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The Top Headlines From AVweb's Expanded,
Illustrated News Coverage At AVweb's
NewsWire.
CHANGES
DUE FOR AIRSPACE AND FSS...
With a new year right around the corner, the landscape of aviation is
about to experience some changes. Workers at the FAA's Flight Service
Stations are awaiting a decision, expected in January, on who will run
their operations in the future. Air traffic controllers may soon
suffer the pangs of "Be careful what you wish for," as the FAA sends
hundreds of new
hires into their facilities. And for those who fly in the flight
levels, Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums take effect on
Jan. 20. The FAA says the added routes between Flight Levels 280 and
410 will save time and money, but many GA operators are skeptical.
More...
...AS
SPACE BARRIER CRUMBLES
The X Prize was just the beginning. Thanks to Mojave Aerospace
Ventures, spaceships are now part of the GA world. The BBC News
reported on Monday that Virgin Galactic's fleet of five spaceships, to be
built by Burt Rutan's Scaled
Composites, will have luxury accommodations for up to eight
passengers and will be capable of about one flight per day. Plans call
for a cabin height of 6 feet and width of 7 feet, the BBC said, with
fully reclining seats to help even elderly passengers cope with the
six G's expected during phases of the ... trip. Passengers will be
free to float in the cabin, and use the time as they please, Rutan told the BBC -- whether that's to look at
the window, conduct a science experiment, play with a cat, or, if a
couple wanted to buy out the whole ship and use that time for personal
... recreation ... that's fine with Rutan, too ... provided they're
quick about it. More...
COMPLIMENTARY UPS SHIPPING ENDS TOMORROW ON
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When new, these headsets listed for
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NEW
AIRCRAFT UPDATE...
Rick Schramek of Epic Aircraft told AVweb on Tuesday that
the Epic
Jet prototype is about 85 percent complete. "The T-tail and the
nacelles are on, and the nosecone goes on in January," he said. "About
75 percent of it is the same as the LT, so that makes it easier. We'll
probably fly it in June." The LT is Epic's six-seat turboprop
Malibu-killer that debuted
at Oshkosh last summer, a year after the design was announced.
Epic also is building a new 100,000-square-foot factory at Bend, Ore.,
that will be ready in April, and a jet facility is in the works at
Redmond Airport, Schramek said. He said the Epic LT is undergoing
flight testing now, and the first customer delivery is set for
February. More...
...ADAM
PROPELLER PASSES TEST
Hartzell
Propeller Inc. announced on Tuesday that its blended-airfoil
propeller system for the Adam Aircraft A500 centerline-twin has passed the
final hurdle for certification on the aircraft. A recent FAA
regulation requires all new pusher-propeller installations, such as
the aft propeller on the Adam A500, to ingest airframe ice shed during
an inadvertent icing encounter without causing a hazardous condition,
Hartzell said. The newly designed test used a compressed-gas gun at
the University of Dayton Impact Physics Lab to shoot softball-sized
ice balls at the propeller at speeds up to 520 miles per hour.
More...
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FLYING
FOR CHARITY...
It's that time of year for reflecting on what we've achieved with a
year's worth of time on earth, and maybe making resolutions that in
the year to come will make us better citizens of the world. For those
so endowed and those so inclined, aviation offers plenty of
opportunities to help out. Angel Flight America Network recruits volunteer pilots to provide air transport
for needy medical patients and their families. Air Care Alliance offers an
extensive listing of varied volunteer opportunities in aviation, for
both pilots and non-pilots. And if your empathies extend beyond fellow
humans to your fellow creatures, SkyArk needs pilots to help transport animals and
wildlife, or you could fly environmental missions for LightHawk.
More...
...OR
FLY FOR YOUR COUNTRY
You can also volunteer to fly for homeland security and disaster
relief efforts. Civil
Air Patrol pilots fly those missions, as well as search-and-rescue
and counterdrug reconnaissance. They transport medical personnel and
supplies, and in times of disaster, they assess damage and transport
emergency personnel from site to site. The CAP owns the largest fleet
of single-engine piston aircraft in the nation. Volunteer pilots for
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary also fly
search-and-rescue, and they help to monitor fishing areas, patrol for
ice, and support efforts to protect marine resources, such as coping
with oil spills. More...
|
LAST
CHANCE
To Visit AVweb's Holiday Shopping
Page
Don't miss your last chance to take advantage of
special holiday offers from AVweb's sponsors, at http://www.avweb.com/shopping!
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TOWER
AND AIRPORT A FATAL MIX
Local pilots at Fullerton (Calif.) Municipal Airport have complained
for years that a 760-foot-tall radio tower just a mile and a half from
a runway is a hazard, the Los Angeles Times reported last week. On Dec. 19, a Cessna 182 hit the tower at about 9:45 a.m. and
crashed into a warehouse parking lot. Jim and Mary Ghosoph, both 51,
died. The orange and white tower, built in 1947, is owned by Clear
Channel Communications, and is used to broadcast a local AM radio
station. Pilots had long lobbied for strobe lights to be added to the
structure, and in 2001, both of Fullerton's airport advisory
committees asked the radio station managers to add strobes.
More...
FAA
RELEASES REVISED FLIGHT PLAN
The FAA last week released its annual revision of its Flight Plan -- the agency's strategic plan for the
next five years, originally published in 2003. The plan sets the
agency's priorities -- increased safety, greater capacity,
international leadership and organizational excellence. The revision
reflects input gleaned from almost 1,000 comments and suggestions,
about 80 percent of them from employees and the rest from various
stakeholders, the FAA said. The plan also lists the FAA's achievements
for 2004, which include reduced GA accidents, especially in Alaska; a
reduction in serious runway incursions; certifying the first receiver
for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and its first "virtual"
public meeting. More...
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DOT
TO INVESTIGATE U.S. AIRWAYS, COMAIR TROUBLES
The airlines had a rough holiday weekend, coping with winter storms,
computer crashes, and staff shortages, and now they're facing the
fallout, including a federal investigation. Secretary of
Transportation Norm Mineta wants to know why
regional airline Comair, a subsidiary of Delta, didn't have a
backup plan when its scheduling software crashed over the weekend,
grounding about 1,100 flights and stranding thousands of passengers.
Mineta also wants the investigation to come up with an explanation for
US Airways'
cancellation of hundreds of flights over the same long weekend, when
about triple the usual number of flight attendants, baggage handlers
and ramp workers called in sick. More...
SPORT
PILOT PRACTICAL TEST STANDARDS RELEASED
The FAA released its Practical Test Standards for Sport Pilots this
week, and they are posted online. The standards are crucial to flight
training. "Flight instructors need to know to what [the standards are]
to train their students," said AOPA spokesman Rob Hackman in a statement yesterday. "Now that the practical test
standards are available online, they can easily and quickly refer to
them at any time." The practical test standards for sport pilot
airplane, gyroplane, glider, airship, balloon, weight shift control,
powered parachute, and flight instructor are available online at the
FAA Web site. EAA has posted a sample database of test questions, both
for pilots and for instructors. More...
FLIGHT:
SEE HOW IT'S REALLY DONE
Most pilots have had the dream ... the one where gravity melts away,
and you can lift both feet off the ground and fly like a bird. It's
the ultimate in aviating, and while nobody yet has figured out exactly
how to make it work for humans, you can get a taste of it at
Discovery's bird-tech site, where video shots from tiny cameras attached to Tilly
the golden eagle reveal every twist and turn of this
most-sophisticated all-natural flight-management system. The
technology is a step beyond what was used to film the movie, Winged Migration, released in 2001.
More...
NEW
YEAR'S EVE, CHECK NOTAMS OR CHECK SIX
Yes, the election season is over, but TFRs are here to stay. This
week, it's New York's celebration of New Year's Eve that is closing
down airspace. Aircraft are banned below 4,000 feet above parts of
Manhattan from 8 p.m. on Friday until 1 a.m. on Saturday, affecting
operations at several heliports and a seaplane base (stay far away
from the big shiny ball -- and read the full NOTAM here). TFRs are also expected above Los Angeles
for New Year's and during the upcoming football bowl games. EAA
noted last week that a recent report by the federal Government
Accountability Office acknowledged the negative economic impact of
TFRs on the GA industry, yet found that the FAA does not have a system
in place for their periodic review. Instead, keeping continuing TFRs
in force is based on "unspecified security reasons submitted by the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)," the report said.
More...
ON
THE FLY...
The Pentagon is planning sharp cuts in Raptor funding...
AOPA's
Win-A-Twin entry deadline is Friday at midnight...
First Flight
Store closes for good in January. More...
AVWEB'S
NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Drop us a line. Heard something that 130,000 pilots might want
to know about? If it caught your eye, it will probably interest
someone else, too. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com.
More...
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NEW
ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
____
BRAINTEASERS
Quiz #89 -- A Little Off The
Airway
A pilot's brain can atrophy in the direct-anywhere GPS
world, so let's wander about the airways reviving your knowledge of
IFR and VFR symbols, contractions, and other needling minutiae --
including how much your VOR needle can move.
_________
INSURANCE
Neither A Lender Nor A Borrower
Be ... Non-Owner Pilots And Liability Insurance
If you borrow a
friend's car, you're covered by their car insurance. But if you borrow
their plane, you are probably not covered by their aircraft liability
insurance. Same if you rent a plane from an FBO. Are you prepared to
pay out tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars if there is an
accident? AVweb's Kevin Garrison looks at insurance for those who
don't own the plane they are flying. More...
AVWEB'S
BUSINESS AVFLASH
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb’s NO-COST twice monthly Business
AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on
the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make
headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must
read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA
IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/
More...
|
ATTENTION, CESSNA OWNERS AND PILOTS
The new
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AVWEB'S
QUESTION OF THE WEEK ...
This week, AVweb wants to know if (and how often) you use WAAS
approaches. PLUS: Results of last week's question on mandatory
retirement ages for pilots and controllers. More...
AVWEB'S
PICTURE OF THE WEEK ...
It's the last week of 2004, and AVweb readers have settled in for
their long winter's nap. While we were dutifully wrapping presents,
checking our lists, and eating giant hams, a handful of AVweb readers
took time to share some of their best amateur aviation photos. Let's
have a look at the last of the 2004 pictures, starting with this
week's baseball hat winner, Marty Tippin of Missouri.
More...
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STOP WONDERING — OR WORRYING — WHERE YOUR
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_____________________________________
We Welcome Your
Feedback!
AVflash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest aviation news,
articles, products, features and events featured on AVweb, the
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Letters to the editor intended for publication in AVmail should be
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Have a comment or question? Send
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Today's issue written by News Writer Mary Grady:
http://www.avweb.com/contact/authors.html#mgrady
AVweb's
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