The Top Headlines From AVweb's Expanded,
Illustrated News Coverage At AVweb's
NewsWire.
AIRPORTS
COME AND GO
What happens when you close perfectly good GA airports that serve
hundreds of pilots and planes in a metropolitan area? Chances are you'll
have to spend tens of millions on a new one. Flying folks in Austin,
Texas, were horrified when both Austin Executive and Robert Mueller
Municipal Airport were closed in 1999 after the new Austin Bergstrom
International Airport opened. It didn't take state officials long to
realize they'd carved a big hole in their transportation infrastructure
by closing them and enacted
a law requiring a new one be built. Well, even in Texas, 700 acres
near good highways and away from people who don't want an airport near
them isn't that easy to find. State officials have identified
15 potential sites, including some existing airports, to put the
7,000-foot runway and attendant facilities. The cost? About $55 to $65
million. More...
...PRICEY
TO EXPAND...
Although far more airports close every year than are opened, there are
jurisdictions that see the wisdom in keeping the flying fraternity safe
and happy. But as St. Augustine, Fla., officials found out last week,
expanding an airport into an existing neighborhood is about as popular
as expanding a landfill in the same direction. The St. Augustine-St.
Johns County Airport Authority is borrowing $5 million to expand the
airport into a residential area called Araquay Park. The authority
already owns 75 percent of the land there and hopes to pick up the rest
but about half of the remaining owners don't want to sell. "I've enjoyed
living here ... and I don't want to leave," Mary McElroy told The St.
Augustine Record. Over in Birmingham, Ala., the city council sees
airport expansion coming and is taking steps to make sure it doesn't end
up where it's not wanted. More...
...AND
PAWNS TO POLITICS
If there is any politician who knows how to close an airport, it's
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Now proponents of a privately funded field
in suburban Peotone are wondering if the mastermind of the destruction
of Meigs Field can stop their project before it's started. Daley doesn't
want Chicago's third regional airport in Peotone but those behind the
plan are trying to structure it so the powerful mayor can't scuttle it.
They plan to raise private money to build the airport, and Daley has no
official say in whether the state or federal authorities approve it.
However, Chicago Business says backers are anxiously awaiting the wily
mayor's move. More...
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THE
FUTURE OF GA POWERPLANTS?
For now, the closest "new" technology that means anything to power GA is
an idea that's been kicking around for decades and with companies like
Boeing getting serious about it, an electric airplane, powered by a fuel
cell, is not only feasible, it might even be desirable for some
applications. As we've
reported previously, Worcester, Mass.-based Advanced Technology
Products (ATP) is at the forefront of this technology. We've tweaked,
we've tuned and we've wrung just about everything we can from the two
basic engine designs that power today's airplanes, but is electric power
poised to replace the pistons and turbines that now make us go? The
short answer is no, but ATP, along with its non-profit research partner,
the Foundation for Advancing
Science and Technology Education (FASTec), had already almost
completed their own E-plane when Boeing asked them to put together the
power package for its plane. More...
...POWER
FROM THE GROUND...
But while ATP grapples with the problem of heavy batteries and
developing fuel-cell technology, NASA researchers have successfully
tested a model electric plane that leaves all that bulky stuff behind.
Staff at the Marshall Space Flight Center kept the 11-ounce
balsa-and-Mylar contraption flying by pointing an invisible laser beam
at it. The Laser Beaming Project, a joint effort of NASA's Marshall and
Dryden centers and the University of Alabama, aims the laser at a
photovoltaic cell that converts it to the juice the electric motor
needs. In last week's test, the plane was dropped from an elevated
platform and the light beam kept it circling 60 feet above. It was the
first time an "aircraft" had ever flown with laser energy from the
ground, although researchers did manage a similar feat using a
searchlight last year. More...
...BURNING
RUBBER TOWARD $10 MILLION
There's nothing new about rockets but when Burt Rutan starts looking
spaceward, you can bet there'll be something unconventional supplying
the kick. As AVweb reported last week, two companies, eAc and SpaceDev,
were in line to build the hybrid rocket that will push Rutan's SpaceShipOne to 62
miles high in the race for the $10 million XPrize. Rutan's Scaled Composites announced Friday
that SpaceDev won the contract. Both companies developed a rocket that
combines the function of liquid- and solid-fueled engines with safety
and reliability. The engines burn rubber, which is oxidized by nitrous
oxide, both of which are safe and easy to handle and won't react
spontaneously. And as we relentlessly seek new technologies to power our
passion, last week, some well-heeled travelers were undoubtedly wishing
the tried and true were just a bit more reliable when their Concorde
trip got complicated. More...
WRIGHT
SITE UNDAMAGED BY ISABEL
The Wright Brothers went to Kitty Hawk for the wind but they would have
been blown away by conditions last week. The historic site of the first powered,
sustained flight escaped undamaged when Hurricane Isabel made landfall
on the Outer Banks. "There's a little bit of standing water. We fared
well," National Parks Service spokeswoman Mary Doll told AVweb. "Wright
Brothers (Memorial) really sustained no damage." She said a couple of
nearby airport runways were covered in sand washed in by the storm surge
but they were quickly cleared. There was also some building damage in
nearby communities. Of course, the hurricane played havoc with air
travel on the east coast. More...
AIRLINER
DIVES TO AVOID FIGHTERS
Some Air Force fighters that might have been fleeing Hurricane Isabel
apparently narrowly missed a disaster of a different sort last
Wednesday. An American Airlines airliner on its way to St. Louis from
Oklahoma City dove to avoid a flight of three or four military aircraft
near Tulsa, according to airline spokeswoman Julia Bishop-Cross. "The
pilot took the plane off autopilot, the system went off again and
ordered a descent," she told The Associated Press. "He descended 50 to
100 feet, then saw three or four jet fighters, military aircraft." Three
flight attendants and two passengers were slightly injured. The plane
flew on to St. Louis. More...
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AEROSHELL FLIGHT
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Flight Jacket line of aviation appearance care products contributed to
the Centennial of Flight by completely refurbishing the original Boeing
707 Air Force One first flown by President Eisenhower. Seattle's Museum
of Flight was to repaint the aircraft, but with AeroShell Flight Jacket
products the aircraft was brought back to its original beauty without
new paint, saving the museum over $50,000. See what Flight Jacket
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FRACTIONAL
OWNERSHIP RULES SET
It's been 18 years since Executive Jet revolutionized business-jet
ownership and now the FAA has caught up to the fractional ownership
industry with a set of regulations. The agency published a final rule
for the Regulation
of Fractional Aircraft Ownership Programs and On-Demand Operations
last Wednesday in the Federal Register. The new rule recognizes the
enviable safety and maintenance record that has evolved in the
fractional ownership industry. "By this rulemaking, the FAA establishes
safety standards to maintain the safety record of current fractional
ownership programs and to ensure that new fractional ownership programs
will also meet a high level of safety," the rule reads.
More...
BIG
BROTHER LOOKING OUT FOR YOU
Big Brother is watching us, but JetBlue? The discount airline admitted
last week that it turned over personal information on a million of its
passengers to an Army contractor that used the information to find out
their Social Security numbers, financial histories and occupations. The
airline violated its own privacy code in doing so and officials
apologized Friday. "This was a mistake on our part and I know you and
many of our customers feel betrayed by it," CEO David Neeleman said in
an e-mail to the 150 customers who complained. The data was turned over
to Torch Concepts, which
said it was doing research on "airline passenger risk assessment."
Certainly not all risk comes from within the plane and the Bush
administration has recognized that to the tune of $100 million.
More...
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MORE
LSA COMPETITION -- FROM VIETNAM
As the new Light-Sport category gets closer to reality, U.S.
manufacturers are bracing for an influx of aircraft from Europe and
Australia but there's also a new player in that market. A Vietnamese
company has built the prototype of what it calls a "superlight"
aircraft. The Voice of Vietnam news service reports a two-place version
of the VAM 1 has been built by the Hoa Binh company and a four-place
model is in the works. The company claims it can match the quality of
foreign-built aircraft at 40 percent of the price The plane has a
30-foot wingspan and weighs 330 pounds. It is predicted to fly as high
as 10,000 feet and as fast as 90 mph. More...
ON
THE FLY...
Aircraft Spruce bought design rights to Cozy...Raytheon Aircraft
Services added two executives...Wright Family Fund donated $37,000 to
AirVenture Museum...Six Elder Statesmen of Aviation were honored...Four
crew died in loss of Russian supersonic bomber...Presidential TFR
expected over New York. More...
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NEW
ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
_______
COLUMNS
As the Beacon
Turns #68: Under the Wire
Dealing with an engine failure in a
helicopter includes the same rule as in an airplane: Pitch for proper
airspeed. However, the margin for failure is much tighter in
whirly-birds, and even simulated engine failure can cause a real
emergency landing. AVweb's Michael Maya Charles just had
one. ___________________________________________________________________
Reader feedback on AVweb's news coverage and feature
articles:
http://www.avweb.com/avmail/ Reader
mail this week about the National Air Tour and the FAA Reauthorization
Bill. More...
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SHORT
FINAL...
Back in the 70's, BOAC (British Airways) flew into O'Hare Chicago and
their call sign was "Speedbird"... O'Hare: Speedbird xxx slow to 200
kts. Speedbird xxx: Sorry, running late, need to keep the speed
up. O'Hare: Ok, turn right 90 degrees and keep your speed
up. Speedbird xxx: Errr, how long would we be on that
heading? O'Hare: ‘Till you slow to 200. Speedbird xxx: Roger,
slowing to 200 More...
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SPONSOR NEWS
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SINK YOUR TOES IN
THE SAND WHILE WATCHING AN UNEQUALED NORTHWEST SUNSET Pilot
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_____________________________________
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