Volume 11, Number 41a — October 10, 2005

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

AOPA ISSUES ADIZ ALERT...
It appears pilots are responding to AOPA's national alert to protest permanent implementation of the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone. The alert went out to all 406,000 AOPA members on Oct. 5 and by Saturday afternoon more than 1,200 fresh protests had been registered (although there's no way of knowing how many were inspired by AOPA's alert). The flurry pushed the total number of comments registered on the controversial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to a little more than 2,000. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 2. AOPA says it's only the third time in the last 10 years it has felt the need to mobilize the membership, but the precedent-setting nature of the NPRM made it necessary. More...

...STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE...
For those who have never commented on a proposed rule, the process is fairly straightforward and open to anyone. But AOPA is making it even easier with a step-by-step guide to ensuring your voice is heard in Washington. The guide contains all the links and helpful hints necessary to post comments via the Internet, which is the preferred way. Not sure what to say? AOPA can help out there, too, with a list of discussion points that you can personalize. (Hint: original comments tend to carry more weight than simply copying the AOPA-supplied notes.) More...

...WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID
If you're still stumped on what to say in your comment to the FAA, take a few minutes to read what others have had to say. (Click on the TXT file. It loads faster than the PDF.) You'll note that most of the comments are short and to the point. "The Washington DC ADIZ is destroying general aviation in the area," writes one pilot. "I operated my airplane out of Potomac, Md. (under the FRZ) and I eventually sold it because it just wasn't fun anymore." However, if you feel the need to wax eloquently, there is no limit on the amount you can say and the FAA assures us that every word will be read and duly considered. More...

LOPRESTI FURY FACTORY IN WORKS...
There could be a new high-performance airplane on the market in 2008 but the name will be a familiar one to those who care about going faster. According to the Sebastian, Fla., Sun, LoPresti Speed Merchants is shopping for a location to build its long-awaited Fury, a two-place firecracker that was designed (some may say adapted) by Roy LoPresti in the late 1980s. LoPresti died in 2002 but the company he left behind seems to be getting serious about building the aircraft. Arjay Siegel, the company's VP of operations, said the company has scouted five potential locations for the aircraft plant, which would employ about 300 people. "We'll not only have the decision made, but we'll break ground [within 90 days]," he told the Sun. More...

...PERFORMANCE AND ENDURANCE
The Fury (aesthetically similar to the Globe Swift) is a two-place side-by-side taildragger with a 200-hp Lycoming up front and all those smooth slippery lines that made Lopresti famous to put every pony to use. It has a maximum speed of 222 mph but stalls at 54 mph with flaps. It's fully aerobatic with an ultimate load of 7-plus Gs, but there's also room for up to 200 pounds of luggage. Range is about 1,000 miles and useful load is 850 pounds. LoPresti describes the aircraft as having "the lines of a fighter, the performance of a Ferrari and the comfort of a fine touring sedan." More...

ADS-B IN THE REAL WORLD ... IN OZ...
Is Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) destined to become the modern equivalent of Mode C? Australia seems to be moving in that direction with implementation of a large-scale test of the technology in GA aircraft. Airservices Australia has called for proposals for a project that would equip 1,500 GA aircraft with the electronic tattletales, which automatically broadcast the precise position and identification of the aircraft once a second. Ground stations and similarly equipped aircraft can receive the signals, telling them exactly where ADS-B-equipped aircraft are flying. And there's the rub. More...

...AND MOVING CAPSTONE TO THE LOWER 48
The Australian program sounds a lot like one that's been running in the U.S. for almost a decade. "ADS-B is the backbone of the Alaska Capstone project," FAA spokesman Greg Martin told AVweb. Capstone is aimed at reducing Alaska's hugely disproportionate accident rate with the use of new, chiefly satellite-based navigation and weather technology. As in the Australian project, Alaska-based aircraft were outfitted with the gear and became flying test beds for application of the technology. The accident rate has fallen noticeably (other programs, including enhanced training for pilots, also share the credit) and Martin said it's time to spread those benefits around. "We now have to seriously look at applying that technology in the Lower 48 states," he said. John Carr, the head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), agrees there are benefits to ADS-B but only if all aircraft are equipped. More...

LOCKHEED SAYS AFSS TRANSITION WENT SMOOTHLY
A couple of last-ditch efforts by legislators and the union representing flight service specialists failed to stop the takeover of the FSS system by Lockheed Martin last week and the company says things went smoothly. But, then, all that changed was the nameplate on the door. Dire predictions on the fate of the system, after Lockheed Martin closes two-thirds of the automated flight service stations, continue to be voiced by critics who say there won't be enough people to handle the workload. "I've got a pit in my stomach the size of Texas that this is going to be the largest fiasco any federal agency has ever seen," said Kate Breen, president of the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS). More...

PART 135 MODE S EXEMPTIONS EXPIRE MARCH 1, 2007
The FAA is proposing that there be no more installations of Mode C transponders in Part 135 aircraft after March 1, 2007, and that all transponder replacements after that date be with Mode S devices. The agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Oct. 7 saying that exemptions to the rules requiring all new transponder installations be Mode S will terminate on March 1, 2007, and it will not grant any exemptions after that date. However, if, under an exemption, the Mode C is installed before March 1, 2007, the equipment can continue to be repaired to keep it in service after that date. When it's finally irreparable, it must be replaced with Mode S. More...

AD AFFECTS AFTERMARKET RODS IN 2,800 LYCOMING ENGINES
The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive AD on a certain make of connecting rod found in about 2,800 Lycoming 360- and 540-series engines in service in the U.S. The AD covers engines that have had certain ECi connecting rods installed as part of a repair or overhaul. The FAA determined that the connecting rods covered by the AD have deficiencies in the journal bores that can cause fatigue and/or bearing failure, which can result in "uncommanded shutdown" of the engine. Offending rods that have seen more than 1,500 hours of service have to be replaced within 50 hours and the others must be replaced before reaching 1,500 hours. More...

TETERBORO LOOKING FOR RELIEF
Well, you know the airspace is getting crowded when the reliever airport needs a reliever airport. The New York Port Authority is trying to figure out how to get some of the 550 mostly corporate flights per day that operate from Teterboro Airport (TEB) to use Stewart International, a quieter but fully equipped former Air Force base about 60 miles away. An therein lies the problem. Execs going to the Big Apple via TEB endure about 20 minutes in a limo compared to the hour it would take to get them from Stewart. "Corporate aircraft are in demand because time is probably one of the most important aspects a company can have," Jack Olcott, president of the New Jersey Aviation Association, told the North Jersey media group. More...

NEW RULE TARGETS EXPLOSIVE WIRING ISSUES
Almost ten years after an electrical fault is suspected to have caused the center tank of a TWA Boeing 747 to explode off New York (killing 230 people), the FAA has come up with a new set of proposed regulations aimed at ensuring (encouraging) airlines and manufacturers to better look after the lifeblood of their airplanes. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would essentially treat wiring as a separate system, rather than as part of the other systems, thus boosting inspection, maintenance and design requirements that the FAA claims will actually save the airlines money. "There will be more efficient planning of maintenance programs and less down time for aircraft," FAA spokesman Hank Price told reporters. More...

ICING CITED IN CARAVAN CRASH
Airframe ice may have caused the crash of a Cessna Caravan in the Canadian province of Manitoba last week, possibly the first such accident since the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) last March requiring a "tactile inspection" of Caravan flight surfaces in potential icing conditions before takeoff. It's speculated that pilot Nancy Chase-Allan, 49, didn't run her hands over those surfaces before taking off from Winnipeg even though icing conditions were present. Peter Hildebrand, of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board, told the Canadian Press that the icing hazard was high before Chase-Allan took off. "The conditions that existed yesterday are getting to the upper end," he said. More...

A VERY FREQUENT FLYER
The 15-minute flight between Vancouver, B.C., and Nanaimo (yes, it's where the dessert bar was invented) is one of the most beautiful anywhere but Marc Tacchi may have had enough of it by now. The cargo pilot has made the trip over the islands and bays of Georgia Strait more than 100 times in the last couple of weeks, but not in the left seat. He's been sitting in the back of the Dash 8 in his quest to accumulate a million frequent flyer points on Air Canada's Aeroplan. And he's exploiting a special deal offered by the airline and an anomaly in the points plan to accomplish his goal in less than two months. "I guarantee I'll do it. I can do it easily," he told the Canadian Press. More...

ON THE FLY...
Australian Wright Flyer replica (pix in AVweb's NewsWire) flew...
Adam still intends to produce and deliver the A500, this year...
Airbus goes ahead with A350...
Airport Watch gets DHS funding...
Blue Angels' founder honored...
Travolta looking for pilots? 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
Say Again? #55: What I Want for Christmas
This Christmas, AVweb's Don Brown would like a few things to make his job better. Many of them are things that pilots already have, but that doesn't make it any easier to get them for Don.

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INSURANCE
The Unappreciated & Ill-Defined Aircraft Maintenance Log
Maintenance logs are required to prove compliance with regulations, but do you have to have them when you sell the plane? If not, what will happen to the price you get for the plane? And, therefore, will you get compensation from your insurance company if the logs are lost or destroyed? Think again.

More...

READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES:
AVmail: October 10, 2005
Reader mail this week about Jet Blue, cockpit doors, a successful Wright Flyer 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...
Overheard during fleet week practice over the San Francisco Bay;

Nor Cal Approach: Bonanza 1-2-3-4, opposite direction traffic at your 1 o'clock, five miles, five hundred feet above you, Blue Angels flight of two.

Bonanza 1-2-3-4: Negative contact, say again type traffic.

Nor Cal: Two F-18s, blue and yellow. Currently at your one moving to two o'clock ... make that three o'clock ... um ... traffic no longer a factor. Caution, wake turbulence. More...

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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:
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