On The Fly…

Several TFRs are expected to sprout in Texas this week, as President Bush visits the Lone Star State. Bush is hanging his boots in Texas from Oct. 29 through Nov. 3. He is scheduled to be at his ranch in Crawford through the period, except for a trip to San Antonio on Oct. 30. As with previous presidential visits to Crawford, you can expect a slew of flight restrictions. So please check NOTAMs before flying…

Exactly 100 years since the Wrights’ historic flight at Kitty Hawk, a replica model plane is planned to take off from Marco Island Executive Airport as part of a first-ever celebration. The Florida airports organizers plan to launch a quarter-scale model airplane replica of the Wright Flyer at the event, where a host of other model and real aircraft that reflect the history of aviation will be flown and displayed. Plans also call for pilots to fly antique planes and give aerobatic demonstrations…

Congress is looking into allegations that Boeing bypassed normal channels of acquisition for its massive Air Force deal for leased tankers. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.) claims the $21 billion to $25 billion deal, which calls for Boeing to produce 100 refueling tankers based on its 767-model airliner, was completed under circumstances apart from the normal acquisition process with the Pentagon. The lease could be expanded and eventually bring the aerospace giant a whopping $100 billion in revenue…

Atlanta’s City Council has renamed the air carrier airport The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in honor of former Mayor Maynard Jackson. A new $982 million international terminal will also be named for Jackson, who died unexpectedly last summer. Adoption of the hyphenated name was a compromise between some council members who wanted to strip the Hartsfield name entirely and others who did not. Mayor Hartsfield was Atlanta’s longest-serving mayor and is often cited as the father of commercial aviation in the city…

The FAA has published the final final rule on Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) operations. This rule expands RVSM operations to aircraft operating between FL 290 and FL 410 (inclusive). The agency claims some of the benefits of this rulemaking are an increase in the number of available flight levels, enhanced airspace capacity, operations at more fuel- and time-efficient routes and altitudes and enhanced air traffic control flexibility…

The first certified GA airplane ever to be saved by a parachute will be at AOPA Expo. Cirrus Design will be displaying the SR22 that pilot Lionel Morrison was flying when an aileron came loose about a year ago in Texas. He pulled the emergency chute and walked away. Cirrus bought the plane back from the insurance company, fixed the relatively minor damage, and flew it to Philadelphia for the convention.