User fees will likely form the foundation of a bipartisan budget deal aimed at avoiding another government shutdown and that has at least one aviation group calling its members to action. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his Senate counterpart Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are negotiating a spending plan that would avoid the political gridlock that led to the 17-day shutdown in October. According to Politico, they need to raise a few billion dollars to make ends meet and, given the Republican aversion to any kind of tax increase, have reportedly settled on user fees to bring in the needed revenue. While there has been no specific mention of general aviation as a target, the president of the Helicopter Association International wants to keep it that way. “User fees are the single greatest threat we face in Washington," said HAI President Matt Zuccaro. He's calling on the membership to contact their elected representatives to ensure GA user fees are not part of the agenda.

Ryan and Murray have apparently agreed that user fees are a politically acceptable substitute for tax increases that would otherwise raise the needed money. The semantics have apparently satisfied some of the most hard-line Republicans. “That sort of thing is a user fee, it’s not a tax,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told Politico. “It’s not something that I would have an objection to as a tax increase." So far increased fees on airline tickets are the only specific target mentioned but the suggestion is that user fees will be applied to a wide range of government services to raise the additional revenue. "Elected officials and the FAA need to stop playing political games and start calling user fees what they really are, another tax," said Zuccaro.

The Navy said Thursday that it successfully launched the XFC folding-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS, or drone) from a torpedo tube on the USS Providence, while the submarine was submerged. The all-electric, fuel-cell-powered aircraft has an X-wing configuration in flight that folds for storage and launch. The UAS was delivered from the submarine to the water’s surface using a canister system first developed for Tomahawk missiles. Once at the surface, the canister appeared “as a spar buoy,” which floats upright in the water.  It then launched vertically from the canister and flew a mission that lasted several hours while delivering a live video feed back to the sub. 

The Navy says the demonstration is the product of less than six years of development and showcases the collaborative efficiencies between the Navy laboratory and industry. And because it uses a system developed for Tomahawks, crew members are already largely familiar with the system. The XFC itself is fully autonomous. Its all-electric fuel-cell-powered system provides it with an endurance of more than six hours. Once free from its canister, and after “achieving a marginal altitude,” it deploys its X-wing airfoil and initiates horizontal flight. The Navy says the system is “relatively low cost” and optimized for low altitude surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The vehicle can also be used for land-based operation and is capable of being launched from a truck bed or “small surface vessel.”

Textron is aiming for first flight of the Scorpion jet on Tuesday at Cessna’s facility in Wichita, with a follow-up flight Thursday if all goes well, and weather permitting, DefenseNews.com reported Friday. The jet sports a two-seat tandem cockpit and turns twin turbofan engines. It supports six hard points capable of holding anything from drop tanks to Hellfire missiles. For surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the design offers more than 80 cubic feed of internal space for electronic warfare and intelligence components. Textron hopes to eventually demonstrate that the aircraft can be operated for roughly $3,000 per hour and that it will prove to be a viable alternative for a wide range of missions and operators. The first flight is expected to last 90 minutes.

Textron believes a successful production run of the aircraft would see it deployed in second-tier militaries around the world, including Africa and Latin America. In the U.S. it may serve a role in emergency response and counter-narcotics operations and is reportedly being eyed as an alternative to top-tier fighter jets operated by Air National Guard bureaus. Textron officials say the jet may be modified and enter the competition to replace the T-38 trainers that have long served the Air Force, according to DefenseNews. The first flight test card is designed to gather baseline data during the 90-minute flight. That information and more gathered on subsequent flights will then be used to refine the airplane’s design and capabilities, leading to modifications incorporated into future prototypes. Even if testing goes as planned, the aircraft is not expected to enter service of any kind until at least 18 months after the first order is placed.

Bangladesh Biman Airlines announced it would on Dec. 7 pull from service what it believes is the last McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to still carry passengers as part of routine commercial service, but enthusiasts may still get one more chance to fly in it. The big jet is still in operation with cargo carriers (FedEx included) but fans interested in flying on a passenger version of the airplane will get a chance to fly with Biman in February 2014. The airline says it plans to make seats available on the jet for a final flight from Bangladesh to England. And as Biman CEO Kevin Steele told CNN, “We want these tickets to go to genuine aviation enthusiasts.” According to Steele, if interest encourages it, some scenic flights may then be flown from Birmingham, England, to answer additional demand. 

The aircraft entered service in 1971, flying passengers between Los Angeles and Chicago. The FAA once grounded the entire fleet of DC-10s for more than 30 days following a crash in which the number-one engine separated from the airframe during its takeoff run at Chicago O’Hare. After literally losing the engine the jet rolled left through 112 degrees and impacted the ground, killing all 271 people aboard. A famous photograph of the incident shows the aircraft rolling past wings-vertical while flying at very low altitude over the airport. The NTSB found that the engine broke free from the aircraft’s wing due to a maintenance error, leading to multiple hydraulic control issues, but the very high-profile crash is suspected to have dampened public enthusiasm for the jet. McDonnell Douglas produced its last DC-10 in 1989 after a run of nearly 450 examples.

For decades, AirVenture Oshkosh officials have said that airspace considerations have prevented the appearance of military jet teams at the annual show but something has apparently changed. EAA says the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will "potentially" make their debut at the 2014 edition of AirVenture and EAA says the team is planning to do its full show. "We are excited about being part of the Thunderbirds' initial 2014 air show schedule, as they return to flight status in the coming year with a potential appearance at The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration in Oshkosh," said Jim DiMatteo, EAA's vice president of AirVenture features and attractions. There is some equivocation in EAA's announcement, however, and it doesn't seem like the appearance is locked down quite but EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski told AVweb they're working on it. "That is part of the operational requirements that we can start working on. Just because we haven't been to do it before doesn't mean we can't look at it in a different way now. That is what the discussions between EAA and USAF have included -- ways to get it done." he said in an email to AVweb late Thursday.

EAA says the precise nature of the appearance is still under consideration but if the issues can be resolved the team will appear on the final weekend of the show, Aug. 2 and Aug. 3. It's not clear when the final decision will be made on the appearance.

December marks the first month that a first batch of students will make their way through National Aviation Hall of Fame inductee and aerobatic pilot Sean Tucker’s latest project, Every Kid Can Fly, for local at-risk children. The Salinas, Calif., program is associated with Hartnell College and the NASA laboratories based there. It aims to inspire children who have found their way to Rancho Cielo — an organization established by a local judge to provide troubled young people a place to regain their footing and learn a trade that could become a job. As for Tucker’s involvement, he and his son Eric will lead seven of the children through an aviation program. And “if they stay drug- and violence-free and if they keep up their grades, we will not fail them — period,” Tucker told TheCalifornian.com. Tucker says that means he will stay with them until they solo. 

Through Tucker and his son, the students will first be tutored through 40 hours of ground school and 20 hours of stick time. Tucker is determined to provide the children with a variety of flying experiences, piloting several aircraft from a Piper Cub to an Extra. The program is sponsored in part by Gannett Newspapers, which will also report on the progress of the children through The Californian newspaper. In a video that documents the Every Kid Can Fly program, Tucker hopes the program “will be all about helping these kids define or possibly redefine themselves.” Tucker said he believes flying provides a unique learning experience and the feeling of achievement one gets from soloing an airplane is “amazing.” “I want them to experience that feeling,” he said. Watch the Every Kid Can Fly video, here.

While it seems a lot of billionaires are apparently pining for just one Gulfstream G650, an Egyptian family took delivery of two of the now-$65 million bizjets last week. Nasef Awiris and his father Onsi got their aircraft three days apart at the early order price of $59 million. According to Corporate Jet Investor, the aircraft are both registered on the Isle of Man. The deliveries were in a batch of seven G650s that all went to the Middle East and Africa.

As we reported in November, the G650 has become so sought-after by wealthy operators that Gulfstream has had to change its sales agreements to prevent aircraft from being sold before they are delivered. Some G650s have been "flipped" for as much as $7 million more than their book value to new owners who didn't want to get into the four-year queue to get one.

If you do your own airplane maintenance, that work will include checking spark plugs.  Tempest says checks should include resistance measurements and they've developed a little gadget to do that.

Letter of the Week:
100UL Should Be Cheaper than 100LL

Regarding Shell's announcement that it has created an unleaded 100-octane aviation fuel:  Once in production, and without knowing the ingredients, this should actually be lower in cost than 100LL for several reasons, some of which are:

• No more special handling of a special fuel like 100LL because, without lead, it can be handled just like mogas.
• It can be transported in pipelines, which 100LL cannot be.
• It can be safely used in all piston-powered aircraft, which 100LL cannot be. Many of the 80-octane engines are unsafe on 100LL and did just fine on mogas without ethanol. The new fuel can be marked to all piston-powered aircraft, which should help increase volume and might equal lower costs.
• The lead in 100LL has to be imported from the U.K. since EPA has made it impossible for domestic producers.

Larry Wheelock

I'd hoped a 100UL fuel would cost less than 100LL because the need to segregate the fuel from other unleaded motor fuels goes away and the new unleaded fuel can be run through pipelines and not trucked in.

But considering the tiny fraction of the fuel market that avgas has (0.1 percent), I suppose the economics just aren't there.

Will Alibrandi

Might be a pipe dream, but I would think and hope that with a non-dedicated leaded fuel production and distribution system, (i.e. common tankers, processes -- no need to address lead contamination), it should be possible for Shell to produce the fuel at a premium vs. high-octane automotive fuel, but cheaper than current 100LL -- while still maintaining their profits at levels equal to or better than 100LL.  With decent pricing, overall flying and fuel consumption may increase and be good for their business overall.

Name Withheld

The price of gas is already limiting my flying.  Paying more is not an option; selling the airplane is.

Doug Lesh

They should price-support 100LL just like they do milk, grain, and other things.  More flying will happen when the price of fuel goes down.

Gary Wilson

Video System as ELT?

So a video system is transmitting emergency signals in either the VHF or UHF range and continues to do so even when turned off?  This reminds me of a time I landed and left my plane overnight at a small airport that was less than completely friendly to strangers.  The next morning when I returned to my airplane, my disassembled ELT was on the seat with a note the read something like, "Your ELT was transmitting even though the switch was off.  It continued to transmit even after we cut the wires to the battery."  In both of these cases, despite the obvious diligence of the searchers, the ELT signal was coming from somewhere else.

Peter Coen

The video camera ELT signal was most definitely a 121.5 signal, and 121.5 signals from things other than ELTs are very common.  When I was in CAP, I found a 121.5 fax machine and have heard firsthand stories of pizza ovens, computers, microwaves, and video game transmitting on 121.5.

The 406 signal contains encoded data, so a stray signal on 406 will be filtered out as background noise.  All 406 ELTs also transmit on 121.5 for close-in location.

John Clear

While on a local flight close to my base airport (KLWB), a landing Gulfstream contacted the tower. The controller in the cab gave the Gulfstream clearance to land, along with a warning that buzzards were circling near the approach end of the runway.

"O.K.," replied the Gulfsteam. "We've got the BB gun loaded."

Kyle Jones
via e-mail

Heard anything funny, unusual, or downright shocking on the radio lately? If you've been flying any length of time, you're sure to have eavesdropped on a few memorable exchanges. The ones that gave you a chuckle may do the same for your fellow AVweb readers. Share your radio funny with us, and, if we use it in a future "Short Final," we'll send you a sharp-looking AVweb hat to sport around your local airport. No joke.

Click here to submit your original, true, and previously unpublished story.

AVweb is the world's premier independent aviation news resource, online since 1995. Our reporting, features, and newsletters are brought to you by:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Paul Berge

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb web site readers every week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss:

• via e-mail;
• or via telephone at (480) 525-7481