ANN's Annual Review Of The Year That Was: General Aviation In 2009

Final Compilations by ANN News Editor, Tom Patton

General Aviation is the foundation of our industry. So many of the pilots that come to ANN every day fly general aviation airplanes. This year, there were significant developments in regulations, intrigue coming from pilot's associations, and new technology that makes flying easier, more affordable, and more environmentaly freindly. Here's a look back at 2009 in General Aviation.

January

• Craig L. Fuller took the controls as president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association - only the fourth president in the Association's nearly 70-year history...

• After starting only two years ago with a membership of 100 individuals and organizations, the Alliance for Aviation Across America announced its 4000th member: The National Farmers Organization (NFO)...
• A new STC provided for the installation of the MT Propeller on most all Cessna's from the C180 through the 210 models...
• Cirrus Design's announcement of the restart of its assembly lines, recalling most of its employees that were laid off a month ago back to work, was hoped to be a good sign for the light aircraft manufacturing industry as a whole...
• Hartzell Propeller announced that the company had earned FAA type certification for the manufacture of a new lighter-weight hub that can be used in conjunction with its ASC-II composite blades...
• In company-wide staff meeting at Cirrus Design, incoming Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters outlined what the planemaker will be doing to keep the company healthy in a wholly unhealthy economic climate...
• Two major manufacturers of GA aircraft scaled back production schedules and giving notice of still more impending layoffs to their manufacturing workforces...
• Cessna told its employees it would cut 2,000 additional jobs throughout its facilities, putting a number to its announcement last week of a second round of layoffs...
• Diamond Aircraft announced it would furlough roughly 25 percent of its current production workforce in London, Ontario, effective immediately.

February

• The crash of a small twin-engine plane near Huntington, WV's Tri-State Airport (HTS) claimed the lives of all six persons on board, with fuel exhaustion suspected as the most likely cause of the accident...
• ANN reported on the ongoing issues between the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) and a growing segment of its membership since last fall...
• One hundred fourteen... and counting. That was the number of people who signed a petition calling for the immediate resignation of the current Board of Directors for the National Association of Flight Instructors...
• The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which operates Bob Hope Airport (BUR), asked the FAA to impose a 10 pm-to-7 am curfew on all but the absolute quietest, Stage-IV jets...
• Melissa K. Rudinger was named Vice President and Assistant to Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller...
• Cirrus Design Corporation advised employees of the Minnesota-based planemaker that due to continuing slow sales to expect production reductions...
• The Indiana financial advisor accused of crashing his plane in a bungled attempt to fake his own death was hit with a $12 million judgment in a Houston County, Alabama Circuit Court on charges of fraud in the 2002 sale of a damaged aircraft...
• A mechanic employed by the Cessna Aircraft Company was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, stealing aircraft parts and selling them on eBay...
• Take Back Our NAFI (TBO-NAFI) formally announced the formation of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators ... SAFE ...
• Vero Beach, FL-based Piper Aircraft took actions in the wake of a massive slump in sales, releasing approximately 300 employees effective immediately...

March

• AOPA President Craig L. Fuller presented the grand prize in the 2008 "Get Your Glass" Sweepstakes -- a fully refurbished, glass panel-equipped 1976 Piper Archer II -- to 25-year-old Karoline Amodeo of Poughkeepsie, NY...
• Cirrus Aircraft released another 52 workers. Most of the people laid off came from the company's main manufacturing plant in Duluth, MN...
• Cessna Aircraft Company announced the cancellation of two company events, blaming the cutbacks on the economic recession...
• Yuma County Airport Authority hoped to alleviate congestion at Yuma International Airport (NYL) by rerouting some general aviation traffic to Rolle Field (44A), about 10 nautical miles to the southwest...
• The Virginia Aviation Board (VAB) approved tentative allocations of Commonwealth Airport Funds for Fiscal year 2009...
• The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 (H.R. 915). The FAA funding bill now moves to the next committee...
• A group of private airport owners and aviation enthusiasts formed the Virginia Airport Owners Association (VAOA) to address issues concerning privately-owned airports within the state...
• TSA took a hard line on security at airports served by both commercial airline and general aviation traffic in the form of " Operation Playbook"... a program the TSA tried, and failed, to implement late last year...
• Over 1,000 hourly workers at Cessna's Advanced Engineering Facility in Wichita, KS were back on a full work schedule  after having their hours cut...
• The pilot of a Cirrus SR22 is reported to be uninjured after popping the 'chute over Gaithersburg, MD...
• Diamond Aircraft tells ANN it received the "much anticipated" European Aviation Safety type certificate for its DA42 NG, powered by the 170-hp Austro Engine AE-300 turbodiesel...

• Teledyne Continental Motors told ANN about its first test flight of a certificated aircraft using 94-octane unleaded aviation fuel...
• Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson, a Democrat and private pilot, used his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza to survey damage caused by recent floods along the Red River...

April

• Piper Aircraft announced an all-new model variant to its upcoming PiperJet line: the all-new-for-2010 "Meridian."...
• German officials said the reorganization of insolvent German aircraft engine manufacturer Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH was progressing, albeit slowly...
• Cessna Aircraft announced it had received FAA certification for Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) for all G1000-equipped 172 Skyhawks, 182 Skylanes, 206 Stationairs and the Caravan product line...

• Representatives from various airports across the state came together at the Virginia Aviation Museum to discuss promoting aviation in the current economic climate...
• AOPA has brought in some Hollywood muscle to make GA more publicly visible and acceptable to the public at large...
• Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters notified SRS LSA deposit holders of an announcement to be made at a Press Conference on Tuesday in which the SRS LSA program will be suspended temporarily...
• Avidyne confirmed to ANN that they certified their new Entegra Release 9 Integrated Flight Deck (IFD) system...
• Cessna Aircraft again confirmed that development of the Model 162 SkyCatcher program continues...
• An aircraft operating in VFR conditions but under an IFR flight plan was found to have broken up, prior to impact, according to the NTSB...
• In a partnership with Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) and Swift Enterprises, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) announced the successful test flights of its certificated Beechcraft Bonanza G36 on unleaded aviation fuel and Swift Sustainable Fuel...
• The FAA certified the IO-390-A1A6. Lycoming developed the certified IO-390 in response to airframe manufacturers and aircraft owners who have requested a higher horsepower, four-cylinder engine...
• In an internal memo first circulated to the troops in Duluth, Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters let on that they have increased their production rate in response to a sunnier sales picture...

May

• Piper's new owner is Imprimis... a company that assures ANN that it "fully supports the PiperJet development" program...
• Garmin was granted the FAA's first ever approved model list supplemental type certificate (AML-STC) for Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) avionics installed in a helicopter...
• American Capital Ltd. said that the May 1st sale of Piper Aircraft allowed for a gain of $31 million from the transaction, subject to post closing adjustments...
• After reports of FAA investigation of A&P testing centers in Texas, and the subsequent claims that as many as 1300 mechanics may have been "improperly" certified over the course of well over a decade, the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association stepped up to face the matter head-on...

• Seventy mayors and county executives from across the country held a conference call with reporters announcing the release of a letter to President Barack Obama communicating the crucial importance that small aircraft - also known as general aviation - provide to small towns and local economies across the country...
• Ronson Corporation agreed to sell (substantially) all of the assets of Ronson Aviation, Inc. -- a fixed-base operator at Trenton-Mercer Airport...
• Six GA advocacy groups used the occasion of reauthorization for the TSA to call for an end to the agency's habit of imposing costly burdens on general aviation with no input from stakeholders...
• The pilots of three aircraft flew into the temporarily-expanded Prohibited airspace over Camp David,  and each was greeted by an F-15 fighter jet for their mistake...
• A state sales tax exemption on general aviation repairs, maintenance, and parts enacted five years ago by former New York Governor George Pataki was set to expire at the end of 2009, and some fear the move could severely damage GA in the state...
• Hundreds of mechanics may have received licences without proper testing, and that many continue to work in the commercial and general aviation industry...

June

• Cirrus Aircraft notified employees of continued strong demand for its entire product line and of the associated increase in its new aircraft production rate to eight (8) aircraft per week...
• Megan Daley, a licensed pilot, was taking a friend from Georgetown to Brownwood Regional Airport for his checkride. But then the oil pressure in the Piper Tomahawk dropped to zero, the engine stopped, and Daley's training kicked in...
• In a letter to the FAA, Nebraska's two U.S. Senators urged the administration to “utilize all available discretion and funding flexibility to support rural airports.”...
• GAMA applauded passage of the Mica-Petri-Ehlers-Graves Amendment to H.R. 2200, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Authorization Act...
• The FAA moved forward with a controversial proposal that would shutter 20 weather offices at regional air traffic control centers, and serve up weather information from two centrally located facilities in Maryland and Missouri...
• Two of the nation's self-described 'largest aviation associations' are apparently going to try and make nice with each other... after years of sniping and other less positive 'competitive' behavior...
• In its 80th year of manufacturing piston aircraft engines, Lycoming did a bit of bragging about their being the powerplant of choice for a growing number of flight school and service fleets all over the world...
• PAMA, the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, announced it is ending its affiliation with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and will focus exclusively on programs and support for aviation maintenance managers, aviation mechanics and the aviation maintenance industry...
• FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, requesting nearly $16 billion for the agency next fiscal year...

• A report by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's office concludes what most of us have said for some time. That "general aviation presents only limited and mostly hypothetical threats to security...
• Following a Long Beach, CA, incident in which a pilot and his passengers were ramp checked at gun point by local law enforcement officers and Customs and Border Protection officials, Aviation associations, including AOPA, have reached out to customs to prevent a repeat...
• A photographer for The Dallas Observer was detained at Dallas's Addison airport when TSA officials challenged his right to be on the tarmac taking pictures of a B-24 Liberator (file photo below) which was giving rides for Father's Day...
• The Alaska Congressional delegation renewed its call for the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider the proposed TSA rules on general aviation, as the negative consequences seem to outweigh the potential threat...
• At least six men who were suspected, and in some cases convicted, as potential security threats to the United States kept licenses issued by the FAA for years, despite laws passed following the events of September 11th, 2001, which required them to be revoked...
• Aurora Flight Sciences announced that it successfully demonstrated fully autonomous takeoffs and landings (ATOL) on a General Aviation aircraft...

July

• Florida Gubernatorial candidates Alex Sink (D) and Bill McCollum (R) have both used state planes for travel between Tallahassee and their central Florida homes, according to a report in the Miami Herald....
• In spite of ... or some say maybe because of ... the recession, hundreds of thousands of people are finding out what we already know. Air Shows are just a whole lot of fun...
• Seambiotic USA entered into an agreement with NASA's Glenn Research Center to develop an on -going collaborative research and development program for optimization of open-pond microalgae growth processes...
• The FAA issued an Advisory Circular (AC) dealing aircraft certified before January 1, 1980, and vintage aircraft maintenance issues...
• Duluth parts manufacturer Northstar Aerospace hired back some of its laid-off workforce due largely to a surge in orders for Cirrus aircraft...
• The Antares DLR-H2, the world's first piloted aircraft capable of taking off using only power from fuel cells, did just that at Hamburg Airport...
• The FAA issued a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to Kansas State University to fly the Aerosonde, an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by Flint Hills Solutions LLC., over "Crisis City"...
• Mooney Airplane Company announced the M20R Ovation2 GX received its certification from the European Aviation Safety Administration (EASA)...
• The House Committee on Science and Technology’s Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the FAA's efforts and rationale behind the proposed reorganization of the NWS aviation weather services...
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University launched its first two Ph.D. degree programs - in Aviation and Engineering Physics...
• By all indications, AirVenture 2009 will exceed expectations for attendance by visitors and aircraft, EAA President Tom Poberezny said on opening day...
• Deborah A.P. Hersman was confirmed as chair of the National Transportation Safety Board...

• The Government Affairs department of EAA organized a panel at AirVenture to bring light on the harsh reality that regulations promulgated under the Clean Air Act are fast approaching, and they will eventually prohibit the use of aviation fuels that contain tetral-ethyl lead...
• Flight Design is developing a hybrid engine that their engineers say will boost the power of a standard Rotax 914 by 40 HP for takeoff and climb, and to stretch fuel at normal cruise.
• Cessna Aircraft Company was set to jump back into the GA training market with the news Tuesday that the Model 162 SkyCatcher LSA is in compliance with ASTM International standards for Light Sport Aircraft...
• EAA CEO and President Tom Poberezny and AOPA President Craig Fuller held a news conference in AeroShell Square at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh Wednesday, signing a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to solidify a closer working relationship...
• FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt made his first appearance at Oshkosh as Administrator Thursday, bestowing The Wright Master Pilot Award on EAA Founder Paul Poberezny, and taking questions from some of the several hundred pilots in the audience...
• FAA has issued Type Certificate E00081EN for Diamond Aircraft's proprietary Austro Engine AE300...

August

• The FAA has been working with the various aviation industry groups to study changing the Part 23 Rules to make it easier and faster to certify a Part 23 airplane...
• Garmin announced that it received FAA Approved Model List STC (AML STC) for the G500. The FAA’s approval allows the G500 to be installed in nearly 600 different makes and models...
• NAFI announced it would be working with flight training organizations to improve the training process and make flight training more affordable...
• An ongoing dispute between the FAA and Orcas Island, Washington may mean either pilots will lose "through the fence" access to the airport, or the community might have to raise taxes for airport improvements...
• The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Tuesday released the industry's second quarter shipment and billings figures, and they did not bode well for a quick recovery...
• The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators has inducted 101-year-old Captain Joe Grant as its first honorary member...
• Christopher A. Hart was sworn in as a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board...
• Continuing to stress the importance of General Aviation on the nation's economy, Senator Mark Pryor, Senator Blanche Lincoln, and Governor Mike Beebe spoke at The General Aviation Jobs for Arkansas Forum...
• NTSB dispatched a 'Go' Team to investigate a midair collision over the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey of a small airplane and a tourist helicopter...
• A 14 page letter from the FAA's Assistant Chief Counsel of the Airports and Environmental Law Division Office of the Chief Counsel tells the town of Grant-Valkaria, FL to, in so many words, stop trying to regulate noise and commerce at Valkaria airport...
• The FAA and its largest union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), have concluded a challenging mediation process that has produced a landmark labor agreement...
• The NTSB removed the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)  as a party to its investigation into the August 8 midair collision of two aircraft over the Hudson River that killed all 9 persons aboard...
• The FBI says 31-year-old Joseph Mahmoud Dibee is a domestic terrorist. But Dibee is also a licensed pilot, and according to the New York times, his license has not been revoked...
• The Indiana man who bailed out of a Piper PA46 Malibu and allowed it to crash in an attempt to fake his own death was sentenced to 51 months in a federal prison...
• Alan Klapmeier cleared out his office at Cirrus Aircraft...

• Extensive revisions to 102 regulations concerning training, qualification, certification, and operating requirements for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools were published in the Federal Register..
• With five months completed and roughly two months remaining in the 2009 North American air show season, the news regarding air show attendance was a stark contrast to what other industries are experiencing amid a recession of historic proportions...
• U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) said in a news conference Sunday that the FAA should monitor every flight in New York airspace...

September

• When traveling abroad, your laptop, digital camera, or smartphone may be subject to search and seizure without any suspicion of wrongdoing on returning to the U.S...
• The FAA proposed several changes to its pilot, flight instructor, and pilot school certification rules...
• The FAA confirmed that it is planning to modify the airspace over the Hudson River by revising procedures to 'create safe, dedicated operating corridors' for all the aircraft that fly at lower altitudes around Manhattan...

• The FAA investigated a complaint that Texas Southern University's School of Aviation has hired instructors who are not properly licensed, a violation of federal guidelines...
• A report from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) suggests that a plan put forth by FAA and NWS to consolidate 21 enroute weather centers down to 2 could "degrade aviation operations and safety—and the agencies may not know it."...
• The $53.5 billion FAA reauthorization bill that has passed the U.S. House of Representatives has a provision that would allow the FAA to inspect foreign repair stations twice a year...
• As part of a strategy to reduce emerging aviation risks using national safety data, the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety Thursday launched a new Accident Investigation and Prevention Service ...
• The FAA hosted a meeting near New York's LaGuardia Airport to discuss proposed changes aimed at reducing ripple-effect delays caused by congestion in the Northeast...
• Sandy and JoAnn Hill, program creators and founders of Master Instructors LLC, filed a copyright infringement and unfair competition complaint against NAFI...
• Cessna took the wraps off its new Cessna Sport/Private Pilot Course, making it available to its Cessna Pilot Center network. The training program meets acceptable training standards for private pilot certification under Part 141 by the Federal Aviation Administration...
• The NTSB issued a list of recommendations for changes in FAR's that it says will enhance bird strike prevention...

October

• Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles took the helm as co-chairmen of the EAA Young Eagles Program...

• The FAA experienced some difficulty during a recent test of its NextGen Air Traffic Control system at Salt Lake Center...
• U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) introduced legislation he hopes will help boost general aviation aircraft sales...
• Jim Gray has submitted a bill to the White House and the Democratic National Committee in the amount of $2565 dollars, representing the business which has been lost at his Oakland Flyers flight school during a campaign fund-raising visit by President Obama...
• The FAA has published new regulations for manufacturers of aircraft and aviation products that will update and standardize FAA requirements to better align them with the current global manufacturing environment...
• The FAA led a U.S. delegation in recent meetings at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, which resulted in an agreement that will guide the global aviation community as it tackles the challenge of climate change...

November

• An internal Piper memo reported that "Piper's President, John Becker, announced today that he would be leaving the Company on December 1st to pursue other career opportunities...
• The FAA has proposed an AD that could affect an estimated 41,928 Piper Cherokee, Cherokee 6, Seneca, and Seminole airplanes for inspection and possible repair of a control wheel shaft which could be incorrectly assembled...

• The FAA rejected a proposed ban on night operations at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, saying the ban would harm the nation's air transportation system...
• GAMA released the industry's third quarter shipment and billings figures...
• Following the unexpected resignation of Piper President John Becker, Piper Aircraft announced that Chief Executive Kevin J. Gould would assume the company's presidency effective December 1, 2009...
• Cessna said it would deliver the first Model 162 Skycatcher Light Sport Aircraft to the first customer of the model later this year...
• Cirrus Aircraft announced at the AOPA Aviation Summit that Avidyne’s Entegra Release 9 integrated flight deck system would be available as a factory option on selected new SR20 and SR22 aircraft.
• Officials at Cessna report an increase in piston aircraft sales over the past two months, thanks in part to sales programs and tax incentives set to expire at the end of the year...
• A new organization, ThroughTheFence.org (TTF), has sprung into action in order to fight the FAA's prohibition of hangar homes at publically funded airports...
• Thousands of pilots, lawmakers, regulators, and aviation enthusiasts converged on Tampa, Florida to attend the AOPA Aviation Summit...
• Researchers in the United States and Europe are working out standard approaches to communications, navigation and surveillance so that aircraft crossing the Atlantic will only need one set of avionics...
• The FAA finalized a federal rule, effective November 19,  to enhance safety by separating low-altitude, local aircraft flights over the Hudson River from flights transiting through the river airspace...
• Textron announced that Fred Strader has been named president and CEO of its Textron Systems segment, effective January 1...
• In a letter dated November 23 addressed to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) and Ranking Member John Mica (R-FL), 19 aviation-related associations explained that funding for NextGen would "provide a platform for domestic job creation...
• The FAA has issued rulemaking prohibiting takeoffs with "polished frost" - frost buffed to make it smooth - on the wings, stabilizers and control surfaces of several classes of aircraft...

December

• NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman opened the FAA International Runway Summit by chiding the agency for leaving six runway safety recommendations open since 2000, the year they were presented by the NTSB...
• AOPA announced a significant redesign of its upper management structure...
• With a voice vote, the House of Representatives approved HR 4217 to extend current Federal aviation programs and taxes through the end of March, 2010...
• After initially proposing a rules change in 2008, the FAA may soon be set to require aircraft to be registered periodically, as are cars and boats. If adopted, the perpetual registration of aircraft would be scrapped...
• Over 300 jobs will be cut when Cessna closes shop in Columbus, GA, sometime in the next six to twenty four months. The closure was announced to the local workers ...
• Rotax Aircraft Engines, released increased recommended time between overhaul, TBO, on engines that qualify under new service bulletins...

• A little less than two years ago, the FAA announced that it would be replacing all paper airman certificates with plastic certificate that will be much more difficult to counterfeit...
• The FAA's new Airport Compliance Manual adversely affects every federally funded airport by telling local airports how to deal with their neighbors, according to the advocacy group "Through The Fence"...

 FMI: There You Have It -- ANN's 2009 Year In General Aviation: What Did YOU Think Of It ALL?