Also Pushes Off ISS Repositioning Due To Glitches

During a review of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight, NASA managers decided Tuesday to plan a launch no earlier than February 19 -- one week later than original targets.

What Pilots Should Know In Talking To The Media, With CFI Max Trescott

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 02.04.09 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 02.04.09 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature -- What Pilots Should Know When The Media Show Up: 02.04.09 (ANN Special Report, with 2008 National CFI of the Year Max Trescott.

Fast Trips Could Lead To Big Price Reductions

Fractional provider Bombardier Flexjet announced this week the rollout of an incentive program for owners making quick turnaround trips.

TBM Owners And Pilots Association Joins Effort

Both Mallory "Mal" Zackery of Georgia and Kenneth Hendrickson of Minnesota became disabled as a result of violent acts. For Zackery, it was a shot from a robber's gun that left him paralyzed as he was making the night deposit for the store where he served as a manager. Ken Hendrickson suffered multiple major internal and orthopedic injuries as he was thrown from his Humvee when a powerful IED exploded underneath.

Event Will Celebrate 100 Years Of Powered Flight In Country

The 48th annual convention of the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) will be held in Montreal, the 3rd largest economic center for aviation in the world, May 27-29. The theme for Canada's premier business aviation event is the celebration of the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada.

LCROSS To Piggyback On Spring LRO Launch

NASA has selected four teams to observe the impact of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, with the lunar surface during the mission's search for water ice on the moon.

FBO Is Company's First Location In Arizona

Officials with Million Air recently celebrated the grand opening of the company's first executive airplane terminal in Arizona. Million Air Tucson is located in the Campbell/Valencia General Aviation Aeroplex at the Tucson International Airport (TUS).

Say Agency Moving Too Slow To Implement Measures

With the topic of bird strikes top-of-mind following "The Miracle on the Hudson," the Air Line Pilots Association is taking the FAA to task for dragging its heels on developing avian radar and other measures to mitigate the risks to aircraft posed by birds.

Unions Protest Start Of DC-Madrid Route

Representatives from the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) and the Irish Air Line Pilots Association (IALPA), which represents the pilots of Aer Lingus Airlines, signed a protocol agreement this week bringing the two groups together to protect the interests of pilots from both airlines in light of the recently announced partnership between United and Aer Lingus.

Four-Year Deal To Maintain Fleet Of PW4000, JT9D And CF6 Turbofans

Pratt & Whitney recently signed a new four-year engine maintenance agreement with Evergreen International Airlines, Inc., a global cargo operator headquartered in McMinnville, OR.

And Even That May Not Be The End Of It

Hawker Beechcraft CEO Jim Schuster told employees Tuesday the Wichita-based planemaker will eliminate 2,300 positions, with many of those cuts coming at the end of this week.

There IS A Path To Aircraft Ownership... Even In THIS Economy

It's a really tough world out there (surprise, eh?)... due to the economic and poiltical issues that are part and parcel of every second/minute/hour's news, its going to be hard for folks to find workable paths to aircraft ownership -- though a partnership just might make the process possible...

Cites Post-Katrina S-76 Accident In Recommendation

In response to the Board's investigation into the September 6, 2005 ditching of a Sikorsky S-76A helicopter in the Gulf of Mexico, on Tuesday the National Transportation Safety Board issued a recommendation to the FAA urging all offshore Gulf helicopter operators to evaluate their communication contingency plans in the aftermath of a major event.

Renews Concerns About Ballistic Missile Development

Iran's launch of a low-orbit satellite into orbit this week "is clearly a concern of ours" because it could lead to the development of a ballistic missile system, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.

Feared Pilot Was Intoxicated, Forced Airline To Bring In New Flight Crew

What started out as the misgivings of a handful of passengers mushroomed into a major situation onboard an Aeroflot Boeing 767 before a December flight from Moscow to New York.

Modified Legacy FGs To Be Built In-Country

Kit plane manufacturer Lancair International announced Tuesday it will provide to the Colombian Aviation Industry Corporation (CIAC) 25 aircraft for use by the Columbian Air Force. The modified Legacy FG aircraft, known as the "Synergy", will be used for primary flight training of Colombian Air Force Pilots.

Facility At About 75 Percent Capacity

Space Florida announced Tuesday the completion of a three-year/$1.8 million project to finalize upgrades to the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Hangar, located near the Space Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

"We Shouldn't Just Buckle To It"

Compounding the general economic slowdown, heavy snows across eastern Britain Monday shut down education and commerce for millions, with economists estimating losses to the economy as high as $5 billion US.

Impact With Plane's Wing Sent SUV Into Tree

Two people were killed Sunday when their small sport-utility vehicle was struck by a Piper PA-18 Super Cub as it attempted to take off from a private airfield in the Florida panhandle.

Air Transport Association Applauds Agreement

This week, the US Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) agreed to release up to $25 million in funding for research and development of biofuels, including aviation biofuels. That decision was heralded by the Air Transport Association, lobbying group for most major US airlines.

Aero-Linx!

You're on short final. The runway isn't in sight yet, but from evaluating the approach at altitude, you know where it lies: lined up with the riffle on the second bend in the river. Full flaps, you nudge the throttle slightly to hold your altitude until the threshold comes into view. From here on, there is no go-around. The controls are soft and there is little margin for error. Almost simultaneously, the strip comes into view, the edge of the river slips by, and the mains touch down. You're not the first one who has landed here; your well-worn copy of Galen Hanselman's Fly Idaho! is proof of that.

Aero-Terms!

The Brodie landing system was a method of landing light aeroplane devised by James H Brodie, a Captain of the United States Air Force during World War II. The method of landing involved catching a hook attached to the plane upon a sling which itself was attached to a cable.

"I don't think there's anyone in Russia who doesn't know what a drunk person looks like."

Source: Katya Kushner, who was a passenger onboard Aeroflot Flight 315 on December 28, 2008. Several passengers complained to flight attendants after being greeted as they came onboard by Alexander Cheplevsky, one of four pilots scheduled for the roughly 11-hour trip. Those passengers feared the pilot's slurred speech and garbled responses indicated that he was drunk. Flight attendants tried to downplay those fears, but discord quickly spread throughout the cabin, and Cheplevsky initially resisted efforts to have him leave the cockpit and speak with passengers. When he did emerge, his alleged bloodshot eyes and difficulty in standing up sent passengers ov