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Airborne 09.13.13: AOPA Kills Summits, TransAt Cluster Balloon, 1st Int'l TTx

Also: Fight Over Pad 39A, 166 Days In Space, Advice For Mark Baker, Paper Charts Kaput, British Airways Says 'Sorry'

Saying it no longer makes sense for the organization and its members to invest in a single large event, AOPA has decided to end its annual Aviation Summits. The Aviation Summit in Fort Worth, TX, from Oct. 10 through 12, 2013 will be held as planned, but in 2014, AOPA will instead host a series of enhanced pilot town halls and fly-ins and kill off the Summit program. Like retired balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen in the Disney animated movie UP! – IT consultant Jonathan Trappe is living his childhood dream. Instead of flying

FAA Awards $40 Million To New Center Of Excellence

Team Of Universities To Lead The COE For Alternative Jet Fuels

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Friday that the FAA has selected a team of universities to lead a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for alternate jet fuels and the environment. Led by Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the COE will explore ways to meet the environmental and energy goals that are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Piper Selects Hartzell Engine Technologies For OEM Components

New 24v Alternator, I-Series Cabin Heater To Be Installed In New G1000-Equipped Piper Seminoles

Piper has selected Hartzell Engine Technologies LLC to provide its latest I-Series cabin heater and ES-Series 24V/100A alternators as standard on new Piper Seminole multi-engine advanced training aircraft.

Spirit AeroSystems Continues Salaried Workforce Reductions

Hourly Hiring Still Underway At Wichita Facility

Spirit AeroSystems continued its previously announced workforce reductions Thursday by issuing layoff notices to approximately 150 salaried and management workers in Wichita, KS. In addition, a significant number of Spirit salaried employees have expressed interest in voluntary retirement and voluntary layoff programs.

Boeing Trails Airbus In Race For Aircraft Orders

Reversal Of 2012 Numbers When Boeing Outsold Its European Rival

After outselling Airbus by 370 units through August in 2012, Boeing has sold 116 fewer airliners than its European rival through the same eight months in 2013.

JetBlue CEO Says American Should Give Up KDCA Slots In Merger

US Airways Already Has 55 Percent Of The Slots At That Airport

The merger of US Airways and American Airlines would put too many slots at Washington Reagan National Airport (KDCA) in the hands of a single entity, according to the CEO of JetBlue.

Gulfstream Fleet In Russia Continues To Grow

Company's Aircraft Also Popular In Neighboring Countries

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has seen its Russia-based business-jet fleet grow more than sixfold in the last six years. On Thursday, the first day of the three-day Jet Expo 2013 event in Moscow, Gulfstream announced there are 53 customer-operated aircraft in Russia and a combined 76 in Russia and the wider Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Aero-News: Quote Of The Day (09.14.13)

“The FAA continues its goal to improve National Airspace System energy efficiency by at least two percent per year, and to develop and deploy alternative jet fuels for commercial aviation, with a target of one billion gallons of alternate jet fuel in use by 2018.” Source: FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, in a news release announcing a $40 milion investment in the COE.

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (09.14.13): Recommended Altitude

An altitude depicted on an instrument approach chart with the altitude value neither underscored nor overscored. The depicted value is an advisory value.

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (09.14.13)

New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC)

The principal purpose of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) is to determine the circumstances and causes of accidents and incidents with a view to avoiding similar occurrences in future, rather than to ascribe blame to any person.