It's turning out to be an even bigger week for aviation than we expected. With the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first powered flight just over a week away, The Lancair Company is celebrating a century mark of its own - the delivery of the 100th Lancair Columbia certified aircraft. "Having the two milestones fall so close to one another is a fitting coincidence," said Lancair President Bing Lantis. "This delivery is symbolic in that The Lancair Company has seen more than its share of challenges, but we've persevered and today our outlook for the future is limitless. I don't know how Orville and Wilbur felt after their flight a century ago, but we're very excited." The company's 100th aircraft, a Lancair Columbia 350 (N241GB), rolled out of the factory escorted by

Remember that poor pipeline patrol pilot who unwittingly flew over the Presidential motorcade in Philadelphia earlier this year? The Pennsylvania legislature certainly does. AOPA President Phil Boyer was the honored guest of state Rep. Gene McGill (R-Dist. 151) as the state House of Representatives on Monday passed by a near-unanimous vote a resolution sponsored by McGill that calls on federal security officials to reduce the size of Presidential movement temporary flight restrictions (TFRs). The four-page resolution also calls for authorities to "reconsider the need to issue such restrictions based on nonspecific threats and ways to improve the timely dissemination of flight restriction information to pilots."

An unidentified pilot escaped serious injury Saturday when his single-engine Cessna apparently encountered engine trouble, forcing him to make a crash-landing in Watsonville (CA). "It was doing good until the plane sunk into the mud and flipped over on its top," said Ron Hart, a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "He did an excellent job of getting that plane on the ground. As we say in the emergency services field, any landing you make is a good one."

For the 16th consecutive year, the Eagles Flight Team from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University took first place at the Region IX NIFA SAFECON (National Intercollegiate Flying Association Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference) competition. The annual event was held Nov. 12-15 at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. This year, 75 students on five university teams from the Southeastern United States took part in landing and navigation events in the categories of Aircraft Recognition, Computer Accuracy, Instrument Flight, Message Drop, Navigation, Power Off and Short Field Landings, Preflight, and Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation.

Issued Due to Law Enforcement Activity NOTAM: 3/1608 Issued: 12/08/2003 22:10 Effective: Immediately - Until Further Notice State: SC Facility: ZTL - ATLANTA (ARTCC),HAMPTON,GA. Type: HAZARDS Description: ABBEYVILLE, SC.