The Top Headlines From AVweb's Expanded, Illustrated News Coverage At AVweb's NewsWire.

MORE COSTS, MORE RED TAPE, WORLDWIDE...
European GA is facing massive cost increases, more red tape and what some say is an unnecessarily daunting training regimen for many technicians as the European Community's new umbrella safety organization flexes its newborn muscles. But their airplanes will be clean. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is taking over from the Joint Aviation Authority, is bent on removing the 12,500-pound barrier when it comes to certain maintenance standards and record-keeping and we bet you can guess which side of the line they're favoring. And tucked in the myriad of regs is a provision requiring maintenance and repair shops to return customers' planes "clean." The new agency, which takes over in September, plans to implement the changes over the next couple of years and the Aircraft Electronics Association is crying foul. Here in the U.S., repair stations may in September face new "burdensome" regulations that some fear will lead to higher user costs and lower efficiency. More...

...GA MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS CHANGE...
Of greatest concern to private aircraft owners overseas is EASA's retooling of the JAA Part M. Essentially, the new rule will require light aircraft (below 12,500 pounds) to have individual maintenance management programs in place, similar to those used on airliners and other commercially used aircraft. GA aircraft are currently maintained according to manufacturers' maintenance programs, and a Cessna 172 is a Cessna 172 regardless of who is fixing it. The AEA claims the new rule will not only drop a huge financial burden on GA owners, it could actually make the GA fleet less safe. "The requirement to individually approve each and every aircraft's maintenance program is administratively burdensome to individual national aviation authorities, extremely costly to individual owners/operators and will introduce a lack of standardization essential to the improving safety of general aviation maintenance and operations," Peri wrote. More...

...BLAKEY URGED CONSULTATION
So far, the proposed rules would only affect European Union states and neighboring countries that want to do business with them. But aviation, perhaps more than many others, is a global industry and it was only a few months ago that FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, that Europe should be talking to other jurisdictions to ensure there are no conflicts down the road. "Aerospace trade between the United States and the European Community exceeds $40 billion," she said. "There is a lot at stake." More...

OF SECURITY AND ANGST, MEIGS' FATE SEALED...
As many suspected all along, there was nothing that could be done to save Meigs Field, once it had been rendered unusable by heavy equipment sent in by Mayor Richard Daley last March. That didn't stop Friends of Meigs (FOM), the alphabet groups, Harrison Ford and even a few politicians from trying, but the last chapter of the long and bitter story would appear to have been written at a meeting of the Chicago Park Board last Wednesday. "The decision to close the airport has already been made," said Park Board President Maria Saldana as she presided over a unanimous vote to award a $1.5 million contract to remove what's left of the runway and replace it with topsoil. The FOM had asked that the contract decision be deferred while it worked on a combined airport/park plan it hoped would satisfy everyone. More...

...MAYBE THE PRESIDENT WILL LISTEN...
Public opinion might not have been a factor in Chicago but AOPA is hoping an election-focused George W. Bush will listen to his flying constituents about all the trouble he causes them when he drops in for a visit. And there's no place like home for that message to hit. Over the past weekend, Bush used his Crawford, Texas, ranch as his base for some visits to his old stomping grounds in Dallas and Houston. The result was a series of overlapping TFRs that closed a total of 70 airports and inconvenienced hundreds of pilots. AOPA is hoping all Texas pilots affected will write a letter directly to Bush informing him of the trouble he caused them. More...

...FAA HEARS CONCERNS
Now, the Secret Service might not be swayed much by public opinion, but the FAA has shown that it can accept a common-sense suggestion. The weekend restrictions were going to particularly affect Crawford-area pilots. Generally, the 30-nm TFR around the ranch is only in effect when Bush is actually there. But for some reason the TFR was set to remain in place even when Bush was safely under the no-fly zones around Houston and Dallas. That was until AOPA got in touch with the FAA. More...

WORST MAY BE OVER FOR WICHITA
With a furlough here, some shuffling there and a lot of crossed fingers, the GA capital of the U.S. may have weathered the worst of the worst economic downturn in aviation's brief history. Cessna and Raytheon officials can't and won't say that happy days are here again but they are at least giving qualified comments to The Wichita Eagle that suggests they expect that brighter future we've all been waiting for to start soon ... maybe. "We knew that we were in a tough delivery year for '03 and '04, " said Doug Wilburne, VP of investor relations for Textron, Cessna's parent company. "We are anticipating a much more robust '05." Cessna's recent furlough of 6,000 workers to align production with demand is now over and company officials hope no further layoffs are required. Raytheon isn't so much cutting jobs as transferring them to other companies. More...

SOUTHEAST AIRLINES GOES VIDEO
Smile, you're on Southeast Airlines. The tiny Florida-based carrier will be among the first in the U.S. to use video cameras to monitor cabin activity. In fact, the Largo company is bragging that it will never forget the face of anyone who flies with them because the digital images of each flight will be kept for up to 10 years. It may also put names to faces with face-recognition software. There are also plans to beam the live images to the corporate head office. "One of the strong capabilities of the system is for the corporate office to be able to monitor what is going on at all times," Southeast VP Scott Bacon told Wired News. Bacon says it's just a matter of time before the FAA mandates video monitoring so Southeast decided to be one step ahead. More...

AD WATCH
Flight-control operating levers in GROB Model G120A airplanes must be modified to prevent a ball bearing failure.

McCauley props installed on BAE Jetstream Model 4101 airplanes must be checked for cracks.

The nose landing gear drag link right-hand part on all Pilatus PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes must be replaced every 4,000 landings until an improved design part is installed. More...

UAVS SHOWCASED AT PAX RIVER DEMO
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry's answer to AirVenture was held last week at Patuxent River Naval Air Station's Webster Field Annex and indications are this semi-annual event will grow along with the popularity of UAVs. According to the American Forces Press Service, about 10 UAVs, including a pilotless helicopter, were there to show the expanding capabilities of the remote control devices. They were Northrop Grumman with the Fire Scout and the Hunter, Boeing's ScanEagle, DRS's Sentry HP, Scheibel's Camcopter, Yamaha's RMAX, Aurora Flight Sciences' GolenEye-50, Innocon's Mini Falcon and MMIST's SnowGoose. In fact, about the only one not there was the well-known Predator because the military couldn't spare any from its operations. More...

DAYTON WELCOMED THE AVIATION WORLD
With all three North American military performance teams flying each day (and perfect 79-degree pure blue skies Saturday) it was a celebration befitting the occasion it marked. This weekend, people jammed the Vectren Dayton Air Show in the official (Kitty Hawk will always argue this) Birthplace of Aviation, to mark 100 years of powered, sustained flight. The event is the keystone gala to a long list of centennial events across the country. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds each brought their own version of precision flight to hundreds of thousands. Rich's Incredible Pyro assaulted the record books with a 3,000-foot-long wall of fire and air-to-ground attack simulations, while aerial demonstrations included everything from the 1910 Bleriot XI" to the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Announcers at the show Saturday proclaimed by noon that the record crowd had gobbled up all the programs for the week and officials were scrambling to open new parking areas as visitors spent three hours inching in gridlock the last three miles to reach the show site. More...

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR EAGLES BASH
Want to rub shoulders with the likes of Chuck Yeager and Sean D. Tucker or take home Patti Wagstaff's flight suit? There are still a few tickets available for the Gathering of Eagles, the gala benefit that kicks off EAA AirVenture a week from tomorrow. Dozens of the most famous and influential people in the aviation world will attend the event at the AirVenture Museum. It's a fundraiser for Young Eagles and other educational programs aimed at inspiring young people to pursue aviation as a hobby or career. More...

ON THE FLY...
Three men that crashed a 172 were possibly saved by a flashbulb...
Stratoliner will fly back to Oshkosh after second restoration...
Two pilots died in British Columbia crash of Electra air tanker...
Heckler and Koch got armed pilots' gun contract...
Northwest Airlines suffered worst quarter in history...
Eye-dentification will make Customs clearing easy in Vancouver...
Atlantic City will host major air show Aug. 27. More...

SHORT FINAL...
I fly skydivers and am talking to controllers at the best ATC facility around quite often. One day traffic on the frequency was a little light so one of the controllers had a little fun...

Cessna123: Jumpers away!
Approach (in his best kid-on-a-ride voice): WEEEEEEE! More...

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AVweb's AVscoop Award...

Congratulations and an AVweb hat go out to Jeff Abraham, this week's AVscoop winner. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. Rules and information are at http://www.avweb.com/contact/newstips.html.

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AIRVENTURE 2003 OSHKOSH
AVweb's AirVenture 2003 Survival Guide -- Part Two
AVweb presents an insider's guide to the hows, whys and wheres of EAA's AirVenture 2003 at Oshkosh. AVweb columnist Rick Durden provides you the benefit of his years of OSH experience with tips you won't find anywhere else. The first part of this series covered how to prepare for your pilgrimage to Aviation Mecca -- this second part focuses on what you need to know once you've arrived.

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COLUMNS
Pelican's Perch #71: The Legendary Zero (Part 1)
The Japanese Zero of World War II was so light it could out-turn just about any American fighter, but that meant it had very little armor, so one good shot would take it down. Nowadays, there are maybe two flying examples in the entire world -- and AVweb's John Deakin is now a qualified pilot in one of them.

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Reader mail this week about twin-engine safety, UAVs, new GA engines and more.

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SHOPPING DEALS

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HE FLIES THROUGH THE AIR WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE, that daring young man in the flying machine! Inspiration for the song, and the "daring young man", are incorporated in Dave Higdon's photo gallery. Yes, you know Dave as an AVweb special projects editor. Go to Flying Machine Photo's site for a FREE download of some incredible wallpaper, plus you can order Dave's photos online to decorate or give as special gifts. http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/flyphoto

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SPONSOR NEWS

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SUPPORT THOSE WHO BRING YOU FREE AVFLASHES! Stop by and tell AVweb sponsors how much you appreciate their support of your FREE AVflash issues. AVweb will be in AirVenture booth 4144-45. For a list you can print out and take with you go to http://www.avweb.com/shopping/sponsors.html

AVflash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest aviation news, articles, products, features and events featured on AVweb, the Internet's Aviation Magazine and News Service. http://www.avweb.com

Letters to the editor intended for publication in AVmail should be sent to mailto:editor@avweb.com.com. Have a comment or question? Send it to mailto:newsteam@avweb.com.

Today's issue written by News Writer Russ Niles:
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AVweb's editorial team: http://avweb.com/contact/authors.html.

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Let's all be careful out there, okay?

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