|
February 15, 2010
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
|
|
Pilots Require a Different Approach When It Comes to Buying Life Insurance
Just because you fly, don't overpay for life insurance. Get the information you need to find the right policy for your family's protection at the Pilot Insurance Center. Call PIC at
(800) 380-8376 or
visit
PICLife.com. 
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a week of Senate floor time will be scheduled in March to address aviation safety reforms and the FAA reauthorization bill. Senators have
been pressured by surviving family members of victims of Flight 3407 to move the process, and its included safety reforms, along. The bill currently holds provisions that would change pilot training
standards and set requirements for remedial training programs for commercial carriers. It also calls for independent study of pilot fatigue research to be considered in new flight-time and duty-time
rules for pilots, and changes minimum times required to serve as first officer at a commuter. Reid delivered the commitment on the eve of the day that marks the one year anniversary of the
Continental/Colgan Air Flight that crashed outside of Buffalo, killing all aboard and one on the ground. Airline groups and even FAA chief Randy Babbitt have expressed concern over some of the
provisions in the bill -- especially the apparent emphasis on quantity of flight time over quality of training. The FAA's authorization bill has been surviving on short-term extensions currently set
to expire on March 31. Even if the Senate passes the bill, that's not the end of the process.
The House version of the FAA reauthorization bill has already been passed, and it is considered to be more stringent than the bill the Senate has proposed. The House version includes a 1,500-hour
minimum requirement for right-seaters on commuter airlines and requires that airlines identify the regional airlines flying their commuter routes. Whatever the Senate passes will have to be merged
with the House bill by a House-Senate conference committee that will then vote on whatever compromises they reach.
|
|
|
Fly with Bose® Aviation Headset X®
Enjoy an unmatched combination of full-spectrum noise reduction, clearer audio, and comfortable fit. Voted the #1 headset for the eighth consecutive year in Professional Pilot's 2008 Headset
Preference Survey.
Learn more and
order. 
Quote reprinted with permission:
Professional Pilot, 2008 Headset Preference Survey, 12/08.
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, a modified Boeing 747 carrying more than seven tons of optics on its nose and a megawatt-class laser in back destroyed a ballistic missile in its first successful test when fired at such
a weapon. In a prior test, the laser system successfully "disabled" a truck, but the Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB) can now claim a "lethal" intercept of a liquid-fueled ballistic missile, which is
the goal of the program, according to the U.S. Missile Defense agency. The system is the result of a cooperative effort led by Boeing, in partnership with Northrop Grumman (which supplies the laser)
and Lockheed Martin (which is developing the fire control system). The aim is to deter enemy missile attacks by disabling the attacking missiles while they are in the boost phase. The U.S. Missile
Defense Agency said it hopes similar devices will one day be able to track and attack multiple targets "at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers, at a low cost per intercept attempt
compared to current technologies."
The test took place just before midnight (eastern time) off of Ventura, Calif., at Point Mugu's Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range. The test was not the first in-flight effort. An
August test launched from Edwards Air Force Base pitted the system against a missile and showed it could effectively find, track and fire on the target (in that case, with a test laser). In the latest
test, the ALTB tracked, targeted and fired, destroying the target, according to the Missile Defense Agency. The ALTB is intended to operate autonomously, above weather and outside the range of most
threats while remaining close to enemy territory. It is built to engage and destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase, over the launch area. A nose-mounted turret with a "1.5m telescope"
culminating in a 7-ton mirror that focuses the megawatt-class high-power chemical oxygen iodine laser on missiles.
Related Content:
Watch the video
18-year-old Colton Harris-Moore is apparently the prime suspect in a fourth stolen aircraft episode in the northwest -- this one involving a Cirrus SR22 and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. This time,
the plane was flown near airspace that is restricted for the Winter Games and landed on Orcas Island, off the coast of Washington state. If Harris-Moore is the culprit, he may have improved his
un-certificated flying skills. The Cirrus came to rest in the mud near a runway and CNN reported
it was undamaged (though a sheriff they interviewed also said it was). The teen's alleged prior (aircraft) thefts have
included a Cessna 182 and another Cirrus SR22 and all resulted in some damage to aircraft. Local authorities say the thefts share geographically proximate landing sites. All aircraft were put down
near where Harris-Moore is known to have spent time. The young man has not been formally charged in any of the thefts, but he does face upward of 11 other charges ranging from burglary to identity
theft to stealing a car. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Police say the young man has successfully stolen credit card numbers by breaking into homes and writing down the digits and leaving the cards behind. He has allegedly used them to purchase GPS
units and police scanners. Authorities note that Harris-Moore's adventures have earned him some 30,000 "friends" on his alleged Facebook page. When we checked, we saw only 17,846. But that
number doesn't include the 18,324 members of his fan club page, where he is
described as "Western Washington's new Jesse James (without the murders)." His mother, who has previously commented with concern regarding her son's alleged activities, has also noted that she was
impressed that he had seemingly taught himself to fly. Fans of his Facebook page mostly write words of encouragement, sometimes including "don't hurt anyone."
|
|
|
Business Aviation Will Help Companies Not Only Survive
But Prosper During the Current Financial Crisis
To be your most productive, and your most efficient, you must keep flying. Because in so doing, you will emerge from these times even stronger than before. And you will replace the uncertainty that
surrounds many, with the confidence and courage to light the way for all.
Visit
CessnaRise.com. 
|
|
|
|
|
A Jan. 19 event that saw US Airways Express Flight 2495 abort its takeoff and run off the runway at Yeager Airport in Charleston, W. Va., has been linked to irrelevant cockpit chatter prior to the
takeoff roll and an improper flap setting. None of the 34 people aboard the Bombardier CRJ-200ER were seriously injured though the aircraft suffered damage when it plowed into a crushable concrete
safety area at the end of the runway. As the investigation continues, the events that appear to have transpired in the cockpit prior to the accident are raising concern among some safety officials,
according to The Wall Street Journal. "Safety experts" are noting the incident among others to raise the specter of "lack of pilot professionalism" and a lax culture they feel may be becoming more
apparent in the cockpit. Cockpit voice recordings from the time prior to takeoff reportedly contain "stretches of nonpertinent chatter" irrelevant to flight preparations, according to "officials
familiar with the details." FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt recently met with a House aviation subcommittee and said the FAA is looking for ways to better transfer experience from seasoned pilots to
younger greener commuter pilots. Said Babbitt, those kinds of programs would be an "important way to raise professional standards and improve cockpit discipline."
According to sources contacted by The Wall Street Journal, the Bombardier CRJ-200ER began its takeoff roll with the incorrect flap setting, accelerated and began to rotate before the crew realized
the mistake. The pilots then quickly readjusted the flaps, which prompted "an automated cockpit warning to abandon takeoff," sources told the Journal. The crew then tried to stop the jet but failed to
slow it sufficiently before reaching the runway overrun safety area.
AOPA President and CEO Craig Fuller Friday detailed AOPA's drive to safeguard general aviation's interests and build the pilot population, calling on members to "get personally engaged" in
protecting and promoting GA. AOPA announced it will be reaching out through a variety of venues and asking its members to stay informed, write local officials, host events if able and simply take a
non-pilot friend flying. Nearly one-third of Senators are up for election in 2010, and AOPA is asking you to voice your support for GA with your vote. To facilitate your role, AOPA has launched a Web page with ideas meant to further your involvement and help you become active in advocating for general aviation. For its part,
AOPA plans to produce data from future economic studies to fully detail the economic impact general aviation airports provide for communities and states. Says Fuller, that's information "we can and
will take to Washington," where numbers often speak louder than words.
AOPA is hoping its own events to educate pilots will help inspire individual pilots to then organize events of their own. The organization is going to work with flight schools to try to increase
the graduation rate, which currently sits near 30 percent, according to AOPA. Aside from its push to create ambassadors of flight from pilots, Fuller said AOPA will be actively engaged in discussions
on air traffic modernization, aviation safety and funding issues central to the interests of general aviation pilots.
|
|
|
Phase One Is Complete
Big South Fork Airpark is proud to announce that construction has been completed for Phase 1 of the Airpark. This includes the welcome center, underground utilities, city water and sewer
services, electricity, natural gas, fiber-optic DSL, roads, hangars, apron, direct taxiway access, stables, and equestrian center. Join us for a Winter Escape February 20-21. Be our guest! Stay at
one of our luxury houses, indulge in a gourmet meal, and enjoy all of the amenities the Airpark has to offer. A hangar and rental car are included. All for only $99. Space is limited.
Click here to
schedule your Winter Escape today, and you will be sitting by the fire in no time. 
|
|
|
|
|
An Ottawa, Kan., pilot will have 15 months to think about all the work she and her husband put into building the experimental aircraft that was briefly theirs. Sandra Brandes was sentenced to a
year and three months in prison last week for stealing $77,000 from her former employer, Kansas City, Mo. dentist Dr. J. Daniel Fleming. The court was told she used the money to buy the airplane kit,
which, from the photo that appeared with the story by KCUR
FM, looks like an RV-9A. Now, the dentist might consider getting his pilot certificate because the judge ordered that he be awarded the newly completed aircraft as restitution.
Dan Nelson, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case, said the airplane offers the dentist a fair chance at getting his money back since it's worth $70,000 to $80,000. "In fact the
government pursued this restitution arrangement, which was to say the least unusual because we thought it was the way to maximize how much money the victim would receive back," Nelson told the radio
station. Brandes wrote herself checks on the dentist's account while she worked in his office. According to the FAA registry, the aircraft hasn't been registered but N523RV was reserved by a Matthew Brandes, who lives at the same address as Sharon Brandes.
Rhonda Doyle, of Ridgway, Colo., is this year's winner of the King Schools' Future of Flight airplane sweepstakes and recently picked up her G1000-equipped Cessna 172S at Montgomery Field in San
Diego. Doyle, a commercial pilot who runs the snowboard school at Telluride Ski Resort, was taking some lessons of her own when she got the news. "I was sitting at my desk, studying for my Instrument
Rating, and watching John King on my computer, when suddenly the phone rang and there he was on the line," she said. " I was a little confused at first, so when he told me that I had won I didn't
believe it. But, when Martha joined in the conversation, I knew it was for real!"
The WAAS-enabled panel and GFC700 autopilot should come in handy in the Colorado mountains as Doyle pursues her goal of becoming a tour pilot. "Rhonda is a wonderful winner and we are thrilled that
this airplane will help her to realize her flying dreams," said John King.
Related content:
Click here for a short video of Doyle picking up her plane.
|
|
|
Relief for Passengers and Pilots Alike: ReliefBands for $139.99!
Every pilot is subject to a passenger experiencing nausea at some point. Alas, an upset stomach needn't ruin a flight and force you to forever fly alone! ReliefBands prevent motion sickness
and nausea, providing relief and enabling you to fly in the company of friends and family without the fight. Make friends in-flight and buy today at
AeroMedix.com. 
Special Limited-Time Offer:
No charge on domestic ground shipping for AVwebFlash subscribers.
Enter coupon code AVRELB09 during checkout.
|
|
|
|
|
Pilots who'd like to combine a tropical aviation adventure with the chance to brush up on the full range of piloting skills might consider the Governor General's Challenge Cup air rally coming up in April. Participants will take off from Banyan Air Service in Ft. Lauderdale for a 10-day tour of the Caribbean, with stops
in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic and, tentatively, Port au Prince, Haiti, with donations of needed supplies for earthquake victims. The rally ends April 27 back in Ft.
Lauderdale after a little more than 2,000 nm. Organizer Catherine Tobenas said that in addition to the fabulous scenery and attractions on the route, there's an ongoing competition to keep things
interesting.
"It is not a race," she said. Rather, each leg of the trip will test crews on various piloting skills, from navigation to aircraft handling to general knowledge. Competitors will be awarded points
based on their performance in each leg and the crew with the most points at the end wins. So far crews from all over the world have registered.
Half of the Miracle on the Hudson flight crew was back in the water on the weekend but Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger didn't get his feet wet this time. Sullenberger was walking down a street
in Vancouver, British Columbia, taking in the sights of the Olympic city when Darren Batstone, a pilot for Harbour Air, recognized him. One
thing led to another and soon Sullenberger was aboard Batstone's turbine-powered de Havilland Otters on floats that Harbour Air uses for scheduled service between Vancouver's Burrard Inlet and the
inner harbor of Victoria, about 50 miles across Georgia Strait on Vancouver Island.
Sullenberger was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549 when the Airbus A320 lost power in both engines, necessitating a ditching in the Hudson River in January of 2009. The most serious injury was
a broken leg. It's not known if he had any pointers for Batstone, who has to keep an eye out for marine traffic as well as other aircraft in the busy harbor areas of B.C.'s largest cities.
|
|
|
ClassG — What Do You Want to Fly?
When looking for an airplane to buy, have you ever wondered how fast it will fly? What's its range? What's its full fuel payload? With four passengers, now what's its range? What do operators and
industry experts say about it? Now you can find the answers to these questions, and find the aircraft for sale.
Visit
ClassG.com today to find the aircraft you want to fly!
|
|
|
|
|
File Size 5.8 MB / Running Time 6:20
Podcast Index
|
How to Listen
|
Subscribe Via RSS
On March 8, 1910, Baroness Raymonde de la Roche became the first woman to obtain a pilot certificate. She was the world's 36th certificated pilot. Canadian pilot and aviation educator Mierelle
Goyer is spearheading a worldwide attempt to mark the centennial of de la Roche's accomplishment by encouraging more women to do the same. She spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles.
Click here to listen. (5.8 MB, 6:20)
You're not the only one who wishes he could up into the skies but is ground-bound by the massive snowstorm grinding much of the U.S. to a halt. Over on the AVweb Insider blog, Mary Grady
has some great ideas for flying-related activities you can enjoy from the comfort of your computer chair — assuming you've got electricity.
Click here to read Mary's suggestions and add your own.
Because they're human, that's why, and they don't realize their own bumbling makes things worse for everyone. But Paul Bertorelli blogs that he tries not to be one of them in the latest
installment of the AVweb Insider.
Read more and add your comments.
|
|
|
Experience AeroExpo Europe, 28-30 May 2010
Europe's Festival of Aviation brings visitors a dedicated weekend of general aviation at its finest. With new features designed to cover as many aspects of general aviation as possible,
visitors will have the opportunity to Compare, See, Try and Buy at Europe's Festival of Aviation. Pribram Airfield, LKPM.
Click here for more
information. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is
You! |
|
back to top |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| |
Each week, we run a sampling of the letters received to our editorial inbox here in AVmail. One letter that's particularly relevant, informative, or otherwise compelling will headline this section as
our "Letter of the Week," and we'll send the author an official AVweb baseball cap as a "thank you" for interacting with us (and the rest of our readership). Send us your
comments and questions using this form. Please include your mailing address in your e-mail (just in case your letter is our "Letter of the
Week"); by the same token, please let us know if your message is not intended for publication.
Letter of the Week: The Best Airline Pilots Want to Be Airline Pilots
After 37 years of flying for major airlines, including 15+ years doing line indoctrination, I have some observations on the issue of airline pilot training.
The best pilots want to be pilots. They are not there for the money or ego boost. A pilot who has varied experience brings more to the job at the beginning and adapts more easily to changing
circumstances. Military pilots lack varied experience in many cases, but can be adaptable if they are not convinced they are the most brilliant types around.
Once working for an airline, a relief pilot position is a good place to learn for a short period, and the right seat is a good way to learn what to do and not do in varied situations. Pilots who
learn constantly are the best.
Customer service is a huge part of being an airline pilot. If you are too important to help someone with directions in the terminal or with a bag if you happen to be in the cabin, then you are the
wrong person for the job. Be a freight dog, or get a life!
Low-time pilots with a good background are often better candidates than high-time pilots who are full of themselves, embittered, or set in their ways. You have to want the job, and it is not for
everyone. Training cannot overcome [the] lack of the indefinable mix of art and science that constitutes flying.
Brian Hope
|
|
 |
|
 |
I've flown combat, cropdusters, and as a test pilot, instructor pilot and major airline pilot. Sadly, the best answer to safety in the regionals is not going to happen. That's because regionals
exist because of low wages and good, old-fashioned greed and greed rules.
Regional captains should be the highest paid, most experienced airline pilots in the industry. They do the most with the least, and no hours in other types of flying are going to make up for that
experience. Six months in the simulator before going on the line would help, but that costs money, too, which negates the point of having these low-cost operations. Money talks, safety walks.
Mike McMains
Luck of the Draw
I was dismayed to learn that the AOPA sweepstakes airplane was "donated to AOPA for the sweepstakes by
philanthropist and longtime pilot Lloyd Huck" for the purpose of promoting aviation and expanding the pilot population. If this was the goal, then he failed completely.
How is giving one active pilot (that already has a nice airplane) a $250,000 aircraft advancing aviation? He would have been better off giving ten $25,000 reconditioned Cessna 152s to ten student
pilots, older inactive pilots, or partnerships who promised to stay involved in aviation. Give Young Eagle rides, and promote aviation in their towns. (Yes, that would be me.)
So now we have one more wealthy guy that can afford to pay for insurance, taxes, and gas for a new airplane that is financially out of reach of nearly everyone else in the country. This reinforces
the idea that flying is "only for rich people" and discourages new people (and inactive pilots). Maybe that perception is true.
Perhaps I should give up my search for affordable flight and take up something cheaper and more accessible, like golf. Then I could join the ranks of others that have families, obligations, and
merely above-average salaries who have quit flying. Oh, wait — I already have.
Scott Thomason
|
|
There has to be a winner, Scott, and AOPA is made up of active pilots who have made choices to include aviation in their lives. Hanging on to existing pilots is just as important as attracting new
ones, and if promotions like AOPA's sweepstakes are more appealing because they get help from those who can afford it, I don't see how that can be a negative thing.
Russ Niles
Editor-in-Chief
|
Super Cool Demonstration
We've all been told that water can exist, as a liquid, in a super-cooled state below 32 degrees, until it touches something or is otherwise disturbed. This ability is what makes freezing rain so
dangerous to us pilots.
Well, this week I had a graphic demonstration of just how that works. The temperature was in the mid-20s, and I went out to my car in the morning. In the cup holders were two 20-ounce bottles of
crystal clear water, about 70 percent full. I picked one up for a drink and in 3 to 5 seconds after I popped the top and moved it toward me, the water clouded up and turned to a solid block of ice in
my hand. The second bottle did the same thing. The speed of the change from water to ice was dramatic and served to reinforce the concept of avoiding freezing rain at all costs when flying.
Keith Knowlton
I am writing in response to today's "Short Final." Either the story is a complete fabrication, or else it's
been in your mailbag for a very long time. The last time that Michigan managed to beat Ohio State, as the author makes reference to in his last paragraph, was in 2003. Yes, that's seven years ago;
the Buckeyes have won the past six. While it does make for an amusing story, it's either untrue or an old story.
Go Bucks!
Dan Auslander
|
|
We heard from many Bucks fans. You can stop now.
Russ Niles
Editor-in-Chief
|
Read AVmail from other weeks here, and submit your own Letter to the Editor with this form.
 Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part.
|
|
|
WingX GPS-Enabled Terrain-Aware Moving Map for iPhone!
Just released — Moving Map for your iPhone! Also: File flight plans and obtain and view legal weather briefings. View any NACO chart or airport diagram — entire USA stored right on
your phone. A/FD, AOPA Directory, Route Planning, FARs, Animated RADAR, METARs, TAFs, winds and temperatures aloft, TFRs text and graphics, an E6B, and much more. WingX is also available for
Windows Mobile and Blackberry.
Click here for more
information. 
|
|
|
|
|
Now's your chance to win 100,000 Air BP Bravo Rewards Points as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your
name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year. If you've already entered for the previous Bose Headset drawing, you're
all set — no need to register again.)
And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15
Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)
Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time February 19, 2010.
Click here to read
the contest rules and enter.
Congratulations to Ron Goin of Idaho Falls, ID, who won the Bose Aviation Headset X! (click here to get your own from Bose
Corporation)
|
|
|
Over 18,000 Happy GAMIjectors® Customers Can't Be Wrong!
GAMIjectors® have given these aircraft owners reduced cylinder head temperatures, reduced fuel consumption, and smoother engine operation. GAMIjectors® alter the fuel/air
ratio in each cylinder so that each cylinder operates with a much more uniform fuel/air ratio than occurs with any other factory set of injectors. To speak to a GAMI engineer, call (888)
FLY-GAMI, or
go online for complete
engineering details. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional Tactics Need a Fresh Approach
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Isn't it time to initiate a digital marketing program with AVweb that will deliver traffic and orders
directly to your web site? Discover several new and highly successful marketing options to use in lieu of static print or banner campaigns.
Click now for
details. 
|
|
|
|
|
Nominate an FBO
|
Rules
|
Tips
|
Questions
|
Winning FBOs
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Banyan Air Service at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE) in Florida.
We knew AVweb reader Lindy Kirkland was volunteering with Haitian evacuation and relief flights — watch for a podcast with him in the next few days — but we were surprised
to see his name in our weekly "FBO" critiques, singing the praises of Banyan Air:
Banyan Air Service in Ft. Lauderdale has donated hangar space, personnel, and fuel discounts to those participating in the Haiti relief efforts. Despite the very upscale facilities and their normal
heavy iron clientele, they were so very courteous to us and got us fueled, moved, loaded and on our way quickly. All this despite getting ready for the Super Bowl!
Lindy went on to call the staff at Banyan "truly amazing" and commended them for their dedication to the relief efforts when there was plenty of other (more profitable) work to be done.
Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.
AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!
|
Overheard on a flight from Central California to Southern California (maybe L.A. Center?):
Airliner (heard in background during radio transmission) :
"We need peanuts!"
Controller:
"Who needs peanuts?"
Airliner:
"Um, disregard."
Donn Larson
via e-mail
|
AVwebFlash is a weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.
The AVwebFlash team is:
Publisher
Timothy Cole
Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli
Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles
Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew
Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Webmaster
Scott Simmons
Contributors
Jeff van West
Mariano Rosales
Click here to send a letter to the
editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)
Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.
Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.
If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only
version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.
|
|
|
