When the FAA refused to hold face-to-face public meetings with pilots and businesses that will be hurt by a proposed charity/sightseeing rule, AOPA vowed to make sure pilots would be heard — by Congress if not by the FAA. With the help of the chairman of a House Small Business subcommittee, AOPA is making good on that pledge. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), an AOPA member, wants to hear directly from pilots about what the proposed rule will do to their business.

Ohio flyers say it's just not fair -- a clause in the state's 2004-2005 General Revenue Budget Bill (HB 95) passed last year by the Ohio 125th General Assembly. The bill changed the Ohio state aircraft registration license tax to $100.00 dollars per aircraft, regardless of the plane's size. Prior to this bill aircraft registration was based on a per-seat fee of $3.00.

No One is Safe From Klyde's Attention... Not Even The New Airline Guy On The Block!

"Our president has introduced a new initiative with renewed emphasis on the exploration of our solar system and expansion of human frontiers. This proposal has substantial merit and promise." Those words from the first man on the moon, former NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong, speaking to a crowd in Houston last week, come after the first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, spoke in sharp opposition to the president's plan.

A USAF accident investigation board last week determined that failure of the No. 2 engine because of compressor stall, failure of the auxiliary fuel tanks to jettison and the uneven terrain of the landing area caused an MH-53 Pave Low to crash Nov. 23.

The Missouri Pilots Association is offering a $600 Scholarship for a kindergarten though twelfth grade teacher to attend an aerospace education course. While, the scholarship may be used at any college or university, historically only Central Missouri State University (CMSU) at Warrensburg offers an appropriate course.

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) expects deliveries of PW200 and PT6 turboshaft engines to increase by 30% this year thanks to the company's exceptionally strong showing in helicopter competitions in 2003.

Research Frontiers and InspecTech Aero Service plan to make their biggest-ever foray into the world of rotorcraft next week, displaying a number of SPD-Smart(TM) aircraft cabin window products at the Heli-Expo from March 15-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

New Piper Aircraft, based in Vero Beach (FL), has gone through the wringer. Five times in the past two years, the struggling company has down-sized operations, laying off workers and swimming hard just to stay above water. But that may be changing.

Boeing's launch partner for its 7E7 Dreamliner could be Malaysian Airlines, according to Boeing's top international salesman, Paul Dubeck.

Sport and GA advocacy groups are banding together to stop the FAA from grounding the entire T-34 fleet. And it seems to be working.

The Air Force has agreed to implement a suggestion from the AOPA that the advocacy group says will protect pilots at Ellsworth Municipal Airport (9K7), near Lyons (KS), from going head-to-head with military pilots in the traffic pattern.

A private search team has found what could be the wreckage of a Cessna 170 (file photo of type, below), two weeks after the plane failed to arrive at Auburn (WA).

Snowbirds anxious to avoid the cold, rain and snow of more northerly latitudes have been causing big-time headaches for commercial air travelers at Florida's Palm Beach International Airport. Now, the FAA has come up with a solution to the problem of clogged runways -- especially on Sunday afternoons. The idea: limit the number of arrivals so more aircraft can depart.

For Sale: Cessna 172 Skyhawk, Fixed Gear  1977 Cessna Hawk XP 56 SMOH AFTT 1998 191 hrs on prop   Exterior Quality: 5, Interior Quality: 7 Used, will sell for $75,000.00

"I am a long time pilot -- a passionate pilot. I’ve been flying for more than 35 years. I have a commercial and instrument rating, and plenty of experience with the air traffic control system of this nation. I recognize the importance of the FAA and the air traffic control system, and the need for the modernization of the system. I see that we need to improve the technology, but we have the safest system in the world, and I can tell you that privatization is not going to happen in America." Source: Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the apparent heir to the Democratic presidential nomination, speaking at a Houston town hall meeting last week. He was asked about privatization by a man claiming to be an air traffic controller. The Bush administration has said it wants

On the campaign front, Senator John Kerry, the apparent heir to the Democratic presidential nomination, made a stop in Houston last week, taking questions from the crowd at a town hall meeting. Some of those questions centered on aviation.

One man was killed, another hospitalized, after the rotor blades on a gyroplane apparently came apart during a take-off attempt on Friday, suggesting that a probable lack of proper rotor RPM and an "unloaded" rotor led to an uncontrolled flapping action and the subsequent break-up of the rotor system.

An International Launch Services (ILS) Atlas III rocket blasted off over the weekend, successfully orbiting the MBSAT satellite for Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). This was the 70th consecutive successful flight of an Atlas vehicle, and the second launch of the year conducted by ILS, a Lockheed Martin joint venture.

When Eurocopter recently completed the first flight of its new European military helicopter, the NH90, it had Goodrich Actuation Systems' all electric flight controls or "Fly-By-Wire" (FBW) technology on board.