Volume 9, Issue 32a August 4, 2003

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

AIRVENTURE WINDS DOWN, AS THE INDUSTRY WINDS UP...
The weather threatened through most of the week, but then the economy has threatened throughout the year, and neither seemed to make a dent in the celebration of general aviation and 100 years of innovation in powered flight at AirVenture 2003. Honda, with a new GA engine, told us quite clearly they believe "the long-term GA economy is on the rise" and they plan to be there. Adam aircraft stunned all by Thursday bringing the first flying, smaller small jet to AirVenture, beating Eclipse, Cessna and more. Diamond is proving diesel power with their ultra-efficient, head-turning TwinStar and will soon have a jet, too. OMF added a BRS full-plane parachute and training incentives. Cirrus, which has always had a BRS, is putting out two $189K - $389K planes per day, now fully glass-paneled. The industry is looking good. More...

...AVWEB AND AIRSIDETV PUT YOU ON THE FLIGHT LINE
It's better than being there, because you wouldn't have the access, but you would have the crowds. The latest installment of AVweb/AirsideTV's streaming video coverage of AirVenture 2003, thanks to our AirVenture partner AirsideTV, brings AVweb readers flight displays including the Marine AV-8 Harrier and a flight performance from Patty Wagstaff. You'll see FAA Administrator Marion Blakey at the certificate-signing ceremony for the Wright Flyer replica, and much more. It's a small portion of our extended pay-per-view coverage. See also previous installments #1, #2, #3, and #4. It's a small portion of our extended video coverage, where pay-per-view subscribers see each day's hour-long feature program with inside access to the best AirVenture offers. Get special access, you'll like it.

AVWEB TALKS TO BLAKEY ABOUT PRIVATIZATION...
The head of the FAA continues to insist that what most of us define as air traffic control will remain a government function, regardless of suggestions to the contrary by union officials and at least one senior senator. "There are absolutely no plans to privatize air traffic control as we know it," Administrator Marion Blakey told AVweb in an exclusive, if brief, private interview at EAA AirVenture. Blakey's jammed Oshkosh schedule precluded in-depth treatment of the issues but she did take a few minutes to discuss the privatization issue and give us a hint of what's to come to improve GA safety. Last Friday, a congressional consensus committee gave final structure to the FAA Reauthorization Bill, which sets the agency's spending for coming years. More...

...FAA PUTS EMPHASIS ON GA SAFETY
Blakey told AVweb the FAA will soon publish 300 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) approaches to airports around the country that currently don't have instrument approaches. She called it a significant step toward the major goal of her term to improve GA's safety record. "Now, the average private pilot is going to have very accurate vertical as well as horizontal [position data]," she said. WAAS uses a system of ground-station relays to correct errors inherent in the satellite signals, thus boosting the accuracy of GPS position data to the point that it can be used for ILS-like approaches and non-precision approaches with vertical guidance to high minumums. Most of the available "WAAS capable" GPS systems are not yet certified for the vertical component of the WAAS data so can't be used for WAAS approaches. Blakey said other initiatives are on the way to help us fly more safely. More...

ADAM'S BIG ENTRANCE...
Well, there's nothing like making an entrance. To the clap of thunder and the drumbeat of torrential rain, Adam Aircraft's brand-new (15 hours TT) A700 jet landed at EAA AirVenture on Thursday, four days after making its initial flight. The appearance so surprised Oshkosh crowds that Adam put a sign on the nose asserting that yes, the airplane really did fly to the show from Denver. "People keep asking if it's a real airplane," said Adam spokesman John Hamilton. He said the trip from Denver (at 25,000 feet, 220 knots and wheels down) was uneventful and bolstered earlier data that the plane is stable and predictable in the jet configuration. The surprise appearance by the A700, the only flying example of the vaunted mini-jet craze at Oshkosh, gave the aviation media some welcome news, which has been in something of a holding pattern in this sector in recent months. More...

...DIAMOND'S ENGINE CHOICE LOOMS
Diamond had nothing new to report on its D-Jet but that might change in the next month or so. A spokesman said the engine will be selected for its "well under $1 million" five-place jet "within 30 days." Since it's widely acknowledged that there are only two realistic choices, the announcement, when it comes, might be a little anti-climactic. The field has been narrowed to the Williams FJ-33 (chosen by Adam and Javelin) and the Pratt and Whitney Canada PW-600 series (Cessna Mustang and Eclipse). Diamond joins Cessna and Javelin in a group that hasn't built any prototypes yet, although first flight for the D-Jet is expected in 2004. More...

YOUR OWN VTOL, HOLD YOUR BREATH IF YOU LIKE
It's a dream that has eluded aircraft designers for almost a century but a California engineer and A&P mechanic says his strange-looking craft will end the quest. "Real freedom of flight is when you don't have to use an airport," said AMV Aircraft owner and designer Atilla Melkuti. A six-foot vaned fan under the belly would provide lift for vertical takeoffs. After the aircraft transitioned 26 degrees forward the fuselage and wing lifting surfaces would take over. With a turbocharged 450-horsepower Mazda rotary engine, Melkuti predicts a 5,000-fpm climb for the 900-pound aircraft (gross 1800), 280-mph maximum speed (250 mph at 60-percent power) at 10 gph. First test flight is set for August. Melkuti's friend Imre Nagy has a different dream, one that has also been tried many times but never really caught on. More...

WE FLEW THE GLASS-PANELED SR22
What's not to like? We dropped the thing into a 2,450- by 20-foot strip (watch the streaming video) after a short jaunt at 170 knots with four full seats and 70 gallons of fuel. Then, still rolling, we tested the 310-hp Continental and climbed out at 1,000 feet per minute somewhere near 100 knots while spotting -- over the cowl -- traffic at our one o'clock and low. Great fun ... and we didn't have to pay for it. Paying customers, of course, get to keep the airplane. Our brief tour impressed us with excellent visibility, dreamy avionics, ultra-comfortable seating, and ergonomics that could make your ground-bound friends think they're in a fine touring sedan. What else should you expect for $389,000? More...

U.S. RUNWAY INCURSIONS DROP, OSH HAS ITS OWN PROBLEMS
On Friday at 12:53 p.m. a Van's RV and a Lancair experimental aircraft made contact as they both rolled out on Runway 27 at OSH. We know the time, because we heard it. Last year, across the nation, there were 339 incursions recorded by the FAA, down 17 percent from previous years. Of course, normal operations at EAA AirVenture, with several aircraft using the same runway at any given time, would qualify as incursions at any other airport. Two pilots who witnessed the accident at OSH told AVweb that the RV was rolling out on the right side of 27 when it turned left and made contact with a Lancair. Both aircraft spun off the runway into the grass. We do have pictures of the results. More...

TEB FIGHTS BBJS, SINGLES DIG DEEP TO LAND
How big is too big? For the people who run Teterboro Airport in New Jersey -- by some standards the busiest GA airport in the country -- the limit is 100,000 pounds, regardless of what the FAA says. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it will fight FAA pressure to allow larger aircraft into the airport, which now caters to bizjets, charters and well-to-do pistons. At the same time, landing fees for the little guys may be disproportionately going through the roof. The Port Authority has maintained the 100,000-pound ban for 30 years. The landing fees may not be a ban, but may also serve a similar function. More...

JUNKYARD WARS YIELD NEW ENGINE TECHNOLOGY
Give some bright kids a few bucks and a junkyard and what can they come up with? "You just wait," says Al Janiszewski, who, a few weeks ago, was Col. Al Janiszewski and watching in amazement as a collection of wet-behind-the-ears military researchers revolutionized aircraft propulsion, promising zero to Mach 4 on regular gas and with great fuel economy. Until six weeks ago, Janiszewski headed the propulsion directorate of the Air Force Research Lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. What brought him to Oshkosh is a collection of automotive engine parts, electronics, belts and pulleys forming a successful pulse jet. More...

CARTER COPTER TO GO FASTER TURNING ROTOR SLOWER
Later this year, the CarterCopter will be ready to break the Mu-1 barrier, company prez Jay Carter Jr. said at AirVenture last week. And just to show he has confidence, he plans to do it at Texas Motor Speedway in front of thousands of spectators, on November 22. Achieving Mu-1 means the gyroplane will be able to achieve greater forward speeds by slowing down its rotor and reducing its aerodynamic drag. Mu refers to the ratio of the aircraft's forward speed to the rotor's tip speed, which varies at a wider margin between the advancing and retreating blades as the vehicle's forward airspeed increases. The challenge in achieving Mu-1, according to Carter Copter, is to maintain rotor stability. More...

ON THE FLY...
AVweb invites you to browse the grounds of OSH in our freshly expanded AirVenture '03 Image Galleries...

SHORT FINAL...
While flying through Colorado Springs Class C the other day, I heard the following exchange:

United 1234: "Springs Approach, United 1234. We can’t read the localizer. Is there a problem?"

Approach: "The box is actually sitting right behind me. They’re doing an upgrade and it should be back in service this Winter."

United 1234: "We can’t hold that long."

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COLUMNS
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