President's Pilot To Set Aviation Record With Cirrus SR22 For The Benefit Of Angel Flight East On March 16, 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Charles "Lindy" Kirkland will attempt to break a National Aeronautic Association (NAA) sanctioned record by landing at 100 Virginia runways in a single day. The historic flight will benefit Angel Flight East and raise up to $100,000 for the organization. With the aid of fellow aviator Major Rob Krieg and the help of Cirrus, who has donated use of a Cirrus SR22, Lt. Kirkland will complete these landings on all 67 public- use runways and selected military and private fields in Virginia.

A Sign Of Things to Come?

AOPA tells us the TSA is up to their shennigans again. With only three days'notice, the agency has called a public meeting to gather ideas on how the it should proceed in regulating foreign and domestic repair stations. This is the first time that TSA is proposing to regulate businesses located at general aviation airports. AOPA is concerned that the congressionally mandated repair station security measures may eventually become the model for regulating other general aviation airport businesses.

Agency Wants Fee From Tennis Court On Pensacola Airport Land

The FAA wants Pensacola (FL) to collect an annual rent -- an amount that could reach nearly $80,000 -- for a city tennis court on city airport property. Old maps show the site of the 16-acre Roger Scott Tennis Center on land belonging to the Pensacola Regional Airport, City Attorney Don Caton told a City Council committee. Federal grant agreements with the FAA require all airport property be used to benefit the airport, according to a letter from FAA program manager William E. Farris. The agreement allows temporary use for non-aeronautical purposes, but Farris wrote that the land appears to be in a prime area for aviation ventures and that the city should make plans for such use. Hundreds of adults and children use t

Interactive Learning Center Opens

Through West Coast Bank's $55,000, five-year commitment to the Evergreen Aviation Museum, the "West Coast Bank Interactive Learning Center" has been developed at the popular McMinnville tourist attraction and will be open to the public on February 27th. The Learning Center includes 30 personal computers equipped with Microsoft's flight simulator software and other aviation-related equipment. Evergreen International Aviation founder and CEO Delford M. Smith established the museum in memory of his son, Captain Michael King Smith. The museum is best known as the home of the world's largest flying boat and airplane, by wing span, the Howard Hughes "Spruce Goose."