Volume 11, Number 22a — May 30, 2005

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

IT'S THE SCARY SEASON...
New York Sen. Charles Schumer is no stranger to pushing the panic button (he's tried, among other things, to restrict helicopter flights in the Big Apple) and now he's written FAA Administrator Marion Blakey asking that tighter restrictions be placed on small sight-seeing operations after four people died very publicly in the crash of a Cessna 172 on a busy Coney Island beach, May 21. The aircraft was operating under rules that allow small air tour operators to avoid the expense and paperwork required of larger companies as long as they take off and land from the same airport and don't fly more than 25 miles from home. The FAA doesn't appear to have the appetite to take up the cause. More...

...LOW-LEVEL "ATTACK" BY CESSNA...
On the other side of the country (and perhaps not coincidentally) folks in Santa Cruz, Calif., are still buzzing about a single-engine Cessna which, according to the Mercury News, "attacked Main Beach in the manner of a World War II fighter and buzzed Seacliff Beach so low that a driver on a beachside road could see the top of the plane." Witnesses told the paper that the alleged stunt caused panic on the beaches and Kim Blow said the plane almost hit her nine-year-old nephew. "People were eating the sand and screaming," she said, Someone reported the tail number of the plane but the FAA is cautioning people not jump to conclusions. "We don't even know if any kind of crime has been committed or regulations violated," FAA spokesman Donn Walker told the Mercury News. More...

...EVEN THE GOOD GUYS PROMPT PANIC
Of course, terror from the sky comes in all shapes, sizes and colors, even red, white and blue. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds rattled more than the windows during a photo shoot over New York City last Thursday. The team was in the area for a Memorial Day air show and couldn't resist having their pictures taken in formation over the Statue of Liberty. With a C-130 carrying photographers accompanying them, the seven-ship formation made three passes over Miss Liberty. Concern on the ground was both inevitable and duly considered, according to the Air Force. Regardless, the spectacle still surprised some still-affected Manhattan residents. More...

NAS UNDER DISCUSSION -- AGAIN…
It seems like everyone wants to talk about what to do about the future of the National Airspace System and the next in a parade of forums is a meeting sponsored by the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) -- not to be confused with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the controllers' union. The forum will be held at the Hilton Crystal City at Ronald ReaganWashington National Airport June 21. The ATCA is calling its forum "Rightsizing the NAS" and it will focus on the structural and operational changes that will be needed to overhaul the system and make it more efficient (and potentially less expensive) against a backdrop of concerns about flight safety and air traffic controller shortages. Judging by the list of speakers,the ATCA seems to be attempting to ensure that all views are heard. More...

...GAO SPOTS PROBLEMS, OFFERS NO SOLUTIONS...
As the major stakeholders in the future of the National Airspace System get ready for their teeth-gnashing session in Washington in a few weeks, the Government Accountability Office has chimed in with its assessment of the state of the system, particularly the effort to reduce flight delays. Unfortunately, there is no beacon of light in the GAO's report. Simply put, it says more money, probably a lot more, will have to be spent to implement the structural, facility and organizational changes that need to take place to make a real difference. In fact, there's a note of practical desperation in some of the FAA's plans to address the problem. The report says the agency is considering auctioning off landing and takeoff rights at LaGuardia. More...

...OTHER COUNTRIES LOOK TO U.S....
The potential for air traffic controller shortages is a seemingly world-wide problem. The Czech Republic is grappling with manpower issues and even India, with just 1,000 controllers in a country of more than one billion people, is predicting dire consequences if hiring isn't speeded up, according to the Times of India. The Airports Authority of India (AAI). "We're filling up all vacant posts and things will be sorted out," AAI spokesman Praful Patel told the Times. Meanwhile, the paper alleges that two controllers are in charge of up to 15 major air routes at a time, far more than those in other countries must contend with. More...

...WHILE COURTS LOOK AT CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE
The potentially deadly consequences of lightly staffed control centers will undoubtedly get plenty of attention as the Swiss court system begins its civil and criminal assessments of the fallout from a midair collision of a Russian airliner and a DHL cargo jet on July 2, 2002. An American law firm has filed suit on behalf of 30 families of the more than 70 people killed in the crash. Swiss authorities, after a year of psychiatric assessment, have also charged Vitaly Kaloev with manslaughter for allegedly stabbing to death the controller who was working the two planes at the time. More...

EXPERIMENTAL PERMITS AVAILABLE FOR SPACECRAFT
Commercial spacecraft developers will get the same sort of opportunity to build and fly experimental versions of their vehicles as aircraft manufacturers do under a new set of guidelines issued by the FAA. The agency recently unveiled, for public comment, a special "experimental class" permit for those tinkering with suborbital spacecraft. The new permit promises to clear away much of the red tape on the way to 100,000 meters. "We're hoping that this allows the reusable launch vehicle developers to build their vehicles and start flying without too much regulatory burden," FAA spokesman Randy Repcheck told Space.com. "We're protecting public health and safety, but we're trying to do so in a reduced manner so that reusable launch vehicle developers can go out and fly." There are, of course, conditions. More...

AUXILIARY MEMBERS SAVE SURFER
There's nothing like saving a life in your spare time. A volunteer pilot and his observer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary are credited with initiating the successful rescue of a kite surfer off the coast of central California on Thursday. Pilot Dan Lavi and Air Observer Sue Fry, both auxiliary members, were on routine patrol when they spotted a sail in the water off Sherman Island State Wild Area. After descending for a closer look, they found the surfer unable to control the sail in the high winds. They radioed for help and, thanks to some Good Samaratins in the area, the rescue was a success. More...

ANOTHER PARACHUTE-PLANE COLLISION
Midair collisions between aircraft are rare enough but for the second time in a little more than a month a parachutist has collided with an airplane in flight. In this case, near Racine, Wis., the outcome was a lot better than the tragic circumstances of the previous incident, in which the jumper died. Last Thursday, seven skydivers left a single-engine aircraft at 2,000 feet -- one collided with it close to the ground. The plane ended up in a tree after clipping power lines and the jumper landed relatively safely on the ground. Amazingly, neither jumper nor pilot was seriously hurt. More...

RUTAN, NASA COLLABORATE ON SPACE PLANE TEST
They say politics makes for strange bedfellows but it appears the tiny fraternity of space explorers also has some unexpected liaisons. While Scaled Composites' Burt Rutan was telling (yet another) conference on space development how generally inept and ill-suited NASA is for the job at hand, his mothership White Knight was running up and down the runways at Mojave mated to the X-37, a pilotless Mach 27-capable space plane in sporadic development by NASA, Boeing and the military. At the International Space Development Conference, Rutan said NASA is wasting money on the space shuttle and imaginary spacecraft that will never be built and should get out of the human spaceflight business altogether. "NASA is destined to be sidestepped by commercial outfits, because it is not doing anything fun or inspiring, and it kills too many people," he said. Meanwhile, back in Mojave, Rutan's people are working side by side with NASA engineers trying to make one of those sometimes-illusory spacecraft fly. More...

GA ACCIDENTS UP, TREND STILL DOWN
The downward slide in GA accidents and fatalities hit an updraft in 2003 but a spokesman for the AOPA Air Safety foundation says it's not much to worry about. The total number of GA accidents rose 2.5 percent in 2003 over the previous year while flight hours increased .8 percent, according to the annual Nall Report prepared by the foundation. However, in the past 10 years, the accident rate per 100,000 flight hours has declined 25.3 percent. "The general direction is good," said foundation spokesman Bruce Landsberg. "I think we'll continue to make progress as pilots get smarter. But it doesn't come without constant effort and vigilance." More...

VIAGRA AND FLYING
Despite what you thought of the advice your mother may have given you, it actually might make you go blind if Viagra, Cialis or Levitra are part of the mix. And while we normally don't deal with these sorts of subjects, word out of the Food and Drug Administration that the use of these drugs to combat erectile dysfunction has caused "sudden, irreversible blindness" in 43 men has some significance for pilots. According to a television news report out of Washington, D.C., it's because of those potential vision problems that the FAA bars pilots from taking the drugs within 24 hours of flying (We couldn't find that specific reg on the FAA Web site). More...

GOT A THREE-BLADE PROP?
If so, our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, would like to hear abou your experiences with the conversion from a two-blade model. Did you notice any hit on cruise speed? Is it quieter and less vibey? If you had it all to do over again, would you stick with two-blade or opet for three? Write AvCon's prop team at aviationeditorial@comcast.net More...

ON THE FLY...
Lancair Columbia 350 and 400 certified in Australia...
California RV-8 pilot completes round-the-world flight...
COPA launches user-editable Places To Fly Web site...
Cessna crashed nose first, occupants uninjured. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Drop us a line. Heard something that 130,000 news-savvy pilots might want to know about? If it caught your eye, it would likely interest someone else. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. ... With our thanks. More...

READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES:
AVmail: May 30, 2005
Reader mail this week about students learning with glass cockpits, autoland on aircraft carriers, and lots more on the D.C. ADIZ incursion. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
ATIS
Yes, Sport Pilot Training Is Insurable for Commercial Flight Schools! (But ...)
Recently AVweb published an opinion piece by the owner of a flight school who couldn't get insurance for training in a Light Sport Aircraft. This week an independent insurance agency clarifies some of the information about getting Sport Pilot insurance.

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NEWS FEATURES
Adventure in Flight: The Outdoor Channel Steps In After Discovery Breaks A Wing
Pilots and other lovers of all things GA have been living in bleak TV times since Discovery Wings became the Military Channel. But aviation programming is coming back bigger and better-looking than ever. AVweb's Liz Swaine reports on "Wings to Adventure." 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...

SHORT FINAL...
When Freud Slips Into The Cockpit.
Miami Center near the Keys on a summer afternoon with large storms...

Center: Cessna 1234, how's the ride at 5000? I can give you 7000 if it helps.

Cessna 1234: Moderate turbulence and looks bad ahead ... but its not gonna be better at seven, I think we will just pray ... (pause) ... I mean stay at 5000,

Cessna 1234 (Different Voice): Center, I think we're gonna do a bit of both. More...

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.

Fly it till all the parts stop.

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