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The Devil's In The Details Of House FAA Bill
Aviation Groups Praise House FAA Bill
Wanted: User Feedback On Wet Vacuum PumpsDry vacuum pumps are the components most aircraft owners love to hate, but wet pumps are considered the more refined alternative. But are they really? Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is seeking owner feedback on wet vacuum pumps. If you're flying one, tell us about it. Send an e-mail to this address and we'll reply with a questionnaire. |
Late Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives finally released 
H.R.2881, the House of Representative's FAA reauthorization legislation, drew wide approval from aviation trade groups. The General
Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), National Air Transportation Association, EAA and AOPA praised the bill for its effort to modernize the
national air transportation system while still retaining the current funding system of aviation fuel and ticket taxes. The bill will now move to the House Ways and Means Committee, with a
recommendation to increase the current aviation gas tax from 19.3 cents per gallon to 24.1 cents per gallon and the Jet-A fuel tax rate from 21.8 cents per gallon to 30.7 cents per gallon, which pilot
groups agree is a more fair tax increase than the 70-cent-per-gallon tax proposed by the Bush Administration. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) joined the chorus of approval,
partly due to the absence of user fees but especially because of the provision that would reopen contract negotiations between the controllers union and the FAA. That latter provision drew sharp
criticism from the DOT. In a statement, DOT Secretary Mary Peters rebuked House lawmakers for adding the amendment forcing the FAA and NATCA back to the table. On Thursday, she said that over the past
two weeks the Administration has made a good faith effort to negotiate and settle with NATCA over what the union calls "imposed work rules" implemented last September. Peters said FAA negotiators
offered "a substantial financial settlement," which the DOT chief said union leaders turned down. "The Administration opposes legislative efforts that would limit the [FAA's] ability to manage its
workforce and that would threaten investment in critical aviation safety programs," she said, adding that for this reason the President would veto a bill with any such provision. For a more in-depth
look at the bill,
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Cirrus Unveils Seven-Place Personal Jet
Cirrus Design unveiled the mockup of its single-engine V-tail jet, with seating for up to seven people, at a media reception at its Duluth, Minn. headquarters on Thursday. The aerodynamically sculptured design includes a variety of innovations that will definitely make it stand out on any ramp, but its striking looks are a side benefit of some practical design, according to Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier. "We didn't do it just to make it look cool," Klapmeier told AVweb. "We wanted people to know that there are sound reasons behind the design." Cirrus designers opted to mount the engine on top of the fuselage for easy access, fire and turbine blade containment and for easy load balancing. The V-tail makes way for the thrust from the Williams FJ33 turbofan, which is expected to push the aircraft to about 300 knots. The engine is also mounted flush with the 20-degree slope of the aircraft's back and the thrust is vectored to point it in the right direction. Big straight wings with large control surfaces will make the aircraft easy to fly, says Klapmeier. The placement of the engine caused a design dilemma. It occupies space normally taken by the whole-airplane parachute that is standard on all Cirrus piston airplanes. In the jet, the chute is in the nose and the straps tear up through the center division of the windshield, which will undoubtedly make pulling that handle even more memorable. The aircraft also sports substantial winglets, which will enhance aileron authority at slow speeds and boost fuel efficiency.
Comfort, Convenience Key To Cirrus Jet's Cabin Design
Although the-jet by Cirrus is comparable in size to many four- and five-place jets, the cabin will actually hold up to seven people in admittedly close, but still relatively comfortable, quarters. In normal configuration, the plane is configured for five passengers, with a unique rear seat that allows the middle passenger to slide back about 12 inches so that all three in the back have plenty of elbow room. If the whole family is headed out, there is room for two more (kids or small adults) behind the three-abreast rear seat. Another unusual feature is full-sized doors on each side that allow walk-aboard access. Klapmeier said he hates having to climb over and between seats to get on an aircraft and the two-door configuration eliminates that. Because of the design, six-footers in the back seat have plenty of room to stretch out with the seats reclined. Although the final design of the cockpit hasn't been determined, there's the typical automotive feel to the front-seat area that is a feature of Cirrus piston products. The mockup seems to emphasize that this is a single-pilot aircraft by clustering the instruments toward the left side and a full glass panel will be standard (vendor not yet named). Sidesticks move the control surfaces and the rudder pedals are big enough for a basketball player's feet.
What We Don't Know About The Cirrus Jet
Cirrus has kept its jet project mostly under wraps for almost five years and there are still a lot of questions. Klapmeier declined to discuss the timeline, the cost or detail the projected performance of the jet, mostly because he said he didn't know. He said they're still hoping to produce the jet for around $1 million, but the other variables will affect the final figure. Naturally, with seven people aboard, the plane won't go as far or as fast when only one person is on board, but that, he says, is the beauty of the design. "It's all about flexibility," he emphasized. If the typical use of Cirrus' piston products is any guide, much of the-jet's time will be spent carrying one or two people, just like most SUVs rarely qualify for the high occupancy lane on the freeway. Although not detailed at the news briefing, the kind of utility that the company is demanding from the aircraft will likely require known icing capability and the ability to land on short fields. Klapmeier told the crowd on Thursday that he wants to be able to land on grass strips, and he didn't appear to be kidding. So far, reaction to the design has been positive, according to position holders AVweb spoke with. Cirrus jet position holder Wyn Lewis said the innovation and thoughtful design made him more anxious than ever to get his airplane.
A Plea For Piper Aircraft
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While it might be hard to imagine a common bond between verdant Vero Beach, Fla., and industrial Toledo, Ohio, the Florida
community is looking north for pointers on keeping its largest employer. Vero Beach’s "We Love [big red heart, here] Piper" campaign is modeled after a successful bid in the late 1990s to
convince DaimlerChrysler to keep building Jeeps in Toledo. Vero Beach business leaders have launched a public campaign that includes bumper stickers and full-page newspaper tearouts that citizens are
invited to put in their windows to proclaim their affection for the historic planemaker -- and the hundreds of millions of dollars it churns for the local economy each year. "We want to do everything
we can to maintain Piper's presence in Vero Beach," Gerry Thistle, executive vice president at Vero Beach-based Hilb, Rogal and Hobbs told
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New Eclipse 500 Avionics On Display At OSH
Europe Embraces Air Taxi Concept
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According to Flight International, International Solutions & Support will unveil the AvioNG avionics and flight management system for the
Eclipse 500 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., later this month. The system was necessitated when Eclipse parted ways with its former avionics vendor Avidyne in February. Eclipse continues to build
aircraft with the Avidyne system pending certification of the new setup, and those aircraft will be retrofitted once the new system is ready. Among the innovations expected is an electronic flight bag
that automatically selects the right charts and shows the aircraft’s position on them. This is IS&S’s first attempt at OEM installation -- its core business to date has been retrofitting
panels in commercial and military aircraft. The avionics maker reports order backlogs on retrofits for Boeing 767 and 757 panels.
The freshly minted Air Taxi Association (ATXA) wasted little time fanning enthusiasm in Europe as several players get ready to
launch services on the continent that the association says will generate $1 billion in economic activity annually. ATXA President Joe Leader
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Electronics No Substitute For Good Pilot Skills
Moller Has A New Idea
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A study to be released later this month by AOPA’s Air Safety Foundation has quantified what most of us already suspected
about so-called technically advanced aircraft. All that electronically displayed information is no good if pilots ignore it. In fact, the comfort level achieved by lighting up that panel might
actually contribute to the risk of some types of accidents. The study noted that 45 percent of fatal accidents involving technically advanced aircraft (TAA) were weather related, compared with 16
percent for steam gauge-equipped planes. "These accidents were not the fault of the airplane," ASF Chairman Bruce Landsberg on Friday told pilots attending M5, the annual gathering of Cirrus owners
and pilots in Duluth, Minn. On the other hand, the terrain and fuel management information available in glass cockpit aircraft seems to have significantly cut the incidence of fuel- and
terrain-related accidents in the new airplanes. Landsberg says the key to optimizing the technological advantages of TAA is training. He said pilots must be trained to become better "systems
managers." But being a whiz with the buttons and knobs is no substitute for basic "stick and rudder" skills, he added. A significant number of TAA accidents occurred during landings and go-arounds,
where the slick aerodynamics of the new aircraft may be a little less forgiving. “We as an industry are still playing catch-up on the training aspects of TAA," Landsberg said. "We are making
progress, but we don’t yet have all of the tools.”
The man who’s been promising to give the world a flying car for the past 25 years is apparently setting his sights a little
lower. Paul Moller, the Canadian-born creator of the
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UK ATC Eyes Full Privatization
Quest Aircraft Chairman Killed In Crash
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In the best spirit of free enterprise, Britain’s hybrid airspace management company, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), is hoping to
sell high after recovering from some desperate lows in its early years. 
Bruce Kennedy, 68, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of
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On The FlyEngine problems have postponed the completion of Glacier Girl’s historic trip to England, 65 years after the initial mission ended in an emergency landing in Greenland. The engine will be fixed in Goose Bay, Newfoundland, and Labrador, and it’s hoped the aircraft will be able to fly to EAA AirVenture in three weeks…
Three University of Cincinnati Professional Pilot students won $5,000 scholarships from the Sporty’s Foundation. Matt Bengel and Steve Warther, both of Cincinnati, and Alex Glueck, originally from Farnborough, England, will use the money for studies in the 2007/2008 school year…
The massive CompAir 12 single-engine turboprop will fly to EAA AirVenture. The aircraft made its debut at Sun 'n Fun and is undergoing flight testing…
Security was tightened at airports around the world Saturday after a flaming Jeep was driven into the main terminal at Glasgow International Airport. The American Airlines terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport was evacuated and closed for about an hour early Sunday because of a suspicious package. It contained perfume.
AVweb's Newstips Address ...
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CEO of the Cockpit #71: A Pilot Base is a State of MindAirline consolidation and bankruptcies usually means cutting services and saving money -- and it often means closing pilot bases. Click here for the full story. out that I was, for once, the youngest captain at the table and I had flown either co-pilot or engineer for all of the others. For some reason they found this to be an opportunity to tell a few stories about me. "I remember this guy," said Jimmy Welch as he pointed across the table at me. "He flew his first line trip with me and Rick. Not a bad kid as I remember, but he kept reading magazines when I told him not to and locked himself out of the cockpit ... twice." Locking yourself out of the cockpit of a 727 isn't hard if you are a dense engineer like I was. We didn't have electric door-release buttons like the airplanes do now. In order to open the cockpit door, somebody had to get up and physically unlock the knob and twist it. The engineer was supposed to leave the door unlocked when he left so he could get back in after he went to get coffee or hit the head. I pushed my engineer seat all the way back and then locked the door on my way out. When I tried to get back in, the door wouldn't open, and when I called the other two guys on the intercom to let me in, Rick had to literally climb over my seat to get to the door. [IMGCAP(3)] The discussion on my dumbness as a flight engineer reminded me of a phrase I had learned on my first trip and still use today even though I really don't need to. "Door!" The flight engineer was often the only person to hear a knock on the door. We didn't use the fancy intercom codes and such we do today. If a flight attendant or anybody else wanted into the cockpit, all they had to do was knock. We rarely, if ever, looked through the peephole. All I would do was lean over to my right while looking to my left. I was looking left to make sure neither the captain nor the co-pilot was doing anything they wouldn't want an outsider to see -- things like looking over porn, reading a magazine, or snoozing. Then I would say, "Door," in a fairly loud voice to warn them that we had "incoming." It was Greg, across the table from me, who reminded everybody about my final door gaffe as a co-pilot for him on the 777. We were flying back from Paris and were at about 30 West. The relief guy was snoozing in the back and we were settled in for a long crossing, which meant we were both reading newspapers. class="copy"> Suddenly, we felt uncomfortable. Kind-of like somebody else was in the room. We slowly put down our papers and looked back to see a passenger standing happily behind our radio console looking out the windshield with a happy grin. Our French wasn't that good, but we finally convinced him that we really weren't supposed to have passengers in the cockpit and would he please go back and sit down? After our guest left, I pushed the cockpit door button on the overhead panel back into the "locked" position, where it should have been in the first place. The captains around my table had finally let go of me as a subject and moved on to another of our Chicago-base brethren: Miles. Miles had the distinction of wishing he had never left the Navy. Not that any of us had anything bad to say about the Navy; it's just that after your fourth day listening to endless stories from this guy about how much better they did this or that in the Navy, you were ready to smack him with the MEL (minimum equipment list -- a very heavy book). Miles was a line-check airman and a favorite buddy of our chief pilot back then, so he was both mocked and even feared a little. When I flew with him, we tended to go more in the mocked direction than the feared. In addition to wishing he wore bell bottom whites all the time, he had a minor confidence problem. The problem was that he really didn't have any confidence. To cover for this shortcoming, he would do a lot of chest-pounding, tell a lot of "There I was ..." stories, and then talk more about how cool it was to be in the Navy. [IMGCAP(4)] Frank, who was sitting on my right, chimed in: "Yeah, we had a lot of fun with old Miles. Let's say we were headed right for a thunderstorm. It could be the only big buildup in the sky. Easy, right? Miles would say something like, 'Tell Center I want to go 10 left.' Then I would say, 'Gosh, Miles ... are you sure you want to go left? Right looks pretty good.' The engineer would lean up and add, 'Only a real wuss would go left.' " I broke out laughing at this point because we used to do this with Miles too, but I didn't know that anybody else did it. Apparently, most of the table had because there was suddenly a cacophony of "Yeah, we had him going left and right until he ran smack into the build-up!" We went on with these stories for hours. Stories about how funny it was when Mike would put that rubber chicken under the windshield-wiper blade of the 727 just before he turned in to park at the gate. Stories about how we all had toys in our flight bags to play with. I won the contest on that one: When I was a flight engineer I had a toy robot, a wind-up dinosaur that spit out flames, a Casio keyboard, a yo-yo that lit up when you spun it, and a huge bag of candy, smokes and gum. We must have talked about and told stories on every fun and eccentric captain we ever knew. Many of them were sitting around the table with me. Some were dead and at least one was institutionalized. The one committed to the funny farm was the guy who told the airline for 10 years that he was crazy before they believed him and got him some help. He finally had to punch out a security guard at O'Hare to get their attention. Fun guy to fly with, though ... I looked around at the room, which was now emptying out. At the tables were just the younger guys who would, I hoped, tell stories to their friends about what I dumbass I was to fly with. I just hope the guy I flew with when I accidentally almost landed at Norfolk Naval Air Station would forget my name. The younger pilot's stories wouldn't have flight engineers in them. Later in their careers, they might not even have co-pilots in them. The gist of all their stories would be the same, though: self-deprecating but funny and not about what the non-flying public thinks we talk about at all. Most good flying stories begin and end with the people involved and their personalities, not what the airplane or other machinery did. The base was finally and permanently closed but I had a good warm feeling as I left the funeral at the Airport Holiday Inn. This particular base was the second base I'd worked at since I had flown out of O'Hare, and I hadn't flown out of Chicago for 20 years. But in my mind, I've been Chicago-based ever since I set foot in their pilot lounge back in 1982. Where you are based is a state of mind, not a location. I'll try to remember that as I face the fact that I'll be commuting down to "Red Square" the rest of my professional life.
Want to read more from AVweb's CEO of the Cockpit? Check out the rest of his columns. -->
AVmail: Jul. 2, 2007Reader mail this week about the FSS mess, the ATC retirement mess, the FAA Administrator retirement and more. Click here to read this week's letters to the editor.
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AVweb Audio NewsAVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll hear Alan Klapmeier on
the Cirrus jet. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with NBAA's Harry Houkes; Reason Foundation's Robert Poole; SATSair's Sheldon Early; Epic
Aircraft's Rick Schrameck; AOPA's Randy Kenagy; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Xwind's Brad Whitsitt; BoGo Light's Mark Bent; DayJet's Ed Iacobucci; Pogo Jet's Cameron Burr; Teal Group's Richard
Aboulafia; Air Journey's Thierry Pouille; Epic Aircraft's Rick Schrameck; Cessna's Jack Pelton; Embraer's Ernest Edwards; LAMA's Dan Johnson; and Piper's Jim Bass. In today's podcast, hear AOPA's Andrew Cebula dissect the House FAA reauthorization bill. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you
won't find anywhere else.
Cirrus Design's The-Jet Rollout: A First LookRecommend a Video | VOTW Archive
Cirrus Design's personal jet was shown for the first time, Thursday June 28, 2007. AVweb's Russ Niles was there.
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FBO Of The Week: Jackson Jet Center
Nominate an FBO | Rules | Tips | Questions | Winning FBOs
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Jackson Jet Center at KBOI in Boise, Idaho.
AVweb reader Fred Herzner said the FBO offered great service and fair prices. "I flew into Boise with our Bonanza on the way home from Seattle and happened to chose Jackson Jet Center from several FBOs on the field. Line service was great, the facility was outstanding, the people were nice and the price of fuel was fair. They loaned us a very nice crew car for the afternoon and booked us in a good hotel for a low price. People were nice, and the service and facility were great. What else is there?"
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! |
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Video of the Week: In-Cockpit Video of C182 Gear-Up LandingRecommend a Video | VOTW Archive
This week, we turn to Flight Level 350 for another in-cockpit video that serves as a safety reminder. If the loud beeping of the gear warning horn isn't enough to tell you that the gear is up on this C182, then the sound of the belly scraping on the runway will definitely let you know you're landing gear-up. Let's hope none of us ever have to actually hear this sound in our cockpits.
Speaking of sounds, this video automatically queues up and plays when you click on the link, so consider that a warning if you're watching at work!
Don't forget to send us links to any interesting videos you find out there. (Try as we might, we can't seem to goof off enough to see all the videos on the Web!) If you're impressed by it, there's a good chance other AVweb readers will be too. And if we use a video you recommend on AVweb, we'll send out an official AVweb baseball cap as a "thank you." |
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| The Lighter Side Of Flight | back to top | |
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Short Final
Last July, on a 90-degree-plus day, in my Cessna 150 just 30 minutes fuel burn below gross, in IMC and at the already unbelievable altitude of 5,000 feet, Saginaw Approach made this request: Saginaw Approach: Four Five Uniform, I need you to climb and maintain 7,000. Cessna 45U: Leaving five climbing seven. But it’s gonna take me about 20 minutes to do it. Approach: Four Five Uniform, I know. I don’t need you there for another 20 minutes! |
| Names Behind The News | back to top | |
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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) 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.)
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.
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