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| AVflash! GAMA Pushes for Owner Tax Relief | back to top |  |
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Bonus Depreciation Extension Introduced
A bipartisan bill to extend bonus depreciation on aircraft purchases has been introduced in the Senate and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association is rooting for its passage. The bill was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Chuck Grassley. Bonus depreciation allows aircraft buyers to depreciate their purchase 50 percent in the first year instead of spreading the depreciation over five years. It was introduced in 2008 as part of the stimulus package and extended through 2009. "Bonus depreciation is a powerful incentive to purchase a GA aircraft and is proven to increase sales during difficult economic conditions," said GAMA CEO Pete Bunce. "It is the one tax provision we have asked Congress to pass to help offset the decline in sales due to the recession and bring back lost jobs."
GAMA says the impact of bonus depreciation is significant and one manufacturer calculated that it was a factor in 55 percent of its sales. This isn't a tax cut, however. The accelerated depreciation means write-offs in subsequent years will be less so the long-term impact on government finances is negligible. |
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| Sun Setting on the Era of the Private Pilot? | back to top | |
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Pelton Says Pilot Shortage Looming
Cessna CEO Jack Pelton has been necessarily concerned about a shortage of customers in the past 18 months but he's shifted his gaze to a new threat on the horizon and that's a shortage of pilots. Pelton told the Aero Club of Washington (PDF) this week that the FAA estimates the number of student pilots will hit a 10-year low this year. "This is a problem for all of us in aviation, and all of us should be part of the solution," Pelton said. "Fewer pilots equate to less business for all of us, and it threatens the strong, sustainable aviation system our nation counts on." He said the military no longer trains enough pilots to fill airline cockpits and GI Bill-type incentives are a thing of the past. GA groups have created numerous programs to try to stimulate growth in pilot numbers but Pelton said now it's time the government stepped up. "Congress should give serious consideration to permitting flight training under the Post 9/11 GI Bill," he said. "We need legislation that fosters and stimulates our industry."
Pelton reiterated his belief that the recovery of the industry will be long and slow but he said there are some hopeful signs. Used aircraft inventories are falling and flight hours are up. The perception of aviation as a wasteful perk for the ultra rich has been turned around and the legitimate use of aviation as a business tool has been embraced in the form of general aviation appreciation days across the country. He said changing the perception was largely the result of aviation groups getting together to get that message out. The Department of Transportation has also formed a blue chip committee on the future of aviation, of which Pelton is a member. "This cooperation we've experienced in GA must span all areas of aviation," he said. |
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| News Briefs | back to top | |
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BA's Business Service May Expand
British Airways nine-month-old experiment with a business jet-style service between the convenient London City Airport and JFK has apparently been successful enough that the airline is considering similar service to Boston, Chicago and Washington. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation says BA is reporting 75 percent loads on the New York route which harkens to the golden age of aviation since it involves a fuel stop at Shannon, Ireland. That's because the biggest airliner that can squeeze into London City, sometimes referred to as a STOLport because of its six degree approaches, is an A318. These aren't the usual A318 configuration with cheek-to-cheek and knees-to-seat-ahead seating, however.
The aircraft are 100 percent 2X2 seating and the seats become 32-inch by six-foot lie flat beds. The fuel stop in Shannon actually turns into a bonus for the business crowd aboard because they can clear U.S. customs there while the tanks are filled for the remainder of the trip across the pond. Onboard internet, U.S. and British electrical outlets and 15-minute checkin for carryon passengers are among the other amenities. BA is also touting the "anonymity" of the service for customers worried about the perception of private aircraft travel.
Pilots Sought For Survey On Icing
If you're a professional pilot, the folks at Decision Research are hoping you'll take a few minutes to complete their online survey, and help NASA and the FAA to produce better training products about aircraft icing. Those agencies want to create new courses tailored to the needs of pilots who fly Part 135 and Part 91 corporate and fractional operations in piston twin, turboprop, and business jet aircraft. Your participation will help the team to determine what should be in those training modules. The survey is fairly extensive and some of the answers will require some thought. Robert Mauro, the senior research scientist for the project, told AVweb the survey should take about 20 minutes and it's completely anonymous.
At the end of the questions, you'll be invited to type in your e-mail address, which will enter you into a drawing to win one of several Apple iPads that will be given away to those who participate, as a thank-you for the time invested. You can also choose not to enter the drawing. Either way, Mauro said, "your responses will not be associated with you in any way. No one will be able to connect your answers with you." The FAA plans to reinvigorate pilot education efforts regarding icing, starting with the corporate fixed-wing segment but eventually branching out to cover all segments of the pilot population, Mauro said.
Click here to take the survey. |
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| 121.5: The Forbidden Frequency | back to top | |
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FCC Bans 121.5 ELTs
The Federal Communications Commission took the general aviation world by surprise when it said in a recent report it will prohibit the sale or use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters, effective in August. The Aircraft Electronics Association said it just learned of the new rule today, and has begun working with the FAA, FCC and others to allow for timely compliance without grounding thousands of general aviation aircraft. The 121.5 ELTs are allowed under FAA rules. The FCC said its rules have been amended to "prohibit further certification, manufacture, importation, sale or use of 121.5 MHz ELTs." The FCC says that if the 121.5 units are no longer available, aircraft owners and operators will "migrate" to the newer 406.0-406.1 MHz ELTs, which are monitored by satellite, while the 121.5 frequency is not. "Were we to permit continued marketing and use of 121.5 MHz ELTs ... it would engender the risk that aircraft owners and operators would mistakenly rely on those ELTs for the relay of distress alerts," the FCC says. AOPA said today it is opposed to the rule change.
"The FCC is making a regulatory change that would impose an extra cost on GA operators, without properly communicating with the industry or understanding the implications of its action," said AOPA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. "There is no FAA requirement to replace 121.5 MHz units with 406 MHz technology. When two government agencies don't coordinate, GA can suffer." The AEA said dealers should refrain from selling any new 121.5 MHz ELTs "until further understanding of this new prohibition can be understood and a realistic timeline for transition can be established." |
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| Opinion & Commentary | back to top | |
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AVweb Insider Blog: FCC's ELT Rule a Bad Joke?
The FCC says it will outlaw 121.5 ELTs by August. The news reminds AVweb editor-in-chief Russ Niles of the April Fool's edition we used to publish every year — except this is no joke. In the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, Russ wonders how they're going to pull this off.
Click here to read more and share your thoughts.
AVweb Insider Blog: Instead of Old Fuel, How About New Engines?
It's a fair question, says Paul Bertorelli in the latest installment of the AVweb Insider blog. If Lycoming and Continental would simply adopt advanced automotive technology, we wouldn't need 100-octane gas. After all, how hard could it be?
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| AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn | back to top | |
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Cirrus SR22T Flight DemoOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Cirrus is out with a new version of the SR22, the SR22T, with a TSIO-550-K groundboosted turbo system. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli took a demo flight in the new airplane with Cirrus's Matt Bergwall.
Supersonic Flight & Transonic PhenomenaOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Sound travels at about 760 miles per hour, or 340 meters per second and about 661 knots on an average day at sea level. And sometimes, you can almost see it. Going close to that speed through air can cause some unusual visual effects. This compiled footage includes F-14s, standard and Blue Angels F-18s, plus the SR-71 and an Atlas Rocket launch. AVweb contacted sources at NASA to research the phenomena.
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| Help Us Celebrate AVweb's 15th Anniversary | back to top | |
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15 Years and Now 15 Grand Giveaways ... It's Your Chance to Win a Zaon PCAS XRX
Win a Zaon PCAS XRX as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)
And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15 Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)
Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time Friday, July 16, 2010.
Click here to read the contest rules and enter.
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
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. |
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
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| 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:
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Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.
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