Volume 9, Number 42a October 13, 2003

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

AVWEB CRAWLS THE TRENCHES OF PRIVATIZATION
With a couple of weeks to go before an extended funding deadline, the lobbying equivalent of trench warfare has taken over the battle for the FAA Reauthorization Bill as those on both sides of the Air Traffic Control privatization issue launch a vote-by-vote campaign to get their version passed. Congress agreed to extend the FAA's funding authority for a month beyond the Sept. 30 expiration of the previous legislation while the privatization issue is sorted out. A prominent Ohio senator found himself directly in the line of fire last Thursday when the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) got wind that Ohio Republican Mike DeWine might be waffling on his previous support to maintain ATC as a government-run function. In a conference call arranged by NATCA with Ohio reporters and a few aviation publications, including AVweb, NATCA President John Carr said he wants DeWine to know there is public support for keeping ATC in government hands. More...

...OHIO SENATOR WAFFLING...
A spokesman for DeWine admits the senator is reconsidering his previous position. Mike Dawson told The Columbus Dispatch that the senator must weigh whether the ban is worth risking all the funding in the bill for Ohio airports and other provisions. According to the Dispatch, DeWine still favors the privatization ban but he's not sure he'd vote against the reauthorization bill if the current language remains. Despite what must be enormous pressure from the White House to change his vote, DeWine's fellow Ohio Republican George Voinovich has apparently indicated to NATCA that he won't alter his position. Ohio Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain) accused the White House of mounting an "ideological jihad for privatization" and said the public won't stand for it in the case of air traffic control. More...

...COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN WANTS BILL PASSED
Of course, the language, as it is currently before Congress, has its supporters, including Rep. John Mica, the powerful chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee. He told the National Business Aviation Association convention that NATCA's fears of wholesale privatization of ATC are unfounded. He also offered a cursory assessment of the Department of Transportation's Inspector General's report on the contract tower program, saying the report found that in most cases, comparable FAA towers are "more error prone and more costly compared to contract towers." NATCA and its supporters have previously attacked the report, saying its data is suspect because of inconsistencies in error reporting in the different types of towers. The union has also suggested that contract-tower costs are spiraling out of control. More...

DCA ACCESS GOAL SET
Dec. 17, 2003, may take on an even greater meaning to certain sectors of the aviation community if some of the alphabet groups have their way. The 100th anniversary of the first powered, sustained flight of a private aircraft may also be the day private and charter aircraft are allowed to return to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne set the centennial date as his goal for resumption of non-scheduled flights to DCA in a statement drafted during the National Business Aircraft Association convention last week in Orlando. "We dedicate ourselves at NATA to work with the entire community to achieve the goal of equivalent access to DCA by Dec. 17, 2003," Coyne said. More...

...RIFT BETWEEN GROUPS QUICKLY SEALED
It took a few discordant notes to get the three groups singing the same tune, however. Earlier in the convention, NATA Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs Jeb Burnside told NBAA Convention News, the unofficial organ of the gathering, that the NBAA's lobbying may have actually hindered efforts to crack open the security wall around DCA. "We have been told time and time again that the way to do this is incrementally," said Burnside. "This would mean charter operations with 12,500 security approval [TSA security rules for aircraft 12,500 pounds or more] as the next step in implementation." Burnside suggested that the NBAA's lobbying to include private aircraft under similar arrangements now, while part of the ultimate goal, may have led to the watered-down promise by Congress to support the return of GA to DCA that came without any specific criteria or timetable. More...

CESSNA OFFERS G1000 IN PISTON SINGLES
The glass cockpit is coming to aircraft designs that date back to the 1950s. Cessna used the National Business Aircraft Association convention to announce that its venerable Skylane and Stationair models of single-engine aircraft will be offered with an optional Garmin G1000 avionics package. Last week, Diamond Aircraft announced the G1000 will be available as a $25,000 add-on to its DA40. Both companies have had similarly glowing things to say about the panel setup. More...

MIRAGE ENGINE-MOUNT FIX OFFERED
A theoretically permanent fix is now available for troublesome engine mounts on Piper Mirages. Enhanced Flight Group, of Lexington, Ky., has received a supplemental type certificate (STC) to beef up the mount in the area of the nose-gear actuator attach point. The factory assemblies have suffered cracking and even complete nose-gear collapses, prompting a Service Bulletin requiring repetitive (and expensive) dye penetrant inspections or installation of a revised part. While developing a powerplant upgrade for Mirages, Enhanced Flight also tackled the mount problem. More...

MALAYSIA'S FUNDS FUEL NEXT-GEN GA
It's doubtful many Malaysians have ever even heard of a Lancair Columbia 300, much less imagine themselves in the left seat. But there are literally millions of reasons that the Bend, Ore., company held a board of directors meeting there recently and let the country's prime minister take an hour-long hop in the plane. Investment from the South Pacific country is the financial underpinning of the planemaker and Lancair executives showcased the Columbia at the LIMA International Air and Maritime Show. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad stole the show when he took off in the 300 for what was supposed to be a brief flight over the airport. More...

AIRLINES PROTEST TORONTO'S RISING FEES
Airline officials are warning Toronto that spiraling fees at Pearson International Airport might prompt them to bypass Canada's largest airport. Eugene Hoeven, of the International Air Transport Association, said last week he's concerned Pearson's $4.4 billion expansion is over budget and airlines will be left footing the bill through landing fees and other charges. Toronto is already at least the 11th most expensive airport in the world. It costs an airline $8,560 to land a fully loaded Boeing 747-400 there, an increase of 142 percent since 1999. Tokyo's Narita Airport is the most expensive at about $16,000 for the same aircraft. Toronto officials angrily deny the project is over budget but they do admit that airlines will pay the cost, whatever it is. More...

FINALLY, NOISE, NOT SIZE, DICTATES CURFEW AT SAN JOSE
It would appear that the long-standing battle over curfews at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport may be over, at least for now. In an arguably more sensible agreement between the city and the FAA, noise -- not size -- will determine which aircraft can use the airport between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. A previous city bylaw banned anything larger than 75,000 pounds from using the airport in the wee hours, but owners of large but quiet aircraft claimed the law was arbitrary and discriminatory. On the heels of Larry Ellison's court battle at the airport, a court case brought by the owner of the airplane that transports the San Jose SaberCats arena football team, scheduled to be heard in three weeks, sparked the new rules. Under the new regulations, any airplane that puts out 89 decibels or less (about the same as a lawnmower) will be able to come and go at will. More...

HOOVER'S SHRIKE MAKES FINAL FLIGHT
"I've shot three thousand dead-stick landings in this airplane," he said. Bob Hoover, the war veteran, test pilot, and grand old man of air show routines, last Friday saddled up in his famous Shrike Commander 500S for one last flight, The Flying Life's Jamie Beckett told AVweb. Hoover, along with co-pilot Steve Clegg, were wheels-up at 9:15 a.m. to deliver the famously green-and-white business aircraft from its temporary digs at the International Sport Aviation Museum in Lakeland, Fla., to the Air and Space museum in Washington, D.C. As Sun 'n Fun Vice President Greg Harbaugh explains it, the aircraft will be displayed 30 feet above the museum floor in a familiar pose, inverted with both props feathered. More...

ON THE FLY...
NASA trying camera chase planes to enable night shuttle launches...
NPRM out on Piper PA-46-500-TP and AD issued for S10-VT sailplanes...
Concorde set trans-Atlantic record on final flight to Boston...
Thunderbirds returned to show circuit with five-plane formation...
Piper Cub fell from roof of car during air show. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
Pelican's Perch #74: Hurricane (Part 2)
AVweb's John Deakin concludes his two-part series on the Hawker Hurricane with this report of his first time flying it. As you'll see, it takes a lot of time just to get ready to go, but once it does, it does it in a Hurry! More...

SHORT FINAL...
From Grand Rapids tower... Tower to Continental ABC: I see that your flight plan states, "no ice".
(pause)
Won't the passengers be upset?

Tower (again): Sorry, I couldn't help myself. More...

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SPONSOR NEWS

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COME BY AND SAY "HELLO" TO AVWEB AT AOPA EXPO AVweb personnel will be at Booth # during the AOPA Expo, October 29-November 1, in Philadelphia. And don't forget to tell friends and colleagues about no-cost AVweb/AVflash subscription. They can sign up online at http://www.avweb.com/profile

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:
http://www.avweb.com/contact/authors.html#rniles
AVweb's editorial team: http://avweb.com/contact/authors.html.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team: mailto:sales@avweb.com.

Let's all be careful out there, okay?

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