GA REACTION TO WHITE HOUSE BUDGET: FAST AND NEGATIVE
Marching directly behind the parade of President Bush's budget proposal last week, GA user groups have formed their own. For starters, this from AOPA: "Congress must not allow this to happen," said President Phil Boyer. "The White House is proposing to cut nearly $1 billion from the Airport Improvement Program in 2007 ... [and] almost all of that would come from monies earmarked for GA airports." EAA agreed: The budget takes money away from airports and uses it to fund general operations, "instead of making the hard decisions on the real problem: out-of-control spending," said Doug Macnair, EAA vice president of government relations. But it wasn't all bad. More...

PROGRAM FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT COULD DISAPPEAR
National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James Coyne also criticized the budget, saying it "has wrongly short-changed America's air transportation system." The budget would completely eliminate the Small Community Air Service Program, NATA said, which promotes development of air service for rural America. He also expressed opposition to user fees, which seem to be increasingly pushed by the administration as an alternative to the Trust Fund system. "User fees are the wrong way to raise revenues to fund the air traffic control system and have the potential to wreak havoc on the general aviation industry," he said. More...

GLOBALFLYER DIVERTED AFTER GENERATOR FAILURE
Steve Fossett had already flown more than 25,000 miles and was descending from 50,000 feet to his planned landing site in England Saturday evening when a generator failed in the Virgin Galactic GlobalFlyer. Fossett diverted from Manston to Bournemouth and landed safely, succeeding in his quest to complete the longest-ever flight in an aircraft, with no stops and no refueling ... and injuring or killing at least one bird (not considered part of the record). Fossett coped with the bird strike on takeoff, cockpit temperatures up to 130 degrees, and severe turbulence over India that at its worst adjusted his altitude in 1,000-foot increments. "It was a scary time and I had my parachute on and I was prepared to bail out in case a wing broke," Fossett said. In all, he flew 26,389.3 miles in 76 hours 45 minutes. More...

ANOTHER MYSTERIOUS FUEL LOSS
As in last year's round-the-world trip, Fossett again had trouble with the GlobalFlyer's fuel system. About 750 pounds of fuel was lost overboard early in the flight. The loss meant that finding the best tailwinds and carefully managing the fuel burn were that much more critical. When Fossett landed in England, he had 200 pounds of fuel left in the tanks. The flight exceeded the current record for the longest airplane flight held by Burt Rutan's Voyager aircraft, which flew for 24,987 miles in 1986, as well as the longest flight by any kind of aircraft, 25,361 miles flown by the Breitling Orbiter balloon in 1999. More...

TWO AIRCRAFT COLLIDE IN CALIFORNIA WHILE DEPARTING AIRPORT
Three people died near San Diego last Wednesday, when a Cessna 172RG and a Cessna 182 collided in midair at about 4:40 p.m. Nobody on the ground was hurt, though flaming debris fell into a residential area and set a home on fire, as AVweb reported Thursday. Since then, investigators have learned the pilot and instructor in the 172RG, owned by Scandinavian Aviation Academy at Gillespie Field, were on an instrument training flight. They have not been identified but are believed to have been from Sweden. They filed an instrument flight plan out of Gillespie, bound for Brown Field on a familiarization flight. Instrument departure routing at Gillespie can direct aircraft in a climbing arc back over the field, a local controller told AVweb. The 182 flown by William Kupiec, 68, of La Jolla, departed VFR from Gillespie approximately one minute behind the 172RG. The two aircraft later met at about 2,300 feet, roughly three miles from Gillespie. More...

TWO DIE IN NEW ZEALAND; NTSB ON FATAL SHORTS COLLISION
Two private pilots were killed in a midair collision last Thursday in New Zealand. Witnesses said the two Piper Cherokees had been flying in close proximity at about 1,500 feet MSL for about 15 minutes, apparently practicing maneuvers, when the wing of one clipped the tail of the other, according to The New Zealand Herald. Both pilots were training for their commercial certificates. It was the first fatal midair in New Zealand since 1993. Also last week, the NTSB released a preliminary report on the midair collision of two Shorts cargo aircraft last Sunday in Juneau, Wisc. (which we mistakenly placed in Alaska in Thursday's AVwebFlash). The two airplanes had departed from General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) and were flying in formation about 100 to 150 apart on a photo flight when one of the airplanes entered a turn. More...

SBA JOINS OPPOSITION TO ADIZ
The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy has joined with 21,459 others who have expressed opposition to the FAA's plans to impose a permanent ADIZ over the Washington, D.C., area. In comments filed last week, the Advocacy Office said it is concerned that the FAA has underestimated the cost and impact of the airspace restrictions on small aviation businesses within the affected area. Such businesses include small airports, aerial survey firms, flight schools, air charter operations and air tour operators. The FAA should revise its economic analysis, the SBA says, and should consider alternatives to a permanent ADIZ. The SBA even offered some alternatives. More...

WSI GETS SIRIUS FOR IN-FLIGHT SATELLITE WEATHER
WSI Corporation announced last week that it is working on a system that would receive WSI's aviation weather over Sirius Satellite Radio in your airplane cockpit. The FAA-certified system should be on the market by the end of this year, WSI said. "The reliability offered by Sirius's satellite network augments WSI's continued commitment to build a robust network of proactive flight-decision support tools," said WSI spokesman Jim Menard. Sirius radio programs will also be included. The system will be compatible with all existing WSI InFlight display devices and installations, the company said. More...

DOT ADDRESSES SPACE TOURISM -- REAL BY 2008?
Commercial spacecraft could be cleared to carry passengers by 2008, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta said last Thursday. Speaking to a group of space entrepreneurs at the 9th Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C., Mineta said that a number of companies should be set to take passengers into space by then and the DOT would be ready to clear those flights. "This timeline isn't based on science fiction," Mineta said. "It is a timeline based on the reality of where commercial space is today and where we expect the state of commercial space to be within two short years ... We will move quickly to green-light flights that we know are safe." More...

MEIGS AIRFIELD SOON TO BE HELIPORT
The city of Chicago plans to open a heliport on the lakefront this spring for use by emergency first-responders, the Chicago Tribune reported on Friday. Private use of the site will be allowed only under contract. Aviation access to downtown Chicago was lost when Mayor Richard Daley demolished Meigs Field in March 2003, despite widespread protest from the aviation community. "This shows that Meigs was closed under false pretenses," said Josh Levy, spokesman for Friends of Meigs. The Chicago HeliStop, comprising a single landing pad and one parking spot, is expected to open as early as April, according to the Tribune. More...

PLANE CRASH NO WORRY TO RUGBY FANS
Nine New Zealand rugby fans were en route to an international tournament in Wellington, flying in a 60-year-old vintage warbird -- a former Air Force de Havilland Devon -- when something went awry. Passenger Dave McGall told the New Zealand Herald the aircraft was about 200 feet off the ground, headed for the runway at Ohakea Air Base, when "everything seemed to go wrong." As the airplane touched down, the landing gear collapsed, part of a wing was damaged and the propellers hit the pavement. "It happened that quick that we didn't even really know it was happening," said passenger Ian Barnsdall. "We got a bit of a fright." Nobody was hurt, and all nine of the fans made it to the tournament (after a quick stop for some nerve-soothing libations) and were cheered by the fans for their fortitude. More...

WHY NOT A SKY CRUISE?
Imagine flying above a scenic landscape, but instead of being strapped into a cramped, noisy seat, you're relaxing in a spacious lounge, with huge picture windows, room to walk around, overnight cabins, and sit-down meals. That's the concept behind the Aeroscraft, a huge airship more than 600 feet long, now under development at Aeros, a California company. The craft would derive its lift partially from helium and partially from dynamic lift created by the shape of the body, the company says. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded the project over $3 million last year, to develop the concept for military uses. Aeros also envisions using the ship for cargo and commuting. More...

ON THE FLY...
FEMA has stored over 10,000 trailers at the Hope, Ark., airport...
Cessna, FAA to begin talks Wednesday over proposed $840,000 fine...
Alaska man faces firearms charges over rocket launchers for L-39s...
Wingtip with bullet holes found in woods not from crashed airplane...
AOPA will hold its 2007 Expo in Hartford, Conn., Oct. 4-6...
Four aircraft violated the presidential TFR over N.H. last week...
Hazardous cargo was on board UPS DC-8 that caught fire last Wednesday...
A 3-oz. GPS tracker claims to be world's smallest such device. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, don't be shy. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with you. 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 ...
http://www.avweb.com/avmail/

Reader mail this week about night rescues, landing on a highway, crashing on the centerline and much more.

More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
CEO of the Cockpit #54: Baggage
Anybody else notice that right about the time wheeled suitcases started coming onto airplanes, airline profits started dropping? AVweb's CEO of the Cockpit didn't notice, but his Marine buddy did and pines for those earlier, testosterone-filled days.

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AUDIO CLIP
Non-towered pattern entry. Dick Taylor explains the not-so-common knowledge that keeps you safer in the pattern at a non-towered airport. This is one case where the simplest approach isn't always the best. Click through to learn.

More...

SHORT FINAL...
High-speed taxi ... or low-speed takeoff.

I landed in the first 150 feet of a runway in a Flightstar (Vx = 40 KIAS) and was taxiing past the main taxiway where an Air Asia 737 was waiting...

Tower: 9M-EAU please expedite.

9M-EAU: Wilco. [...while acclerating to about 15 knots on the ground.]

Air Asia Pilot: We can wait, sir. If he goes any faster he'll be flying again. More...

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

Today's issue was written by news writer Mary Grady (bio).

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