| Volume 9, Number 25b | June 19,
2003 |
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The Top Headlines From AVweb's Expanded, Illustrated News Coverage At AVweb.com.
PARIS
AIR SHOW 2003, FANS ENJOY THE SPECTACLE...
The Paris Air
Show opened over the weekend at Le Bourget, delighting crowds of
spectators with fighter planes zooming overhead, and bringing a bout of
nostalgia as an Air France Concorde made its last landing, destined for
the airport's aviation museum. Unmanned aerial vehicles, many of them
freshly tested in warfare in Iraq, are getting lots of exposure and
interest. An assortment of vintage aircraft are assembled for static and
aerial displays, including a replica of the Blériot XI, the first
aircraft to cross the English Channel; a Piper Cub; a DC-3; and a B-17.
But the World War II-era Flying Fortress is the only U.S. aircraft that
spectators will get to see take to the air. The current crop of the U.S.
arsenal stayed on the ground. More...
...WHILE
INDUSTRY FRETS ABOUT SLUMP
The dearth of U.S. military presence, plus the impact of a slow economy,
reflect the continuing stress on the industry. Overall, exhibit space is
down by 5 percent over the last show, in 2001, and aircraft on static
display are down from 226 to 206. American exhibitors number 200, down
from 350 last time. The U.S. military presence is cut severely -- only
six military aircraft are on the field, and none of them will fly.
High-ranking military officials are not attending for their own reasons,
and many U.S. corporations have cut back for economic reasons, for a
reduction of about 20 percent since the last show. Raytheon is there
with its T-6B trainer, but Cessna stayed away altogether.
More...
AIRBUS
BESTS BOEING...
Despite all the handwringing and bickering and grandstanding, dealmaking
is the Paris show's raison d'être, and it goes on apace this week.
Airbus Industrie announced at the
show on Monday that it had scored a record-setting $12.5 billion order
for 41 jets from Emirates Airline, the fastest-growing airline in the
Middle East. Airbus also said that in 2003, for the first time, its
larger order roster would translate into more deliveries than Boeing --
300 vs. 280 aircraft. The A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft,
will in 2005 debut at the next Paris Air Show and start deliveries the
following year, Airbus says. Emirates' order includes 21 of the
double-decker, 555-seat A380s. More...
...BUT
BOEING KEEPS ON GOING
Boeing may be behind for the moment in the neck-and-neck race with
Airbus, but it's busily in the running. And that run appears to be well
worth the effort -- in Paris on Monday, Boeing released its 2003 Market Outlook,
forecasting a market of $5.2 trillion for new commercial airplanes and
aviation services over the next 20 years. Boeing estimates the world
fleet will more than double to 34,000 jets by 2022. Also at Paris,
Boeing officials touted their newly christened 7E7 Dreamliner. The
company expressed confidence that the fuel-efficient 200-seat jet
constructed of composites combining titanium and graphite is just what
the market really wants. Boeing expects to sell 3,000 of the aircraft,
which should be ready for delivery in 2008. More...
ATC
PRIVATIZATION BATTLE LOOMS
It's not often that an aviation issue is front and center in a political
tug of war between the White House and Congress but that's what's
shaping up in September with the FAA Reauthorization Bill. The
administration has threatened to veto the bill if the final version
contains language that would outlaw the privatization of air traffic
controllers and possibly flight services and technical personal in the
system. But Wally Pike, the president of the National Association of Air
Traffic Specialists, which represents FSS employees, said he believes
the White House will fold under political and public pressure and
withdraw the veto threat. "We know we have bipartisan support and we
don't think [the privatization section of the bill] is likely to be
changed," said Pike. "We just don't feel like a veto is likely."
More...
MEIGS
HEADS FOR SUPREME COURT
Foiled and frustrated at every turn, the Friends of Meigs (FOM) soldier
on, and this week the organization sent out a plea for supporters to
contribute to the next round of legal efforts. The group is drafting an
appeal to the Illinois state Supreme Court. "I cannot emphasize enough
the importance of this appeal to efforts to preserve Meigs Field," FOM
President Rachel Goodstein wrote in a letter to supporters, posted
online Monday. "As things currently stand, there is nothing preventing
the City of Chicago ... from further demolition of the airport. ... We
need to move quickly, and we need to raise funds in order to do so." The
legal effort is expected to cost about $100,000. More...
NOT
YOUR TRADITIONAL FLYING CAR: URBANAERO
The flying cars we all know and love share many attributes: They climb
jauntily above traffic jams, park easily in a garage, and they're (so
far) imaginary. UrbanAero's
X-Hawk concept of the flying car is more like a flying truck -- a
utilitarian VTOL powered-lift ducted-fan vehicle designed for ambulance
chores, powerline maintenance, bridge inspection, and other such mundane
but useful tasks. It's also imaginary, so far, but in recent weeks, the
project has been busy, adding the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center to its design team for its medevac version of the X-Hawk, and
presenting an overview of the project at the meeting of the American
Helicopter Society. A prototype design has been built and is being used for
ground and hover tests. More...
CIVIL
AIR PATROL, BROUGHT TO YOU BY...
Money is tight all over, and the Civil
Air Patrol is feeling its share of the pinch. Case in point,
Alaska's wing went into a tizzy recently, expecting a total shutdown,
before the state government came through in the breach with a
half-million dollars late last week. On Monday, the national CAP
organization announced a new strategy to supplement its operating
expenses -- corporate sponsorship. CAP Corporate Partners will be able
to use the Civil Air Patrol name and corporate partner mark in
advertising, marketing and promotions as well as in merchandising and
licensing rights. More...
A
NEW SPIN ON HELICOPTERS
Dean Borgman, president of Sikorsky, told Reuters on Monday
that he thinks the U.S. has too many helicopter makers, and he's
interested in consolidation with other companies. In an interview at the
Paris Air Show, Borgman said there probably would have been
consolidation already, if not for the fact that the main players are
part of larger corporations. For example, Bell Helicopter is a
subsidiary of Textron, and Sikorsky is owned by United Technologies.
Sikorsky unveiled its newest military helicopter, the H-92 Superhawk, at
Le Bourget on Tuesday, and a Superhawk variant is contending for a
contract with the U.S. Marine Corps' elite helicopter squadron, which
provides service to the president. More...
AD
WATCH: MCCAULEY PROPELLERS
The FAA last week issued an
amendment to an existing Airworthiness Directive for McCauley
Propeller Systems 1A103/TCM series propellers, which calls for
inspections of the propeller hub with a dye-penetrant procedure to check
for cracks. The amendment clarifies some details of the inspection
procedure and relaxes the replacement requirements. The original AD was
intended to prevent propeller separation due to hub fatigue cracking,
which can result in loss of control of the airplane. The new AD is
effective July 17. The FAA estimates that approximately 3,000 propellers
installed on airplanes of U.S. registry will be affected by this AD.
More...
MAKING
MONEY IN AVIATION
How to make money in the airplane biz has challenged generations, but
one young entrepreneur in Boston has come up with a new take. The Boston
Globe reports that an 18-year-old business student at Babson College
started his own airline, complete with a Web site, called Mainline
Airways, offering leather seats with personal TVs, affordable first
class, and round trips from LA to Honolulu for under $200. The only
trouble was, no such airline ever existed. Last week, the Massachusetts
attorney general suggested to freshman Luke Thompson that he would be
wise to cease and desist -- and he should also refrain from withdrawing
any money from his bank accounts. More...
ON
THE FLY...
A 182 and 172 collided off Florida Tuesday, three dead, two
missing...
EAA Ultralight Council named Carla Larsh its new chairwoman...
Four killed, one hurt when skydiving plane crashed in Jeannette,
Pa....
Last commercial flight departed Naples (Fla.) Airport Saturday...
Four-day safety seminars set for two Australia locations next
month...
Tower frequency changed for Rockies EAA Fly-In to 120.525...
California man won suit for damage to his boat by chunks of "blue ice."
More...
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AVWEB'S
PICTURE OF THE WEEK...
*** PREVIOUS RESULTS ***
We received over 100 pictures last week. Congratulations to this week's
winner, Drew Coats, of Woodlands, Texas. His photo, titled "Gorgeous
WACO" perfectly describes this great looking airplane. Sort of fitting
for the year-long celebration of powered flight, don't you think? Great
picture Drew! Your AVweb hat is on the way.
To check out the winning picture, or to enter next week's contest, go to
http://www.avweb.com/potw.
**Due to privacy issues, AVweb does not publish e-mail addresses of
readers who submit photos. More...
AVWEB'S QUESTION OF THE
WEEK...
*** PREVIOUS RESULTS ***
We received over 500 responses to our question last week on
factory-built versus kit aircraft. The largest group (31 percent) of
those responding said a factory aircraft was best, as they don't have
time to construct. Nearly a third (28 percent) of those responding
cited several reasons for constructing a kit aircraft, including the fun
of building and flying one's own machine and the educational aspect of
learning the inner workings of an airplane.
To check out the complete results, go to http://www.avweb.com/qotw.
*** THIS WEEK'S QUESTION ***
This week, we would like to know your thoughts on the Paris Air Show.
Please go to http://www.avweb.com/qotw to
respond.
Have an idea for a new QOTW? Send your suggestions to qotw@avweb.com. Note, this address is
ONLY for suggested QOTW questions, and NOT for QOTW answers.
More...
_______________________________________
New Articles and Features on AVweb
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AVIONICS
GPS and Beyond: The SatNav Transition
Delays in implementing various aspects of the GPS system have left many
in a quandary about why and perhaps when to move to the next generation
of WAAS-capable avionics, and where LAAS fits in the big picture. This
article offers some guidance for both VFR and IFR operators who may be
considering the purchase of new SatNav avionics.
____________
BRAINTEASERS
Quiz #69 -- Talk The Talk
Whether you're talking on a busy air traffic control (ATC) frequency or
some sleepy uncontrolled airport's CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory
Frequency), how you sound determines how others will treat you. When
the phraseology is flying fast do you sing like a 747 captain or squawk
like Donald Duck? See how you'd treat these snatches of aviation
verbiage.
___________________________________________________________________
Reader feedback on AVweb's news coverage and feature
articles:
http://www.avweb.com/avmail/
Reader mail this week about kit vs. production aircraft, the "real"
birthplace of flight, insurance and more.
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SPONSOR NEWS
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IFR
REFRESHER ISN'T FLUFF! IF YOU LISTEN IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!
IFR Refresher's July issue highlights are typical of year-long
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