PILOT RANKS DWINDLING?
General aviation shipments are coming off a record high half-year, but that surge apparently isn't being fueled by new pilots. The Washington Post was at EAA AirVenture this year and, while it may not be a revelation to readers of this publication, informed its audience of the next crisis facing aviation: most pilots are old white guys. The Post reporter solicited opinions from an assortment of 50-something pilots on why the place wasn't teeming with eager, fresh faces and, not surprisingly perhaps, got answers that sound suspiciously like something their parents and grandparents might have said about them 30 or 40 years ago. "The younger ones want instant gratification. Learning to fly is work. You have to work at it," Jack Gilbert, a 57-year-old pilot, told the Post. Gilbert blamed video games and others chimed in that flying lacks the adventure (read: danger?) and intrigue that drew many to it. But what do young people have to say? More...

STUDENT PILOT NUMBERS HALVED
Opinions aside, fewer than half the number of student pilots are today bumping their way through touch and goes and spinning whiz wheels when compared to recent boom times, and the old guard is mobilizing to increase those ranks. One of these initiatives is among the most ambitious recycling projects we've come across. Build A Plane takes donations of unfinished kit airplanes and non-airworthy certified aircraft and distributes them to high schools and youth organizations that want to take them on as projects. Local experts are enlisted to help the kids do the work necessary to make the project fly. There are dozens of projects underway, ranging from a BD-5 to a Twin Comanche. Another group, Wings of Charity, allows dedicated participants to get their private pilot certificate for a vastly reduced price. More...

PILOTS NEEDED -- EVERYWHERE
Although the tragic events of 9/11 put a damper on the whole aviation industry, it has rebounded and the hiring of pilots in all sectors (quite opposite of new pilot starts) is coming back to the historical highs of the turn of the century, according to Be A Pilot. The current boom is fueled in part by the rapid expansion of airline service in China, India and the Middle East and the worldwide growth of cargo operations. New airlines are luring experienced pilots from North America (where airline pilot pension and job insecurity make headlines) and that means more opportunities for younger, less experienced pilots to get a crack at the jobs left behind. The jury is still out on the impact very light jets (VLJs) will have on the air travel business but if even half of the projected growth materializes it will create thousands of pilot jobs. More...

UNEVEN TREATMENT FOR AIRLINE PILOTS
Texas politicians say a pension reform bill passed by the Senate and House last week puts two Texas-based airlines at a competitive disadvantage. The bill, in general, allows companies with under-funded pension plans seven years to get caught up with their payments. However, companies that have frozen their pension plans get an additional 10 years to bring them up-to-date and they can do so at preferential interest rates. Bankrupt Northwest and Delta Air Lines qualify for the extension. Texas-based American and Continental do not and that's got the Texas delegation in both houses reaching for their legislative guns as disparity spreads. More...

DELTA LAUDS PLAN
Delta Air Lines says the pension package is what it needs to keep its fund alive. "Delta will be in a position to preserve its pension plan covering 91,000 active and retired ground and flight-attendant employees, thereby preserving their hard-earned benefits and preventing the U.S. pension system from being burdened with additional plan liabilities," Gerald Grinstein, Delta's chief executive, said in a statement. Both Delta and Northwest froze their plans as part of their bankruptcy rescue operation but neither American nor Continental is in that position. More...

CAF B-29 FIFI NEEDS $3 MILLION ENGINE JOB
A "national treasure" has been grounded indefinitely and it'll take $3 million to get it back in the air. Fifi, the Commemorative Air Force's B-29 bomber, has had chronic engine problems for years and the CAF has decided that they must be resolved for safety's sake. Fifi is the only airworthy B-29 in the world. As the CAF's Kay Crites told AVweb in our Aug. 4 audio news, the original equipment engines were maintenance hogs when they were new and they haven't gotten any better in 60 years of service. The CAF has decided to replace the engines with custom-built variants of the Wright Cyclone 18-cylinder radials and it's launched a fundraising effort to do the work. More...

CESSNA LOOKS TO HOMEBUILTS FOR LSA IDEAS
Cessna may adopt a construction method used by some kit airplane companies to simplify assembly of the aircraft. Computerized match-hole drilling involves pre-drilling sheet metal pieces so that the holes line up perfectly when it comes time to fit them together. Companies like Van's aircraft (which estimates its homebuilt flying fleet at more than 4,500) have had good success with the system, which saves the builder time and improves the fit of the components. "It's very accurate," Neal Wilford, who's heading up Cessna's LSA project, told The Wichita Eagle. Wilford is building a Thorp Sky Scooter using the same technique. "So I knew it worked." The process might offer Cessna more than just a precise fit and finish. More...

SENATE LOOKS AT NATCA BILL
Arkansas Democratic senator Mark Pryor has introduced a bill that would force the FAA to resume negotiations with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association toward a new contract. The FAA imposed a contract on the union in June under the terms of legislation that would have required congressional intervention to resolve the dispute. Under that law, Congress has 60 days to act after the agency declares talks "at impasse." The impasse was declared April 5 and a last-ditch attempt by House members to halt the process failed. However, the union thinks Pryor's bill has a good chance. "We believe we have overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle," NATCA representative James Keith told the Springdale Morning News. More...

VENERABLE BALLOON MANUFACTURER TO STOP PRODUCTION
Many piston pilots have likely never heard Aerostar mentioned in relation to anything but an airplane, but to the ballooning community, the Sioux Falls, S.D., company is kind of like Cessna, Piper and Beechcraft all rolled into one -- and the company just announced last week that after Jan. 31, 2007, it won't be in the hot-air balloon business anymore. Aerostar, which started as Raven Industries back in the 1960s, virtually invented the system that gave birth to the modern sport of hot-air ballooning. Company President Mark West said the decision was an economic one. "The entire general aviation industry took a marked decline after 9/11 and the hot-air balloon industry has never recovered," he said in a news release on Tuesday. More...

JOYRIDER SENTENCED
A young man who according to his sentencing judge loaded two young friends aboard a Cessna 172 in Danbury, Conn., and flew it for three hours before landing almost out of fuel and "drunk" at Westchester, N.Y., will have another year in jail to think about that night. He'll also have six months of enforced rehab to sort out the alcohol problem that he's now admitted to having. A Connecticut judge imposed the sentence last week after Philippe Patricio, now 21, pleaded guilty to a string of charges relating to the incident on June 22, 2005. He had already been in jail for nine months on charges laid by New York authorities. More...

CORRECTION: EAA AIRVENTURE PROCEDURES
Our story in Thursday's news about the fatal taxiway accident in Oshkosh on July 30th inadvertently gave the impression that EAA hasn't reviewed its safety procedures following the accident. EAA is awaiting the results of the NTSB's investigation of the accident before considering any changes in safety procedures. EAA President Tom Poberezny told AVweb on Thursday that it constantly revisits safety, whether there are accidents or not. "Safety is our number-one priority," he said. "We address it year after year." Meetings are held year-round to establish safety procedures, and every suggestion and comment is looked at and taken very seriously, he said. More...

ON THE FLY...
FAA building may have been shot...
Seven airplanes, two helicopters damaged by Utah storm...
Hungarian claimed glider aerobatic title...
Man arrested after NYPD helicopter lased...
Lost airfield Web site...
Flight medical wait list seven months in India. 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, tell us. Submit news tips via email tonewstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with your tips. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
Probable Cause #12: Siren Song
As home beckons, a commuting pilot slugs through storms and delays before finally meeting his match a half-hour from home. More...

AUDIO NEWS
Online Now: Listen to, or take AVweb's no-iPod-required audio news with you.

Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.

FBO OF THE WEEK: LAKELAND AVIATION INC., ARDMORE, OK

For local prices, enter your U.S. ZIP Code or Airport Identifier: Fuel prices provided weekly by AirNav, based on prices from the past 2 weeks. Changes are relative to one week ago.

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

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Lakeland Aviation Inc., at KADM, Ardmore, OK.

Offering up Lakeland, Dean Roberts told us, "New facility with excellent food, clean environment, constantly growing airport."

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!

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

Reader mail this week about Oshkosh, glider ratings, user fees and 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
Slow day at ABQ...

DEP: ... Airliner123 cleared to FL33, as filed to Atlanta.

123: (after readback) Wish you worked Atlanta, we always get a stairstep out of there.

DEP: That's why they call us "controllers."

123: I already have a wife.

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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