Protecting Airports, Fighting User Fees And TFRs, Reducing Flying Costs AOPA's top priority for 2004 is to protect the scores of general aviation airports under threat across the country. At the same time, the association will fight any effort to impose user fees on GA pilots for using the national airspace, and will work to have the "permanent" security-related temporary flight restrictions lifted. AOPA will also seek answers to constantly rising aircraft insurance costs, and will look for more innovative ways to keep the cost of flying down. "Year in and year out, our members tell us they're concerned about the number of airports under threat," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "It's their number one worry. "But we can't become fixated. We'll keep our

Nothing starts with quite so much hope as an emergency aircraft search... though far too few of them result in happy endings. A Cessna 182 (file photo, right), missing for three days, was found after an extensive search of a remote area of NE Montana. Found 25 miles SW of Glasgow, the search had been hampered by bad weather until the aircraft was spotted by an eagle-eyed pilot.  Found on board were Pilot Bill Newman, 45, his sons Lance, 14, and Ray, 24, and Ray's fiancee, Jessica Grode, 21, of Ipswich, SD. Newman had flown to Mobridge, SD, to pick up Grode and was returning to Cut Bank, MT, when he told ATC he was approaching bad weather conditions. Newman had originally learned to fly in high school, and after having gotten out of flying for over 20 years, had ju

Passage of the first century of flight met with a variety of celebrations around the United States. While thousands shivered in the cold, rain, and calm winds at Kitty Hawk, hundreds gathered at Flabob Airport early in the morning to mark the official time that the first powered aircraft rose into the sky. Cheers went up in the Airport Cafe at 7:35 local time from a standing-room-only crowd. Riverside had what Kitty Hawk needed on December 17th for the re-enactment flight: high winds. The strong Santa Anna breeze forced cancellation of a mass hot air balloon launch, but did little to prevent a steady stream of aircraft arrivals.

NBAA tells us that the FAA and the state of Connecticut are willing to pay 97 percent of the $4,500,000 price tag to have trees removed from Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR), but Danbury, CT politicians are unwilling to pay the remaining $110,000. Without the tree removal, the FAA warned the city that it would have to displace the thresholds of two airport runways. The longest runway is just over 4,400 ft., and any displacing of the thresholds could jeopardize the use of the airport by certain aircraft.

An aerosol spray formula that reportedly facilitates propeller ice shedding, and enhances safety, has been developed by Bill Larson, Chief Designer at Oregon Aircraft Design & Dave Aldred, a multi engine CFI with over 18,000 hours flight time in all weather conditions. Both gentlemen are also A&P's. The testing was done on a twin Piper Comanche, the product was applied to the right side only. When any icing conditions were encountered, the ice was immediately heard striking the right side of the fuselage. Sooner or later, most pilots will get into icing conditions and an ice-free propeller may be the ticket to safety. After much research and development, Larson and Aldred claim to have perfected a propeller ice grip inhibitor.

Anxiously searching for the correct circuit breaker to pull when the trim runs away wastes valuable time. Sporty’s has an easy solution. Brightly colored Circuit Breaker Caps can be snapped onto the top of most pull-type breakers. Available in red, yellow and green, these Circuit Breaker Caps can be color coded for the autopilot, electric trim, landing gear and other important circuit breakers for quick identification.

Bird v Aircraft accidents often turn out pretty ugly... but this one (for a change) turned out a lot better, with only the unfortunate seagull KIA. Keep your eyes, out, folks! ** Report created 1/5/2004 Record 4 ** IDENTIFICATION  Regis#: 244RP Make/Model: OH58 Description: BELL OH-58A  Date: 01/02/2004 Time: 2000  Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N  Damage: Minor LOCATION  City: FRUIT COVE State: FL Country: US DESCRIPTION ST JOHNS COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE, N244RP, BELL OH58 HELICOPTER, A PUBLIC USE AIRCRAFT, WHILE ON A LEFT TURN AT 600FT MSL, A SEAGULL FLEW INTO THE CANOPY, AIRCRAFT LANDED SAFELY ON A BASEBALL FIELD, FRUIT GOVE, FL