Volume 11, Number 32a — August 8, 2005

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

HONDAJET FOR SALE?...
Well, as the old saying goes, everything is for sale and that apparently includes the HondaJet. Days after the (relatively) innovative aircraft went on display at EAA AirVenture, word from Honda's head office is that it might offer a certificated version of the aircraft. First sales "will be in at least two to three years," Honda President Takeo Fukui is quoted as saying by company spokesman Shigeki Endo. Endo said someone at Oshkosh put a deposit on an airplane ... despite Honda's assertions that it wasn't planning to go into the airplane business. More...

...LESS THAN $1 MILLION?
As we reported from the show, Honda officials repeated their long-held position that the airplane was merely a test bed for the engine it has developed. The HF118 turbofan is said to be more efficient than comparable (about 1,700 pounds thrust) engines and Honda has partnered with General Electric in its development. But now Honda is even talking price for the jet, including a low-end ballpark of less than $1million up to a (perhaps more realistic) $2.7 million. If the airframe was, indeed, simply a support system for the engine development, there were some coincidental performance milestones reached. More...

...NO JET, NOW JET -- AND HONDA'S PISTON ENGINE?
Not long ago (a little over a week ago) the HondaJet was strictly a technology demonstrator ... or so Honda would have us believe. As recently as AirVenture 2005 Honda Aero representatives told that the HondaJet was built to be carried by the GE/Honda engines, supposedly the only part of the jet that would be commercially marketed. Those same representatives said that Honda was in search of a manufacturer capable of matching the innovation of the GE/Honda engine with an equally innovative airframe. Apparently Honda has found that in itself. AVweb readers may recall that Honda in years past has made waves in the piston engine arena as well, but just as quickly as the engine was introduced, it faded away ... or so it seemed. More...

DEFINING THE THREAT FROM THE SKY...
The Department of Homeland Security's enduring belief that terror could come from the sky in the form of light GA aircraft is behind the FAA's proposal to permanently establish restricted airspace around Washington, D.C. In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FAA says the DHS has "no specific information that terrorist groups are currently planning to use general aviation aircraft" in attacks, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. According to the NPRM, al Qaeda has hatched several plans to use GA aircraft in attacks and the Sept. 11 plan originally used light aircraft until Osama bin Laden upped the ante. "Based on this and other information, the DHS believes that GA aircraft may be vulnerable to targeting by terrorists for misuse," the NPRM reads. More...

...AT WHAT COST, SECURITY?...
The FAA claims the extra burden on the aviation community associated with the permanent restrictions will be about $250 million over 10 years, almost all of it to cover the extra work of controllers and FAA administrative staff. It's estimated the direct cost to those using the 19 airports within the zone will be about $250,000 a year for the time used filing the mandatory flight plans. It also acknowledges that the three airports within the 15-mile inner circle of the zone face special costs that could push their annual costs to between $1.6 million and $2 million each. However, the FAA's financial assumptions are based on the current level of traffic and could be misleading, according to airport officials interviewed by the Washington Times. More...

...YOU HAVE A SAY
Although flight restrictions around D.C. and dozens of sensitive areas throughout the country have been a fact of life for four years, this will be the first opportunity for public input on them. "If there's a silver lining in all of this, it's that we will be inviting comment," said FAA spokesman Greg Martin. Until now, TFRs and other airspace restrictions have been unilaterally imposed (usually at the request of the DHS or the Secret Service), sometimes with only a few hours of notice. The proposal for making the Washington airspace restrictions permanent is going through the normal process of public scrutiny. More...

PRIVATIZATION: GAO SEES POSITIVES
The Government Accountability Office says countries that have privatized air navigation services have cut costs and their safety records haven't suffered. The GAO looked at the private systems in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to see how they stacked up (no pun intended) and what it found could fuel debate in the U.S. as the FAA and its controllers go through a fractious round of contract negotiations. The report says that in all cases, safety records have stayed the same or improved since commercialization. In particular, Canada and New Zealand both report a reduction in the number of incidents of loss of separation. It also found that all five companies cut costs while investing in new technology, something the FAA seems to be having trouble with. It also notes that general aviation operators have seen user fees increase. More...

DIAMOND'S ON THE GROUND FLOOR IN CHINA
Chinese officials are predicting general aviation will be worth $9 billion annually there in 10 years and western companies are now establishing ground-floor opportunities there. Diamond Aircraft, in partnership with Binzhou Degao General Aviation Co. in East China's Shandong Province, is set to start building DA40 aircraft with the first one rolling off the assembly line in October. The $200,000 USD aircraft are aimed at the burgeoning class of high income earners in China resulting from its economic revolution and it's not only piston singles that these folks are interested in, according to the China Daily. More...

FSS TRANSITION ON SCHEDULE
The transition from public to private operation of the flight service station system continues with high hopes for better service. AOPA President Phil Boyer said the program is on track to have Lockheed Martin take over the system as scheduled on Oct. 4. Lockheed Martin got the $1.9 billion contract in February and appeals by several other contenders have been rejected. Despite the controversy and doom-saying that has gone on, Boyer maintains the deal is a good one. "... We are convinced that this is the right thing at the right time for the benefit of GA pilots," he said. More...

PLANE HITS EMPTY SCHOOL AFTER COLLISION
Two men in a Cessna 152 died Thursday after the plane collided with a float-equipped Beaver near Renton, Wash., and plunged through the roof of a vacant elementary school. The Beaver, with five people aboard, was able to land safely. Both planes were headed to the Renton Airport. The pilot of the floatplane said the 152 struck the bottom of the Beaver and he did not see it. The smaller plane spiraled vertically into the ground, according to witnesses. The school was being torn down to make way for a new building and workers had left for the day. More...

FAA CLAMPS DOWN ON ILLEGAL CHARTERS
AOPA says the FAA is cracking down on "illegal" charter, and what the agency considers against the rules might surprise you (or strike you as bizarre). "We know of crackdowns in at least two districts and that's prompted questions from members," said AOPA spokesman Woody Cahall. "They want to know what the FAA considers an illegal charter." Say, for instance, a couple of friends offer to pay the gas for a pilot to fly them in his plane. Technically, they've chartered the aircraft. Occupants of the plane are allowed to chip in for fuel and oil but only if the pilot pays an equal share. The rules get even stickier surrounding "training" flights. More...

TORONTO AIRBUS ACCIDENT EARLY FOLLOW-UP
Combine landing 4,000 feet long on a wet runway with a tailwind and the result is what happened in Toronto last Tuesday, according to investigators. Canadian Transportation Safety Board investigators have practically ruled out a lightning strike and hydroplaning as contributing factors in the accident, which resulted in only minor injuries to a few of the 309 on board the Air France jet. Flight 583 ran off a runway in heavy rain at Pearson International Airport and caught fire in a ravine. Lead investigator Real Levasseur said the 5,000 feet of remaining runway would, under normal circumstances, been enough to bring the A340 to a stop. "Under [Tuesday's] conditions, I am pretty convinced that there was no way the aircraft was going to be able to stop before the end," Levasseur told a news conference. Meanwhile, the investigation is now focused on why two emergency slides failed to deploy from aircraft exits. More...

ON THE FLY...
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority plans to put all relevant info in one accessible place...
Centennial Airport suffers second MU-2 fatal crash in less than a year...
Tunisian airliner ditched, killing at least 13. 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. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
The Pilot's Lounge #90: State Aeronautics Commissions -- Fiddling While Airports Disappear?
It'd be nice if the people in charge of airports at the state level helped fight airport closures, given the importance of airports to a state's economy. But AVweb's Rick Durden just hasn't seen it happen and, in fact, has seen such commissions act in ways that will cause even more closures.

More...

READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES:
AVmail: August 8, 2005
Reader mail this week about user fees, Homeland Security restrictions ofall types, digitally modified photos and much more. 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...
During 1978 while working ground control, a C-152 from a neighboring airport's flight school was getting ready to depart. Prior to engine start the pilot called the tower and was informed, "Clearance on request, contact ATIS prior to taxi." The instruction prompted the following response...

Pilot: Cessna 1234 ready to taxi and we contacted Patrick ATIS ... but ... uh ... we couldn't get a word in edgewise. 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

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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.

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