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| AVflash! Regs, Registration, and Reauthorization | back to top |  |
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Reauthorization Moves: First Officers Will Need 1,500 Hours
It seems first officers on commercial flights will need 1,500 flight hours before they're considered for the job. The 1,500-hour limit is a victory for the families of passengers lost when Continental Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center, N.Y., killing all aboard and one on the ground. The limit, which now appears resolved, had been one of a few sticking points between Senate and House versions of the bill, which must be fully reconciled before the bill is passed. Meanwhile, the Buffalo News reported Wednesday that the final bill "is likely to include" a provision to set up "a pilot hiring database so that airlines will know the experience of the pilots they are employing," but details are limited.
Congress is closing in on the three-years-overdue mark when it comes to formally approving the law that finances the FAA. The delay has posed logistical planning challenges for the FAA, which has been operating under a series of temporary extensions, the latest of which is set to expire at month's end. The bill should clarify funding parameters, providing the FAA with the ability to better plan NextGen development.
FAA Requires Aircraft Registration Renewals
The FAA will now require re-registration of all civil aircraft over the next three years and renewal every three years after that, the agency said on Monday. A final final rule published this week establishes specific expiration dates over a three-year period for all aircraft registered before Oct. 1, 2010, and requires re-registration of those aircraft according to a specific schedule. A fee of $5 will be collected for each registration and each renewal. The FAA will cancel the N-numbers of aircraft that are not re-registered or renewed. "These improvements will give us more up-to-date registration data and better information about the state of the aviation industry," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Current regulations require owners to report the sale of an aircraft, the scrapping or destruction of an aircraft, or a change in mailing address, but many owners have not complied with those requirements, the FAA said.
Re-registration of all U.S. civil aircraft by Dec. 31, 2013, will enhance the database with current data derived from recent contact with aircraft owners, according to the FAA. The new regulations also aim to ensure that aircraft owners give the FAA fresh information at least once every three years when they renew their registration. Click here for the FAA's full schedule for re-registration and registration expiration. The rule was proposed in 2008. AOPA had suggested that the rule should not include fees and shouldn't cancel N-numbers for lack of renewal. "We are disappointed that the FAA has chosen what may turn out to be a complicated and costly method of updating the aircraft registry," said AOPA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. The FAA reauthorization bill now in Congress would allow the FAA to raise the initial fee to $130 and renewals to $45, AOPA said. "AOPA will be monitoring the implementation of the rule closely and communicating with the FAA about any issues that arise," said Hackman. |
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| Moving and Shaking Among the Airplane Makers | back to top | |
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Gould Out As Piper CEO
There has been another major change in the executive suite at Piper Aircraft and this time it's in the corner office. CEO Kevin Gould has apparently resigned and will be replaced in the interim by Geoffrey Berger, who is the managing director of the Brunei operations of Imprimus, the fund management company that took over Piper in 2009 on behalf of the government of Brunei. A search for a permanent replacement is now on. Imprimus Managing Partner Stephen Berger (yes, we noticed the names, too) said Gould is credited with revamping Piper's manufacturing processes, keeping development of the PiperJet moving and smoothing the transition of ownership last year. And without saying why he quit, Gould said he was proud of his accomplishments at Piper. "It is with a great deal of pride that I leave my friends and colleagues in the Piper family, dealers, customers and investors," Gould said. " I am very optimistic about Piper's future in the world's aviation industry." Gould's departure is among a series of shuffles at Piper in recent months.
Earlier this month, longtime Piper media spokesman Mark Miller left the company. Miller owns a PR company called the Carlisle Group and represents other non-aviation companies. Piper decided to take their media functions in-house as part of the marketing department. Last month Piper hired Randy Groom as an executive vice president.
Hawker Beechcraft May Move Operations, Cut Workers
Hawker Beechcraft's CEO Bill Boisture says demand for his company's products has dramatically decreased, that the drop is not temporary, and his company may cut workers and move some of its operations to remain profitable, according to the Wichita Eagle. Earlier this year, Hawker Beechcraft closed its Salina, Kan., plant and sent some of that work to Mexico. Now, the company says it may move more work, this time from Wichita to Mississippi or Louisiana, or somewhere outside the United States. The company currently employs about 6,000 people in Wichita, but told its workers union last week that it may consider laying off up to 75 percent of the company's hourly workers to help maintain profitability. Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer doesn't want the company to leave, but may have limited influence.
"If approached by the company, we'll obviously do whatever we can to help them grow here in Kansas," the mayor told the Eagle. Mayor Brewer said he had set a meeting with the company and hopes to explore what the city might do to help retain jobs in the city. Meanwhile, machinists union officials are not yet negotiating with Hawker Beechcraft, but union and company leaders have met to discuss the challenges ahead. The company lost more than $63 million in the first quarter of 2010 after cutting 2,700 jobs last year. |
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| SpaceShipTwo, Mothership Eve Testing | back to top | |
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SpaceShipTwo Flies With Crew On Board For First Time
The crew at Scaled Composites flew their new spaceship with a man on board for the first time last Thursday, Virgin Galactic has announced. Pilots Peter Siebold and Michael Alsbury flew inside the ship, which remained mated to its mothership Eve (WhiteKnightTwo) for the duration of the six-hour flight. The test flight was an important step toward the first free flight of the spaceship, Virgin said. The crew monitored the spaceship's systems and functions, conducted several combined vehicle systems tests, and achieved all their objectives, according to the company website. It was the 33rd flight for the mothership and the third time the spaceship has been carried aloft. WhiteKnightTwo flew into EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh last summer, but so far it is not scheduled to appear this year, though EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski said he couldn't rule it out. "Burt [Rutan] is busy right now with the testing program, so he won't bringing [WhiteKnightTwo] as far as we know," he told AVweb recently. "But Burt has surprised us from year to year ... you just never know."
Burt Rutan, whose Scaled Composites company designed and built the Virgin Galactic aircraft, will be at the show in Oshkosh next week, offering several forums and presentations. On Thursday, July 29, he'll give talks about opportunities in commercial space in the future and the development of SpaceShipOne. On Friday, July 30, he is the keynote speaker for the forum on electric aircraft. He'll also speak later in the day about motivating kids in the aviation field and will give a talk in the Homebuilders Hangar about the design and development of the Long EZ. On Saturday, July 31, he'll reprise the story of SpaceShipOne and also offer his engineer's critique of climate science. |
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| Farnborough-Oshkosh Axis Defines Air Show Season | back to top | |
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UK's Farnborough Show Roars On
The global economy may still be struggling to recover, but there's plenty of buying and selling going on at the Farnborough Airshow outside London this week. On Monday, Emirates Airline spent close to $14 billion, signing deals to buy 30 Boeing 777 airplanes plus Alliance engines for the 32 Airbus 380s the company bought last month. The airline also ordered $5 billion in engines from Pratt & Whitney. Airbus said on Monday morning it had new orders for 111 A320s. Unmanned vehicles are a show highlight this year, for the first time being shown in an indoor flying display complete with an aerial obstacle course. Boeing's 787 Dreamliner flew into the show for the first time after its first trans-Atlantic flight, and Airbus showcased its A400M, a four-engine cargo plane designed for military use, capable of hauling more than 40 tons.
The show is hosting more than 1,300 exhibitors from 38 countries, with an expected attendance of 250,000 visitors by the end of the week. At the last Farnborough show, in 2008, orders worth about $88 billion were placed. In other news from this week's event, Dassault announced that its 900LX business jet has achieved certification from both FAA and EASA. Emivest showed a medevac version of its SJ30 jet for the first time. Bombardier disappointed fans when company officials failed to announce any new orders for their CSeries jet on the show's opening day. The show continues all week, capping off with an airshow for the public over the weekend.
Help Us Cover Your AirVenture News
As you put the final touches on your press material for AirVenture Oshkosh, we have some tips to help you get the most out of your PR presence at the big show. If you have a new product, a significant update of an existing product or a new service that 260,000 pilots and aviation professionals will be interested in knowing about, by all means let us know. You can reach us at
Here are some guidelines to help you make the most of your presence at AirVenture, in PDF format.
Have a great show! |
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| (Some of) What You'll See at Oshkosh | back to top | |
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World-Class Acts To Fill The Skies Above Oshkosh
While we'll be busy all next week at EAA AirVenture capturing all the news across the grounds, every afternoon the world's best airshow performers will fill the sky with their most spectacular efforts. Chuck Aaron, of Red Bull, will be flying the world's only aerobatic helicopter routine, and Greg Poe will perform in an ethanol-powered MX2. Kirby Chambliss takes a break from competing in the Red Bull Air Races to fly a solo show in an Edge. Debby Rihn-Harvey, an aerobatics champion who's an airline captain in her day job, flies a French-built Cap 232. Art Nalls will return with his Harrier, the only one in the world that's privately owned. Longtime favorites including Sean D. Tucker, Kyle Franklin, John Mohr in his Stearman, Mike Goulian in the Extra 330, and Matt Younkin in a Twin Beech also are among the lineup.
Besides the aerial performances, the skies will be filled every day with flight demonstrations and fly-bys that showcase the wide variety in the world of aviation. Everything from a two-seat open-air Breezy to the Airbus A380 has flown at Wittman Field, and this year's show promises to deliver more of the same.
Sean Tucker will be flying a brand-new Challenger III airplane. We spoke with him about it briefly a few weeks ago (click here for that podcast), but recently we caught up with his crew at an airshow and took a more detailed look at the airplane's unique features. Click here for that podcast.
Related Content:
Photos: Team Oracle's Challenger III Gears Up for Oshkosh
Next week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Sean Tucker and Team Oracle will wow the crowds and show off their brand-new Challenger III. Team Oracle's Brian Norris shared some of the biplane's unique aerodynamic features with AVweb's Mary Grady, who brought home a few photos.
Related Content:
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| What You Missed in AVwebBiz This Week | back to top | |
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AEA Says 121.5 ELT Manufacturing Should Stop
The FAA has asked the FCC to cancel proposed rules that would ban the use and manufacture of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters. As we reported in June, the FCC has said it plans to ban 121.5 ELTs because search and rescue satellites don't monitor that signal anymore. However, the FAA points out that the Coast Guard and Civil Air Patrol do monitor the frequency and that more than 38,000 (of 200,000) aircraft owners have voluntarily equipped with the replacement 406 MHz units. It also noted that manufacturers wouldn't be able to suddenly equip more than 160,000 aircraft. "The ability of the aviation industry to continue the manufacture, importation, sale and use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters is of utmost importance to the aviation community," the FAA wrote to the FCC. However, the Aircraft Electronics Association disagrees with a key point of the FAA's argument, saying manufacture of the old-style ELTs should be stopped.
"The AEA supports the FAA's proposal for operators to continue the 'use of existing' 121.5 MHz ELTs," the AEA said in a news release. "However, because satellite monitoring has ceased for 121.5 MHz, the AEA does not support the FAA's position of allowing the continued manufacture, importation or sale of new 121.5 MHz ELTs." The AEA calls the FAA argument "illogical" and says the discontinuation of satellite monitoring means the old ELTs no longer work the way they were intended. It says it doesn't understand how the agency could argue that stopping the manufacture of outdated equipment would be detrimental to aviation safety.
AVwebBiz: AVweb's Business Aviation Newsletter
Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.
Add AVwebBiz to your AVweb subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions." |
Have you signed up yet for AVweb's no-cost weekly business aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz?
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| We Ask, You Answer | back to top | |
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Question of the Week: Is the U.S. Ready for an 'Owner-Maintained' Category of Small AircraftReader Brinley Peck is wondering if there is any appetite for an "owner maintenance" category of small, simple aircraft in the U.S. as there is in Canada. We'd like to know what you think.
Last Week's Question: Results
Want to see the current breakdown of responses? Take a moment to answer the question yourself, and then you can view real-time results.
AVweb's Newstips Address ...
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Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
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| Hot on AVweb.com | back to top | |
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An American Airlines Pilot on the Controversial Emergency Crosswind Landing at JFKFile Size 14.0 MB / Running Time 15:18
AVweb's Glenn Pew speaks with veteran American Airlines pilot Jason Goldberg about his experience flying into often-congested JFK International Airport, his insights regarding the May 4 "emergency" and the state of controller/pilot interactions.
Canadian Military Flight Training: A Ride-Along in the CT-156 Harvard IIOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos To many people, it's just a joke about funny Canadian place names, but Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is the center of the universe for young military officers from all over the world who want to become military pilots. Under the auspices of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, the Canadian Forces and Bombardier are in a joint venture to train Canada's next generation of pilots and also new pilots from as far away as Singapore. AVweb's Russ Niles went for a ride in the CT-156 Harvard II (the Canadian version of the Texan II used by the U.S. Air Force) and spoke with flight instructor Capt. Zack Charbonneau.
AVweb Insider Blog: Déjà Vu All Over Again — Why the Packard Diesel Failed
It tanked for some of the same reasons that will challenge modern diesel makers, says Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog. Packard figured out the weight and power density challenges, but durability proved elusive. So did power, which, when given the choice, pilots seem to prefer over economy. Maybe the impending doom of 100LL will give them second thoughts.
Click here to read Paul's thoughts and share your own.
AVweb Insider Blog: Barefoot Bandit — Just Misunderstood
The owners of one of the airplane that Colton Harris-Moore allegedly heisted were admirably generous in their reaction to the theft, suggesting that he just needs a father-to-son talking to. Paul Bertorelli agrees — and in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, he explains why the sit-down should happen at the state pen. |
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| Your Favorite FBOs | back to top | |
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FBO of the Week: Aurora Aviation (KPWG, McGregor, Texas)
Nominate an FBO | Rules | Tips | Questions | Winning FBOs
AVweb reader Craig Gill knows the importance of a good FBO and tells us how Aurora Aviation at McGregor Executive Airport (KPWG) became his FBO of choice — and our latest "FBO of the Week":
I have the choice of three local airports as my home base and chose KPWG because of the service I get from Aurora Aviation. I have a Lancair IV turbine that requires a special towing, and they always take extra care with my bird. If I have maintenance needs, they get to me as quickly as possible and get me back in the air.
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! |
| Help Us Celebrate AVweb's 15th Anniversary | back to top | |
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15 Years and Now 15 Grand Giveaways ... It's Your Chance to Win a Spidertracks Aviator
Win a Spidertracks Aviator 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 — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)
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 Friday, August 6, 2010.
Click here to read the contest rules and enter.
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| Reader-Submitted Photos | back to top | |
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Picture of the Week: AVweb's Flying Photography ShowcaseSubmit a Photo | Rules | Tips | Questions | Past Winners 
Each week, we go through dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of reader-submitted photos and pick the very best to share with you on Thursday mornings. The top photos are featured on AVweb's home page, and one photo that stands above the others is awarded an AVweb baseball cap as our "Picture of the Week." Want to see your photo on AVweb.com? Click here to submit it to our weekly contest. *** THIS WEEK'S WINNERS ***
By the time you read this, there will be a fresh batch of photos up in the slideshow on AVweb's home page. Don't miss 'em! "POTW" will be on haitus next week — we'll be at AirVenture! — but will return the following week, so please continue to send us your photos. And if spot us running around the show, say hi. (We can't promise we'll be well-groomed or have a lot of time to gab, but we'll do our best on both counts.) — A quick note for submitters: If you've got several photos that you feel are "POTW" material, your best bet is to submit them one-a-week! That gives your photos a greater chance of seeing print on AVweb, and it makes the selection process a little easier on us, too. ;) A Reminder About Copyrights: |
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| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebFlash TeamAVwebFlash 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:
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. |
