Volume 9, Number 46a November 10, 2003

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

AVWEB ANNOUNCES NEW BUSINESS AVFLASH
For nearly two years, AVweb has reported on the latest business aviation news with our monthly BizAv feature. Thanks to growing reader demand for more detailed and timely business aviation coverage, beginning this week we're happy to announce our new Business AVflash service. Modeled after our successful AVflash news service, this twice-monthly news report will bring you the latest business aviation news on a more timely basis, and we'll be able to cover more stories in greater depth than we could with our monthly BizAv. Of course, Business AVflash comes to you at no charge, thanks to our great advertisers. More...

...A NEW APPROACH TO BUSINESS COVERAGE
Business AVflash will roll out this week -- on Wednesday morning -- but to receive it in your mailbox, you'll need to register for the service. Business AVflash will offer a new spin on business aviation reporting, with a strong focus on general aviation business developments that are of critical interest to our readers. Aside from breaking news, we'll also publish profiles on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business of aviation. Of course, AVweb will continue to add its unique flavor to the reporting and writing in Business AVflash. Our new business news service will follow the same format we've offered in the past -- specifically our familiar e-mailed bulletin and our expanded, illustrated coverage available at the click of a link to the AVweb site. This option allows you to read the entire scoop online or just the abbreviated version at an e-mail address of your choosing. We hope you enjoy our new service and look forward to your comments. More...

NO MORE RUNWAY INCURSIONS?
A new system that can keep track of just about anything moving around an airport has been certified by the FAA but its remarkable capabilities are being eclipsed by the speed, efficiency and cost effectiveness with which it was deployed. The Airport Surface Detection Equipment system went live at General Mitchell Field in Milwaukee a few weeks ago and not only was it within its $27 million budget and delivered in just over three years, it works so well that other airports are skipping the lineup for an FAA-funded system (33 systems are planned over the next four years) and paying to install it themselves immediately. Not bad for a system which, according to The Washington Post, the FAA didn't even want and had to be forced into pursuing. More...

...HERE'S HOW IT WORKS
The system uses a combination of radio signals and radar to give tower controllers a comprehensive view of what is on the field and where it's going. This "multilateration" technology is a big step up from previous systems and is a "needed safety improvement," according to the Department of Transportation's Inspector General Ken Mead. Vehicles and aircraft are equipped with radio transponders that report to sensors placed strategically around the field. Anything larger than a minivan that doesn't have a transponder is picked up by radar. The system constantly gathers all the information from both systems and funnels it into a computer that creates a screen display for controllers, which shows them the accurate location of every moving object on the field. More...

CESSNA HEAD RETIRES
Cessna appears to be in no hurry to fill its third "leadership" vacancy in 16 months. Last week, longtime Cessna exec Charlie Johnson announced he was retiring for undisclosed personal reasons, although he told The Wichita Eagle his recent health problems played a role. Johnson, 60, has worked for Cessna for 24 years and took over leadership of Cessna in March when longtime chairman Russ Meyer assumed a non-executive position after filling in for CEO Gary Hay. Senior VP Jack Pelton has been running things since August when Johnson went on sick leave and no changes are currently planned. "Jack's doing a fine job with the senior leadership team," said spokeswoman Marilyn Richwine. More...

TFRS: WHO ARE THEY REALLY STOPPING?
The FAA is looking at revising its enforcement policy for pilots who bust TFRs and the Washington ADIZ. Agency officials told a recent meeting of the GA Coalition that federal security agencies are not in favor of a flexible system of enforcement that takes mitigating factors into consideration. In fact, according to EAA's account of the meeting, the Secret Service initially wanted criminal charges laid against wayward pilots. Coalition Chairman Tom Poberezny urged the FAA to adopt a uniform policy that allows remedial action, counseling and even amnesty for pilots who mistakenly enter restricted airspace. The meeting attendees were told that almost 2,800 violations have been recorded so far, about half of them in the Washington ADIZ and Camp David TFRs. More...

ROBINSON HELICOPTERS COLLIDE AT ROBINSON
Authorities are investigating the fatal midair collision of two Robinson helicopters at the company's home airport in Torrance, Calif., Thursday. Two people died in an R-44 that was taking off when it collided with an R-22 that was landing. The pilot of the R-22 was taken to hospital with leg and head injuries. FAA spokesman Donn Walker said the aircraft were less than 200 feet above the ground when they contacted. Witnesses told NBC the R-44 plummeted straight down to the runway and exploded while the R-22 crashed in a nearby cornfield. The R-44 was on a training flight. The company did not immediately comment. More...

PLANE THEFT SPARKS SECURITY CONCERNS
If you think it couldn't happen to you at your small, safe, everyone-knows-everyone-else local airport, Albert Paul, of Bergen County, N.J., would beg to differ. Nearby Lakewood Municipal Airport is planning to install a perimeter fence and a security gate after Paul's Cessna was hot-wired and flown halfway across the country to Minnesota, via Canada, last August. Richard DeMartini was arrested a month later after the plane was found at Springfield Municipal Airport near his Minnesota home. It had been only slightly damaged. More...

NEW DIESEL OFFERS 2,400-HOUR WARRANTY
A European engine manufacturer says owners can count on at least 2,400 hours of service from their product even though the FAA says each engine must be replaced (not overhauled) after 1,000 hours. The FAA certified Thielert's 135-horsepower diesel last week but set a 1,000-hour initial Time Before Replacement (TBR); Thielert countered. Each engine comes with a 2,400-hour prorated warranty, meaning a replacement for any engine timed out at 1,000 hours should only cost a fraction of the $19,000 initial purchase cost. Thielert spokesman Sebastian Wentzler told AVweb they're working on a "life extension program" to establish engine life at 2,400 hours and, with about 10,000 hours total on the engines overseas, inspection intervals of the engine components have already been increased. More...

NORTHERN PILOTS DON'T NEED TOUGHER STANDARDS
Canadian commercial pilots are trained to handle everything the vast (and often forbidding) country can throw at them and don't need special training for Northern flying, says a Transport Canada official. Michel Gaudreau was responding to the findings of a coroner's inquest into a crash that ultimately killed four people in the Northwest Territories almost two years ago. The jury recommended special training and even a probation period for inexperienced pilots tackling the often unpredictable conditions in the North. It also recommended new-generation ELTs be on board all aircraft flying in the North. More...

ON THE FLY...
Crowd greeted Concorde's last landing at Boeing Field...
Howard Dean said he'd support a trip to Mars...
Quentin Tarantino said he might make an airplane disaster flick...
Burbank Airport may be named after Bob Hope...
Instrument flying, jet airliner pioneer Raymond D. Kelly died at 102. More...

AVWEB'S AVSCOOP AWARD...

Congratulations and an AVweb hat go out to Gary Thayer, 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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READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES...
http://www.avweb.com/avmail/

Reader mail this week about ATC privatization, the Enola Gay exhibit, sharing the airspace with mini-jets and more.

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SHORT FINAL...
Overheard recently -- while I was literally on short final, in fact:

Tower: Cessna XXX, you said you were at taxiway Alpha One? Alpha Two?

Cessna XXX: Uh... We're holding at Alpha Three.

Tower: Right. One plus Two equals Three. More...

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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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