AOPA President Phil Boyer is calling on members of the House aviation subcommittee to demand that the FAA obey the law and report on operations in the Baltimore-Washington Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). In letters to subcommittee chairman John Mica (R-FL) and ranking Democrat Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Boyer called the FAA's failure to provide the report "insulting to Congress and pilots in the area."

Five historically black colleges from around the nation are joining with Western Michigan University's College of Aviation to form an Aviation Education Consortium that will work to diversify the aviation industry work force and expand opportunities for minority students and women.

Steve and Judy Forshay have been grieving the loss of their son for almost a year now. They're not satisfied with what little they know about his death even now and are becoming advocates for change in the air cargo industry.

How much do F-15 drivers want to try the F/A-22 Raptor? Ask Lt. Col. Ray O'Mara, USAF. "I would put body parts on sale on eBay if I thought it would do me good to be able to get to fly this airplane." O'Mara commands the 1st Fighter Wing F/A-22 Integration Office at Langley AFB (VA). "From a pilot's perspective, it's an absolute dream," he says. "The things that this aircraft can do, the speed that it can fly, the maneuvering capability that it's got, are just incredible."

Klyde Just Loves The Airline Biz...

For months, British Airways has fought to a standstill grassroot efforts to revive the supersonic Concorde. But the airline's battle to lay the legendary aircraft to rest suffered a blow over the weekend, when one of Britain's most celebrated Rennaisance men, Sir Terence Conran, joined the fray.

The commemorative 37-cent stamp honors the US Air Force Academy's 50 years of service to the nation. It was unveiled at a ceremony here April 1 by US Postal Service officials. Two honors were presented to the Air Force Academy on April 1 in a ceremony commemorating its 50th anniversary.

When Gravity Probe B was first proposed by NASA, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Cuba was still considered a friendly country and Vietnam was a place few Americans could point to on a map. Manned space flight was still an unrealized dream. Now, 45-years later, Gravity Probe B is finally being prepared for lift-off at Vandenberg AFB (CA). It's mission: test two linchpin theories first proposed by Albert Einstein. In 1916, Einstein figured a planet like Earth could actually mold and twist the fabric of space and time. Think of a lead weight resting in the middle of a soft mattress and you'll get an idea of what he had in mind. That very effect, he proposed, is directly responsible for gravity.

While the America West Airlines (AWA) pilots are encouraged by favorable company performance, they are fuming over the recent announcement by AWA indicating that CEO Douglas Parker has been awarded a $1 million bonus.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association today condemned the actions of the government in the Dominican Republic to lock out its air traffic controller workforce and replace it with unqualified controllers, a move that has resulted in serious safety concerns for that country and also increased demands on US controllers working in Miami who handle the airspace around that Caribbean region.

Take a letter. The EAA wants all aviators in Illinois to contact their lawmakers in hopes of forestalling a planned 47-percent reduction in manpower at the Division Of Aeronautics. "We are asking you to contact Governor Blagojevich, IL DOT Secretary Timothy Martin and your local state representatives immediately to protest proposed funding reductions in the IL Department of Transportation FY 2005 Capital Budget," according to the alert. "Only through significant grass roots support will this devasting reduction in state funding be prevented. Do not wait for someone else, do your part for general aviation, act now."

Aviat Aircraft, manufacturers of the Husky, Pup, Pitts Special and Eagle Biplane Kits, has signed an agreement with Curtis Shaw Aircraft Sales to pursue Husky sales and service in California and Nevada. The new dealership, headed up by Curtis Shaw, has been active in the past with sales for New Piper, Cessna and other late model piston and turbo prop aircraft.

For the second year in a row the team from North Dakota State University in Fargo led the field over the weekend in the college division of NASA's 11th annual "Great Moonbuggy Race" in Huntsville (AL).

Worried about maintenance records and aircraft safety, the US Air Force Academy has grounded 45 gliders, trainers and skydiving aircraft, leaving most cadets altogether flightless.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), collective bargaining agent for the 13,500 pilots of American Airlines, called upon the Federal Aviation Administration over the weekend to guarantee rest for US pilots flying internationally as well as those flying domestically. "We urge the FAA to comply with the National Transportation Safety Board's Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvement on Human Fatigue/Hours-of Work Policy," said Captain John E. Darrah, APA President.

The Sportsman 2 + 2, introduced last summer as a taildragger, has been converted to tricycle mode. The change from tail wheel to nose wheel took one hour and sixteen minutes. "There was some learning involved," said New GlaStar President, Mikael Via. "The next time we expect to complete the operation in less than an hour."

EAA’s Earl Lawrence and Joe Norris were at the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) in Oklahoma City (OK), this week to help instruct the second of three scheduled amateur-built designated airworthiness representative (AB-DAR) courses. The course, required by FAA for individuals who wish to volunteer their services to perform airworthiness inspections on newly finished homebuilt aircraft, runs March 30 through April 1. This is chronologically the second course to be conducted, but it’s actually the third to be scheduled after high demand created a waiting list for the June 8-10 course. The first course was held January 27-29.

"I would put body parts on sale on eBay if I thought it would do me good to be able to get to fly this airplane." Source: Lt. Col. Ray O'Mara, USAF, anticipating the arrival at Langley AFB (VA) of the first operational F/A-22 Raptors. Integration is set to begin by the end of this year, even as opponents of the Raptor continue attacking its cost-effectiveness in the post-Cold War era.