NOTAM:  4/0346  Issued:  09/29/2004 16:10  Effective:  09/30/2004 22:05 - 10/01/2004 04:35  State:  CO  Facility:  ZDV - DENVER (ARTCC),CO.  Type:  VIP  Description:  DENVER, COLORADO, SEPTEMBER 30 2004 LOCAL. 

NOTAM:  4/0344  Issued:  09/29/2004 16:00  Effective:  09/29/2004 21:00 - 10/01/2004 13:00  State:  FL  Facility:  ZMA - MIAMI (ARTCC), FL.  Type:  VIP  Description:  CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, SEPTEMBER 29 OCTOBER 1 2004 LOCAL. 

NOTAM:  4/0330  Issued:  09/29/2004 15:20  Effective:  09/29/2004 17:00 - 09/29/2004 21:30  State:  NM  Facility:  ZAB - ALBUQUERQUE (ARTCC),NM.  Type:  AIR SHOWS/SPORTS  Description:  TUCMCARI MUNICPAL AIRPORT TX . 

NOTAM:  4/0321  Issued:  09/29/2004 01:30  Effective:  09/29/2004 18:00 - 09/29/2004 21:30  State:  FL  Facility:  ZMA - MIAMI (ARTCC), FL.  Type:  VIP  Description:  TAMPA AND LAKE WALES, FLORIDA, SEPTEMBER 29 2004 LOCAL. 

White Knight Continues Climb

0745 PDT -- White Knight continues its climb to approximately 50,000 feet, where it will release SpaceShipOne. Dick Rutan, speaking to CNN's Miles O'Brien, said, "Everything is nice and quiet."

Rutan And Allen To Make First X-Prize Attempt Wednesday

When you ask Burt Rutan why he wants to go into space, you get a short history lesson on the shortcomings of NASA.

A Look Inside The FAA Office That Regulates Commercial Manned Spaceflight

Since 1984, Patricia Grace Smith's office at the FAA has been licensing commercial rocket launches. The payloads have always been satellites or research equipment -- until Burt Rutan and Paul Allen changed things with the flight of SpaceShipOne back in June. It was Smith's office that gave Scaled Composites and pilot Mike Melvill the final regulatory go-ahead for that record flight and it was Smith who pinned the first ever commercial astronaut wings on Melvill's chest when he returned. Somewhere in that entire process, someone had to do a lot of paperwork.

Two C-130s Reportedly Overturned

As airports in Florida continue to stagger in the winds of four hurricanes, now comes word from Delaware that what's left of Jeanne has caused major damage at the New Castle County Airport.

More Cost-Cutting Measures

Delta Airline employees will get an unhappy surprise in their checks at the first of the year: ten percent less money than they're getting today.

Airlines To Lose $4 Billion In '04

The rising cost of oil is outpacing the rising number of passengers in the air -- and that's bad news for the airline industry. The IATA now says airlines worldwide will lose another $4 billion this year.

Former Learjet CEO Sets Out To Build Supersonic Bizjet

Pop quiz: What's the biggest hurdle to developing a supersonic bizjet? A. Lack of a sufficiently powerful, yet economical powerplant B. That loud, pesky sound barrier C. The fact that no company has yet strapped on the cojones to overcome obstacles A and B Answer: D. All of the above.

Even If They File After September 1 Deadline

The EAA reminds us that ultralight pilots that they can still obtain sport-pilot credit for their flying experience even though the initial registration deadline of Sept. 1, 2004, has passed.

AOPA Asks Questions, Gets Answers From Presidential Candidates

(In a continuing effort to get the presidential candidates on record about issues important to general aviation, AOPA asked both President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry for some specific answers. This is the second of a two-part story on where both men stand --ed.)

Next Step: Mach 10 Free Flight

NASA aeronautics researchers are looking forward to flying the X-43A research aircraft at speeds up to 10 times the speed of sound later this fall, following a successful "captive carry" dress rehearsal flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center Sept. 27.

One Of the Rarest Of Warbirds Comes From Canada

It was slow and ugly and... remarkably effective against German U-Boats. Not only that, but a British Faery Swordfish also crippled the pocket battleship Bismark, leading to its ultimate destruction at the hands of the Royal Navy.

Northrop Grumman And JPL Team Up To Go To Moons Of Jupiter

NASA's JPL has chosen Northrop Grumman Corp. as a partner in developing a preliminary design for the Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), an electric propulsion vehicle powered by a nuclear fission reactor. The contract award is for approximately $400 million, covering work through mid-2008.

TSA Adding to the Pilot Projects Ongoing at Four Other Airports

The TSA Tuesday said it's expanding to a fifth airport the capability of detecting explosives on passengers at the security checkpoint. Testing and evaluation of the explosives detection trace portal will begin this week at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. TSA also announced that this pilot project, along with those initiated at four other airports, will continue for the foreseeable future.

Mitsubishi Does The Doors, Xi'an Does The Floors

Boeing Tuesday said Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will supply the main-deck cargo door and surround structure for the 747-400 Special Freighter, a program to convert passenger airplanes into freighters.

Plan: Promote International Air Traffic Management Initiatives

FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey Tuesday signed a Memo of Cooperation with Victor M. Aguado, Director General of EUROCONTROL, to expand and promote cooperative air traffic management and research initiatives between the two organizations.

"By 1973, we had a space station, the Skylab, and we had multiple probes going up to planets. So, all this wonderful stuff happened in 10 to 15 years," he told the BBC. "About that time, there should have been enormous initiatives to make it affordable for people to fly in space, not just a handful of trained NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. If you asked NASA in those days how long will it be until it is affordable so that I can fly, the answer would be, 'we're working on it and in 30 years there will be affordability.' If it is (still) 30 years, I will 90 and will a guy who is 90 get to fly?" Source: Burt Rutan, in an interview with the BBC, on the eve of SpaceShipOne's first official X-Prize flight.