The following missive was written by Cirrus SR20 Pilot Jerry Zezas... who kindly allowed us to share it with all of you. "... of the Angel Flight I did last Thursday. I took a young girl who was a lung transplant patient home from Shands Medical Center in Gainsville to Miami. As we flew south, just past Lake Okeechobee around 6:00pm, I started my descent into Opa Locka airport and was busy with Miami ATC vectors and altitude crossing instructions for quite a while (busy airspace down there). I turned to see if I was descending too fast for my passenger and asked how she was doing. She had been leaning her head on the door and turned to me to tell me she was fine, yet there were definite tears in her eyes....

There's no indication yet of what exactly happened, but two men are dead after their Mooney went down just after take-off from Voyager Village Airport (WI). Authorities say the 1963 Mooney had just taken off northbound and was banking over Hanscom Lake near the Wisconsin town of Scott when the aircraft seemed to lose power. The aircraft impacted the frozen surface of the lake, broke through, then sank.

With the Wright brothers now at the forefront of the public's attention, AOPA will again reach out to explain the benefits of general aviation to the general public. Starting on December 22, AOPA will sponsor a series of television ads on the Weather Channel to tell the public about the benefits general aviation brings to their lives and to promote the association's educational Web site, General Aviation Serving America. "Since the tragedy of the September 11 terrorist attacks, nothing has been more apparent than the lack of understanding on the part of the general public of who and what GA is and does," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "All of us need to keep working to ensure the future of general aviation. But too often we find ourselves talking to ourselves about all the advant

It wasn't a 1903 Wright Flyer, and it wasn't on the sandy dunes of Kitty Hawk (NC), but to a family trio from Madison (WI), it was close enough. Tom Thomas, father, grandfather, and pilot in command of the UW Flying Club's Cessna 172 used to recreate the 12 second flight, said December 17, 2003, started out on a positive note when his 3-year-old granddaughter, Emma Soderholm, called him at 6:00 a.m. (with mom's help dialing the number) to wish him a "Happy Century of Flight" day.

Undetermined Times, Check Carefully Before Flight! NOTAM: 3/2000 Issued: 12/19/2003 18:32 Effective: Undetermined - Undetermined State: A Facility: ZDC - WASHINGTON (ARTCC),DC. Type: VIP Description: ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, DECEMBER 22, 2003.

Undetermined Times, Check Carefully Before Flight! NOTAM: 3/1998 Issued: 12/19/2003 18:19 Effective: Undetermined - Undetermined State: A Facility: ZSE - SEATTLE (ARTCC),AUBURN,WA. Type: VIP Description: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 22, 2003 LOCAL.