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| Top News: More FSS Closures as the Year Ends | back to top |  |
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Lockheed Martin Closing Seven Flight Service Stations
Lockheed Martin says service will not suffer when it closes seven of the remaining 13 Automated Flight Service Stations on Feb. 1 and lays off another 160 flight service specialists and management personnel. Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Jan Gottfredsen told AVweb that a 13 percent reduction in call volume combined with efficiencies gained with a new communications network mean that the six remaining AFSS facilities will be able to seamlessly handle the calls. The facilities being closed are Columbia, Mo., Kankakee, Ill., Lansing, Mich., Honolulu, Hawaii, Nashville, Tenn., Seattle, Wash., and St. Petersburg, Fla. Those staying open include the three "hubs" of Ashburn, Va., Ft. Worth, Texas, and Prescott, Ariz., along with AFSSs at Miami, Fla., Princeton, Minn., and Raleigh, N.C. Miami will have staff specializing in Caribbean traffic and Princeton will be staffed with people knowledgeable about cross-border flights to and from Canada. Raleigh is the backup for Ashburn, the headquarters for the system. "We determined there will not be any diminished level of support" resulting from the closures, Gottfredsen said. However, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association isn't buying that and spokesman Dale Wright told AVweb there are fears controllers will be expected to fill any gaps left by the cuts. "Controllers are not going to pick up their slack," Wright said. "We don't have the workforce...."
NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert said controllers have already seen an increase in workload in some areas because pilots are having trouble filing IFR flight plans before they launch. She said they will, instead, launch VFR and file in the air, adding to the controller workload. Gottfredsen said she hasn't heard those specific complaints and noted that Lockheed Martin is meeting or exceeding performance standards set in its contract with the FAA. "We remain committed to the highest level of service," she said. |
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| Boeing Dreamliner Irons Out Kinks | back to top | |
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Nose Gear Hitch On Second 787
Boeing has confirmed that the second Boeing 787 test airplane experienced some kind of problem with the nose gear on its maiden flight Tuesday but the issue was resolved in flight. "We fixed it and it landed safely," Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach told the Seattle Times. "At no time during this flight was the aircraft or the pilots in danger." The Time quoted an unnamed amateur radio operator who said he monitored radio exchanges between the 787 pilots (there were only the two of them onboard) and a chase plane pilot who said part of the nose gear appeared to be angled back about 15 degrees from normal. After aborting his initial approach to Boeing Field, pilot Randy Neville turned back to the west to allow the chase plane pilot to have another look and allow engineers on the ground to consider the problem. Boeing suggested the radio exchanges may have been "misinterpreted" by the ham operator.
Boeing issued a statement downplaying the incident and reminding the media that test flights are for testing. The statement said "dialogue between the pilots, chase plane pilots, and engineers can sometimes be heard over the Air Traffic Control System and misinterpreted. It's important to remember that flight test programs are conducted to identify and solve issues as they arise." Witnesses told the Times that fire trucks were standing by at Boeing Field and the aircraft was towed to the Boeing hangar rather than taxiing. The second aircraft flew just six days after the first and is painted in the livery of the launch customer, All Nippon Airways. |
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or call 1 (877) REMOS-88.
| New Vectors Aviation Enters Air Taxi Market | back to top | |
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New SoCal Air Taxi
A Southern California charter company has started the latest Cirrus-based air taxi service, betting SoCal business people and recreational travelers will embrace the convenience of point-to-point air travel at the lower cost afforded by the piston fleet. New Vectors Aviation, based at Chino Hills Airport, launched the service this week, offering flights of up to 500 miles in Cirrus SR22s and some Beech Bonanzas for what it says is substantially less than similar flights in turboprops or business jets. "Businesses still have to operate and travel is often necessary, even during these challenging economic times," said Tom Bressan, chief executive officer. "Money is tight and time is a valuable asset."
Bressan said the most popular destinations are mainly in the south but the carrier can reach destinations in Northern California as well as Nevada and Arizona. Online reservations are available. |
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| Clock Is Ticking for Paper Certificate Holders | back to top | |
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Got A Paper Certificate? Replace It Now
If your FAA pilot certificate is printed on paper, it's going to expire on March 31, unless you replace it with a new plastic certificate. To get the new counterfeit-resistant certificates, you have to fill out a form and mail it to the FAA in Oklahoma City along with $2 for each certificate you want to replace, or you can do it online. Either way, the new certificate won't list your original date of issue, so you might want to keep that old dog-eared piece of paper to prove your longevity. If you apply by mail, it's going to take four to six weeks, and up to 10 days for online processing, so don't put it off till the last minute or you could find yourself grounded. Some non-pilot certificates, such as those for flight engineers and mechanics, are good for another three years but then they will also have to be replaced. Student certificates are not affected.
While you're at it, you can also ask the FAA to issue you a new certificate number that is not your social security number. There is no additional charge to make this change. Click here for more info and the forms you need, or to make your request online. |
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| Aviation Hall of Fame Ceremony | back to top | |
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Four Named To Aviation Hall Of Fame, NBAA's Work Recognized
An astronaut, an icon of business aviation, an engineer and an Arctic flyer have been named to the National Aviation Hall of Fame's Class of 2010. Capt. Alan Bean, the pilot of the lunar module for Apollo 12, was part of the second crew to land on the moon. Clay Lacy, a 50,000-hour pilot, founded Clay Lacy Aviation at Van Nuys Airport. He holds 30 type ratings, has flown over 2,500 air-to-air photo flights, and shot film for many Hollywood pictures including Top Gun and The Right Stuff. Warren Grimes, the "father of aircraft lighting," produced his first airplane lights in his garage in 1933, and created the familiar red, green and white nav lights still found on aircraft today. Noel Wien was an Arctic flight expert who founded Wien Alaska Airlines, one of the oldest airlines in the U.S., in the 1920s. Click here for a 2002 interview with his son Merrill Wien by AVweb's Joe Godfrey. The Hall of Fame also awarded its 2010 Milton Caniff Spirit of Flight Award to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), in recognition of its achievement in advancing aviation.
The awardees were announced on Dec. 17 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. They will be honored in an NAHF ceremony on July 17 at the Dayton Convention Center. Tickets to the event are available at 937-256-0944 ext.10. |
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or call (888) 359-3220.
| AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn | back to top | |
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Exclusive Video: Aviation Safety Dissects the Anatomy of a Cirrus Stall AccidentOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos So-called over-the-top or cross-control stall accidents have been common among general aviation pilots for years. But no one has ever really documented what happens in one — until now. Thanks the widespread use of glass cockpits, this fatal stall accident has been extraordinarily well-documented by accident investigators and includes a video re-creation. Aviation Safety magazine walks you through the accident in this video. Related Content:
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| Opinion & Commentary | back to top | |
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AVweb Insider Blog: 'Dear Idiots' — Cirrus Stall Revisited
In the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli dips into the mailbag and answers some concerns about his recent video on Cirrus stalls for Aviation Safety magazine.
Click here to see what others had to say, read Paul's rebuttals, and add your own voice to the mix.
AVweb Insider Blog: The Pilot Experience Conundrum
AVweb's Paul Bertorelli comments on the proposed 1,500-hour requirement in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. "If nothing else," he says, "we are shockingly predictable in our reaction."
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| Share Your Opinions with Our Sister Publications | back to top | |
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Aviation Consumer Survey: Wanted — Cirrus SR20 Reader Feedback
If you own a Cirrus SR20, our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, would like to hear about your experiences with it. We would like to know about operating and insurance costs, performance, factory support and your overall satisfaction with the airplane.
Send comments to jeb.burnside@belvoirpubs.com.
(Look for the results of the survey in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. Click here to check for special subscription offers for AVweb readers.)
Aviation Consumer Survey: Portable GPS Performance
Do you own a portable GPS? Aviation Consumer magazine wants to know how it has held up for you. Does it do everything you need? Was it a good value for the money? Have there been issues with service and support?
Follow this link to our brief online survey and let your voice be heard. It will only take a few minutes, and your comments can be anonymous if you want.
Thanks for helping out, and look for a round-up review of portable GPS products in the February issue of Aviation Consumer. (Click here for subscription deals for AVweb readers.) |
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
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Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
via email to
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| Who's Where | back to top | |
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Who's Where? You Tell UsGet a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. |
| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebBiz TeamAVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.
The AVwebBiz team is:
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 AVwebBiz. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. |
