ADS-B, "THE FUTURE OF ATC," TAKEN OFFLINE IN ALASKA
In Alaska, where the risks of flying in all that empty space and bad weather are well-known, the Capstone program has been soundly successful, reducing accidents by up to 47 percent. Yet a vital part of that program, the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance technology, has been taken offline by the FAA at the Anchorage radar center. Controllers now provide separation for IFR flights outside radar coverage zones "procedurally," meaning they have no actual blips on the screen to indicate position. The option is less efficient and less safe than ADS-B. So why was ADS-B, which is due for statewide implementation later this year, and which was recently lauded by the FAA as "the future of air traffic control," taken offline? More...

SAFETY CONCERNS CITED ABOUT SAFETY SYSTEM
Sue Gardner, manager of the FAA Capstone program in Alaska, told AVweb on Tuesday that ADS-B was removed from radar screens as of March 24, "because it appeared controllers were operating outside the scope of their authorization to separate the traffic." Why that became a concern at this point, when the system has been in operation since 1999, she wouldn't say. The decision was made after a team from Washington conducted a "safety assessement" in Alaska and "took [ADS-B] off the glass," Gardner said. Geoffrey Basye, FAA spokesman in Washington, D.C., told AVweb last night that "this is a case of growing pains." The project is continuing to expand, and has had temporary bumps in the road before, he said. "The issue remaining has to do with the provision of ATC services in a mixed environment of ADS-B and radar returns. We want to include this as part of the program's authorization but have some short-term (two months) analysis to do. In the interim, we have to limit temporarily the information available on the controllers' scopes." More...

USERS PROTEST, BLAKEY DEFENDS ACTION
The Alaska Aviation Coordination Council (AACC), an industry group, expressed immediate dismay to the FAA when the system went off the scopes, calling the action "a most serious threat to Alaska aviation safety." Even worse, the loss occurred just as the state was gearing up for its busiest -- and riskiest -- spring and summer season, when long hours of daylight and the tourist influx drive operations. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey responded to their concerns in a letter on Monday. She defended the suspension of ADS-B from radar scopes as "appropriate," pending a review of separation standards. Although Gardner (and the FAA Web site) said there is "no timeline" for the return of service, Blakey said she is "confident" that the issues can be resolved by July. But for Alaskan aviators, the delay has caused problems beyond the immediate operational ones. More...

BLENDED-WING PROTOTYPE NEARS FLIGHT TEST
As the FAA struggles with the technology of the present, there is no shortage of ideas for the future of aviation. NASA recently has been testing its latest version of the X-48B, an advanced-concept, fuel-efficient blended-wing body, in the Langley wind tunnel in Hampton, Va. The 21-foot-wide prototype is scheduled to begin flight testing later this year. "The biggest difference between this aircraft and the traditional tube-and-wing aircraft is that this does not have a tail," said Dan Vicroy, a Langley research engineer. The wind-tunnel tests will help determine how to assure three-axis control. Two X-48B prototypes have been built, made primarily of advanced lightweight composite materials. More...

SOLAR AIRPLANE PROJECT GAINS MOMENTUM
The Solar Impulse project, which aims to build a solar-powered aircraft that can fly around the world, has begun to attract attention from the mainstream press, as a perceived "race" with another solar-powered craft heats up (pun intended). The Solar Impulse group, based in Switzerland and headed by Bertrand Piccard, plans to build a single-seat, solar-powered long-distance aircraft. The design phase is already well underway and first flights are expected as soon as 2008. The Planet Solar project, also based in Switzerland, now has expressed the goal to be the first to get round the planet in a solar-powered craft -- although it would go by water instead of by air. More...

SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT PLAN STALLS
Meanwhile, the Japanese effort to design a next-generation supersonic transport is struggling with setbacks and looking for international partners, The Associated Press reported on Monday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will enter talks next month with NASA to discuss cooperative efforts. Japan is working to develop a scramjet engine that would be 99 percent quieter than the Concorde, and Boeing would build the airframe, The Associated Press said, though those reports were deemed "premature" by JAXA. Japan does aim to have an experimental hypersonic transport flying by 2025. That aircraft would fly at Mach 5 and cross the Pacific within two hours, according to JAXA's online vision statement. More...

FAA (QUICKLY) RETREATS ON TEMPORARY TOWER CHARGE
The FAA has backed off (in record time, it appears) on a proposal to charge a Michigan fly-in $3,200 for a temporary tower. As AVweb reported last Monday morning, organizers of the West Michigan Fly-In, at Alleghan Airport, near Grand Rapids, were scraping together donations to cover the charge. However, hours after the story appeared, and after some strategically placed phone calls from an EAA official, the agency withdrew the proposal and agreed to provide ATC services for free. "We're very relieved," said Andy Millin, an organizer whose job it is to arrange for the tower. Millin said the organizing committee was prepared to pay the fee from community sponsorships (Millin's business pledged $500) even though they were convinced it was wrong. "This turned out to be a whole lot more about pilots, the FAA, and user fees than it was about a regional airport holding a fly-in and wanting a temporary control tower," Millen told EAA's online news service. More...

BLAKEY DEFENDS FAA BUDGET BEFORE CONGRESS
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation last week, to justify her FAA fiscal year 2007 budget. Blakey reiterated her request for a change in FAA funding practices, saying the agency needs "a stable and predictable funding system that provides appropriate incentives to users and to the FAA to operate more efficiently." The future presents many challenges, she said, requiring an upgraded airspace system that can handle the giant Airbus A380, fleets of microjets and everything in between. Blakey asked overall for a lower budget than last year, but would add $8 million for 101 new aviation safety inspectors and 32 new staffers for the Air Traffic Safety Oversight office. More...

NPRM ADDRESSES CIRRUS BRAKE FIRES
The FAA has issued a Notice Of Proposed Rule Making to address concerns about brake fires in some Cirrus SR20 and SR22 aircraft. Four brake fires and two reports of airplanes losing directional control have been recorded, the FAA said. Cirrus issued Service Bulletins in December and January to address the problem. The bulletins required owners to upgrade the brakes and modify the fairings to make it easier to monitor brake temperatures. The proposed AD would also require the replacement of brake calipers or piston O-ring seals. The cost of compliance, the FAA estimates, could be up to about $2,700 if brake calipers need to be replaced. More...

ADAM AIRCRAFT UPDATE
The Adam A700 jet is on track to be certified by the FAA by the end of this year, Adam Aircraft President Joe Walker told AVweb on Tuesday. Customer deliveries would start early in 2007. Certification is proceeding swiftly thanks to the commonality with the A500 twin and the well-established working relationship between the company and the FAA. Close to 300 orders have been received, he said, most of them from fleet operators. The jet recently flew to 41,000 feet and achieved a true airspeed of 340 knots, reaching its target. Two more test aircraft will be flying soon, Walker said. More...

CHINA'S AVIATION SYNDROME -- GROWTH AMID RESTRICTION
As China's commercial aviation sector continues to grow at an ever-accelerating pace, the future of private general aviation is less clear. This week, a senior official told China Daily that the commercial fleet would double by 2010, growing to 1,580 aircraft, and reach 4,000 by 2020. Plus, 42 airports will be built in the next four years, and another 30 in the 10 years after that. Yet also this week, China Daily reported that two people were killed and a third critically hurt when their airplane crashed just 10 minutes after takeoff on an "illegal" flight. Since all airspace is controlled and supervised by military authorities, private flying requires a complicated application procedure. More...

UFOS IDENTIFIED, UK REPORTS
If there are unidentified objects flitting around in the airspace, lots of pilots would certainly like to know about it -- and so would the military. In the United Kingdom, a secret government report from six years ago was recently released to a professor who requested it under a freedom-of-information law. The report concludes that UFOs are mainly non-threatening aircraft or unusual weather phenomena. High-altitude plasma clouds, which glow and flit about, were one likely cause of many otherwise unexplained sightings. The report apparently has done little to convince believers. Even neutral skeptics have said the report is flawed. More...

ON THE FLY...
A tandem skydiving jump went awry, both survived...
A helicopter pilot was temporarily blinded by a green laser...
Anousheh Ansari will be the first female space tourist. 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...

PODCASTS
Coming, Friday: AVweb speaks with the president of Adam Aircraft -- the company with the first VLJ to fly with its production engines. Check AVweb.com Friday to listen.
Online Now: Find exclusive interviews featuring Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is available online -- pick and choose your particular interets, or subscribe free to AVweb's podcasts and receive them automatically for listening on your computer, iPod, or while traveling with any MP3 player. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
The Savvy Aviator #31: Know Your Oleo
Oleopneumatic shock struts -- commonly known as "oleos" -- use hydraulic fluid, compressed gas and clever engineering to absorb the impact of those occasional less-than-grease-job landings. If your airplane uses one (or three), you need to understand how they work and what maintenance they require.

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...

FBO OF THE WEEK: AIRFLITE

Nominate an FBO |Rules | Tips | Questions | Winning FBOs

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to AIRFLITE at KLGB, Long Beach, Calif.

TED MONCURE wrote in to say, "AIRFLITE HAS THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CUSOTOMER SERVICE. THEY LITERALLY ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET WHEN YOU ARRIVE, WHETHER YOU ARE IN A GV OR A 172. THEIR FACILITY IS TOP NOTCH, AND EVERYONE HAS A SMILE ON THEIR FACE."

Keep those nominations coming.

Click here to nominate your favorite FBO and here for complete contest rules

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

QUESTION OF THE WEEK
This week, AVweb wants to know if you believe the recent U.K. report that UFOs are just unidentifiable (and largely uninteresting) flying objects — or if you think there's more to these phenomena than we're being told. PLUS: Results of last week's question on rising fuel prices and their effect on your flying habits. More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK
It's time once again for "Picture of the Week," a regular feature wherein we select the best and brightest reader-submitted photos and share them with all of you. This week's winning photo is from James Wreyford of Marble Falls, Texas, who kicks things off with a few well-placed explosions. Grab your popcorn and let's check out the rest of this week's runners-up! 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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