DOT SECRETARY STUMPS FOR AVIATION USER FEES
The FAA needs to build a modern airspace infrastructure, and 2007 will be a critical year in building a new financing system to support it, Mary Peters, the new Department of Transportation Secretary, told the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. "I know that user fees and who pays are big concerns for many of you," she said, "but we must not lose sight of the broader issues at stake … We are talking about a fundamental redesign of the entire air transportation system." To finance that effort, the FAA needs a new funding mechanism, she said, and there must be incentives in place to make the system "more efficient as well as more responsive to user needs." Peters said she expects to release a detailed funding proposal soon. More...

GAMA DISAGREES WITH DOT CHIEF ON USER FEES
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is among those with "big concerns" about user fees, and the aviation group was quick to react to Peters' remarks from Tuesday's Aero Club meeting in Washington, D.C. "We could not disagree more with the link that Secretary Peters attempts to make between the [Bush] Administration's desire for user fees and the ability to modernize the National Airspace System," GAMA said in a news release on Tuesday. GAMA said that even before funding issues are addressed, the administration needs to present a "coherent modernization plan" that will spell out how it intends to improve capacity and control costs. The current Trust Fund mechanism, GAMA adds, is currently bringing in record revenues. More...

ACI CHIMES IN ON AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
The Airports Council International-North America (ACI) recently announced its hopes for the FAA's next reauthorization bill with a focus on passenger facility charges (PFCs) and airport improvement program (AIP) funds, according to a recent report by Aviation Week. ACI believes that inflation will reduce the impact of PFCs while the air transportation system bloats with 300 million new users over the next decade. To prepare for the passenger surge, ACI urges that PFCs in coming years be increased to adjust for inflation and AIP funds be protected to ensure that all airports in need get the TLC they'll need. According to ACI, it's a matter (in part) of recognizing PFCs as an indispensable part of funding projects; converting their taxable perception from private party bonds to use as public purpose bonds; and rolling them out on a widespread basis. More...

NTSB: CREW FAILED TO DEICE, CITATION STALLED IN FATAL CRASH
A Circuit City Citation business jet carrying two crew and six passengers crashed on approach to Pueblo (Colo.) Memorial Airport in February 2005 because it stalled, the NTSB said on Tuesday. All on board were killed. During the flight, the wing leading edges had picked up a layer of thin, rough ice that degraded the aircraft's performance. The crew didn't activate the deicing boots, and also didn't increase their approach speed as the flight manual dictates anytime ice is present or expected, the NTSB said. The jet's stall-warning system didn't activate until after the aerodynamic stall occurred, which the Safety Board cited as a contributing factor. The Board recommended that the FAA require modification of the Cessna 560's stall-warning system to provide an adequate warning margin in icing conditions, when the stall speed may be higher than normal. More...

CONTROLLERS SHARE BLAME IN BRAZILIAN MIDAIR
On Sunday, Brazilian lead aviation accident investigator Renato Sayao for the first time acknowledged air traffic controllers share some of the blame for the Sept. 29 midair that killed 154 people when a Legacy business jet collided with a Gol Airlines 737 over the Amazon jungle. But the Legacy pilots -- Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino of New York, both of whom survived the collision along with their five passengers – might not be off the hook entirely. According to The Associated Press, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said both the pilots and controllers were likely at fault, though she stopped short of saying if criminal charges will be filed against Lepore and Paladino. The prosecutor's office cannot press charges against the Brazilian controllers since they are military personnel; instead it can only submit findings to military justice officials, who would then pursue any further action. More...

NATA WANTS FUEL-PUMP RULES CLARIFIED
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) says rules for aviation self-fuel pumps need to be rewritten because some FBOs in Alabama have been sanctioned for violating rules that NATA says are not necessary for aviation operations. Current legal standards for weights and measures require that all self-fuel dispensers display the price per gallon and the amount of fuel pumped during a particular transaction, but most airport fuel pumps don't work that way. NATA says the rules should be changed so aviation vendors can be in compliance without having to replace their current equipment, which is already adequate to provide the information required by the legal standards. More...

AUTOMATED FLIGHT FOLLOWING NOW IN ALASKA
Flight Service Stations in Alaska now have an extra tool they can use to help track some aircraft that request flight-following services. FAA personnel will have access to a Web site from a private vendor that tracks the airplanes via satellites and displays their track on a map of the region. Tony Wylie, manager of the Alaska Flight Services Information Area Group, said staff won't actually monitor the flights, but will have immediate access to the information if the flight needs search and rescue. The FAA service will be extended only to aircraft operated by the federal government. It costs about $5,000 to equip each airplane with the "automated flight following" gear, which transmits the aircraft's location, speed, heading and altitude to a satellite. Vendors charge about $20 per hour for the monitoring service. More...

DETAILS REMAIN SKETCHY ON CONTINENTAL PILOT'S DEATH
The pilot who died while flying a Boeing 757 for Continental Airlines on Saturday afternoon "experienced a serious medical problem which required the aircraft to land immediately," Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark told AVweb on Wednesday. The pilot's name and age have not been released yet by the airline, and the company is not releasing additional details about the pilot or the nature of his affliction, "although he is believed to have died of natural causes," Clark said. She added that he was based in Newark, N.J., and had 21 years of service with the airline. The co-pilot diverted the aircraft to McAllen International Airport in south Texas, where an ambulance crew was waiting. Lt. Scott Luke of the McAllen Police Department told the Houston Chronicle that doctors and nurses who were among the flight's 210 passengers had assisted the crew in trying to revive the stricken pilot. More...

COMMUNITY, WITHAM AIRPORT AT ODDS OVER IMPROVEMENT
The Martin County Commission, influenced by community-developed noise and pollution concerns, more than six months ago voted to stop using a 460-foot section of runway at Witham Field in Stuart, Fla. Unfortunately, in 1998 the FAA approved the runway for extension. And so it is that while the FAA's regional office in Orlando has suggested moving a fence farther from the runway and into a country club to provide a proper safety zone, Dave Shore, president of the Witham Airport Action Majority (WAAM), has suggested pulling a Richard Daley by removing the runway from service whether the FAA likes it or not. More...

FAA, NATCA NOT ON SAME FREQUENCY OVER WX RADIOS
It turns out that NATCA and the FAA agree on something – "commercial" radios aren't allowed to be kept by controllers working in the tower. It's a simple rule intended to eliminate distractions from a controller's work environment, but one that was perhaps complicated by a tornado last Christmas that flipped some 50 Cessnas at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus while controllers in the nearby Daytona Beach International Airport tower claim they sat blissfully unaware. In recognition of that precise set of circumstances, two emergency weather alert radios were placed in the tower on Dec. 27. A few days later, re-recognition of the rule apparently led to the radios' recent removal. And so the earth will not go spinning off its axis -- NATCA and the FAA are again at odds. More...

AIRLINE PASSENGERS DEMAND RIGHTS
Here's a story to make you even happier that you fly general aviation. A group of passengers was recently stranded for more than eight hours aboard an American Airlines jet that was diverted to Austin, Texas, due to weather. They had no food, the toilets clogged and overflowed and the stale air reeked. Now some of those passengers are joining a push to get Congress to pass a comprehensive Passengers Bill of Rights. "We feel that enough is enough. This is not the first time, nor is it likely to be the last, that this kind of degrading treatment is visited on passengers," said Kate Hanni, one of those who endured the experience. "Thousands of legitimate complaints by travelers mistreated by the airlines are regularly dismissed or inadequately addressed by the industry." More...

BIPLANE DESIGN FOUND IN ANCIENT FOSSILS
It turns out that the Boeing 727 might not be the true "Jurassic jet." Just as human aviation pioneers started out flying biplanes, allowing for high lift at low speeds, the early ancestors of birds may have done the same. Researchers Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University and R. Jack Templin of Ottawa, Canada, have found that Microraptor, one of the earliest feathered dinosaurs, might have used a staggered biplane configuration during flight. The creature's second set of wings, which were attached to the legs, would have been more efficient if held forward to form a lower wing, rather than trailing behind to form double wings like those of a dragonfly. Their study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Aircraft designers have mimicked many of nature's flight 'inventions,' usually inadvertently," Chatterjee wrote. "Now, it seems likely that Microraptor invented the biplane 125 million years before the Wright 1903 Flyer." More...

ON THE FLY
Eclipse Aviation recently hired its 1,000th employee...
Boeing, Lockheed teaming up to bid on federal ATC contracts...
AOPA opposes airspace restrictions over LNG terminal...
Commissioners reject FAA funding for Stuart, Fla. airport...
The U.S. House may honor Glenn Curtiss' 100th anniversary. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVFLASH
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly business newsletter, AVwebBiz? 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. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/. More...

WELCOME TO THE NEW FACE OF AVWEB
AVweb.com, the world’s best Web site for general aviation news and information, will soon get even better thanks to a redesigned home page that will be unveiled this weekend. The revamped home page will have more content, easier navigation, a more user-friendly podcast interface and better graphics to complement AVweb's real-time general aviation news, incisive commentary and unparalleled feature reporting. More...

QUIZ #116

BRAINTEASERS INDEX

Quiz #116: Along the Airways
Before you can truly appreciate the ease and convenience of the modern sat/nav world, the pilot should master the pre-Columbian world of federal airways. See what you know about these ancient routes between ground-based navaids.
More...

AVWEB AUDIO NEWS
AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with AOPA's Kathleen Vascouselos. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with Maule Air's Mikel Boorom; Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan; aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In Monday's news summary, hear about Tiger Aircraft's bankruptcy filing, staffing problems at contract control towers, TSA security ramp checks for GA aircraft, the FAA's imminent decision on the age-60 rule and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.

Brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: IS CIRRUS' NEW MFD CHECKLIST A HELP OR A HINDRANCE?
Cirrus Design this week introduced a safety checklist that's available on Cirrus airplanes' multifunction displays. Do you think an electronic checklist that focuses on judgment is a good idea, and will it really help improve aviation safety?

Plus: Your answers to last week's Question, Has recent reluctance on the part of maintenance shops to service older aircraft influenced you to consider purchasing a newer airplane? More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: LASILL AVIATION

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to LaSill Aviation at KLAW in Lawton, Okla.

AVweb reader Gerrit Paulsen said the facility consistently provides great service.

"I fly in to KLAW several times a month on business and have received top-notch service from the great folks at LaSill Aviation every time. My first experience with LaSill was early last year, shortly after they opened. I arrived after-hours on a Sunday evening, just as Bill Tipton was climbing into his truck to go home. He cheerfully reopened the FBO, fueled and hangared my Cirrus, and then insisted on giving me a ride to the hotel rather than calling a taxi — and then refused the 'gas money' I offered as thanks. Since then I have come to expect that Bill, Chris Pittman and the rest of the team at LaSill will anticipate my needs and then make it happen with a smile. On a recent visit when I arrived with the finish on my airplane looking a bit dull, Chris and Bill offered to wax the plane while I was in town and did a terrific job at a reasonable price. On my visit there last week my Hertz rental car magically appeared planeside, even though I had not made any prior arrangements to have it delivered from the airline terminal. Fuel is competitively priced as is overnight hangar space."

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK
Each week, we go through dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of reader-submitted photos and pick the very best to share with you on Thursday mornings. The top photos are featured on AVweb's home page, and one photo that stands above the others is awarded an AVweb baseball cap as our "Picture of the Week."

Terry Wallace of Sacramento, California takes home the cap this week, writing, "Just prior to launch for Scottsdale, while parked at Brown Field, I caught the light just right." Just right is, well, just right to describe Terry's shot. The combination of ominous storm clouds, fading afternoon light, and (waayyyy off in the distance) that alluringly peaceful blue sky made Terry's the stand-out photo this week.

Enter next week's contest here. 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 Contributing Editors Mary Grady (bio) and Glenn Pew (bio) and Editor In Chief Chad Trautvetter.

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

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