Volume 11, Number 50b — December 15, 2005

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

YOUR AIRCRAFT MUST BE "PROPERLY REGISTERED" BY FEB. 1...
Aircraft owners and operators must ensure their aircraft registration information and security waivers are properly completed and up to date by Feb. 1, 2006, or they "may be denied access" to the National Airspace System, the FAA said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday. The notice states that the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration will "revitalize and refocus" their airspace-monitoring capabilities to ensure that the requirements are met, "in the interests of national security and aviation safety." The FAA says it has provided numerous notices to aircraft owners over the last few years to emphasize the need for them to update their aircraft registration so both the FAA and aircraft manufacturers can notify them of safety and maintenance-related information. If you might be at risk, the FAA claims to know and offers some simple ways to check yourself (and them). More...

...ABOUT ENFORCEMENT AND COLLATERAL DAMAGE
AOPA has "concerns" about the FAA notice, based on an initial reading, spokesman Chris Dancy told AVweb yesterday. "AOPA has already pressed the FAA on one issue -- aircraft renters," Dancy said. "Would they be denied access to the NAS because the owner of the aircraft they've paid to rent has failed to comply with registration requirements? AOPA absolutely opposes anything that would impede a renter's ability to fly." Dancy added that the FAA has assured AOPA that renters would not be denied access to the NAS or face any enforcement action, although their departure on a flight in a rented aircraft could be delayed as the issue is sorted out. He also said the FAA has indicated that if owners do not comply with current registration requirements, the agency may consider requiring re-registration every three years. "They tried that in the 1990s," Dancy said. "AOPA fought it then." More...

FIRED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS BACK TO WORK...
Eleven air traffic controllers at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) on Long Island who were fired by the FAA last August have been reinstated. The controllers had been fired for allegedly failing to report on their FAA medical forms that they'd sought treatment for job-related stress. "The case was so one-sided in our favor that we didn't call a single witness," said John Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "NATCA did not even put on a defense, relying solely on the agency's witnesses to exonerate our people. The FAA folded like a cheap tent." The controllers will have letters of reprimand placed in their files for the failure to properly complete the forms and most will lose five days' pay. More...

...FAA CITES "ZERO TOLERANCE"
"The taxpayers have a right to expect high standards of conduct from all civil servants," FAA spokesman Greg Martin told AVweb on Tuesday. (Your mileage may vary.) "The accuracy and integrity of these medical forms are essential to aviation safety. We felt this was an important case to pursue. There must be zero tolerance for actions that could affect aviation safety." The controllers were fired by the FAA in August and had appealed that decision. The dispute was resolved when both parties agreed to a settlement during arbitration. "We consider the matter closed," Martin said. More...

CIRRUS WRECK RAISES SPECIAL CONCERNS...
A Cirrus SR22 crashed in Minnesota on Sunday night, killing the pilot and two passengers. When rescuers reached the crash site, questions arose about the safety of approaching the wreck. "There's an explosive charge that sends that parachute up, that hampered the investigation to some degree," Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky told the local KeloLand TV. Such concerns are legitimate, according to Bill King, a Cirrus vice president who oversees investigations. "As a practical matter, we would rather that if the first responders don't need to go in, that they didn't," he told AVweb on Tuesday. "We don't want somebody to get hurt." More...

...CITING AIRBAG, (BALLISTIC) CHUTE DANGERS
The concern is not only about the parachute, but also the airbag seatbelts, which are standard on the newest Cirri. "First responders have been hurt by airbags in the past," said King. "So we will ask them to stand down until we can get there. Or if that's not possible, if they need to act, we will walk them through how to deal with the airbags and parachute to be sure they're safe." In the case of the Minnesota crash, where there were no survivors, everyone on the scene did the right thing, King said. It's best to disturb the site as little as possible until NTSB investigators arrive, he said. More...

SOCATA TAKES ON VLJS WITH TURBOPROP
EADS Socata will soon be offering its EASA-certified six-seat TBM 850 for sale in the U.S., the company announced Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The pressurized single-engine turboprop's performance will compete directly with very light jets (VLJs) while its operating costs will be lower, Socata said in a news release. The TBM 850 is based on the 15-year-old TBM 700 design, but with a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D engine. It will cruise at a maximum 320 knots at FL260, 20 knots faster than the 700. Deliveries will begin early in 2006, after FAA certification is complete. Base price is set at $2.5 million, which -- in billionaire-speak -- is about where Cessna hopes to tag its Mustang VLJ twinjet and not quite twice the cost of an Eclipse 500. More...

VIRGIN GALACTIC TO BUILD HQ AT NEW MEXICO SPACEPORT
Virgin Galactic will locate its world headquarters and Mission Control in New Mexico, in a deal with the state that will launch the creation of a $200 million spaceport on a 27-square-mile site in a remote part of the state. Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, announced the deal on Tuesday, saying New Mexico is an ideal operations base, with a favorable climate, uncrowded airspace, low population density, high altitude, and stunning scenery. "Our activities will prove the commercial viability and excellent safety technology behind private personal spaceflight and give birth to a new industry in New Mexico," he said. More...

SPORT-JET MOVING TO OKLAHOMA
Excel-Jet, which has been working to develop its single-engine Sport-Jet in Colorado Springs, Colo., since 2002, announced on Monday that it will be moving to Guthrie, Okla., in a deal that will pump up to $5 million in financing into the company. "We've completed negotiations and Excel-Jet will be relocating its facility to Guthrie within 90 to 120 days," said company President and designer Bob Bornhofen in a news release on Tuesday. The money was put together from local and state sources by the Guthrie Industrial Development Authority. It will be enough to bring the Sport-Jet well into the flight-test phase and start certification work next year. More...

LOCKHEED MARTIN TO BUILD GIANT AIRSHIP
Lockheed Martin will build a prototype High Altitude Airship (HAA) under a $149.2 million contract awarded by the Missile Defense Agency, the company announced on Monday. The ship will be 400 feet long and about 140 feet in diameter with a volume of 3.7 million cubic feet, and will operate at altitudes up to 60,000 feet. The prototype is slated to fly in 2009. It will demonstrate launch and recovery, station-keeping and flight-control capabilities while carrying mission-reconfigurable payloads. It will be built in Lockheed Martin's facility in Akron. "The HAA delivers a persistent surveillance capability unmatched by any other platform," said Ron Browning, Lockheed Martin's leader of the project. More...

FOR DELTA'S PILOTS, IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE
Pilots for Delta Air Lines struck a tentative deal over the weekend, averting a possible strike that the airline had characterized as a "murder-suicide" scenario. "The pilots came out on top of this skirmish, but I've been around for a long time and I know who is going to win the war -- Delta," industry analyst Terry Trippler told the Associated Press. Delta had been asking the pilots for $325 million in concessions, but under the new deal the pilots will concede less than half that amount. The cuts include a 14-percent wage reduction for pilots, on top of a 32.5 percent cut agreed to last year. The pilots union says it is not backing away altogether from its strike threat, but putting it on hold for now while the two sides continue to negotiate. More...

SATURDAY CELEBRATES WRIGHTS' FIRST FLIGHT AND 70 YEARS OF DC-3S
In a poll of pilots' all-time favorite airplanes, the DC-3 would surely come out in the top tier, so when we hear about a special event to honor these venerable fliers, we like to let you know. This Saturday is not only the 102nd anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight but also the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the Douglas DC-3, in 1935. Within five years of the DC-3's introduction, passenger miles flown in the U.S. increased five-fold. To celebrate, the Prairie Aviation Museum's famous Ozark Airlines DC-3 will visit the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas. The event will be held in conjunction with the airport's monthly Wings & Wheels Saturday and will feature lunch, museum tours, new DC-3 exhibits, vintage aircraft displays, and many other special activities. More...

ON THE FLY...
Nine aircraft destroyed in a fire at Arlington (Texas) Airport...
House bill set fine and prison time for pointing lasers at aircraft...
19 ultralight-led whooping cranes migrated to Florida for winter...
Security-enhanced certificates coming for all pilots, AOPA says...
NATA distributing $13,000 to victims of Katrina...
Hanscom Field will host New England's first AirShares Elite. 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
As the Beacon Turns #96: Who You Calling Heavy?
An early morning departure from San Francisco in his nearly half-million pound heavy jet reminds Michael Maya Charles of the value of looking carefully at aircraft performance when you are confronted with something out of the ordinary.

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 ...
This week, AVweb wants to hear more of your opinions on the shooting of Rigoberto Alpizar by Federal Air Marshals. Plus: Results of our initial poll about the incident. More...

AVWEB'S PICTURE OF THE WEEK ...
AVweb readers were cooking with gas this week — contributing just over 100 photos to our "Picture of the Week" contest. Those are pretty high numbers for the slow period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. More amazing still, almost half of the photos you submitted were pushed through to the final round of selection! After much debate, we decided to award this week's top spot to "Barrell Roll," a photo that turned to be from frequent "POTW" contributor Lassi Tolvanen. Congratulations, Lassi — we'll be sending an official AVweb baseball cap your way early in the week. (As for the rest of you — now's a great time to dust off those old Polaroids and digital memory cards and send us your 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 Mary Grady:
http://www.avweb.com/contact/authors.html#mgrady
AVweb's editorial team: http://avweb.com/contact/authors.html.

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