Hide/Show Archive Navigation.

All News

September 19, 2011

GA Advocacy Groups 'Strongly Oppose' President Obama's User Fee Proposal

Industry Associations Band Together To Present United Front Against $100 Per Flight ATC Tax

Reaction from the nation's leading general aviation (GA) associations was quick, and without exception they forcefully opposed user fees for GA flights proposed in President Barack Obama's proposal for addressing the nation's deficit and job crises.

Proposes $100 Fee Per Flight For BizPlanes using Controlled Airspace

News/Analysis By J. R. Campbell, CEO/Editor-In-Chief Folks with greater insight into the mindset of the bizarre critters that inhabit our government will have more to say in the next few hours, but ANN is inspecting portions of the President's convoluted 'Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction' and we've gotten one hell of a shock. Those aviation-hating folks in OUR government are attacking us again.

But... Will This Mean Real Change For The 'Troubled' Company

Cirrus Aircraft has confirmed persistent rumors of the imminent departure of CEO Brent Wouters after 2 and a half years of tough times and some questionable decision-making. Cirrus Co-Founder Dale Klapmeier has been named Chief Executive Officer. Brent Wouters, previously President and Chief Executive Officer, is reportedly "no longer with the company."

ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 09.19.11

Tragedy strikes at the Reno Air Races.
A performer is lost at a West Virginia Airshow.
And ICAS has its work cut out, educating media on the difference.

ANN Special Feature: Zen and the Art of Accident Prevention - 09.19.11

CFI Bob Miller of Over The Airwaves looks to a famous book from the 1960s for an example of why we need to try the easy stuff first when the engine quits.

FMI:

More AERO-Casts

R/C Helos Help Fight Autism

Davis, CA Event Runs Three Days To Raise Funds

California's Woodland Davis Aeromodelers will host an event called "The International Helicopter Scale Masters - Fly for the Cure for Autism" over three days, Friday through Sunday, September 23-25 on County Road 29 north of Davis. The event will have many of the features of a full-scale helicopter airshow.

NTSB Prelim Report Released In Idaho Kitfox Fatal Accident

Pilot Landed On Remaining Runway After First Takeoff Attempt, Went Down On Second

The NTSB's preliminary report for an accident involving a Kitfox in which two people were fatally injured offers few clues as to what may have gone wrong. A witness told investigators that the pilot said he would be making a "short landing" following a takeoff attempt, and later heard the same pilot announce a "straight out" departure from Caldwell Industrial Airport (KEUL), in Caldwell, ID. That second takeoff resulted in the pilot and his wife being fatally injured when the Kitfox, which the pilot had built in 2008, went down.

More Than 300 Attendees And 85 Aircraft Gathered In Colorado Springs

The TBM Owners and Pilot Association (TBMOPA) ... the independent users group of DAHER-SOCATA’s TBM 700 and TBM 850 very fast turboprop aircraft ... welcomed more than 300 attendees taking part in its annual convention held August 31-September 5 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The presence of over 85 TBM aircraft on the ramp represented an increase of 12 percent compared to last year.

Parachutes Can Be Carried On Board Commercial Airliners

The TSA has issued a set of guidelines to its screeners that will make it easier for skydivers to travel with their gear ... AND avoid checked baggage fees. The new guidelines clarify that parachutes equipped with an Automatic Activation Devices (AAD) are not hazardous, and supplies guidance for X-ray screeners when they encounter those devices.

Dentist Was Working On Powered Flight 40 Years Before Wrights

An exciting find in a rare-book store suggests that an inventor wanted to build a powered-flight military aircraft 40 years before the Wright Brothers, for use by the Confederacy to conduct surveillance missions over Union forces during the Civil War. It's not clear how plausible the design was, but such a development might have affected the outcome of the war.

Geared Turbofan Designed For The CSeries Aircraft

The first flight test program for the PW1524G engine for the Bombardier CSeries aircraft has been completed after logging 25 flights with 115 flight hours. "We are very pleased with this initial flight test program," Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family, said announcing the milestone Thursday.

F-16s Scrambled In Three Cases Involving 'Suspicious' Lavatory Use

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 prompted evaluation of the measures taken in the years since to protect the US from further attacks by terrorists. But the behavior of law enforcement agencies, spring-loaded by a TSA alert for the anniversary, also produced some new examples of abuses.

First A350 XWB Wing Lower Cover Delivered To Airbus In Broughton

Component Was Produced At Airbus’ Center Of Excellence For Composite Materials In Spain

The first A350 XWB wing lower cover (WLC) has been transported from Airbus’ composites manufacturing site in Illescas, Spain, to Airbus’ wing assembly site in Broughton, United Kingdom, where it will be installed on to the wing of the first A350 XWB to fly, MSN001. The wing lower cover was recently produced at Airbus’ Center of Excellence for composite materials in Illescas, Spain.

Component Manufactured In GA Headed To Assembly Line In TX

The first F-35 Lightning II center wing produced at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, GA, facility has been completed and is en route to the F-35 final assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas. “The delivery of this center wing is doubly important for Lockheed Martin’s Marietta site. Not only does it usher in a new era of aircraft assembly, but it also continues a strong 5th generation fighter tradition inherent to this facility,” said Shan Cooper, Lockheed Martin vice president and Marietta site general manager.

Airplane Features Special Livery To Mark The Milestone

Boeing and Indonesia's largest private airline Lion Air celebrated the delivery of the 50th Next-Generation 737-900ER (Extended Range) to the airline on Wednesday. "This is a major milestone for Lion Air and Boeing," said Lion Air President Director Rusdi Kirana. "We've operated the 737-900ER since 2007 and that airplane has allowed us to grow because of the low operating cost and comfort for our passengers."

Clears Path For Delivery Of Strategic Transport Variant Of A330 Tanker For UK RAF

Airbus Military has obtained military and civil certification for the Future Strategic Transport Aircraft (FSTA) version of the A330 MRTT for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. This paves the way for first delivery of the aircraft to the RAF in the coming weeks.

AD NUMBER: 2011-19-04

MANUFACTURER: Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 Series Airplanes

Another Entrant In The Aero-iPad Wars Shows Promise...

It's a war, I tell you... just about the time that you figure out which super-duper new bit of iPad-centric software is the end-all and be-all for your aviation pursuits, someone comes along and challenges the whole works. Here's another way to make use of your iPad for flight planning purposes. iFlightPlanner is a suite of web-based tools for general aviation pilots, accessible from your web browser or your mobile device. Plan and log your flight from your home or on the go.

More Videos

Updated: Reno Race Accident Investigation Continues

Update: Death Toll Stands At Ten

ANN RealTime Update, 09.19.11, 1204ET: We have been informed that the death toll has risen to ten people and that a number of identifications are now being released. We'll have more info shortly... Original Report: The truly horrific events of the weekend are still reverberating throughout the aviation industry as knowledgeable aviation people dig in to deal with what happened in a professional manner and the "Insta-Pundits" continue to misinform the public and embarrass the human race. An NTSB Briefing concluded late Sunday, with additional details, but it's obvious that they have dug in and are giving this matter very serious consideration.

Touch-Screen FMS/GPS/NAV/COM Offers 'Additional Capabilities'

Avidyne tells ANN that Multi-Touch capability will be included with their recently-announced IFD540 GPS/ Navigation/ Communication system. Multi-Touch allows pilots to gesture using two or more fingers on the capacitive touch screen to easily scroll and zoom the map range setting in and out. "In addition to all the great features we announced at the introduction of the IFD540, Multi-Touch is one of the 'additional capabilities' we said that we would be rolling out over the next several months," said Patrick Herguth, Avidyne's Chief Operating Officer.

Another Entrant In The Aero-iPad Wars Shows Promise...

No Fair, Klyde! We Want to Make The List, Too!!!!

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Delivers Free Traffic, Weather To Portable Cockpit

SkyVision Xtreme, LLC Wednesday announced support for iPad and Android devices in its ADS-B traffic and weather system. Xtreme Vision brings together ADS-B technology, PC-based devices, and now the iPad tablet computer and Android mobile devices to enhance a pilot’s situational awareness.

Industry Group Estimates As Many As 400,000 Jobs Could Be At Risk

The Air Transport Association of America said Thursday that a proposed FAA rule changing the number of hours that pilots are allowed to fly will not improve the industry's strong safety record, and could lead to as many as 400,000 lost jobs. The ATA said carriers support changes to this outdated rule that would improve safety. However, the current proposed rule ignores proven science and operational data.

FAA Proposes $1.9 Million Civil Penalty Against Colgan Air

Airline Offers Immediate Response Concerning Training Of Flight Crews

The FAA has proposed a civil penalty of $1,892,000 against Colgan Air, of Manassas, VA, a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines, for allegedly allowing flight attendants to work on 172 revenue passenger flights when they were not properly trained to use the planes’ cabin fire extinguisher system.

Fatal Accidents In Experimental Aircraft Under FAA Targets

The EAA reports that the fatal accident rate in the Experimental-Amateur Built (E-AB) category continues to decline, and has renewed its call for separate accident statistics in that category. The FAA tracks accidents by fiscal year, which concludes at the end of this month.

Aero Linx: Jimmy Leeward (Facebook) He was an amazing member of our aviation community and one of the most competitive pilots in the world. We don't have to reiterate what happened in the last few days, but we thought it might be nice to show you the link to Jimmy's Facebook page so that you can send your condolences to his family and, if appropriate, your remembrances of a flyer that NO ONE will easily forget. Godspeed, Jimmy...

Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within URET, of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 nautical miles or less. A Yellow alert is used when the predicted minimum separation is between 5 and approximately 12 nautical miles. A Blue alert is used for conflicts between an aircraft and predefined airspace.

"The airlines have to properly train crewmembers on the use of emergency equipment. The flight attendants’ primary responsibility is to know exactly how to handle emergency situations, and they can’t carry out that responsibility if they’re not properly trained." Source: FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, following the imposition of a fine against Colgan Air.