twist On The Problem Of Flight
October 25, 2006
By Mary Grady
As aeronautics, Dave Clews' attempt to fly in a rubber-band-powered aircraft was a dismal failure. As art, though, Clews achieved precisely his goal. "It was spectacular," he said. "Everything I hoped it would be, apart from actually flying." The airplane, with a 20-foot wingspan and a cockpit for one, was built to resemble the tiny balsa-wood gliders that Clews fondly remembers from his childhood. A 200-foot-long bungee cord provided power, and the wings were built of pine and covered in fabric. Clews said his balsa models could fly over 100 feet, so if you scale that up, his human-size version should have been able to fly over 2,000 feet. Instead, the aircraft moved just six feet along the runway ... backward. Clews was not flagged. "We are taking a step in the right direction just by moving," he said. "I mean, technically it is a step in the wrong direction I suppose, but at least it's a step." |
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FAA Reprimands JetBlue For Pilot Research Project
October 25, 2006
By Mary Grady
Some pilots for JetBlue Airways spent extra hours flying -- beyond the FAA limit of eight hours per day -- as part of an experiment to see if pilots could work longer without affecting safety, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. The experiments took place on regular trips with paying passengers on board. This week, the FAA reprimanded the company for conducting the experiments without the proper permission. The airline says they got an OK from officials at their regional FAA office, but the FAA says they should have gone to headquarters in Washington. The tests took place on about 50 flights in May 2005 on mostly coast-to-coast trips. Twenty-nine pilots each flew up to 11 hours a day. The passengers were not told about the experiment. |
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Gulfstream's Quiet-Supersonic Technology Passes Flight Test
October 25, 2006
By Mary Grady
A sonic-boom mitigator mounted on the nose of a NASA F-15B worked as expected during its first airborne test, successfully flying at Mach 1.2 last Friday, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. said this week. The Quiet Spike, which is made of composite materials, extends 24 feet from the nose of the aircraft. It creates three small shock waves that travel in parallel to each other all the way to the ground, producing less noise than typical shock waves that build up at the front of supersonic jets. Gulfstream, in collaboration with the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, has been flight-testing the structural integrity of the retractable spike since mid-July. |
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Watch Out For Airspace Changes In Atlanta
October 25, 2006
By Mary Grady
The Class B airspace over Atlanta has been lowered in some sectors, from 6,000 to 5,000 feet. The changes aren't really a big deal for VFR pilots, says AOPA, but the procedure used by the FAA to implement them has raised some eyebrows. "The FAA failed to follow the standard process of consulting with airspace users before making a change," said Heidi Williams, AOPA's director of air traffic services. "We've been assured that future changes will go through the [public review] process so that users have a chance to participate." |
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New Articles and Features on AVweb
October 22, 2006
COLUMNS
CEO of the Cockpit #63: Flyboyz
Nobody's made a realistic airplane movie since, well, ever. So says AVweb's CEO of the Cockpit. And no modern, special-effects-filled, multiplex pablum is going to change his mind.
WHAT'S NEW
This month AVweb's survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners brings you an aircraft engine calendar, a weight & balance visualizer, a cargo/pilot bag and more.
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Audio News
October 22, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In Friday's podcast, you'll find exclusive interviews with Adam Aircraft chairman Rick Adam and New Piper CEO Jim Bass, recorded live at the recent NBAA Convention in Orlando. And in Monday's news summary, hear from Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan and Dale Klapmeier and more. Plus: Listen in to an exclusive interview with Cirrus' Dale Klapmeier about the current state of Cirrus Serial Number 1, courtesty of our sister publication, Aviation Consumer. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 22, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address...
October 22, 2006
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to
newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard?
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Paint Us a Picture...
October 22, 2006
Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is conducting a survey of aircraft paint shops. If you've had your airplane painted recently, we would like to know how the job turned out. To take the survey, visit www.aviationconsumer.com and click on the surveys button on the left side of the screen. We'll take care of the rest. |
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Correction
October 22, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
In AVweb's Wednesday, Oct. 18 special issue we inadvertently mischaracterized Caterpillar President and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Chairman Gerald Sheehan's aviation user-fee remarks at the National Business Aviation Association convention opening session. Sheehan tells AVweb, "I specifically pointed out that a debate over who pays -- and how much -- is premature. We must first convince the Congress and the public that the need for [aviation] infrastructure improvements is critical. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce does not oppose transportation user fees, but has not yet taken a position on user fees in this instance. My remarks focused on the principles that the industry and Congress [need] to consider as FAA reauthorization legislation moves forward next year." |
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Firewall Forward Offers Cam Mod
October 22, 2006
By Russ Niles
Firewall Forward Technologies of Loveland, Colo., is now supplying modified camshafts for Lycoming 320-, 360- and 540-series engines it says dramatically reduce premature cam and lifter failures. The Centrilube cam distributes oil directly to the lifter face from holes drilled in the cam lobes. The result is increased lubrication, reduced temperature and less wear. Similar technology has been used in high-performance automotive and marine engines for decades. Customers can either buy a cam from Firewall Forward or have their existing cam STC modified. |
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SATSair Buys More SR22s, Expands To Florida
October 22, 2006
By Chad Trautvetter
Air-taxi provider SATSair last Tuesday said it is soon expanding service to include Florida as part of the company's growth plan. Additionally, SATSair placed an order with Cirrus Design for 50 Cirrus SR22s and options on 50 more. "We're excited about expanding our fleet and service area to include Florida," said SATSair President and CEO Steve Hanvey. "The decision was customer-driven. We've had a tremendous interest level from people living in Florida; so starting November 1, we can now provide point-to-point, on-demand service to them at over 100 airports throughout the state." |
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Spaced-Out Google Rumor Put To Rest
October 22, 2006
By Russ Niles
With its meteoric stock price increases and recent acquisitions such as YouTube, it's generally assumed that Google can buy just about anything. But could it really pluck a treasure from the National Air and Space Museum and use it as a bauble in the lobby of its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters? The answer, thankfully, is no. Internet tech sites were buzzing Saturday with rumors that Google had purchased SpaceShipOne to hang in Building 43 at its headquarters. Even the rumor-prone geek sites were a bit sheepish about running with the "news," but they also weren't about to be caught flat-footed with this juicy bit of technogossip like most apparently were with the YouTube takeover. So, in the interests of good journalism (and just in case it was true), AVweb e-mailed SpaceShipOne designer, builder and project engineer Burt Rutan, who seemed a little puzzled by the inquiry. |
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Halloween Display Plane Scary
October 22, 2006
By Russ Niles
Well, we'll agree with Steve Chambers that there are few things scarier than a plane crash scene. But neighbors and complete strangers by the hundreds are converging on his West Hills, Calif., home for a look at what that might be like. Chambers, with help from a few buddies and an undetermined amount of beer, isn't disappointing them. With a good-sized section of a Gulfstream III bizjet as its centerpiece, and replicas of severed body parts for the dramatic touch, Chambers' Halloween display is the talk of Southern California. "It caught my eye. I thought a plane had crashed, and when I spoke to the owner he advised me that he was setting up a Halloween display," Greg Andrachick, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, told the Los Angeles Daily News. |
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Nexaer LSA Takes A Short Hop
October 22, 2006
By Russ Niles
A made-in-the-U.S. light sport aircraft (LSA) that has many of the design and technology features of the European models that still dominate the sector took its first flight in Peyton, Colo., last week. The mockup of the Nexaer LS-1 turned heads at EAA AirVenture a couple of years ago with its swooping fuselage and big glass area. Although it will be restricted to 120 knots like other LSAs, the all-composite LS-1 looks like it could go faster and might go head-to-head with the sporty designs that have landed in the U.S. from offshore (mainly Eastern Europe) since the category was approved two years ago. "Today we took a small step, but we're celebrating a great accomplishment," said CEO Paul Klahn. |
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User-Fee Rhetoric Turned Up
October 22, 2006
By Russ Niles
There are plenty of CEOs who do more than handle the purse strings. Many of them also sit in the left seat of the company plane and AOPA has taken direct aim at them in its latest offensive in the fight against user fees. In a recent edition of Chief Executive magazine, privatization champion Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation wrote a column on his contention that user fees are the most equitable way to fund the aviation system and that airlines should control it. AOPA president Phil Boyer said in a news release that AOPA asked for equal space to rebut Poole but was denied, so the organization bought a full-page ad. Boyer said Poole may have misjudged his audience when he wrote: "Don't let your chauffeurs -- the corporate flight department -- speak for you." |
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New Articles and Features on AVweb
October 18, 2006
COLUMNS
Say Again? #68: ATC Programming
Does your local, stuck-in-the-past, traditionalist pilot complain about how difficult it is to use the latest glass cockpits and how "Real pilots should be able to fly with just needle, ball and airspeed"? ATC has its own technical and safety issues any time a new software version comes out, says AVweb's Don Brown.
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Audio News
October 18, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index and get your news straight from the source.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 18, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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NASA Expands Personal Air Vehicle Challenge
October 18, 2006
By Mary Grady
NASA has expanded its original one-year, $250,000 Personal Air Vehicle Challenge to a five-year set of competitions with rewards of up to $550,000 per year. The competition's goal is to stimulate the development of Personal Air Vehicles (PAVs) that will be viable for the consumer market. The vehicles must have two to six seats, be easy to fly, quiet, safe, fuel-efficient, and capable of coping with most weather variables. NASA hopes that PAVs can help to relieve surface gridlock and save fuel while giving travelers more freedom. |
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Circle-The-Earth Team Heads For Europe
October 18, 2006
By Mary Grady
It's a dream many aviators share -- to fuel up their airplane and head east, and keep going until they land again at their home airport, having circled the earth. Right now, three aviators from New Zealand are in the midst of living just that dream, flying a Cessna 421. "Our intentions are to travel across the world and film it, while educating ourselves on the various local cultures and people we will discover," they write at their Web site. "We will also be looking for the effect aviation has had on the places we will visit." They launched on Sept. 14 and as of Tuesday had reached Narsarsuaq, Greenland. They expect the entire trip to take about four months. |
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Brits May Require Cuts In Airplane Emissions
October 18, 2006
By Mary Grady
In Europe, where the threats of global warming and air pollution are taken much more seriously than in some other parts of the world, the contributions of aviation to rising carbon-dioxide levels are coming under scrutiny. The U.K. aims to cut its carbon emissions 60 percent by 2050, but a new report released this week says that can't happen without including aviation, which is not addressed under current schemes. About 5.5 percent of U.K. carbon emissions are from aircraft, but that percentage will rise to about 25 percent by 2050. Richard Branson, of Virgin Airlines, has said that airlines could cut their emissions by 25 percent right now by implementing new procedures, such as taxiing less and carrying less fuel. |
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FAA Finalizes Cirrus Brake-Fix AD
October 18, 2006
By Mary Grady
The FAA has finalized its airworthiness directive (AD) on some Cirrus brakes. Cirrus Design argued that the best fix to avoid overheated brakes (or brake fires) is to taxi more slowly. The FAA agreed but said it will nonetheless also require maintenance and hardware upgrades as proposed. The AD applies to some 2,135 Cirrus SR20 and SR22 airplanes. It requires replacement of O-ring seals or brake calipers as well as modifications to landing-gear wheel fairings to allow for temperature monitoring, plus changes to the Pilot's Operating Handbook. The AD results from several reports of the castering-nosewheel airplanes experiencing main gear brake fires and two airplanes losing directional control, the FAA says. |
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D-Jet Mockup To Visit Florida
October 18, 2006
By Mary Grady
Floridians who didn't make it to AirVenture last summer in Oshkosh, Wis., will have a chance soon to check out the one and only mock-up of Diamond's D-Jet. The mock-up will visit Europe-American Aviation (E-AA) in Naples, Fla., the first (and so far the only) Diamond Brilliance Flight Center in the U.S. E-AA offers Diamond flight training exclusively, with a fleet of two DA20 Eclipse two-seaters, seven DA40 Diamond Star four-seaters with G1000 glass cockpits, and one DA42 Twin Star. E-AA also has the only Diamond Elite Twin Star simulator in the U.S. The D-Jet mock-up will visit the flight school on Sunday, Oct. 29, and the public is invited to come by and check it out. |
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Audio News
October 16, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news straight from the horse's mouth.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 16, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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Comair Sues FAA Over LEX Crash
October 16, 2006
By Russ Niles
Comair is claiming that the FAA was at least partly responsible for the crash of one of its regional jets in Lexington, Ky., that killed 49 people, according to The Associated Press. In a suit filed on Friday, the airline claims that signs and lighting that would have led the pilots of the aircraft to the correct runway were missing because of a construction project. It claims that other aircraft had made the same mistake recently and had been redirected by air traffic controllers. And it also notes in its suit that the Lexington tower was manned by a single controller when it should have been staffed by a minimum of two. The controller on duty had his back turned to the runway, doing paperwork, when Flight 5191 lined up on a 3,500-foot general aviation runway instead of the 7,000-foot runway it should have been on. |
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Earth To EarthJet (Another Air Taxi)
October 16, 2006
By Russ Niles
Things are moving fast in the very light jet and air taxi business but a company called Earthjet seems to have arrived on the scene in a split second. In a news release issued last Friday, the company says it's guiding the development of a "purpose-designed" air taxi aircraft with a stand-up cabin and a fully loaded range of 1,000 miles. It says the plane will be certified and built by an unnamed established aerospace company and provide an unheard-of level of service and convenience for customers -- at "airline prices." Although the aircraft hasn't been built, the company is set up to take reservations on the point-to-point service. It's also offering franchises for sale. The office was closed Sunday when we tried to reach someone for comment. |
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Petition Calls For Lead-Free Avgas
October 16, 2006
By Russ Niles
The Bluewater Network (a division of Friends of the Earth) has filed a petition with the EPA calling for the reduction or elimination of lead from aviation's gasoline. The group says leaded fuel threatens the health of airport workers, pilots, passengers and communities next to airports. It also claims that 70 percent of aircraft can use unleaded automotive fuel and the remaining 30 percent can use ethanol-based fuels. It didn't say where this information came from but the authors of the petition, David Zizmor and Damir Kouliev, seem pretty convinced of their data. "Safe unleaded alternatives to aviation gasoline already exist," said Zizmor. |
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NTSB Issues Alert On Thunderstorm Avoidance
October 16, 2006
By Russ Niles
The NTSB says pilots and air traffic controllers need to cooperate better to keep airplanes from flying into extreme weather. In a safety alert issued last week, the NTSB says avoiding thunderstorms is mainly the pilot's responsibility but air traffic controller training and briefings "have not been sufficient to ensure that pilots receive the weather advisories needed to support good in-flight weather avoidance decisions." The alert cited four fatal accidents in which the aircraft involved were flying IFR and under ATC control when they hit the weather. Among the accidents cited was the one that killed former test pilot Scott Crossfield in Georgia last April. |
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Cessna LSA Flies
October 16, 2006
By Russ Niles
Cessna's proof-of-concept entry into the light sport aircraft category flew for the first time last Friday (the 13th). The 33-minute flight originated at McConnell Air Force Base and ended at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita. The plane was put through various flight maneuvers and got up to a speed of more than 110 knots, according to a company news release. The aircraft, which is mostly aluminum, was unveiled at EAA AirVenture last July. It was announced in January. And, although comparisons to the discontinued 152 are inevitable, Cessna appears to be making an effort to draw distinctions. |
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AVwebFlash Reader Pledges $2 Million For B-29 Engine Job
October 16, 2006
By Russ Niles
A news item in AVwebFlash has resulted in a major boost to a fundraising campaign that may put what was once the world's only flying B-29 back in the air. Texas inventor and industrialist Joe Jamieson has pledged $2 million toward a $3 million project to install more reliable engines in Fifi, owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. The plane has suffered engine problems since she rolled off the Boeing assembly line. The aircraft has Wright R-3350-57AM engines and last June, after discovering metal shavings in the oil, the CAF decided, for safety reasons, to ground the big bomber until more reliable engines could be installed. Jamieson, a former military and transport pilot, develops safety-related equipment for the transportation industry, so the donation is a good fit for him. |
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Audio News
October 12, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news straight from the horse's mouth.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 12, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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On The Fly...
October 12, 2006
By Mary Grady
The new Airbus CEO quit after just three months on the job...
Watch for two special editions of AVwebBiz from NBAA next week...
Daniel Webster College will raffle off a free online MBA...
Final report on Helios 737 crash is completed...
FAA tells controllers they can't go out for lunch...
SJ30 deliveries delayed due to problems with wing installation...
Popular Mechanics honored Burt Rutan for Breakthrough Leadership...
Special from Sam's Club... buy a Citation Mustang jet...
Operation Migration again leading endangered cranes to winter home.
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Cessna Pilot Charged With Cocaine Smuggling
October 12, 2006
By Chad Troutvetter
A pilot from Calgary, Alberta, was indicted last week in California for allegedly carrying about 300 pounds of cocaine, worth some $30 million, aboard a Cessna 340 headed from San Diego to British Columbia on Sept. 27. The pilot, Daniel Raymond LeClerc, 35, was arrested when he landed to refuel at an airport in a small northern California town. According to the Calgary Sun, California narcotic task force agents received a tip that a large drug shipment was en route via a Cessna twin that would be stopping to refuel at Montague Airport. |
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Researchers Work On Morphing Aircraft
October 12, 2006
By Mary Grady
It's a simple idea: If a wing could change shape in flight, it could do things that our rigid wings can't do. The Wright brothers attempted it with wing warping. We use the same idea when we employ flaps and ailerons, and some military aircraft have variable-geometry wings that can sweep back and change aspect ratio in flight. This week, the University of Dayton was awarded a $580,000 federal contract to further the development of "morphing" aircraft. The researchers will evaluate flexible-skin concepts that would enable wings to change shape, develop better simulations, and try to find ways to use devices within the wing skins to recover or "harvest" energy as the wings move. |
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Flying With Google 3-D
October 12, 2006
By Mary Grady
Google's 3-D maps of the Earth are proving useful in the aviation world. Dispatchers who work with firefighting airplanes for the U.S. Forest Service are incorporating the 3-D maps into their flight-following system, and they say it works great. Linda Naill, an aircraft dispatcher at the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nev., uses the Google system to manage up to 20 aircraft at a time. "When I put a [temporary flight restriction] in place, I can really see if I'm impacting someone, and if someone violates it, we can easily figure that out," she told Government Computer News (GCN). The software helps avoid air-traffic conflicts and makes it easier to coordinate aircraft converging on the fire from different directions, according to GCN. Others also have found uses for the maps. |
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More Air Traffic? No Problem, Says Chew
October 12, 2006
By Chad Troutvetter
The FAA's Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is preparing to make the necessary changes to handle predicted increases in air traffic over the next two decades, says Chief Operating Officer Russell Chew. "It isn't about being the best and the brightest," he told aviation industry executives last Thursday, at the Aerospace Industries Association's civil aviation council meeting. "It's about being able to change." Chew stressed that the ATO needs to pursue a single "revolutionary" goal, and avoid spending years developing programs that will be obsolete by the time they're done. "Whatever you build, you have to have the future in mind," he said. |
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Report Shows Engine Problems In Mooney Crash
October 12, 2006
By Chad Troutvetter
A recently released NTSB factual report on the May 23 crash of South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's Mooney M20E says the Lycoming engine had flown just 20 hours since a recent overhaul, and suggests that some bolts may have been incorrectly installed. The piston single was halfway down the runway at a private airstrip near Blacksburg, S.C., when power began to drop, according to passenger John Leonhardt, who holds a commercial pilot certificate. Bauer said there wasn't room left on the runway to abort, so he took off. The Mooney collided with trees and power lines. Both men suffered serious injuries, and the airplane was destroyed in a post-crash fire. The NTSB report indicates that at least two bolts securing an engine induction tube were a quarter-inch too short and had vibrated loose. |
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The Eclipse Lawsuit
October 12, 2006
By Mary Grady
Late last month, Swiss aviation startup Aviace filed suit against Eclipse Aviation, saying the Albuquerque-based aircraft manufacturer delayed and then canceled its order for 112 Eclipse 500s at a price of $1.045 million apiece. When Aviace placed the fleet order for the very light jets in May 2002, it said it planned to offer the aircraft through a jet club scheme, with the Eclipse 500s to be used for point-to-point, on-demand private jet travel, at attractive prices, throughout Europe. Aviace says it later shelved this business plan due to delays in the aircraft program, and last year decided it would sell some of its Eclipse 500 positions for nearly a half-million-dollar per airplane profit (Eclipse currently prices the jet at $1.52 million), putting Aviace in direct competition with Eclipse Aviation. And that, according to Aviace, is where the trouble began. |
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Audio News
October 9, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news straight from the horse's mouth.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 9, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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Wolf Aviation Fund Deadline Nears
October 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
The application deadline for funding from the Wolf Aviation Fund is Nov. 15 and organizations with projects worthy of consideration are urged to get them in soon. Last year, there were 130 proposals and funding was approved for 45. The fund will consider application for any project "supporting or promoting general aviation" so the types of projects funded are as diverse as the industry itself. In most cases, only partial funding is provided to be used as leverage in approaching other organizations for money. |
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Diamonds Used For Air Force Flight Screening
October 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
The first 11 of 44 Diamond DA-20 C1 two-seat trainers have been delivered to Doss Aviation, in Pueblo, Colo., for use in a flight screening program for the U.S. Air Force. The program takes potential candidates for military flight training and ensures they have the right stuff to continue. These types of programs cut the failure rate in later training by half. Doss President Frank Hunter said the low acquisition, maintenance and insurance costs for the Diamond made it the logical choice. Those candidates who move on from the screening program will get their first taste of military flight training in the same aircraft. |
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Moller Skycar For Sale
October 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
Paul Moller finally has his Skycar for sale but don't expect the skies and carports of the nation to fill up with them anytime soon. The brains behind what could be the longest-lived aircraft development program in history is selling the original prototype of the vehicle on eBay. We couldn't find a listing on Sunday. He's expecting to get $4 million. The prototype has slipped the surly bonds on its own power in an unmanned, tethered flight. But anyone hoping to use it for the morning commute is likely to be disappointed. "Potential buyers are cautioned that this is a prototype model and considered an experimental aircraft," says a Moller news release. |
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Inhofe Groundloops RV-8
October 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
Sen. Jim Inhofe says he knew there were problems with the rudder of an RV-8 he was flying as he approached Jones Riverside Airport in Tulsa, on a flight from Duncan, Okla., last week. He was right. The taildragger groundlooped and was substantially damaged but Inhofe and his passenger, long-time aide Danny Finnerty, were unhurt. Inhofe told reporters he noticed problems with the rudder on takeoff from Duncan but couldn't see what the problems were. He asked to land on the main runway at Tulsa, rather than the one normally used by GA aircraft and "prepared for the rough landing," according to an Associated Press report. The FAA is investigating. |
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Caravan Crash Prompts Suit
October 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
The family of a Canadian pilot killed when her Cessna Caravan crashed in downtown Winnipeg last year is claiming $25 million in damages from Cessna and Goodrich. The suit filed on behalf of the family of Nancy Chase-Allen by the Nolan Law Group, of Chicago, alleges Cessna is misrepresenting the ability of the Caravan to safely fly in icing conditions. "The Cessna Caravan is presently being marketed as a safe and secure aircraft for winter operations, a contention disputed by Nolan Law Group," the law firm said in a news release. Operation of the Caravan in icing conditions attracted attention and produced action from the FAA earlier this year. We were unable to reach Cessna on the weekend but the company does not normally comment on pending litigation. |
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Pilots Deny Wrongdoing In Brazil Crash
October 9, 2006
By Russ Niles
U.S. bizjet pilots John Lepore and Jan Paladino are denying accusations they caused a collision with a GOL Boeing 737, in which the airliner crashed and killed all 154 people on board (not 155 reported earlier). The pilots have been openly accused of turning off their transponder so they could perform "pilot tricks" without detection by air traffic controllers. Ralph Michieli, a spokesman for ExcelAir, which owns the Embraer Legacy 600 involved, called the allegations "untruthful, absurd and insulting" in an interview with the Brazilian Web site Folha Online. Lepore and Paladino were quoted as saying they did not turn off the transponder and that they were flying at the proper altitude, assertions that have made Brazilian authorities "furious," according to news reports out of Brazil. |
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Audio News
October 4, 2006
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news straight from the horse's mouth.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 4, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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Boeing Pouncing On Stumbling Airbus
October 4, 2006
By Russ Niles
Analysts say Boeing may have to speed up production of Boeing 747s in light of the latest production delay of the Airbus A380. Airbus recently told customers the program has been delayed another 10 months and customer patience is wearing thin. Emirates, which has 45 of the 555-passenger jets on order, says it's considering "all options" and Virgin Atlantic is threatening to cancel its six-plane order. Singapore Airlines wants compensation for the delay. An all this makes the tried and true Jumbo, which is going through a makeover aiming to make it 21 percent more efficient, an appealing alternative. |
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New DOT Secretary In Alphabets' Sights
October 4, 2006
By Russ Niles
Mary Peters, the new Secretary of Transportation, hadn't even been officially put on the job before AOPA President Phil Boyer had had a "frank discussion" with her. "Mary Peters reached out to me before the Senate vote, and we began the dialogue on the future funding of the FAA and AOPA's opposition to user fees," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "I'm sure that will be just the first of our many frank discussions of issues important to AOPA members and GA pilots." Peters was confirmed by the Senate but hasn't been sworn in yet but there are plenty of people who want to talk to her. Pete Bunce, of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, noted "There is important work to be done in the coming months and years," and he said Peters should be able to handle the job. |
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Warbird In eBay Flap
October 4, 2006
By Russ Niles
An Australian court is being asked to rule whether a man who placed a last-minute bid on a vintage airplane presented on eBay should be its rightful new owner. Peter Smythe says Dr. Vin Thomas didn't abide by the rules of eBay when he sold the plane, a 1946 Wirraway (a variation of the T-6 built under license in Australia) to someone who didn't bid through eBay. Thomas had a reserve price of $150,000 on the aircraft and Smythe matched it with just 20 seconds left in the sale term. But Thomas had already sold the plane to someone who saw the eBay listing but contacted him privately and offered $250,000. Smythe says the whole entrepreneurial foundation of eBay is at stake in the case. |
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"Invisible" Drones Proposed
October 4, 2006
By Russ Niles
If the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) now in the air are such a danger to other aircraft that they have to fly in restricted airspace, how potentially dangerous would an "invisible" drone be? That's not likely one of the factors being considered as VeraTech, a Minnesota company, continues work on an aircraft that uses the principle of "persistence of vision" to make the drone appear to be nothing more than a blur against the sky. (Persistence of vision is described as what makes spinning propellers seem to disappear before our eyes.) |
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Homebuilt Fatalities Drop
October 4, 2006
By Russ Niles
While aviation safety has generally improved over the years, it appears the homebuilt sector is making the biggest gains. Granted, it had the farthest to go, but stats released by EAA this week seem to show it's getting there. In a news release, EAA says the number of fatal homebuilt crashes from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006 (49) is 21 percent lower than in the previous year. "This is excellent news, especially since the number of homebuilt aircraft continues to rise each year," said Earl Lawrence, EAA's vice president of industry and regulatory affairs. "While one fatality is always one too many, the trend continues toward increasing safety by those who build and fly homebuilt aircraft." |
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Audio News
October 1, 2006
Don't trust reporters? AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news straight from the horse's mouth.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
October 1, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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FAA Will Examine Age-60 Rule
October 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
The FAA last week established a forum of airline, labor and medical experts to review the long-debated rule, established in 1959, that requires airline pilots to retire at age 60. The forum will recommend whether the U.S. should adopt the new International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard, due to take effect in November, that will allow one of the two pilots on the flight deck to be over age 60. The forum also will determine what actions would be necessary if the FAA were to change its rule. "The FAA must ensure that any future rule change, should it occur, provides an equal or better level of safety to passengers," said FAA head, Marion Blakey. |
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SpaceShipTwo Gets Its Curtain Call
October 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Richard Branson, the U.K. airline mogul who has joined with Burt Rutan to build spaceships for tourists, unveiled a mockup of SpaceShipTwo last week at the Wired NextFest event in New York City. The ship, as expected, is a larger version of SpaceShipOne. It's designed to carry six passengers and two pilots. It will be carried aloft to about 60,000 feet on a carrier named White Knight Two, then detach and rocket into space at about Mach 4. Virgin Galactic has also launched a spiffy new version of its Web site, with lots of new movies and information about the project. According to the site, flight testing of the prototype is expected to start next year. It was also reported last week that Branson is negotiating with British TV networks to develop a reality show where six contestants will compete for a spot on a ride into space. |
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Adam A500 OK'd For Night, IFR, And Pressurization
October 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Adam Aircraft, of Englewood, Colo., last week received an amended Type Certificate from the FAA for its A500 piston twin. The TC now OKs the airplane for night and IFR operations, for single-pilot operation, and for cabin pressurization up to 12,500 feet. Operating altitude expansion to 25,000 feet is on hold until de-icing certification tests are completed over the winter. The TC was originally handed over in May 2005, but with numerous limitations. Adam was recently awarded an FAA Production Certificate, allowing it to ramp up its production process. The company has a two-year backlog of orders for the airplane. |
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DOD: Wind Farms' Impact On ATC Radar Minimal
October 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
In a long-awaited study that was released last week, the Department of Defense said its tests have shown that large wind farms degrade the effectiveness of military radar if they are located within the line of sight of the installation. However, Air Traffic Control radar systems used by the FAA are much less prone to such interference. According the report, "ATC radars can rely on both primary radar returns and [transponder] returns to ensure safe airspace operations. ... The presence of a wind farm does not appear to significantly affect the performance of [those] systems." However, the report notes that decisions about wind-farm impacts on ATC radar are up to the FAA. |
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Prediction Of Solar Flares, GPS Disruption
October 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
As GA pilots become increasingly dependent on GPS signals not only for navigation but for instrument approaches, it now appears that it may be possible for the signals to be disrupted by solar flares. Right now that's not a problem because the sun is in a quiet phase, but it's expected to get active again in 2011. That seems a long way off, but it will be here before you know it. The intense solar flares could cause GPS signals used by aircraft navigation and emergency location systems to degrade by up to 90 percent, for hours at a time. GPS has become ubiquitous during a quiet solar period, and no easy fix for the problem is immediately apparent. |
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737 Crashes, BizJet Damaged
October 1, 2006
By Mary Grady
Searchers who parachuted in on Saturday to the crash site where a Boeing 737-800 went down Friday afternoon found no sign of survivors. The wreckage was located in a remote jungle area in the Amazon region of Brazil. The 737, with 155 souls on board, was en route from Manaus to Brasilia when it crashed. Seven people aboard an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet flying the area felt a jolt, and the pilot found the airplane was damaged. He made a safe emergency landing at Cachimbo air force base. Early reports said the two jets had collided in the air, but later reports said those on board the Legacy saw only a shadow, and the jet may have been hit by debris (we recognize that is an unusual collection of words). An online photo shows damage to the left wingtip and stabilizer on the Legacy. |
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Concerns About Video Content
September 28, 2006
Monday's online version of your AVwebflash e-mail newsletter was originally published with video content that began to play when the page was opened -- whether readers wanted it to, or not. That presentation was not how AVweb intends to present video content. Readers should expect future video content to play only when they "press play." (If you like the expanded content of the online version, don't be afraid to click through.) |
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Audio News
September 27, 2006
Audio news, plus a new in-depth interview are posted online each Monday and Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news directly from the newsmakers.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
September 27, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
September 27, 2006
What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to
newstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with your tips. |
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Tired Of Fuel Prices? Virtual Flight Gets Real
September 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Now you can take a step beyond your desktop flight simulator, and fly an actual remote-control aircraft equipped with a head-movement-synchonized camera and a virtual-reality headset that makes you feel like you're right in the cockpit. At least, you can fly this way if you are willing to spend the time and money tinkering with complicated and delicate gear to make it work. Denis Gratton, of Québec, Canada, has done just that, and has the impressive videos to prove it. (See AVweb's NewsWire for links to the videos.) How much does it cost to build a system like this? "It's hard to tell how much it cost, I prefer not to know it," Gratton told AVweb in an e-mail. He says others are starting to join in his hobby, and he expects the costs will come down within a year or so. |
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NTSB: Comair Pilots Had 45 Seconds
September 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
The NTSB on Monday released a factual report from its on-the-scene investigation into the Comair crash that killed 49 people in Lexington, Ky., last month. The Comair crew was cleared to 7,001-by-150-foot Runway 22. The flight data recorder shows the crew stopped near the end of Runway 26 for about 45 seconds before the flight was cleared for takeoff. Six seconds later, the airplane started to taxi onto 3,500-by-75-foot Runway 26. It took about 36 seconds for the airplane to taxi onto the runway and complete the turn before power was increased to initiate the takeoff. The airplane accelerated to about 137 knots, ran off the end of the shorter runway through the airport perimeter fence, and impacted trees on an adjacent horse farm. A series of surgeries continue for first Officer James Polehinke, the sole survivor of the crash, who has already lost his left leg to amputation. |
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A Lamborghini With Your Diamond
September 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Here's another new way to fly, not quite a flying club or fractional deal, but something else altogether. Called an "exclusive transport club," V International is now open in the U.K., offering members access to a fleet of luxury vehicles that includes the Diamond DA42 Twin Star, the Diamond DA40, and the Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter, plus a Bentley, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and a Porsche, and a few high-performance boats, too. Members pay about $66,000 for the first year, which gets up to 50 driving days and 6,000 miles plus 50 flying hours and 50 boat days. The company, started by a team of managers from Diamond Aircraft, has plans to expand across Europe and around the world. |
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Coast Guard Takes Over ADIZ Patrol
September 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Pilots who stumble into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) above Washington, D.C., now will be intercepted by helicopters flown by the U.S. Coast Guard, which takes over the job from Customs and Border Protection. The change was made official on Monday. "The Coast Guard is fully ready to [provide] air defense in the National Capitol Region," said Rear Adm. David Pekoske at a ceremony. Coast Guard crews will fly orange HH-65C Dolphin helicopters. The Dolphins will be equipped with civilian-frequency VHF radios plus electronic signboards so they can communicate with pilots who might be having radio problems, AOPA said. |
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Worries Persist About Foreign Flight Students
September 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
Efforts to check on and monitor foreign students at U.S. flight schools have been marked by "confusion and misinterpretations" among the various government agencies involved, according to an internal Homeland Security document obtained by ABC News. ABC says the FAA is investigating reports that "dozens" of foreign students at U.S. flight schools have incomplete paperwork and/or background checks. The Transportation Security Administration says it's revising its vetting process. The FAA told ABC News it couldn't comment because of an open investigation on the issue. AOPA spokesman Chris Dancy says flight instructors must be sure they're aware of and in compliance with the parts of the alien flight-training rule that apply to them. |
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HondaJet Will Go On Sale Next Month
September 27, 2006
By Mary Grady
The Honda Aircraft Company will start accepting orders for its HondaJet VLJ next month at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention, Oct. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla. A full-scale interior mock-up will be on display in the exhibit hall. Honda created the aircraft subsidiary in August to handle the development, production and sales of HondaJet, and will pursue FAA type certification and production certification in the U.S. Honda's goal is to complete certification of the jet in three to four years, and deliver the first customer copy in 2010. The jet's attributes include fuel efficiency, large cabin and luggage space, and higher cruise speed than conventional aircraft in its class, says Honda. |
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Audio News
September 25, 2006
Audio news, plus a new in-depth interview are posted online each Monday and Friday. Check AVweb's audio news index to hear the news directly from the newsmakers.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
September 25, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
September 25, 2006
What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to
newstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with your tips. |
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DC-10 Firefighting Tanker Busy
September 25, 2006
By Russ Niles
A DC-10 converted to drop firefighting retardant helped crews battle a stubborn fire near Santa Paula, CA Sunday. The aircraft dropped 12,000 gallons of retardant on the fire, which has been burning for three weeks and is threatening homes. "It's been very, very effective and very impressive," forestry agency spokesman Matt Streck told the Los Angeles Times. "Each drop looks like it covers more than half a mile of terrain." As AVweb reported in 2004, the plane was quietly developed by a company called 10 Tanker Air Carrier, of Victorville, Calif. The aircraft made a splash (sorry) at the 2005 Paris Air Show with a demonstration drop and it's been busy since July, helping to snuff fires from Washington State to California. The California Department of Forestry caught it on video on a fire in July. |
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"Dumbo" The Aerocar For Sale -- $3.5 Million
September 25, 2006
By Russ Niles
As a car, it can charitably be described as ugly. As an airplane it's almost beyond description but one of four Aerocars left in the world (one crashed) is for sale in Grand Junction, Colo. Carl and Marilyn Felling say they don't want to sell the machine they call Dumbo but it's part of their divorce settlement. Ironically, they obtained the extraordinarily rare contraption through a divorce sale 20 years ago. "I wouldn't say it's cursed by divorce," Marilyn Felling told the Grand Junction Sentinel. The Molt Taylor design was actually certified by the Civil Aviation Authority in 1956 but it never went into production. |
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Graves Divert Airport Expansion
September 25, 2006
By Russ Niles
While it's doubtful any airplane is loud enough to wake the dead, Craven County Airport Authority, near New Bern, N.C., isn't taking any chances. The county is giving back $204,000 in federal funding after Civil War-era graves were found near the proposed site of new hangars and right where the new taxiway was supposed to go. The army leveled the cemetery during the Second World War to build an airstrip and the dearly departed from historic days gone by were all but forgotten. But they came to light in a 1970s battle against a runway extension and, to date, 522 graves have been identified on the airport land, not including the unknown number found recently. |
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Plane Hits Car -- Car Owner Pays First
September 25, 2006
By Russ Niles
A Montreal man whose SUV was damaged by a Piper Cherokee making a forced landing last week says he can't believe the spin his insurance company is putting on the mishap. Allstate says Bill Mack must pay the $1,000 deductible on the $4,000 in damages his Dodge Durango sustained when the Cherokee dropped in on him. There were no serious injuries in the crash. Quebec has a no-fault type of system in which insurance companies cover their clients' losses with no deductible. But that only applies to car crashes and Allstate spokesman Derek Tupling told the Montreal Gazette the company has to investigate cases like this to determine who's at fault, something Mack found hard to take. Perhaps adding insult is that the Canadian Transportation Safety Board's initial report faults the pilot for moving the plane's fuel tank selector to the wrong position and starving the engine of fuel. |
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F-14 Tomcat's "Final" Flight
September 25, 2006
By Russ Niles
It was perhaps an appropriate scenario to end a storied era in military aviation. The Navy, quite wisely as it turned out, had a spare airplane waiting in the wings for the ceremonial final flight of an F-14 Tomcat at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia last week. Sure enough, the first airplane failed to perform and it was a spare that took off to the cheers and applause of about 3,000 people attending the ceremony. In practical terms, most of the remaining F-14s have at least one more flight left as they get dispersed to air museums around the country but their days as Cold War air superiority fighters and, later, ground support aircraft are officially over. |
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Warbird Restrictions Lifted
September 25, 2006
By Russ Niles
Locally imposed restrictions on the operation of experimental exhibition aircraft, most of them warbirds, have been lifted at airports in the Los Angeles basin. EAA says the relaxation came after three years of lobbying by the group. In 2003, the Van Nuys Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) decreed that experimental aircraft were effectively banned from four local airports. Although the existing aircraft could continue using the airports where they were based, if they moved or were sold they weren't welcome. Van Nuys FSDO officials reasoned that experimental aircraft, by their classification, posed an increased risk to the densely populated areas surrounding the airports in question (Van Nuys, Santa Barbara, Burbank and Whiteman). |
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Audio News
September 20, 2006
Post-crash fire supression. A new in-depth interview is posted online each Friday. Check AVweb tomorrow. Click through to listen. And check our audio news index tomorrow to hear what's next.
Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. |
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AVweb's Business AVflash
September 20, 2006
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
September 20, 2006
What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to
newstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with your tips. |
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On The Fly...
September 20, 2006
By Mary Grady
Senate yesterday considered nomination of Mary Peters as DOT head...
A Nigerian Air Force Dornier 228 crashed Sunday, killing 13...
Space tourist Anousheh Ansari has arrived at the ISS...
Boeing will build towers and deploy UAVs along U.S. borders...
The first launch from New Mexico spaceport is set for Monday...
The Embraer 175 regional | | | |
