NORAD PULLS ADIZ MEETING TRANSCRIPT "FOR REVIEW"
Well, if NORAD had hoped to keep what it regarded as potentially "security sensitive information" (SSI) out of the public eye by this maneuver, we'd have to call the mission an abject failure. Chat rooms, news services and aviation groups are frothing over the agency's order (no, it was not a request) that the FAA remove from its Web site the transcript of a copiously recorded, televised and reported-upon public meeting concerning the government's proposal to make the Air Defense Identification Zone around Washington permanent. As is normal with meetings such as this, held in a hotel conference center with speakers invited (in fact, actively encouraged) to speak their minds so that government leaders can weigh their proposed actions against the sense of the public, a transcript of the proceedings was prepared and posted for use by those who couldn't make it to Washington that day. Now, in the interest of national security, it's gone. More...

WHAT WE'RE (NOT) ALLOWED TO SAY IN PUBLIC
If there was one speaker at the meeting who stood out in the minds of those attending, it was Lt. Cmdr. Tom Bush, a Navy F/A-18 pilot from Oceana Naval Air Station who regularly flies his Mooney to Washington on Navy business. It's possible that Lt. Cmdr. Bush (no relation) has some insights or operational experience that give him a more holistic view of the ADIZ, but, speaking as a private citizen at the hearing, even he didn't appear to give away any state secrets. He did offer some quotable comments ("Freedom and security are polar opposites, and I am not willing to give up my freedom for the sake of terrorists") but NORAD seems to have focused its attention on his more tangible calculation, as presented to the meeting, that while on an approved approach to Dulles, he could make a turn and have his Mooney over the White House in four minutes. More...

COLLATERAL DAMAGE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
DC Pilots, a well-connected and media-savvy online association of those most directly affected by the ADIZ and other Washington-area flying challenges, was the first to notice the transcript's absence. From there, word spread quickly until AOPA was motivated by the event to file a Freedom of Information request to have the transcript (the whole thing) put "back in public view." AOPA President Phil Boyer is shouting his disdain from the rooftops. "How ridiculous can you get?" Boyer said. "These were public meetings covered by the news media. Nothing was said that wasn't already in the more than 21,000 written comments. Do they honestly think security information was disclosed during the public meetings?" As of Friday, it seems the TSA doesn't. More...

WILL FUEL TYPE DETERMINE WHO PAYS USER FEES?
Before entering a debate it's always helpful to get the terminology straight. When it comes to the possibility of metered user fees for non-commercial aircraft, the Department of Transportation, the airlines, business aviation and the piston crowd seem to have different views on just who should be included in the fee-paying group. Are business aircraft also general aviation aircraft that should be excluded from fees? Should single-engine air taxis be considered fee-paying commercial aircraft? "If they're talking about user fees on general aviation, they don't know what they're talking about," Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta told a House Appropriations Committee hearing last Tuesday morning. "I've seen the press stories, as has everybody else. But what is before [Office of Management and Budget] has no user fees imposed on general aviation." But what exactly is general aviation? More...

PRIVATE TURBINE OPERATORS PRESENT UNITED FRONT
Just how Mineta and his department define GA will shape the debate from here on. If GA means piston-powered, the DOT has cleared a huge political hurdle by ensuring the support of more than 400,000 pilots who rarely, if ever, see five digits on their altimeters. But if the definition of GA excludes business aviation then the much smaller but financially fortified voice of the turbine set may be ready to offer sound opposition. As AVweb reported on Thursday, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and National Air Transportation Association (NATA), which are predominantly fueled by Jet A, held a teleconference last week to express concern over the Air Transportation Association's push toward user fees. AOPA and EAA seem to feel a little more secure. More...

REPORT REVEALS AIRLINER FIRE DANGER
Increasingly fly-by-wire airliners are at greater risk of in-flight fires and crews often do exactly the wrong thing when smoke enters the cabin, according to a report to be released in Athens this week. The report, written by U.S. consultant John Cox, to be presented at the Flight Safety Foundation conference, says that three flights a day, worldwide, are interrupted by in-flight fires and that electrical problems are the biggest cause. A modern aircraft can have 100 miles of wire in it and much of it is inaccessible for normal inspection and maintenance. Over time, wires can become exposed, causing arcing or overheating. And when fires start, some time-honored strategies to deal with them can magnify the danger. More...

DIGITAL COCKPITS GO A STEP FARTHER
UPS has announce that it will retrofit more than 100 of its Boeing 757 and 767 freighters with Class III electronic flight bags (EFB) that will eliminate (we've heard this before) much of the paper in the cockpit. The Boeing-developed EFBs will give pilots instant electronic access to weather and charts and enable data transfer with the ground or with other aircraft. And with 80 gigs on the hard drive, there's plenty of room for new software applications. "Ultimately, it will help pilots with navigation and allow them to space their aircraft on their own; call up the most complete and accurate long-range weather maps; warn of potential collisions on the ground; push the maintenance logbook into the digital age, and place the entire flight manual within easy electronic recall," UPS spokesman Bob Lekites said in a news release. More...

GARMIN UNVEILS NEW MFD
Garmin has introduced the GMX 200, a new multi-function-display it says improves upon its popular MX20 with a bigger, easier-to-read display and better control and function features. The MFD will show every conceivable physical feature and navaid on a high resolution backlit screen that displays vivid colors and contrast in all lighting conditions in views from a quarter of a mile to 2,500 miles, says the company. "The GMX 200 concentrates information from different sources on one remarkable display" said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "The unit is easy-to-use and provides operators with an extra margin of safety in the cockpit." Too much information? Just dial it back. More...

CHINA LOOKS AT ADS-B
After spending millions of dollars in the Alaska Capstone project proving that Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems keep order in the air in the absence of radar, the U.S.-taxpayer-driven project is about to pay dividends -- in China. It appears the world's biggest emerging economic powerhouse is prepared to take a giant technological leap over complex maintenance and labor-intensive ground-based navigation systems and go straight to ADS-B for managing its burgeoning GA numbers. And it will be an American company showing them how, at least in the early stages. More...

AIR QUALITY CONTRIBUTES TO DVT
Long thought to be caused by the economically successful but ergonomically disastrous economy-class seating in many airliners, deep vein thrombosis is also brought on by the thin air provided passengers, scientists have discovered. The leaner oxygen content in the 8,000-foot cabin pressure maintained in most airliners caused an increase in the level of thrombin, the marker that signifies clotting activity. Clotting, particularly in the large veins in passengers legs', can lead to tissue damage and even death if the clots break free and enter the lungs. The study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, was commissioned by the World Health Organization and done by Dutch scientists from two medical centers. More...

SOLAR STORM COMING ... IN FIVE YEARS
The future of satellite-based navigation may face its first big test just as we're getting used to using it. NASA scientists predict a major burst of solar activity in 2010 or 2011, enough to disrupt GPS and wireless data and communications. "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," said Mausumi Dikpati, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Dikpati said conditions are ripe for a solar storm second only to one experienced in 1958 when Aurora Borealis (aka the Northern Lights), which is caused by sun spots, was visible in Mexico. The bands of energy also disrupt radio waves, something that could have a profound effect on the way we do business in five years. More...

WOMEN MAKE BETTER FIGHTER PILOTS
Indian air force commanders say a woman's place is in the cockpit of a fighter jet but the delicate nature of cultural and social traditions in the country is keeping them from yankin' and bankin' with the men. "We have not been asked and the government's policy is that only men can qualify to fly fighter aircraft. But if you are asking if the women are capable, the answer is yes," Air Marshal B.N. Gokhale told the Calcutta Telegraph. More than capable, women consistently test better than men in training exercises. "I would recommend that women are put into fighter cockpits on the basis of performance," said Group Captain Chetan Bali, who heads up the faculty of flying at India's Air Force Academy. More...

ON THE FLY...
AD proposed to fix bearing glitch on Sandel ST3400 TAWS/RMI...
Sport Pilot TV to be carried by Time Warner...
Heli Expo drew record attendance...
PAC 750XL's takeoff weight reduced until rivets replaced. 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...

FBO OF THE WEEK
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" contest is sponsored by Aviation Safety magazine, the monthly journal of risk management and accident prevention.

Thanks to all the pilots and AVweb readers who took time to nominate their favorite FBOs in our first-ever "FBO of the Week" contest. From nearly 50 nominations we've received since announcing the contest on Thursday, our first blue ribbon finds its target today.

AVweb's first "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Wilson Air Center at KMEM in Memphis, Tennessee. Click "more" to see why.

Keep those nominations coming. AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBO's in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday! More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
CEO of the Cockpit #55: Walk-Around, 5 a.m., LAX
Even grizzled, old, jaded and chubby captains of wide-body airliners sometimes have to preflight their giant steeds. It may not resemble the preflight a young student would do, and mechanics no longer help out, but the tradition is alive and well for AVweb's CEO of the Cockpit.

More...

READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES ...
http://www.avweb.com/avmail/

Reader mail this week about position-and-hold, VLJs, the D.C. ADIZ 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...
Sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is...

While on short final for the center runway of KIWA during a busy time of day we overheard tower give instructions to the aircraft following behind us:

N1234: Gateway tower, N1234, with you ILS three-zero-charlie.

Tower: N1234, roger, number two cleared to land, there will be...

(pause)

Well... there will be a lot of stuff happening before you land. 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 Russ Niles (bio).

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