The Curse of P-40 Lives On (and On....) NOTAM: 4/0410 Issued: 01/16/2004 14:36 Effective: 01/16/2004 20:15 - 01/18/2004 21:00 State: MD Facility: ZDC - WASHINGTON (ARTCC),DC. Type: VIP Description: HAGERSTOWN/THURMONT, MARYLAND JANUARY 16-18, 2004 LOCAL.

Builds and Sells 422 Helos in 2003! Robinson Helicopter Company produced 422 new helicopters in 2003, a record for the company. The total included 219 R44 Raven IIs, 75 R44 Raven Is, and 128 R22s. An additional 46 R22s were overhauled on the Robinson production line. Sales in 2004 should be even better; R44 and R22 production is already sold out more than five months in advance. Robinson attributes the boom in sales to the excellent market reception for the higher performance Raven II, and to improvements in the U.S. economy, which has helped the domestic market while the weak American dollar has greatly stimulated the foreign export market. Robinson employment increased by over 300 employees in 2003 to a total of 950. A new additional

"Stinging" Letter Sent To CBS News President AOPA President Phil Boyer (shown right, with Former TSA Head Admiral Loy, to his right) today sent a stinging letter to the president of CBS News, complaining about the "slanted, incomplete, factually erroneous, and salaciously inflammatory" story on general aviation airport security. That story aired Wednesday night on the CBS Evening News and claimed that there was "no security" at GA airports and that "nothing had been done" since 9/11. Boyer took the story apart piece by piece. "Your irresponsible reporting techniques included ... failure to mention a wide range of security initiatives — developed by AOPA and other organizations in concert with the FAA and Homeland

NATA President James K. Coyne (right) has described wednesday night's CBS Evening News segment on the lack of security at general aviation airports in the United States as "irresponsible journalism in its most egregious form." "Even a cursory check with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)-the government agency charged with aviation security-would have revealed to the CBS reporter that NATA and all of the general aviation industry have been working with the TSA over the past year to formulate general aviation airport security guidelines," Coyne stressed.  "Those guidelines were submitted to the TSA last fall and the TSA is now in the process of refining them and distributing them to the industry.  And long before that we worked hand-in-glove with th

New Piper Aircraft has introduced special 20th anniversary models of the company's flagship aircraft, the Malibu Mirage and the Malibu Meridian, to celebrate the significant innovations these models have brought to New Piper as well as the general aviation industry as a whole. "These models continue unchallenged in their niche," said New Piper President and CEO Chuck Suma. "The Malibu was Piper's first pressurized, cabin-class, single-engine aircraft, and the Mirage and the Meridian are proud inheritors of that legacy." When the Malibu was first designed, it was not intended to be an enhanced version of an existing model, but rather a totally new airplane. The primary goals were passenger comfort and supreme performance. It was also the first Piper model to be made with flus

Opportunity for Operators To Drum Up Additional Support 

Air tour operators have been holding their breath over the last few weeks, as the January 20 deadline for comment on the FAA's latest regulatory hammer drew near. However, late Wednesday night, the agency decided to extend the deadline to April 19, 2004 and that bit of extra time is giving operators the opportunity to gather additional support against the devastating proposal. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would raise the minimum number of hours required for pilots conducting charity fund raising flights from 200 to 500 and remove an exemption that allows Part 91 sightseeing flights within 25 nm of an airport. The rule, if adopted, would also force Part 91 operators to upgrade to at least Part 135

Surely You Didn't Think That Klyde Was Going to Ignore The CBS Mess?

ANN Readers are really PO'ed and continue to send record amounts of e-mail (thousands...) to us over the matter. Here's a few more samples... Message(s) Sent To CBS Congratulations. You have proven once again that the terrorists are winning - with your help. The primary purpose of terrorism is not to win wars outright. It is to create terror within their enemy. And thereby cause their enemy to collapse from within. Last evenings Evening News does a great job in promoting this terror. Never mind that the piece was full of incorrect "facts" and no real expert on GA and its relation to terror was consulted in its preparation. Never mind that no small GA aircraft has ever, anywhere in the world, been used as an instrument of terror (except as i

Another Lesson In Watching What We Say

From time to time, we tend to hear inaccuracies from the general media, especially when covering aviation stories. From "Boeing A320s" to "a supersonic Cessna"(yep, we've heard it), those who are not "in the know" often stick their journalistic foot right in the kisser. However, CBS's latest volley against general aviation (GA) is just downright shameful. As I watched CBS' Eye on America segment -- called Airport Terror Targets -- during Wednesday's evening news program, I not only became angry at news correspondent Bob Orr's apparent total disregard of journalistic integrity for not seeking the other side of the story (some of us in the industry can't even spell FAIR), but more disappointed at the so-called "aviation experts" use

The Aviation Weather Center (AWC) went operational this week with the release of their experimental Forecast Icing Potential (FIP) web-based graphical product. Many pilots already use the Current Icing Potential (CIP) that can be found within the other Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) suite of graphical products. Don't get too excited. At this point in time, FIP is not quite ready for prime time; according to the AWC disclaimer, FIP is "authorized for operational use by meteorologists and dispatchers." Therefore, pilots should not use this product as primary guidance for icing forecasts. CIP attempts to provide the likelihood of encountering icing based on data such as model output, pilot reports, satellite, radar and surface observations. FIP, on the other hand, provide

The canard-equipped folks at Velocity understand that not everyone has the time to break away to visit the Velocity factory in sunny Florida... so Velocity plans to reach out to customers this year by offering demonstration rides in selected cities across the USA. The 2004 Barnstorming Tour begins in Houston, Texas on Thursday, May 13th and is followed by a visit to the Dallas area on Sunday, May 16th. Velocity will be attending the EAA Southwest Regional Fly-In in New Braunfels, Texas during the 14th and 15th of May. Velocity enthusiasts who live near the scheduled cities are invited to bring friends and family to see the Velocity XL-RG and to take part in a demonstration ride. The demo ride costs $150, which covers you and up to two additional guests (depending upon weight

NASA's Amazing "Martian Rovers" Continue Extraordinary Exploration NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit successfully drove off its lander platform and onto the soil of Mars early Thursday. The robot's first picture looking back at the now-empty lander and showing wheel tracks in the soil set off cheers from the robot's flight team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Spirit is now ready to start its mission of exploration and discovery. We have six wheels in the dirt," said JPL Director Dr. Charles Elachi. Since Spirit landed inside Mars' Gusev Crater on Jan. 3 (PST and EST; Jan. 4 Universal Time), JPL engineers have put it through a careful sequence of unfolding, standing up, checking its surroundings and other steps leading up to to

You Lucky TX Flyers Get To Avoid More of YOUR Airspace... NOTAM: 4/0384 Issued: 01/15/2004 17:08 Effective: 01/16/2004 22:00 - 01/19/2004 17:00 State: TX Facility: ZHU - HOUSTON (ARTCC),TX. Type: VIP Description: FALFURRIAS, TEXAS, JANUARY 16-19, 2004 LOCAL.

A serviceman missing in action from the Vietnam War has been identified and returned to his family for burial. He is Army Capt. Clinton A. Musil Sr. of Minneapolis, Minn. On May 31, 1971, Musil was aboard an OV-1A Mohawk helicopter flying a daylight reconnaissance mission over Savannakhet Province in Laos. Though enemy antiaircraft artillery was known to be in the area, none of the crewmembers in other aircraft noted any attack on Musil's helicopter. Several people did see a large fireball when the helicopter crashed. Attempts to contact him by radio were unsuccessful, and search and rescue efforts were precluded by enemy forces in the area. During two investigations in 1993 and 1995, U.S. and Lao specialists learned of a potential crash site from local residents. The

Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory & Distribution (RAPID) has teamed with Aviall Inc. to further increase the quantity and range of spare parts available for Beechcraft and Hawker customers. Aviall, which markets and distributes products for more than 215 aviation manufacturers, will provide a full line of non-factory parts such as aviation batteries, hoses, wheels and brakes, oxygen and paint mixing services. These parts listings, totaling more than 60,000, have been integrated into the RAPID web site for immediate customer access. The expanded listings were activated in late 2003. “Our partnership with Aviall gives Beechcraft and Hawker customers a greater variety of parts selection in a seamless transition,” said Ed Dolanski, Vice President – Customer Suppo

Raisbeck Engineering has completed the aerodynamic flight tests required under FAA TIA (Type Inspection Authorization), necessary to achieve it’s upcoming ZR Technology STC. RVSM qualification testing was also completed. The FAA flight tests were conducted during the last Quarter of 2003 and completed December 4th. The flights were conducted on S/N 35-634, the same Learjet 35 which was flown over 300 hours in development flight-testing, to define the various elements of the ZR Technology package. The airplane was configured with ZR production and pre-production assemblies to define the aerodynamic configuration necessary for FAA Certification testing. The test aircraft has been returned to baseline configuration pending completion of the first production ZR Technology

Global Positioning System satellite IIR-10, which launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Dec. 21, is now fully operational. "It is officially 'turned on' for the warfighter as of Jan. 12," said Capt. Thomas R. Ste. Marie, an Air Force launch controller with the 1st Space Launch Squadron. "IIR-10 will appear on GPS user sets as the number 22 and is visible locally from 10:41 p.m. to 4:56 a.m. today. Each day, the time window slips four minutes ahead." This particular satellite has replaced another that began running low on power. It is expected to provide military, commercial and civilian users worldwide with increased positioning and timing accuracy for the next 10 years.

"The fact is that within weeks of the 9-11 terrorist attacks NATA formed an Aviation Business Task Force composed of industry and government representatives and created a comprehensive list of best security practices for the industry. Those best practices were widely distributed throughout the industry and have been implemented at many fixed-base operations at general aviation airports throughout the country. CBS has done itself and all of general aviation a huge disservice by airing this report and not bothering to check the facts." Source: NATA President James K. Coyne, describing Wednesday night's CBS Evening News segment on the (so-called) lack of security at general aviation airports in the United Stat

For Sale: Cessna 210 (FILE Photo) IMMACULATE 79 C210N, FOR SALE/TRADE CESSNA 340A. 3850 TT, 450 FOH IO550 Atlantic Aero, Black Max, Garmin GNS430/340, STRIKEFINDER, EDM 700, B/U Pump, Generator & AI, All Logs, NDH and much more, 786-268-700 Day 786-295-2835 Night, jlbcessna@hotmail.com  Exterior Quality: 9, Interior Quality: 9 New, will sell for $169,000.00

AD NUMBER: 2004-01-13 MANUFACTURER: Raytheon SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-01-13 SUMMARY: The FAA supersedes Airworthiness Directive (AD) 97-22-16, which applies to certain Raytheon Model 1900, 1900C, and 1900D airplanes. AD 97-22-16 currently requires you to replace the bearings on the vent blower assemblies with improved design bearings and install a thermal protection device for the vent blowers. That AD resulted from reports of vent blower assembly bearings seizing and locking the blower motor on several of the affected airplanes. This AD retains the actions required in AD 97-22-16 for certain vent blower assemblies and requires you to incorporate further product improvement modifications o

AD NUMBER: 2003-26-11 MANUFACTURER: General Electric SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2003-26-11 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for General Electric Company (GE) CF6-80E1A2 and -80E1A4 turbofan engines with left vertical link bolts part number (P/N) 1304M26P02 installed, and pylon attachment bolts originally torqued to 450-500 lb ft. This AD requires reducing the torque of pylon attachment bolts, and replacing left vertical link bolts with life-limited serialized bolts.

Eurocopter AS 355 (Twin Ecureuil) Series Helicopters AD/AS 355/75 MGB Free-Wheel 3/2004 DM Applicability: AS 355 E, F, F1, F2 and N model helicopters fitted with a main gearbox (MGB) incorporating: 1. A bevel reduction gear supplied or installed by Eurocopter Marignane; and/or 2. A combiner gearbox supplied or installed by Eurocopter Marignane; and 3. Has less than 10 hours flying time in service since installation of an applicable bevel reduction gear or combiner gearbox. Requirement: 1. Replace the combiner gearbox; or 2. Clean the combiner gearbox in accordance with a DGAC approved Eurocopter Technical Support Directorate published procedure.