LIFE IN A WORLD WITHOUT TOWERS

So now that all the towers are closed, what are we to do? Will chaos reign? Have the dogs of doom been loosed? Not quite, but depending on where you fly, there could be some challenges ahead that will be unnerving. And just to put some numbers on it, the FAA-announced closures will shutter 149 of 516 control towers in the U.S. or 29 percent. It's not a trivial number so irrespective of safety or risk, many of us will have to adapt to operational changes.

On the other hand, for pilots already operating out of non-towered airports and who don't fly IFR much, if it all, it will be business as usual. It probably will not be business as usual for IFR operations, however. The control facilities which handle these—Centers and TRACONs—will be impacted by furloughed staff and controllers tell us service will inevitably suffer, we just don't know how much. One way to look at the tower closures is to consider VFR operations first, then IFR ops.

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PODCAST: SUN 'N FUN READY TO GO
Sun 'n Fun is coming up April 9 to 14, and Sun 'n Fun CEO John Leenhouts told AVweb's Mary Grady the tower will be open, and, despite a cutback in military participation, there will be plenty to do, including two night air shows. More...

VIDEO: GARMIN TEAM X -- PASSION-DRIVEN PRODUCTS
Although they're not the centerpiece of Garmin's booth at the Aircraft Electronics Association show in Las Vegas this week, Garmin has made quite a ripple with its announcement of seven new avionics products for the experimental and light sport markets. In this video, Garmin's Jim Alpiser explains why the company is so bullish on the experimental segment and why Garmin carved out a segregated engineering team to develop uncertified avionics, with more products on the way. More...

VIDEO: ASPEN'S NEW ADS-B PRODUCTS
Demand for ADS-B products continues to trickle upward, and everyone who is anyone in the avionics business is developing or already selling ADS-B gadgets. Aspen rolled out its first products at the Aircraft Electronics Association show in Las Vegas, with an eye toward a range of solutions that rely on the company's innovative Connected Panel system, an in-cockpit wireless network that links up with tablet computers. In this video from the show, Aspen's George Pariza gives AVweb a tour of the new products. More...

VIDEO: SANDIA AEROSPACE'S NEW COMPACT TRANSPONDER
As avonics manufacturerers are spinning out new ADS-B products by the week, they're also creating some new sub-niches. One of those is for a simple, compact Mode-C transponder since some kind of transponder will be needed once the ADS-B mandate is in place. Sandia Aerospace recently added just such a product to its well-respected line of avionics fans, integration boxes, and encoders. At the Aircraft Electronics Association show in Las Vegas, Sandia's Dennis Smith gave AVweb a video tour of the company's new STX 165 compact transponder. More...

PODCAST: DICK RUTAN REMEMBERS
It's only been 27 years since Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager flew around the world without refueling, but the technology that has been introduced since then would make it a much different trip today. Rutan spoke with AVweb's Paul Bertorelli after speaking to the Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Las Vegas. More...

PODCAST: GARMIN EXPANDS TRAFFIC PRODUCTS
Garmin International already has a complete line of active traffic products, but at the Aircraft Electronics Association show in Las Vegas, it introduced two more models aimed at high-end aircraft. The GTS 825 Traffic Advisory System and the GTS 855 Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System have improved range out to 40 and 80 miles, respectively. Both products offer up to 400 watts of transmit power, and both are capable of correlating ADS-B targets. Garmin's Jim Alpiser discussed both with Paul Bertorelli at the 2013 Aircraft Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More...

PODCAST: MORE ADS-B FROM FREEFLIGHT SYSTEMS
There's certainly no shortage of ADS-B products to pick from at AEA this year, and every company seems to take a different twist. Freeflight Systems' idea is to pitch affordable products for owners of legacy aircraft that want to meet the ADS-B requirement but haven't otherwise upgraded their aircraft with new equipment. In this podcast, Freeflight's Peter King gave us a summary of the company's product line. More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

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Paul Bertorelli

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