Bad News In Tragic Case of Girl's Abduction The body of an 11 year-old girl has been found in Sarasota after a Nationally publicized "Amber Alert" and related media attention. The crime scene is now the subject of a TFR that is in force until at least 1700. The area is guaranteed to be a media circus, so we strongly recommend that flyers avoid this area aggressively and give LE officials room to do their horrific task without interference or distraction.

NOTAM: 4/0922 Issued: 02/06/2004 06:36 Effective: 02/06/2004 11:00 - 02/06/2004 17:00 State: FL Facility: ZMA - MIAMI (ARTCC), FL. Type: HAZARDS Description: SARASOTA, FL.

AOPA Takes Fight To New Level

The beauty of flying in the western part of the US is enjoying the land's natural beauty, uncongested skies and isolated landing areas, which allow for spectacular flying excursions. Unfortunately, these airfields are being threatened and one organization is fighting for their survival. AOPA, in its continuing fight to protect pilots' access to backcountry airstrips, has appealed a U.S. Forest Service decision to ban all but emergency access to four such strips in Idaho. The association maintains that the Forest Service does not have the required authority to close the Dewy Moore, Mile-Hi, Simonds, and Vines airstrips in the Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness area. AOPA President Phil Boyer recently met with

Don't Stumble Into Airspace

We have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the Baltimore/Washington Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is still active. The good news is the FAA has finally decided to chart the darn thing. AOPA reports that pilots who use the Washington, D.C. sectional and terminal area charts will see a significant change on the February 19, 2004, editions. The FAA will chart the ADIZ, hoping that it will reduce the number of airspace incursions. The flight-restricted zone within the ADIZ will continue to be highlighted as well. The National Aeronautical Charting Office will use the same symbology for the Baltimore/Washington ADIZ as it does for the border air defense identification zones but will highlight the blue markings to stand

Southwest Regional To Celebrate Legendary Designer

Dick Van Grunsven, the innovate designer of the legendary RV series of aircraft kits, will be the guest of honor at this year's Southwest Regional Fly-In. Van Grunsven, founder of Van's Aircraft, will will receive the fly-in's President's Award at the 40th anniversary of the Fly-In, which will be held at the New Braunfels Airport (BAZ) on May 14-15, 2004. Past recipients of the event's President's Award include the late Tony Bingelis, Paul Poberezny, Charles Duke and the late Duane Cole. Van Grunsven learned to fly in 1956 at the age of 16. He has logged 7,000-plus hours, 4,000 of it in homebuilts. He developed his first design, a modified Stits Playboy dubbed the RV-1, in the 1960s. His first original des

NetJets Adds Two Hawker 800XPs To Order

Raytheon Aircraft and NetJets Inc. have signed a 10-year maintenance contract for Hawker 1000, Hawker 800XP and Hawker 400XP business jets in the NetJets’ fleet. The contract, with options beyond the initial 10 years, will provide NetJets with full maintenance for the three aircraft types. Hawker 1000 and 800XP heavy maintenance work will be performed at the Hawker Service Center in Little Rock, Ark., and Raytheon Aircraft Services, located in Tampa (FL) will handle such service for the Hawker 400XP. In addition, the maintenance agreement covers NetJets’ aircraft-on-ground resolution and light line maintenance at NetJets and Raytheon Aircraft Services facilities. In December, NetJets placed an order fo

Texas Aviation Hall Of Fame Announces Call For Nominations

Do you know of a Texan that has shaped aviation within the Lone Star State? If so, the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame wants to hear from you.   The organization is now accepting nominations for its Class of 2004. Nomination deadline is April 16, 2004. Confirmed by the Texas Legislature in 1997, the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame honors the aviation heroes and pioneers of Texas who have made lasting achievements to the advancement of aviation.  Eligibility is open to any native Texan or Texas-domiciled business responsible for outstanding aviation achievement conducted within or outside the state. Nominees who are not native Texans or Texas-domiciled businesses are eligible for significan

Program To Benefit Michigan Students

Students in Michigan will appreciate a new program, by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), which is making collegiate studies a very worthwhile endeavor. The organiation, in conjunction with corporate sponsor Avfuel Corporation, will offer the Avfuel Michigan Business Aviation Scholarship to benefit a student pursuing an aviation degree at an eligible Michigan college or university. One $500 award will be granted annually. This scholarship will be awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student who is officially enrolled in an aviation-related program at any of the following Michigan schools: Andrews University, Eastern Michigan University, Lansing Community College, Northwestern Michigan College and Western M

Gen. Deal Fears Rushed Launch   

An investigator of the Columbia disaster fears more astronauts will die if NASA rushes ahead with a space shuttle launch this fall without making all the needed repairs. "An early launch could create the same conditions which cost us 16 lives," Air Force Brig. Gen. Duane Deal said earlier this week. He was referring to the crews of the Columbia and Challenger and two men who died in a helicopter crash while searching for shuttle debris. NASA's top spaceflight official insists, however, that the plan for resuming shuttle flights as early as September or October will be driven by milestones, not schedule. He stressed Wednesday that those months are merely planning dates. "If we don't meet milestones, we don'

Agency to Host 7th Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference

FAA Associate  Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Patricia Grace Smith has announced the Seventh Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference on Feb. 10 and 11 at the  Fairmont Hotel in Washington DC. This year’s event will focus on FAA efforts to help facilitate the first privately-launched manned space flight within the year. The conference also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Commercial Space Transportation Office at the Department of Transportation (DOT). Panels throughout the first day will provide views from space transportation experts in the government and private sector who will focus on the history of commercial space transportation

Launch Point For 2004 Regional Forum Series

NBAA will launch its 2004 Business Aviation Regional Forum series at Jet Aviation on Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), Wednesday, March 10. Essentially shortened versions of the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, Regional Forums bring together industry personnel at locations across the United States to address issues germane to that particular geographic region and to showcase products and services of Association Members. Forums feature indoor exhibits, a static display of aircraft and a full slate of informational sessions. NBAA is now accepting Exhibitor applications and Attendee registrations for the West Palm Beach event on March 10. Other 2004 Forums will be held in Chicago, IL on June 24; Hong K

Two F-14s Return Safely After Colliding

Two F-14A Tomcats operating from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in the Red Sea collided with each other while conducting basic daytime fighter maneuvers Feb. 2. No one was injured during the incident, and both aircraft landed safely aboard Enterprise. One F-14 sustained minor damage to its right wingtip, and the other’s right vertical stabilizer had nearly been sheared off. The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 F-14s are “Checkmates” from Fighter Squadron (VF) 211, home-based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. The incident is under investigation, and Enterprise is still able to continue its present mission. The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibili

Moving Line Could Save $300 Million for Lockheed Martin

Why not? It worked for Henry Ford. The first-ever continuous moving assembly line for a combat fighter jet is under consideration by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team. Adopting such an approach could increase production efficiency, reduce floor space and avoid an estimated $300 million in expenses over the life of the program. In late January, members of the F-35 production team from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS gathered on the Lockheed Martin factory floor in Fort Worth to begin laying out a preliminary plan for a continuous moving line. Using a full-scale F-35 model, the team simulated processes for installing aircraft systems as the jet crept along an imagin

Singapore Airlines Juggles Weight, Seating Issues

On Wednesday, a Singapore Airlines A340-500 conducted a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles, the world’s longest nonstop flight. The 14,762-km (9,172 mi) flight was completed in 15 hr.--1 hr. less than the scheduled journey time because of favorable winds. The return trip is expected to cover the 14,700-km return (9,134 mi) journey in 18 hr. 20 min. SIA operates daily nonstop service between Singapore and Los Angeles. The A340-500 flying the route, while designed for 320 passengers, is configured for 181 seats--64 in business class and 117 in Executive Economy. The limited seating reflects both the additional legroom required in economy for the long flights and the performance shortfall on the initial pro

Klyde Has More Fun With Mars

NAFI Lauds January's Master CFI's

On Tuesday, the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) announcing a significant aviation accomplishment on the part of some very special aviation educators. Recently, they were all designated Master Instructors by NAFI, their professional aviation organization. The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA that is earned by a candidate through a rigorous process of continuing education and peer review.  Much like a flight instructor's certificate, it must be renewed biennially.  This process parallels continuing education regimens used by other professionals to enhance their knowledge base while increasing their professionalism. Simply put, the Master Instructor designatio

100th Aircraft Produced

The bad guys don't like them but who else wouldn't marvel at an unmanned aircraft? Well, don't answer that. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems, announced Thursday that it has produced the one-hundredth Predator remotely piloted aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. Predator has provided the U.S. with intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance information on combat areas deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans since 1995, logging over sixty percent of all its flight hours in combat. Predator is also in use by the U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force.  Predator 100, like its predecessors, will be flown on an instrument flight plan in National Air Space f

Change In Next ISS Crew Lineup Considered   

U.S. and Russian space officials are considering changing the crew of the next mission to the international space station, a Russian space official said Wednesday. The proposed change came after NASA decided to replace astronaut William McArthur with Leroy Chiao, citing unspecified health reasons, said Sergei Gorbunov, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos. Valery Tokarev was to be the Russian on the mission, to begin April 19. Instead of the Chiao-Tokarev team, the agencies are now likely to send Michael Fincke and Gennady Padalka, who have spent considerable time training together, Gorbunov said. Russian officials claim Chiao and Tokarev didn't hit it off and had "psycho

Air Canada Jazz Unit of ALPA Re-Elects Officers

Leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) unit representing Air Canada Jazz pilots have re-elected pilot officers to serve two-year terms beginning this week. Following a vote by the representatives on the Air Canada Jazz pilots' union governing body, the Master Executive Council (MEC), Captain Nick DiCintio was re-elected to a second term as chairman, Captain Monty Allan was re-elected as vice-chairman, Captain Terry McTeer was re-elected as secretary and Captain Rod Lypchuk was re-elected treasurer. Captain DiCintio is a Montreal based pilot with 15 years of service at Air Canada Jazz. Captain Allen is based in Toronto and has 21 years of service with the airline. Captain McTeer is based i

Companies to Collaborate On ATC, UAV's

Boeing and QinetiQ have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore potential collaboration on the development of a variety of technologies, including aviation security, air traffic management, acoustics, lighting and cabin interiors, fuel cells and lightweight materials. According to the agreement, Boeing's leading domain expertise in commercial and military aircraft, along with QinetiQ's pioneering research, could also allow for development of lighter-than-air vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), systems integration, and Network Centric Operations. Under this agreement, Boeing's European Research and Technology Center in Madrid, Spain, will work closely with QinetiQ to identify potential collaborative pro

Aero-News: Quote of the Day

"The reason is simple: the crew is a single, united organism. They must understand each other, including at a psychological level." Source: Sergei Gorbunov, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos commenting on the second crew change for the upcoming International Space Station resupply flight on April 19. The change came after NASA decided to replace astronaut William McArthur with Leroy Chiao, citing unspecified health reasons. Unfortunately, Chiao and partner Valery Tokarev did not get along, so both agencies opted instead to send Michael Fincke and Gennady Padalka, who have spent considerable time training together.

AD Number 2004-03-01

MANUFACTURER: Air Cruisers Company PRODUCT: Emergency Evacuation Slide/Raft System ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for a certain Air Cruisers Company Emergency Evacuation Slide/Raft System. That AD currently requires a one-time unpacking and subsequent repacking of the slide/raft systems, identified by basic part number (P/N) with dash numbers, and serial numbers (SNs) listed in the AD, and mandates repacking of all other slide/raft systems of the same design at the next required normal maintenance schedule of the slide/raft system. This AD contains the same requirements but replaces the specific s