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Meet Miz Jane
FAA Administrator Makes Third Trip To OSH
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey continues to impress aviation people with her
willingness to both listen to and answer the hard questions, something some of
her predecessors are not remembered for doing well. Sunday at EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh, she spent an hour in a give-and-take session that touched on everything
from the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to unqualified airplane
mechanics. Garvey was joined onstage at the "Meet the Boss"
session by several top-level FAA types, including Steve Brown, with FAA air
traffic services; Tom McSweeney, associate administrator for certification and
regulation; and Monte Belger, assistant administrator. By and large, though, her
associate and assistant administrators sat quietly and Garvey answered the
questions.
In contrast, Garvey's boss, Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, had quite
a bit to say. Slater, a first-time OSH visitor, was given the blue-ribbon tour
of the show grounds by EAA President Tom Poberezny, and seemed impressed with
what he had seen. "The thing that excites me most is all the children at
the event," he told the crowd gathered to hear Garvey. "The EAA's
Young Eagles program is a wonderful step to the future." After finishing
his prepared statement, Slater moved aside to let his FAA Administrator get down
to the serious business of aviation's challenges.
Before taking questions, Garvey talked a little about issues she and the
agency are dealing with now, including the push to streamline airman medical
certificates. She expects that change to come in October. "Streamline"
is an important word in Garvey's vocabulary. It is one of her goals, as is
keeping the lines of communication open. Garvey is often visibly annoyed when
pilots at public forums tell her they have not been able to get any response
from whichever FAA department they have been trying to contact. More than once
Sunday, in fact, she directed assistants to meet with questioners right after
the Meet the Boss session.
No Bill Bainbridge/Bob Hoover lightning-rod issue has jelled the aviation
world this summer, so the questions at Sunday's session ran the gamut. As they
do every year, several people stood up and asked about the airline pilot age 60
rule, which the FAA is showing no sign of changing. One pilot unrolled a long
white banner listing the countries that allow pilots to fly to age 65 and
longer. Garvey was unswayed, telling the questioners she has seen no evidence to
convince her the rule should be changed.
Jerry Hooker, of Hooker Harnesses, told of problems getting product field
approvals; and George Braley, of General Aviation Modifications Inc., spoke up on the challenge of too
few project engineers being available at project certification offices. Garvey
talked about the ongoing battle of the budget and the need for continued tough
decisions about what can be paid for with the agency's limited funds. On the
issue of field approvals, Garvey said she would like to see as many field
approvals as possible while "maintaining consistency."
Garvey was also forced to defend the new ATC readback requirements, which she
says aren't new at all, but simply "clarifications" to the existing
rules. "We felt there was some confusion," she said, "and we
needed to clarify what is the responsibility of pilots and controllers."
Garvey said that pilot input on such issues is crucial, and that the agency
probably should have done a better job of talking this particular issue through
before implementing it.
Garvey told the crowd several times that public sessions like Meet the Boss
are valuable in that they allow her to hear about what's going on. With every
passing session, more people seem to believe her.
AVweb Goes One On One
After the Meet the Boss session, AVweb sat down with Garvey to talk a bit
more about the FAA and general aviation. Garvey praised the General Aviation
Coalition that meets four times a year and focuses the agency on GA-specific
issues, but stressed the value of picking up the phone before making changes
that will affect the industry. "Pick up the phone and call a couple of
folks, and say, hey, what's your take on this? I tell you, Monte [Belger,
assistant administrator] and I both do that. I want to be clear, this doesn't
mean we'll always be in agreement [with GA groups]. We are willing to make
changes when we need to, but there are certain times that in our role as
regulator we'll make decisions some won't agree with."
Belger asked AVweb and the rest of the aviation media to encourage pilots and
manufacturers to raise issues and ask questions. "I think it's easier if
issues are raised sooner rather than later, before people at the lower levels
[of the FAA] get entrenched." How does that desire for input correspond
with rulings made with seemingly no give-and-take from pilots and airplane
owners, such as the recent turbocharged twin Cessna proposed AD? The AD was discussed with the FAA two
years ago, disappeared, then reappeared, going in just one week from Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to final rulemaking. Without admitting outright the
AD was a foul-up, Garvey and Belger said they and other high-ranking FAA
officials need to make certain their expectations are made clear to lower-level
staff. Getting those crystal-clear expectations to 47,000 FAA employees will
prove no easy task.
May The Force Be With You
Jim Franklin Goes Jet Age
Visitors to EAA AirVenture get to see a lot of unusual things every year, but
this year, they're hearing something odd, too — the distinctive sound of a jet
engine coming from a 1940 Waco. Airshow pilot Jimmy Franklin freely admits the
freakiness of his contraption, but is mighty pleased with its performance. He
started his airshow career in the Waco with a 220-hp engine, moved to a 330 hp,
450 hp, then to a 600 hp, which turned out to be too much for his airframe to
handle. The need for power and speed remained. The answer was to return to the
450-hp Pratt & Whitney on the nose, and mount a GE CJ610-6 jet engine, the
equivalent of the military J-85, on the underside of the old Waco's fuselage.
The sound of the jet wasn't something Franklin put much thought into, but it
has been a happy by-product. "Sound effects are 50 percent of the
show," he told AVweb. The Waco now roars past the crowd with power enough
to climb at more than 10,000 feet per minute. The thought of hanging raw thrust
on the front of the Waco occurred to Franklin back in 1978, but it took teaming
up with Les Shockley, of Shockwave Jet Trucks, to make it happen. "I asked
Les how it would work and he said, 'Jimmy, you take care of flying the thing,
and I'll take care of making it work.' It's a very exciting airplane to
fly."
The Waco was beefed up structurally when Franklin put the 600-hp engine on
it, so it handles the extra speed with nary a complaint. EAA AirVenture is just
the sixth airshow Franklin has flown with the jet addition, so he's keeping his
routine a little more tame than he might like. "I have an idea for
additional maneuvers. I've tested some other gyroscopic maneuvers and an
inverted flat spin." Franklin plans to work those maneuvers into his
routine next season. Right now, though, the impact of the plane is doing a lot
of his work for him. "People are just shaking their head and laughing. You
hear this old round engine and then all of a sudden, you hear this jet go by. It
just leaves them with their mouths hanging open."
Diamond Aircraft, Utah Valley State College Announce Partnership
Utah Valley State College will purchase 15 Katana DA20-C1 Teledyne
Continental-powered aircraft, the first three of which will be delivered here at
AirVenture '99. "The DA20-C1 was selected by UVSC to replace our fleet of
six Katana A1's, which we have operated for the last five years," said Ron
Smart, dean of UVSC's aviation program. The college, based in Provo, had four
students in 1991 and has grown to 600 this year. Smart also said that UVSC is looking forward to the addition of the DA40
four-place version of the Katana just as soon as it becomes available. "Our
association with Diamond will be a major part of our future growth," he
said.
Peter Chambers, the new owner of Diamond Aircraft, added that Diamond will
donate a Katana Vision One FTD simulator training device to the college and also
make an Xtreme motorglider available for student use. In support of the launch
of UVSC's new Global Aviation Degree Program, Chambers said he intends to make a
significant gift to the college, which will be announced soon. "If you are
serious about helping aviation grow, you must be innovative, take bold action
and make commitments," Chambers said.
Diamond Aircraft, based in London, Ontario, is the world's leading
manufacturer of type-certified composite general aviation aircraft, with more
than 1,500 Katanas delivered worldwide.
NASA Predicts High Times For GA
In The Near Future AGATE Efforts Bearing Fruit…
If we can believe NASA's forecast, the future of GA is so bright, we gotta
wear shades. NASA briefed AirVenture '99 attendees on the latest developments in
the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) program, initiated
in 1994 to revitalize the stagnant GA industry. The
government-industry-university consortium is using advanced technology to
address GA deficiencies in safety, affordability and ease-of-use. According to
NASA, the prototype Williams FJX-2 low-cost turbofan and TCM diesel engines
developed under AGATE are now being run on test stands and should be flying in
test aircraft next year at this time. Advanced avionics providing datalink,
real-time graphical weather in the cockpit are almost ready to go, and work on
synthetic vision systems is moving from simulation to flight testing. Finally,
the FAA and the Cargo Airline Association conducted successful in-flight tests
earlier this summer of the NASA-backed ADS-B cockpit traffic information
display.
… As Seeds Planted For Small Aircraft Transportation System …
After providing the status report on the AGATE effort, NASA unveiled plans
for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program at a forum titled
"Life After Airliners." AGATE Program Manager Dr. Bruce Holmes, from
NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia, said the primary goal of SATS is to
provide instrument approach capabilities to every public-use runway in the
United States by integrating advanced SATNAV capabilities with new cockpit
avionics developed under AGATE. Holmes coined the word "hublock" to
describe the future commercial carrier situation as major airports will be
unable to meet the large increases in passenger traffic. Since building major
new airports is prohibitively expensive, the only real answer is to increase the
capabilities of the thousands of existing small airports in the country. Holmes
showed the forum crowd a futuristic video of how pilots would benefit from SATS
in the next century. Reminiscent of those old black-and-white "this is your
future" films, the video depicted pilots flying light jets effortlessly
between small public airports in any type of weather. Crucial to the
implementation of SATS, according to Holmes, is strong support from state
governments who could benefit from the economic boom all-weather airports could
provide to small rural communities overlooked by the major carriers.
…But Burt's Not Buying It
Sharing the stage with Holmes at the Sunday forum was futurist, GA
evangelist, and Scaled Composites President Burt Rutan, who disagreed with much
of what Holmes presented. Lobbing good-natured jabs at Holmes, Rutan declared
that his biggest problem with NASA's version of the GA future is that it is too
conservative — the federal agency needs to be much more creative. If Rutan had
his way, government would let private enterprise and the competitive market set
the standard for future aviation transportation systems. Rutan brought a roar of
approval from the forum crowd by stating that the solution to GA problems will
be solved "not by regulation, but by technology." Citing the recent
crash involving John F. Kennedy Jr., Rutan said the technology is available
today, at low cost, to provide an intuitive, continuous virtual horizon to the
average pilot no matter what the weather conditions.
Rutan also doesn't envision SATS as the light aircraft transportation system
of the next century. Instead, Rutan floated the intriguing idea that towns and
cities could be equipped with very short "aircraft capture facilities"
for catapulting and recovering light aircraft, similar to systems used on an
aircraft carrier. Such a system would allow many more "landing" areas,
take up less room than conventional airports, and be integrated within cities to
eliminate the need for a car when arriving at a destination. Rutan finished his
sermon to the AirVenture faithful by declaring that he would continue to be
proactive in fighting to make the best technology available to GA pilots with
less government interference. He encouraged the attending pilots to demand the
same from their elected officials.
Seaplane Base Cool Respite From Hot Convention Grounds
Looking to take
a break from the hectic pace of the main convention site, AVweb visited
the AirVenture '99 seaplane base on Lake Winnebago to check out the floatplanes
and amphibs that flew to Oshkosh. Arriving at the base several miles southeast
of Wittman Field, visitors are treated to a view of floatplanes gently rocking
at their moorings in a tranquil cove, surrounded by huge shade trees. Seaplane
Base Management Chairman Mark Wrasse told AVweb that more than 100
seaplanes were registered at the base during AirVenture '99. The cove is on
private land co-owned by John and Susie Vette, and Gary and Burleigh Blust. The
families generously donate the cove for use during the annual convention — the
other 51 weeks it is not used as a public seaplane base.
The majority of
planes at the base were certified types like Cubs, 180s, and Maules. But
scattered among the factory birds were experimentals such as the GlaStar, Rans,
and Kitfox on floats. Wrasse said they are seeing an increasing number of
experimentals every year at the base, as more homebuilders discover the fun of
flying off water. Wrasse mentioned that last Friday he observed a higher number
of visitors than normal riding the shuttle buses from Wittman Field to the base,
but not all of them came to gawk at seaplanes. Seems many of them brought their
bathing suits to beat the record heat with a dip in the cool waters of Lake
Winnebago.
Briefs...
AVweb's Howard Fried Visits The FAA Pavilion
Those who know Howard and those who regularly read his AVweb column are going to find
this hard to believe, but (are you sitting down?) he actually had something good
to say today about the FAA. Everyone who has visited
EAA's AirVenture is familiar with the huge auditorium in the FAA Pavilion where
forums are going on all the time and where the "Meet the Boss" program
is held, but that
auditorium contains only a small part of the action at the FAA Pavilion. Before
one enters the auditorium, he/she must walk through the building, past a large
room full of booths, each of which is devoted to one or another of the many
facets or divisions of the agency. Each booth is staffed by folks from a
particular division of the agency, who are there to help pilots understand the
functions of their segment of the FAA's vast bureaucracy.
Although Howard was
surprised by the small amount of space devoted to ATC and to Flight Service, the
other booths include divisions like Flight Standards Booths (it takes three
booths to cover them), followed by aeromedical, legal, and so on. One of the
major attractions is the Vertigon machine, which offers the opportunity to
experience spatial disorientation. The Vertigon can realistically simulate
losing control of an airplane in a turn in IMC by providing a graphic
demonstration of just how our senses can deceive us. The ride in the Vertigon is
voluntary, but it is something every pilot should experience. The machine is operated by
experienced safety program managers from FSDOs throughout the Great Lakes
Region. Even though we (and especially Howard) all find a lot wrong with the FAA,
the bottom line is that everyone who comes to EAA AirVenture should definitely
find time to visit the FAA Pavilion and learn all about the agency that governs
everything aeronautical in the U.S.
Aerobatic Awards Recognize Grassroots Pilots
The International Aerobatic Club has inaugurated a new program to reward the
best aerobatic pilots at the 180-hp level. The "Grassroots Achievement
Award" medallion will go to the highest-scoring pilots at each of the IAC's
46 regional contests held each year. A new national trophy will be presented at
the IAC Aerobatic Championships, along with a $1,000 cash prize. "Now
owners of Cubs, Citabrias, Decathlons, Skybolts, Stardusters and similar
aircraft will have an exciting achievement goal that will truly be within their
reach," said Doug McConnell, president of IAC. The program is supported by
Textron Lycoming.
Power To The People
REG Technologies, of British Columbia, was at AirVenture '99 trying to drum
up support for its revolutionary Rand Cam diesel rotary engine. REG, which has
been working on the design since 1987, said its number-crunching predicts it is
possible to build a 250-hp aircraft engine that weighs only 200 pounds and
offers dramatic reductions in noise, vibration, emissions and fuel consumption.
The basic engine design is simple, using only two moving parts, and would
completely eliminate the electrical ignition system. Rand Cam is seeking
additional funding in hope of having a fully functional Rand Cam engine at
AirVenture next year, and a flying unit in 2001.
World's Oldest Homebuilder And Pilot
Captain Ralph Charles, 99, the world's oldest homebuilder and current
licensed pilot, entertained the AirVenture crowd in Tent 2 on Friday. Captain
Charles was trained by Bernard Whelan, who was trained by Orville Wright. He has
logged more than 6,000 hours since learning to fly in the Roaring '20s. He
celebrated his 99th birthday by holding a pipe organ concert and taking a BFR.
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