Volume 11, Number 36a — September 5, 2005

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

GENERAL AVIATION PILOTS AND KATRINA -- THE IMPORTANT LINKS
Click through to find links, phone numbers, and contact information for aid organizations and efforts that may make use of your special skills as a pilot and aircraft owner. Find also information on airports affected by hurricane Katrina and relevant TFRs. More...

KATRINA AID PILOT, IN HIS OWN WORDS…
GA is being called upon to help thousands of people who seem forgotten in the hurricane relief effort. Dozens of small communities in the path of Hurricane Katrina have been virtually cut off for a week. "One of our planes was diverted to Poplarville, Miss., yesterday and it's a city of 40,000 people that's had no water and no food for a week," said Doug Towns, a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight Georgia. "The sheriff there said people are dying every day." Angel Flight was planning to send three aircraft packed with essential supplies to Poplarville on Sunday but there are undoubtedly numerous other smaller communities in the same situation. Thomas Marino, a volunteer coordinator for GA efforts in Baton Rouge, told AVweb that pilots who want to help should just pick an airport, load up their plane with food, water, and medical and baby supplies and go there. "Chances are they're going to be welcomed with open arms," Marino told AVweb. (Your mileage may vary -- there may be very little ground support, or fuel. Call ahead.) "I think we could really do some good there." Of course, pilots must respect the TFRs that are restricting GA operations in many areas but Marino said there are plenty of hard-hit areas not under the TFRs. More...

...VOLUNTEER GROUPS TAKE FLIGHT...
Angel Flight Georgia spokeswoman Jeanine Biron said at least 50 volunteer aircraft are already involved and the need will expand. Interested pilots (who must be IFR-rated) can call 770-452-7958, ext. 0 to register and should have their documentation in front of them. Gail Pinckney, a spokeswoman for Brother's Keeper, a group operating out of Atlanta Dekalb-Peachtree Airport, said the group is also accepting volunteers who can register online or by phone at 770-939-0396. It's currently only accepting aircraft with six seats or more. Brother's Keeper grew (with help from your response to Thursday's mention in AVweb) from Pinckney's original plan to match homeless families with vacant vacation homes, mostly in Florida. More...

...BUT COULD DO SO MUCH MORE...
While GA is making a difference in the massive humanitarian effort, much more could be done if government authorities would simply tap the huge resource at its fingertips. "Literally thousands of pilots are members of volunteer pilot organizations and many wish to help," Rol Murrow, head of the Air Care Alliance, told AVweb on Sunday. "However the magnitude of the disaster and terrible communications, combined with well-intentioned attempts to control traffic, have slowed utilization of the volunteer groups." Morrow said some groups have found roles in the relief effort but the vast majority of work is being done by government aircraft and a valuable resource is being underutilized. More...

...ENDING WITH FRUSTRATION FOR SOME
Although the situation at the smaller airports is likely different, volunteer pilots who show up without a game plan in Baton Rouge are likely to be disappointed. Marino said a lot of well-meaning volunteers who arrived unannounced have left in frustration. "You see these people coming in with the best of intentions just stopped cold," he said. Marino said he's been overwhelmed by the generosity and willingness of people in the GA community to help out but they must make some previous arrangements if they want to be part of the main relief effort. More...

HEAVY IRON: OPERATION AIR CARE…
It's being billed as the largest airlift in U.S. history and it's bringing relief to tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina's victims. Operation Air Care swung into high gear over the weekend, with dozens of commercial airliners, flying VFR, bringing tons of food, clothing, medical supplies and other necessities to storm-ravaged New Orleans. Then, the planes are loading up with passenger to take them to refugee centers as far away as Chicago. "Starting virtually from scratch, we've worked to put together the largest air lift on U.S. soil in history to get supplies in and take people out of New Orleans," said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. "We are going to keep at this for as long as necessary to make sure we get as many people safely out of New Orleans by air as possible." More...

...CASH-STRAPPED AIRLINES DONATE PLANES...
Of course, without the planes, the airlift would be impossible and the Air Transport Association gets the credit for organizing the aircraft. Member airlines, many of them on the ropes financially, have pitched in with only vague assurances that some of their costs, such as fuel, might be covered. Crews are flying voluntarily and company executives are also helping out. "This extraordinary civilian airlift is unprecedented in U.S. history and is a shining example of how America can come together to help those in need," ATA President James May told The Associated Press. However, even in the midst of catastrophe, security is not taking a back seat. More...

...TFRS EVERYWHERE
The airspace around New Orleans and the Gulf coast is complicated, crowded and no place for aircraft that don't have a role in the relief effort. That's the clear message being sent by the federal government as the evacuation, rescue and resupply missions escalate. There are new TFRs up for New Orleans and the Mississippi coast and any civilian aircraft operating within them must be in contact with airborne early warning aircraft now patrolling the area. The whole area now falls under the Joint Task Force Katrina Airspace Control Plan, which is a combined effort between the military and FAA to keep planes from hitting each other. More...

AVGAS SUPPLIES STEADY
While automotive gasoline has been in short supply in some areas, because of hurricane-related refinery closures, the supply of avgas seems secure. In fact, one of the major producers of avgas, the Exxon Mobile plant in Baton Rouge, is running at full capacity and ensuring an ample supply of fuel for the hundreds of airplanes staging out of the Baton Rouge airport, which is right next door. While supply doesn't seem to be a problem, paying for the fuel is getting more unpleasant every day. Like car gas, the price of avgas is skyrocketing in the aftermath of Katrina as oil markets respond to the tightened supply caused by the hurricane (never mind that the fuel being sold now was refined long before the storm hit). And there's speculation the corresponding hike in jet fuel prices will be the final straw for some cash-strapped airlines. More...

NEW YORK CONTROLLERS GET "RETRAINED"
Some of the FAA's most experienced and capable air traffic controllers are going back to school. The agency has mounted a massive retraining program for 220 controllers at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) in Westbury to curb a rash of operational errors, some of which might be attributable to controllers being overconfident and taking shortcuts, according to the agency. "We found that there's been a New York way of doing business," Bruce Johnson, the FAA's vice president of terminal services, told Newsday. Johnson also noted that the errors spiked after the agency imposed a new schedule aimed at slashing overtime at the facility. More...

TOUCHY PM TRIGGERS AIRBORNE POLITICAL STORM
Take a wisecracking pilot, a cranky prime minister and a planeload of impatient passengers (some of them the PM's political rivals) and you get a political scandal, New Zealand style. There's no equivalent of Air Force One for New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark so she flies commercial. On a recent Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch, the PM was among the last few passengers to board and the pilot quipped that it was not the way to show support for the national airline. Most passengers took it for the joke that it was. But not Clark and her cronies. She went to the cockpit to give the pilot a prime ministerial dressing-down and the pilot went on the PA system to apologize, to the amazement and bemusement of the other passengers. More...

AOPA WANTS FIELD APPROVAL PROCESS STREAMLINED
AOPA says the field approval process needs to be changed to stop months-long delays in the installation of new navigation gear on airplanes. A shortage of FAA inspectors means those who want the latest stuff on their panel can wait a long time before it's legal to switch it on. AOPA says the agency has put field inspections of private aircraft alterations low on the priority list and it's preventing pilots from using the latest and greatest improvements in navigation and situational awareness. AOPA is suggesting that mechanics be able to sign off on these types of installations as long as the plane is unpressurized and weighs less than 12,500 pounds. More...

NTSB WANTS RJ AILERONS CHECKED
The NTSB is asking the FAA to require more frequent inspections of aileron linkages on Bombardier regional jets after its investigation of a 2003 incident in which the crew briefly lost control of an RJ and had to make an emergency landing. The NTSB looked at 79 aircraft similar to the CL-600-2B19 in the incident and found that 19 percent of the planes had too much slop in their aileron linkages. The FAA currently requires inspections every 4,000 hours. More...

AVENGER WRECKAGE FOUND IN LAKE
After a two-year search, a dive team has found the shattered wreck of a TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bomber on the murky bottom of Clear Lake in northern California. The discovery could end 60 years of discomfort for 96-year-old Morton Pinz, whose younger brother Lt. Robert Pinz was flying the plane. The body of radio operator David Herget washed ashore a few days after the crash on Dec. 4, 1944, but the Pinz family was always distressed that the pilot's body was never recovered. The body still hasn't been located but divers may return to the wreck to see if it's there. More...

ON THE FLY...
NBAA moved convention to Orlando from New Orleans...
Seawind picked FADEC-controlled Continental engine...
Headset allows pilots to switch between cellphone and music source. 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...

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...

READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES:
AVmail: September 5, 2005
Reader mail this week about user fees, airport security, the D.C. ADIZ and much and more.

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NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
The Pilot's Lounge #91: To Fly; Perchance To Starve
In the minds of many of the "great unwashed," general aviation is the realm of the very rich. After looking into the cost of getting a Private Pilot certificate, some potential student pilots might tend to agree. AVweb's Rick Durden tries to bring those costs down in this month's column.

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SHORT FINAL...
All in a day's work...

I was working at LAN FSS prompting a new student through the flight plan form. When we got to the bottom fo the form I asked the student, "Number on board and color."

Student: One white male. 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.

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