DC Area Remains Out Of Reach For Most GA Pilots

AOPA President Phil Boyer told Congress Tuesday afternoon that after two-and-a-half years of being shut out of the nation's capital, it's time to re-open the door to all of general aviation. At a hearing on permitting GA flights into Reagan National Airport (held in the Signature Flight Support hangar), Boyer said that it is also time to rescind the Baltimore-Washington air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and once again permit GA pilots to access the national capital area. Boyer told the committee members that the air traffic control system was never designed to do the things the ADIZ is forcing pilots and air traffic controllers to do.

Meeting Contributes To Further Reduction In TFR Size

Following a meeting between AOPA President Phil Boyer and high-ranking U.S. Navy officials that helped define concerns on both sides of the issue and correct some original mistakes, the FAA has reduced the size of two security-related temporary flight restrictions in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. AOPA has worked closely with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), as well as representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Jennifer Dunn (R-WA), to remove or at the very least minimize the impact of the security-related TFRs imposed in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Relying on information and advocacy efforts by local pilots, the association has also made the case at the highe

The Great Cessna Homecoming

Cessna Aircraft Company's one million plus customers are invited to attend the first ever Great Cessna Homecoming, May 14-17, 2004. The homecoming weekend will be held in Wichita (KS), the birthplace of the Cessna Aircraft Company. The four-day event is anticipated to be one of the largest gatherings of Cessna owners and operators. Cessna has organized numerous seminars that will be presented on May 15-16, 2004. Topics include, but are not limited to, pilot risk management, TCM fuel injection systems, RSA fuel injection systems, autopilot and GPS operations, high altitude flying, Lycoming engine maintenance, aircraft photography, Cessna history, and Cessna's new single engine products.

It's All About Money

Will the Lake Tahoe Airport continue to fly with a control tower? That's one of the critical questions to be posed to the South Lake Tahoe City Council at an upcoming meeting. The city's cost-sharing portion of its agreement with the FAA may almost double from the $120,000 South Lake Tahoe pays a contractor to watch air traffic between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The hours were cut down to reduce costs, but the FAA has insisted the measure fails to go far enough.

Two Confirmed Dead Aboard Plane

A Mooney on approach to the Santa Monica Airport (CA) crashed into a home and burst into flames Tuesday. A man and woman aboard the plane were killed, but a man inside the house escaped unharmed. The two occupants aboard the plane were not immediately identified, but the aircraft's owner told authorities the couple lived in Malibu and were in their 60s and 70s. It was unclear if other passengers were aboard, authorities said. The Mooney, which took off from the Mammoth Lakes area, lost radar contact with a control facility in San Diego as it made its approach to the airport, said FAA spokesman Donn Walker.

Charles Taylor II To Speak At Aviation Industry Week

Cygnus Expositions, producers of Aviation Industry Week, announced that Charles Taylor II, the great grandson of Orville and Wilbur Wright's mechanic Charles Taylor, will speak at the upcoming show, to be held May 18-20, 2004, in Las Vegas (NV). Charles Taylor worked for the Wright brothers for 29 years and made the airplane engine that powered their first flight. Taylor II will present an historical slideshow about his grandfather, Charles Taylor, on Wednesday, May 19, at Aviation Industry Week in a session hosted by Aircraft Maintenance Technology magazine.