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FAA:
FUNDING TIED TO MODERNIZATION
The FAA must implement changes
to the way it is funded before it can afford to embrace the myriad
technologies that are envisioned for the Next Generation Air
Transportation System, according to senior FAA staffers. Appearing before the Senate aviation subcommittee,
Charles Leader, director of the Joint Planning and Development Office,
told committee members that the controversial system of user fees and
tax increases now under consideration by Congress for FAA
reauthorization is a key element of FAA modernization. "Modernization
and moving to NextGen is inextricably linked to changes in the
FAA’s financing system," Leader said. "We need to establish the
financing of our current and future operations based on actual costs and
investment requirements that will realize tangible benefits and
increasing efficiency." General aviation groups – and even the
Government Accountability Office -- have dismissed the need for a
wholesale change in the way the FAA is funded, saying there's plenty of
money available under the current system of ticket and cargo taxes and
the existing fuel tax levied on GA aircraft. More... TENNESSEE
OFFICIALS DISCUSS USER FEES
While the debate over the
FAA’s future funding process is big news in aviation circles, it
barely registers in the mainstream media but there are occasional
exceptions. The Kingsport Times-News in Tennessee saw some news
value in a presentation given by Don Carter, owner of Tri-Cities
Aviation, to the Tri-Cities Regional Airport Commission last week in
which he predicted the user-fee plan currently being promoted by the FAA
will “kill” general aviation in the area. More... NGATS
MAY COST AIRCRAFT OWNERS $20 BILLION
The Government
Accountability Office says the cost of equipping aircraft for the Next
Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) will range from $14 billion
to $20 billion, depending on the gear that will be needed, the number of
very light jets that will be using the system and how much downtime will
be required to install the equipment. The GAO was quoting figures it
says were recently released by the FAA’s Joint Projects Development
Office, which says the government will spend between $15 billion and $22
billion on the project by 2025. The wide range reflects uncertainty in
just what the system will entail. Meanwhile the GAO says the FAA is
generally moving in the right direction with NGATS, but there’s a
looming leadership vacuum that could hinder that progress.
More... |
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LANTIS
OUT AT COLUMBIA AIRCRAFT
Columbia Aircraft has replaced its
CEO and announced a four-to-six-week furlough of about 25 percent of its
workforce as part of a major restructuring bid. The company will remain
in operation and continue to produce airplanes but under new leadership.
Bing Lantis has stepped down as CEO "to attend to family matters and
other personal interests," according to the company. He's been replaced by Wan
Abdul Majid, who the release described as a "long-time Columbia and
aviation industry veteran." Earlier this month, the company announced
the permanent layoff of 59 staff as part of a bid to restore
profitability. It was blamed on the effects of a freak hail storm and
the delay in certification of the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit version of
the aircraft. The latest announcement doesn't stop at the corner office
and shop floor however. More... NEW
YORK BACKS OFF PILOT AGE LIMIT
New York legislators have
removed a bill that would have barred anyone younger than 17 from flying
any type of aircraft in the state. FAA regs allow teens as young as 14
to fly balloons and gliders solo and also allow 16-year-olds to solo
powered planes, but the now-defunct proposal would have set the limit in
New York at 17 regardless of aircraft type. AOPA credits angry New York pilots, who contacted
their state assembly members, for getting the bill quashed.
More... "BLACK
BOX" FOR CIRRUS APPROVED
The FAA has granted Supplementary
Type Certification for the Alakai Technologies engine trend monitoring
system for Cirrus SR20 and SR22 aircraft, which when combined with the
Alakai digital flight data recorder performs the same basic functions as
the so-called “black box” recorder required on airliners. Such
recorders are not required on aircraft with fewer than 10 seats, but a
growing number of Cirrus airplanes are being used in air-taxi operations
and pilots were required to record engine data manually while flying the
aircraft. "This new system will allow Cirrus owners and operators,
especially Part 135 operators, to focus on flying rather than manually
documenting engine performance while in the air," said Cirrus co-founder
and Vice Chairman Dale Klapmeier. More... |
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THIELERT
DIESELS STC’D IN MANY CESSNA 172S
On March 13 the FAA
granted Supplementary Type Certification to installation of Thielert
Centurion 2.0-liter diesel engines in Cessna 172 F through S models and
Cessna F 172 F through P models, according to a news release. Thielert founder Frank Thielert said
the STC not only opens the market for his engines to the most numerous
of all aircraft in the biggest aviation market on earth, it also
smoothes the way for similar approvals all over the world. “The FAA
certifications are of particular importance on the world aviation
market, since they are acknowledged by most countries in Africa and Asia
without further intensive testing,” the news release said.
More... CESSNA
MUSTANG SALES LOOKING UP DOWN UNDER
Cessna has sold at least
three Citation Mustangs in Australia and New Zealand and predicts it
will be a popular aircraft there. “The Mustang makes perfect sense
for businesses across Australia, and in New Zealand,” Todd Duhnke,
Cessna’s director of international sales, said in a news release. “Performance, price and
reliability are all meeting our original projections, and sales have
really accelerated since gaining full type certificate in
September.” More... DAYJET
READY TO TRAIN PILOTS
DayJet, the on-demand charter operator
that is Eclipse’s biggest customer, hopes to get its first Eclipse
500 in April and start training its pilots. According to CharterX, a charter industry trade
journal, the start-up has received FAA approval for its pilot-training
program and just needs airplanes to train them on. Co-founder Ed
Iacobucci told CharterX the first four of its 239 Eclipses will be used
to get pilots type rated. "After that, as more aircraft are delivered,
we'll use those for our customers." More... |
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SECOND
FBO COMING TO LEX
Officials at Lexington’s Blue Grass
Airport have voted to allow a second FBO on the field. Air 51 LLC is
expected to be up and running this summer in a $2 million facility that
will include a 12,000-square-foot maintenance and parking hangar, fuel
facility and ramp space. Currently TAC Air is the only GA service
facility on the airport. The new FBO will occupy about two acres in the
southeast area of the airport. Air 51 owners told the Lexington Herald-Leader they hope to capitalize on
very light jet business and expect plenty of traffic when the World
Equestrian Games are held in Lexington in 2010. More... NOISIEST
HOUSE IN BRITAIN?
Odelle and Stephen Trew are the first to
admit they got a great deal on the house, but now they’re afraid
they couldn’t sell it at any price. The Trews bought their home
adjacent to one of Heathrow Airport’s main runways 18 years ago
when air traffic was comparatively light. Now, for part of each day,
they’re rocked every minute or so by airliners landing or taking
off within a few hundred feet of them. As air traffic increases,
there’s talk of abandoning the current practice of switching
runways through the day to ensure that all the airport’s neighbors
share the noise burden more or less equally and using every patch of
pavement available. "If that happened life would be unbearable,"
Stephen, 43, told the Sunday Mirror. "I don't know how they can even
suggest it." More... |
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GLOBAL
WARMING PARADOX FOR AIRCRAFT
Aviation would contribute less
to global warming if aircraft burned more fuel. That’s the
convoluted conclusion reached by researchers at Britain’s Imperial
College. They’ve determined that if airliners consistently flew at
lower altitudes, the resulting decrease in the creation of contrails
would more than offset the effect on global warming of the increase in
fuel burn. “It seems counterintuitive,” acknowledged Robert
Noland, one of the study’s authors, in a report in the Nigerian Tribune. More... ROTOR
CONTROL PROBLEM MAY HAVE PRECEDED CRASH
The NTSB says one end of a rotor servo control rod was
found disconnected on an A350 helicopter that crashed on the Hawaiian
island of Kauai earlier this month, killing four of seven people aboard.
On Thursday, the FAA issued a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB)
and Eurocopter e-mailed customers warning A350 operators that a serrated
washer on the servo rod-end could fail, resulting in disconnection of
the rod from the rotor assembly, and recommended immediate inspection of
those parts. The A350 has three such assemblies to control rotor tilt.
The SAIB issued by the FAA says two crashes have been caused by the
washer failure, but spokesman Ian Gregor said those crashes occurred
before the Hawaii accident and the bulletin was already in the works
when the Heli-USA helicopter crashed on landing at Princeville Airport
on March 8. More... CHINA
LAUNCHES LARGE AIRLINER PROGRAM
Chinese officials have
confirmed that China wants to get into the large airliner (150-plus
seats) business, undoubtedly because one of the biggest future markets
for aircraft is expected to be in its own backyard. An editorial in the People’s Daily says China
expects to need about 1,600 large airliners by 2020 and would like to
keep at least part of the $150 billion or so they’re expected to
cost, not to mention the worldwide boom in civil aviation that’s
opening other new markets. But it’s not all about money.
“China believes that the ability to produce a large airplane
reflects the strength of a nation, and has much the same ability to
inspire nationalist sentiment as the development of the atomic bomb, the
hydrogen bomb, satellites and space aircraft,” opined the
newspaper. As for its main competitor in this venture, Boeing says bring
it on. More... |
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Columbia Introduces 2007 Models
The 2007 Columbias have arrived. Fresh for this year are new,
dynamic paint schemes for both the Columbia 350 and 400,
as well as a host of thoughtful and unique features for the discerning
aircraft owner. See how your new Columbia will look with the
interactive online Paint Selector.
Just go online and click on the
"Paint Your Passion" icon. 
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ON
THE FLY
Evergreen Aviation Museum opened IMAX
theatre…
A380s visited New York and Los Angeles…
Beach
Boys may be back at AirVenture. More... |
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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 Craig Sincock of Avfuel. And
AVweb's podcast index includes
interviews with Comp Air's Ron Lueck; Expedition Aircraft's Andrew
Hamblin; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; NBAA's Ed Bolen; Open Air's
Michael Klein; Air Excursions' Cable Wells; Stephen Brown; NATCA's Paul
Rinaldi; AOPA's Kathleen Vascouselos; Maule Air's Mikel Boorom;
Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan;
aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; and Bill Lear, Jr. In today's news
summary, hear about what panelists said at the FAAforecast about
Columbia Aircraft'srestructuring, the FAA's continued attempt to link
user fees with ATCmodernization, how much NextGen avionics will cost
operators, thelatest on DayJet and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts,
you'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.
More... |
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Pilot Journey Isn't Just for Students &
Instructors; There's Something for Everyone
You know Pilot Journey's Discovery Flight program
converting leads to students. However, all pilots can find something at
Pilot Journey: Pilot e-mail accounts, pilot eCards; a pilot
cruise with seminars; AvCareers, where position wanted and positions
available are listed; and much more.
Pilot Journey is the pilot's
choice online. 
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FBO
OF THE WEEK: JET AVIATION KBED
 AVweb's "FBO of
the Week" ribbon goes to Jet Aviation at KBED in Bedford,
Mass. AVweb reader Paul Tollini says the FBO provides the
same level of service, regardless of airplane size. "Unlike some
other FBOs, at Jet Aviation BED all customers are valued regardless of
the size of the aircraft that they arrived in or how much fuel they
purchase. When I had passengers that insisted on using the other FBO on
the field, I felt like a traitor and received much worse service at a
much higher price." 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!
More... |
VIDEO
OF THE WEEK: AIRBUS A380 DEBUT AT NEW YORK
Our friends at 2FlyTV
were on hand last week with the first Airbus A380s landed at JFK and
LAX. In this exclusive video from New York, 2FlyTV takes us behind the
scenes of the celebrated landing, with great shots of the interior and
some commentary on the A380. (Click through to watch.)
More... |
SHORT
FINAL
 | | Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the
Air" |
During a recent departure from Essex
County Airport in Caldwell, N.J., the tower controller must have been
frazzled with intensive student training in the
pattern: Tower: Bonanza Seven Zero Mike Romeo, contact New
York departure and have a good flight. Bonanza: To departure.
Bonanza Zero Mike Romeo. Have a nice day. Tower: It's too late
for that. More... |
MEET
THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM
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 Editor Russ
Niles (bio).
Click
here to send a letter to the
editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not
intended for publication.) Comments or questions
about the news should be sent
here. Have a product or service to advertise
on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's
sales team. If you're having
trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd
prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device),
there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete
instructions on making the switch, click
here. Aviate, navigate,
communicate. |
|
