MEIGS CLOSURE COMES AT A PRICE
That price, to be paid by the nearly 3 million citizens of the city of Chicago for the decision made by its mayor, will be over $1 million. The final decision on what penalty the city will pay for bulldozing Meigs Field in the middle of the night in March 2003 was announced Monday by the FAA. Besides a $33,000 fine, the city must repay $1 million of airport funds that Mayor Richard M. Daley illegally diverted to pay for the destruction. Together with more than $550,000 spent fighting those penalties, the loss to the city totals about $1.6 million, according to AOPA. The city admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. Still, the outcome "sends a clear signal to other cities that the FAA is serious about upholding its regulations," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. More...

NO COMFORT TO FRIENDS OF MEIGS
"This is a drop in the bucket, compared to what Chicago has lost," said Steve Whitney, president of the Friends of Meigs Field. "A downtown business airport like Meigs is worth its weight in gold to the economy." His organization has documented over $490 million in annual spending by Meigs users prior to its demolition, Whitney said. "The economic losses are staggering. Not only from the loss of business by Meigs users, but also by the additional delays caused by displaced traffic at O'Hare and Midway." Friends of Meigs will continue to lobby to reopen the airport as a combination park/airport/air museum. More...

EAA: "TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE"
EAA president Tom Poberezny found little comfort in the fine. "A settlement has been reached that unfortunately puts the burden on Chicago taxpayers, but for aviation and Chicago, it's too little, too late," he said. EAA in the past sponsored regular monthly Young Eagles flight rallies with the Tuskegee Airmen at Meigs. For years, Friends of Meigs was allotted a prominent spot at the annual EAA AirVenture show at Oshkosh to proselytize and collect signatures on petitions. "But it remains a tragic story that the once ideal landing facility for business travelers and Young Eagles has been reduced to a part-time concert venue and bike/nature trail," said EAA. More...

NTSB "MOST WANTED" LIST MAY GET BOOST
A bill that was introduced into the Senate last week would require the FAA to explain why it has not implemented the recommendations of the NTSB's "Most Wanted Safety Improvements." The accounting would be due within 90 days after the legislation is enacted. The stipulation is part of the 2006 NTSB Reauthorization Act. The Most Wanted list asks the FAA to act to reduce the dangers of icing and runway incursions, to require upgrades to in-flight recording systems, and to mandate restraints for children under age 2. Some of the same issues have come up year after year on the NTSB's list, with the FAA's response labeled as "unacceptable." More...

AGING AIRCRAFT NPRM OPPOSED
Meanwhile, the FAA's efforts to mandate safety-related changes for the maintenance of aging transport aircraft are meeting with stiff resistance from the airlines. The Air Transport Association filed its comments Tuesday on the proposed rule, which was posted in April, calling it premature, incomplete, unjustified and too expensive. The FAA estimated costs at $360 million over 20 years, but the ATA says it projects costs of over $3 billion. "The NPRM, unfortunately, does not propose reasonable, presently determinable regulatory requirements ... [it] should be withdrawn," the ATA said. The rule is intended to set strict criteria for determining life limits for commercial aircraft. More...

CONGRESS TAKES A LOOK AT AVIATION SAFETY
All of these issues were on the agenda for a wide-ranging meeting on aviation safety held yesterday afternoon in Washington by the House Aviation Subcommittee. However, immediate concerns over air traffic control stemming from last month's fatal Comair crash in Kentucky took precedence. The lawmakers "attacked" the FAA, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. They were concerned that lack of staffing may have been a factor in the Aug. 27 crash, which killed 49 people. "The FAA has yet to address its staffing problems. That is a safety issue," said Rep. Ben Chandler of Kentucky. The FAA's Nicholas Sabatini said the FAA was tackling its staffing problems. More...

GA ACCIDENT RATE UP SLIGHTLY IN 2005
Aviation fatalities from all sectors dropped a bit last year, according to preliminary figures released this week by the NTSB, while GA deaths were up slightly, to 562 from 558 the year before. The number of people killed in all aviation accidents in 2005 dropped to 616, from 652 in 2004. Airline fatalities increased from 14 to 22, while air-taxi deaths dropped sharply from 64 in 2004 to 18 last year. General aviation fatal accidents amounted to 1.3 for every 100,000 hours of flying, according to the NTSB's estimate. "It is very disturbing to see transportation fatalities rising," said NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "We need a concerted effort by government, industry and the traveling public to establish a strong downward trend in the number of fatal accidents." More...

ADAM AIRCRAFT GETS A500 PRODUCTION CERTIFICATE
The FAA on Tuesday issued a Production Certificate to Adam Aircraft for its A500 twin-engine piston airplane. This allows the company to inspect its own aircraft to verify that they meet FAA requirements and are ready for delivery. With that certificate in hand, Adam can now boost its production schedule. "An FAA Production Certificate represents a major step toward the Adam Aircraft goal of delivering six A500 aircraft every month," said CEO Rick Adam. "Issuing a Production Certificate means the FAA accepts the Adam Aircraft Quality System as one that will reliably produce A500 aircraft that conform to the approved type design." More...

SYNTHETIC JET FUEL TEST A SUCCESS
Tests of a new synthetic aviation fuel in California this week attracted wide attention as airlines -- and other oil-guzzling industries -- hoped for a break from high oil prices. The U.S. Air Force tested the fuel in a B-52 bomber Tuesday morning at Edwards Air Force Base. The bomber flew with two of its eight jet engines burning a 50-50 blend of conventional JP-8 and a synthetic fuel produced from natural gas. An Air Force spokesman said the engines running on the synthetic fuel performed as well as the others, though final test results are pending. The flight was cut short due to a mechanical issue with the B-52's left wing-tip landing gear, which was unrelated to the fuel test. The aircraft landed safely without incident. More...

RENO AIR RACES WRAP
The Reno National Championship Air Races wrapped up a safe week of high-speed flying on Sunday afternoon. Mike Brown and "September Fury" won the Unlimited Class Gold Race with a speed of 481.619 mph. Matt Jackson flew "Dreadnought" to a second-place finish, roaring around the pylons at 453.559 mph. The winners shared a purse of $1 million. "This is the only place in the world where you can come and do this [fly low and fast] and not get in trouble," race president Michael Houghton told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "We've got the largest race field we've ever had." The event has grown in the last few years, now attracting about 200,000 visitors, lots of vendors and displays on the ground, and dozens of airplanes that race in six categories from biplanes to jets. Fastest and most popular are the "unlimiteds," modified warbirds that fly close to 500 mph. According to Reno's race results page, a Lancair Legacy qualified for the Sport class at better than 354 mph. More...

OFF AIRPORT LANDINGS, NO (HUGE) PROBLEM
Usually, an airplane making an off-airport landing is pretty routine -- though it might be a memorable event to those involved. But last weekend there seemed to be a rash of pilots without runways. On Sunday, Robert Berkoski was flying his Piper Super Cub, towing a banner to New York's Giants Stadium. He started losing altitude, so he dumped the banner in the water, then headed for a sparsely-populated Staten Island beach, where he landed safely. On the opposite coast, another banner tower, on his way to Gillespie Field in a Cessna 150, had fuel problems and landed on California Route 125 in El Cajon. Near Chicago, an instructor and student in a Piper Cherokee 140 took off from Palwaukee at about 10 a.m., but didn't get far. They put it down about two miles to the southwest, in a backyard in a residential area. Some tree branches were broken, and the airplane and occupants were a bit worse for wear, but nobody was seriously hurt. And just one more, from the far side of the world. More...

STRIKE FIGHTER CATCH-22
Here's the catch (according to the manufacturer and military) -- costs are rising, but if you try to cut back, it's going to cost even more. Congress is getting edgy about the money sink that is the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and is trying to slow down production. That will only drive the cost per unit higher, say Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force. The projected price under the current plan would be about $47 million each. If production slows, that could rise as high as $62 million, leading to fewer purchases and yet higher costs. "We're trying to get out of that spiral," Lockheed exec Tom Burbage told Reuters. The prototype of the fighter is now in development, and first flight is expected later this year. More...

ON THE FLY...
Senate yesterday considered nomination of Mary Peters as DOT head...
A Nigerian Air Force Dornier 228 crashed Sunday, killing 13...
Space tourist Anousheh Ansari has arrived at the ISS...
Boeing will build towers and deploy UAVs along U.S. borders...
The first launch from New Mexico spaceport is set for Monday...
The Embraer 175 regional jet is now certified by the FAA...
E-mails reveal FAA sniping about LEX tower management after crash...
If you fly a Continental engine, TCM invites you to a party. 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...

AUDIO NEWS
Post-crash fire supression. A new in-depth interview is posted online each Friday. Check AVweb tomorrow. Click through to listen. And check our audio news index tomorrow to hear what's next.

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.

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB

COLUMNS

FBO OF THE WEEK: TWIN CITIES AIR SERVICE (KLEW, AUBURN, ME)

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 last week.

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Twin Cities Air Service at KLEW inAuburn, Maine.

We've heard good things about this FBO before, but AVweb reader John D. Light thought the entire staff deserved kudos for theservice and facilities.

"Senior CFIs Dale Stewart and Jamey Gauthier are two ofthe best anywhere in the world," writes John. "The entire A&Pforce, led by Ben Mosier, are always ready, willing and able todo whatever is required to keep you flying, and the front desk man, Chris Parker, is the best front desk man to be found anywhere. OwnerNate Humphries runs a very fine FBO that is certainly deservingof all the recognition it gets."

Keep those nominations coming.For complete contest rules, click here.

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

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...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK
If all aircraft are products of compromise and the balance of those compromises determines an aircraft's market, we're going to make this very difficult. What's the most important feature of your desired aircraft? This week, we'd like to you look at our list of choices and tell us which is your number one consideration. PLUS: What types of planes are AVweb readers looking to purchase? More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK
Welcome to another installment of AVweb's aviation photography showcase, "Picture of the Week."  Time's at a premium this week, so we'll jump right into the pictures without much ado but first, a big "thank you" to everyone who submitted this week. Thanks to your efforts, our weekly crop has shot back up to well over 100 photos.  Keep 'em coming! Daniel Valovich of Hot Springs, Arkansas shot this week's winning photo from 1,500 feet above a Labor Day fireworks display on Lake Hamilton.  Daniel writes, "We had the best seats for the show," and it's hard to disagree. 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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