Volume 11, Number 39b — September 29, 2005

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

NATCA WARNS OF PRIVATIZATION...
The federal government is softening up the aviation community and public for a Canadian-style privatization of air traffic control, the president of the controllers union alleged Wednesday. John Carr, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), said the recent FAA public relations campaign alleging diminishing resources (particularly from the Airline and Airway Trust Fund) and rising costs is similar to the Canadian government's tactics in the 1990s that led to the formation of Nav Canada, the private company that now runs the airspace system and charges user fees on a cost-recovery basis. Carr alleged the FAA is "looking to the north" as it prepares for its reauthorization and the expiration of the trust fund in 2007. "The FAA's solution is user fees, privatization and contracting out," Carr told a telephone news conference on Wednesday. And NATCA will be bringing its views to a TV near you, very soon. More...

...FAA SAYS PRIVATIZATION NOT ON AGENDA...
FAA chief spokesman Greg Martin said the agency's position on privatization is clear. "If we've said it once, we've said it a hundred times, we have no plans to privatize air traffic control," Martin said. (A different issue than user fees.) He said Blakey has two clear goals for her tenure. She wants to reduce the cost of the controllers' contract and create a "stable and sustainable" revenue stream for the agency. Martin said most of Carr's comments were "the same old rhetoric" that has been debated before. The agency recently asked the union to agree to speed up the current round of bargaining but Carr said Wednesday the union is happy with the current schedule. More...

...UNION, FAA (AND PUBLIC OPINION)
Carr said the Fly Us Safe campaign (cost unknown) is aimed at educating the public on three main issues that threaten the safety of air travel. He said the ads will address what the union claims is a critical staffing shortage, poor progress on needed technological improvements and withering staff morale. He said that despite FAA promises to address staffing, the system is short 1,500 controllers and only 13 were hired last year. Martin pointed out that 1,250 will be hired next year. Carr said the FAA has cut technology programs and is slow to implement others and he also noted that a recent survey of government employees indicated that the FAA was the worst government department to work for. More...

CESSNA'S PHANTOM AIRPLANE...
Its not-so-subtle nickname is the "Cirrus Killer" and, judging by the smoke signals coming from Cessna in the past couple of weeks, we may soon know something concrete about a new piston single the folks in Wichita hope will address a situation many would have regarded as unthinkable only a few years ago. At its current growth rate, Cirrus could very well become the world's largest manufacturer of piston singles. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association's first-half report for 2005, Cessna sold 301 piston singles while Cirrus sold 295. What's more, energized by new capital and an overhauled marketing department, Columbia Aircraft (the former Lancair Certified) is clearly in a race with Cirrus (and not Cessna, Piper or Raytheon) for a share of what could be described as a new light aircraft market. More...

...WILL THAT BE METAL OR PLASTIC?
Just what this new aircraft will be is, of course, the subject of much speculation. And here, Cessna's reputation of being able to keep secrets seems to be unchallenged. While some we talked to insist the "new" aircraft will simply be a modernized version of the same basic aluminum airplane, others are adamant that the company took a clean-sheet approach to the project and it will be a composite four-place with all the electronic bells and whistles. Something they do agree on, however, is that it will retain the high wing, although without struts. At one time, Cessna produced more than a dozen different singles before it shut down the line in the 1980s. More...

...CIRRUS SAYS BRING IT ON
Of course, no one is more interested in what a "Cirrus Killer" might be than those in Duluth. Cirrus VP of Marketing John Bingham said it's impossible to comment on what is now a phantom airplane but he's hoping Cessna goes ahead with the project. "I think it will be good for aviation and good for pilots," Bingham said. He said any time new products that enhance safety and performance are introduced, the industry as a whole benefits. Despite the moniker being used to describe the new Cessna, Bingham said Cirrus isn't running for cover. "We're confident about our position in the marketplace," he said. More...

THE NAVY'S SECRET GA AIR FORCE
Even James Bond would have a hard time sorting this out. According to an Associated Press report (reprinted by numerous military publications), the U.S. Navy operated a small air force of private aircraft for use in clandestine operations. Among the 33 aircraft it contracted from 10 private companies were two Gulfstream bizjets widely reported to be used by U.S. intelligence officials to carry suspected terrorists to countries known to torture prisoners. The process is known as "rendition" and two countries, Sweden and Italy, that have had people plucked from within their borders for a flight south and east, are calling it a criminal act. The other aircraft pretty much cover the spectrum of mission capability and include an unspecified Cessna, three C-130s, several other bizjets, two Boeing 737s, a Dash 8 and even a DC-3. More...

SECOND-IN-COMMAND RATING AVAILABLE
We can't remember the last time the FAA handed out new ratings without requiring additional training but thousands of airline first officers should be lining up for the new paper, but only if they fly internationally. According to the National Air Transportation Association, the agency has started issuing second-in-command (SIC) type ratings to right-seaters on overseas routes. Now, as everyone knows, a first officer has all the qualifications to fly the aircraft that the pilot handling the controls has (although he or she might not have as much experience). However, some member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) want to see it in writing. More...

OLD COMPUTERS LESS PRONE TO HACKING, SAYS FAA
The FAA says its air traffic control computers are hack resistant in part because they're so old. The Government Accountability Office released a report this week saying the FAA's systems are vulnerable to cyber-attack because the agency hasn't finished implementing information security programs. The report says that while progress has been made in protecting the systems, "it still has significant weaknesses that threaten the integrity, confidentiality and availability of its systems." The FAA contends that hackers wouldn't know where to begin to crack the codes in some of the decades-old hardware that is still in use. More...

AN AFSS CLOSES EARLY, IN MILLVILLE
Pilots in New Jersey say the decision to close an automated flight service station (AFSS) -- the building's roof collapsed last month -- will cause safety concerns. The Millville AFSS was scheduled to close in six to 18 months as part of the consolidation of flight service facilities under Lockheed Martin's contract, which takes effect Oct. 4. But the building damage has prompted the company to move up the closure and pilots claim that's hurting service. Wait times for briefings average 20 to 30 minutes according to pilots who have contacted AVweb. The closure will also leave 23 radio frequencies unmonitored during the transition, something the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists says is dangerous. More...

POLITICS: MIXING BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds is defending his use of government aircraft (which he frequently flies himself) to attend, among other things, his son's high school basketball games, saying he always makes sure some state business gets done at the same time if taxpayers are picking up the tab. Now, according to an Associated Press report, South Dakota is one of seven states that doesn't mind if its elected officials mix a little pleasure with business when they take to the skies as long as taxpayers aren't on the hook for it. But the cozy deal that Rounds has with something called the Governor's Club, a private fund of political contributors, might raise some eyebrows at the FAA. More...

DCA ACCESS RULES INCONSISTENT
Not all business aircraft are created equal in the eyes of the security mandarins in Washington, and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is hoping to change that. When Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) "opens" to general aviation on Oct. 18, many charter aircraft will be excluded while identical planes operated under corporate classification will sail right through the red tape. NATA says its reading of the highly restrictive rules shows that charter aircraft must operate under a Twelve-Five Standard Security Plan (TFSSP), which is only available to planes weighing more than 12,500 pounds, which is a pretty big airplane (a King Air weighs less than 10,000 pounds). More...

MORE PRIVATE SPACE PROJECTS
It's been almost a year since the Burt Rutan/Paul Allen collaboration resulted in the first (and second) private manned space flight but some of the dreamers and doers left in the dust by that well-funded operation are still hoping to see the black sky themselves. The Countdown to the X Prize Cup is being held Oct. 9 at Las Cruces, N.M., and visitors will be able to see the various other means competitors for the original X Prize had hoped to employ to win the $10 million offered in the earlier competition. "We've created an event where everyone can come, experience space and be part of the next generation of spaceflight," says the event's Web site. More...

ON THE FLY...
It's apparently within FAA regulations to drive a Jeep under an airplane...
Red Bull racing comes to San Francisco Oct. 8...
The U.S. and Australia have signed a bilateral agreement...
N.Z. will host first qualifying event toward Sailplane Grand Prix...
AOPA is asking the FAA to hold a public forum on Washington's ADIZ. 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 Savvy Aviator #23: Maintenance Records
Maintenance records are a pivotal element of your aircraft's maintainability and resale value. Are yours in good shape? AVweb's Mike Busch says the FAA's regulations may not be thorough enough when the time comes to sell the plane.

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...

AVWEB'S QUESTION OF THE WEEK ...
Privatization, risng prices, and those dreaded user fees — this week, AVweb invites you to peer into your crystal ball and tell us which (if any) of these you see looming in the future of U.S. aviation. PLUS: Results of last week's question on avgas prices (and how much is too much to pay). More...

AVWEB'S PICTURE OF THE WEEK ...
Our spirits continue to soar this week, as "POTW" submission numbers stay high — as does the quality of images we're seeing in the weekly stack. If you'd like to see your photo here — and possibly win a nifty AVweb baseball cap, available only through "POTW"! — submit your entries here. We'll share the best of each week's crop with over 100,000 loyal AVweb readers — and your picture may end up as desktop wallpaper for hundreds of aviation buffs around the world! (Plus, we really get a kick out of looking at airplane pictures.) 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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