GA News Today

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Pilots strongly urged not to fly Zodiac CH601XL, CH650

In the wake of a Nov. 6 accident involving a Zodiac CH601XL, the FAA issued a special airworthiness information bulletin recommending that before further flight the aircraft be brought into compliance with a forthcoming safety directive/safety alert from Aircraft Manufacturing & Design, which manufactures the airplanes. AMD will post the directive on its Web site.

Piper names new president, team

piper Piper CEO Kevin J. Gould will assume the company’s presidency effective Dec. 1.

NetJet union expects 495 pilot layoffs

The NetJets pilots union, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, has received notice that NetJets Aviation plans to furlough 495 pilots possibly in mid-January.

Omniflight helicopters adds flight data monitoring

Air medical services company Omniflight Helicopters Inc. and Appareo Systems LLC, a provider of lightweight flight data monitoring (FDM), flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) tools, and custom engineering services, announced that Omniflight has committed to adding Appareo’s Aircraft Logging and Event Recording for Training and Safety (ALERTS) system to a number of its aircraft.

Diamond offers to match down payments

diamond Diamond Aircraft is, for a limited time that the company hasn’t defined, matching customer down payments with up to 10 percent of the actual purchase price.

PS Engineering updates original audio panel

PS Engineering on Nov. 4 announced a smaller, lighter version of the company’s original PMA6000 audio panel that includes a built-in four-place intercom.

Piper president resigns

Piper President John Becker resigned effective Dec. 1 as reported in an announcement to Piper employees from Piper official Steve Johnston.

As deadline nears, GA groups seek future for training visa

When responsibility for the J-1 visa program shifts from the State Department to the Department of Homeland Security at the end of the year, the fate of the program--and the flight schools that depend on it--is still uncertain.

Helicopter Association’s Salute to Excellence deadline extended

hai The Helicopter Association International (HAI) 2010 Salute to Excellence Awards call for nominations deadline has been extended to Nov. 12.

Embraer posts 3Q 2009 financials

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer may have received a lot of upbeat publicity in 2009, but the company’s third-quarter financial statement shows it’s far from immune to the global recession.

Matriarch of Maule Air dies at 92

June Maule June D. Maule, owner and manager of Maule Air in Moultrie, Ga., and wife of Maule founder B.D. Maule, died Oct. 29 after a brief illness at age 92.

Product News

New propeller for Cessna 206

Hartzell Propeller now has a Top Prop conversion for the Cessna 206. Three-blade props ranging in diameter from 82 to 86 inches are available. Both land and seaplanes are eligible for the upgrade, which retails for $9,750, and includes a polished spinner and supplemental type certificate paperwork.

BLOGS

Air Safety eJournal
- Hypoxic but saved
  
  Lack of oxygen causes brain fade or incapacitation. It happened again last week when the pilot of a Cessna 400 mentally dropped out but fortunately his daughter, who was not a pilot, was able to talk to ATC. The Corvallis was cruising at FL230 and had been cleared to descend but the pilot didn’t respond. ATC [...]
  
  Hypoxic but saved
- Laptops on the flight deck – Oh My!
  
  Perhaps it was the ultimate attempt at multi-tasking that proved to be so damning. That two airline pilots were computing away at FL 370 while nobody was minding the store on their Airbus flight deck is quite a revelation. As everyone knows by now, they were incommunicado for over an hour. Laptops and Electronic Flight [...]
  
  Laptops on the flight deck – Oh My!
- Those who live in Grass Houses….
  
  There was an accident last week involving a flying club PA28 aircraft that apparently slipped off the runway after heavy rains and collided with a tree. The pilot was killed and his three passengers injured. Winds at the time were reported 36012G17 – not sure of the runway alignment. NTSB is investigating and while there [...]
  
  Those who live in Grass Houses….

Reporting Points
- Bahamian chocks of my own!
  
  Poor me, I never win anything…sniff, sniff. So imagine my surprise when the Bahamas Tourist Office (BTO) held an impromptu ceremony and gave me some very special chocks. The BTO has been promoting its new “Gateway FBOs,” which are at select airports in Florida. The Gateway FBOs are set up to provide all sorts of [...]
  
  Bahamian chocks of my own!
- Happy birthday, Mama Bird!
  
  i’ll be in Florida all this week, scurrying around AOPA Summit, but I can’t let Nov. 4 slip by without wishing many happy returns to Evelyn “Mama Bird” Johnson, who turns 100. Johnson’s incredible career as a flight instructor and designated pilot examiner are detailed in Mike Collins’ article; he also profiled her for the [...]
  
  Happy birthday, Mama Bird!
- Cherokee Six aids ocean research
  
  Eddie Kisfaludy and freelance television reporter Natasha Stenbock have invented a business to support their flying habit.
  
  Cherokee Six aids ocean research

Let’s Go Flying
- In Community
  
  Last month a friend in Minnesota sent me an e-mail. “I saw an ad in Barnstormers last week about a Kolb MarkIII for sale in southern Oregon,” he wrote. “But now I can’t find the ad. Do you know anything about it?” I live in northwestern Oregon – hundreds of miles away. But only two [...]
  
  In Community
- Flying (Soaring) on the Cheap
  
  The country's in the midst of the "Great Recession" and it costs $250 to fill the tanks on a light airplane. You need some time in the air for "mental heath" but the cost is daunting. What's a person to do? As a poor college student in the fall of 1959 I faced the same problem. [...]
  
  Flying (Soaring) on the Cheap
- Sharing Aviation
  
  Sharing aviation with someone, now that's a rewarding experience! I recently had the opportunity to design and lead an after school aviation program for middle school age kids appropriately called "The Future Pilot Flight Academy." I've always had a huge passion for aviation and try to be an ambassador wherever I go. Seeing a group of [...]
  
  Sharing Aviation

AOPA Now
- Where Engine Out is Not an Option
  
  A visit to Tucson this past week meant that I could finally accept the invitation from Phil Kislak to go for a glider flight. Phil is part of the fine people who make up the Tucson Soaring Club. The group operates the El Tiro Gliderport and owns all the club buildings and equipment, but leases the [...]
  
  Where Engine Out is Not an Option
- New Message on User Fees: They’ll Be Dead on Arrival
  
  There is a remarkable new development occurring around the anticipated aviation User Fee promised by the Obama Administration in next year’s budget proposal. Leaders in Congress were reported last week to be circulating a letter to The President suggesting the $9 billion User Fee proposal is not wanted nor warranted and would be rejected by [...]
  
  New Message on User Fees: They’ll Be Dead on Arrival
- Reasons for optimism
  
  This past week I flew into Pittsfield Municipal Airport to speak to the Massachusetts Airport Management Association (MAMA). The airport is located in beautiful Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and it was a great opportunity to combine business and pleasure as I flew my Bonanza above the early fall foliage and terrific scenery. Massachusetts is home to 37 [...]
  
  Reasons for optimism

Frugal Flier
- Gotcha covered – Protecting your investment
  
  A hangar is the best way to keep an airplane out of the elements. But what if none is available, or affordable? What can aircraft owners do to protect airplanes living outdoors? Canvas canopy covers, and even whole-airplane covers, are a compelling option. A new canopy cover made to protect all windows and doors in a [...]
  
  Gotcha covered – Protecting your investment
- A light bulb goes on: warming up to a good idea
  
  Starting a cold-soaked piston aircraft engine can seem cruel and abusive. The battery protests, the starter groans, cylinders fire reluctantly, and the needle on the oil pressure gauge takes its time coming to life. All that metal-on-metal contact during the first few seconds of cranking can cause significant wear—some say as much as hundreds of hours [...]
  
  A light bulb goes on: warming up to a good idea
- DIY oil change
  
  After a long trip to and from AOPA Expo, the 2008 Get Your Glass Sweepstakes Archer was due for some TLC that included an oil change. But Jiffy Lube doesn’t do airplanes. And many FBOs regard such mundane service items as obstacles that get in the way of larger, more complex, and more lucrative projects. [...]
  
  DIY oil change

Let’s Go Flying Sweepstakes
- College Park Airport’s first 100 years
  
  Only 33 nautical miles away from AOPA’s headquarters, College Park Airport’s (CGS) 100th Anniversary AirFair was the nearest event for AOPA’s 2009 Sweepstakes Let’s Go Flying Cirrus SR22. The Aug. 29 event was the first centennial of any airport anywhere, as College Park in suburban Washington, D.C., is the world’s oldest continuously operating airport. And airport [...]
  
  College Park Airport’s first 100 years
- Where might the Cirrus show up next?
  
  A quick call to friend and fellow pilot Tom Linton on Saturday, August 22, confirmed his participation in our all-day aviation immersion experience. I picked him up less than 12 hours later on Sunday morning and we headed to Maryland’s Frederick Municipal Airport. The Let’s Go Flying Sweepstaks Cirrus SR22 was [...]
  
  Where might the Cirrus show up next?
- Getting there is half the fun–and most of the challenge
  
  Crossing two Great Lakes, a right hook into Canada, and a safe arrival at OSH Getting to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from the Mid-Atlantic by Cirrus requires answering one central question: whether to fly over Lake Michigan, or around it? Flying over the lake means being out of gliding range of either shore for about 20 minutes – [...]
  
  Getting there is half the fun–and most of the challenge

AOPA’s Hover Power
- Rotor downwash
  
  Jim Thomas asked, “Are the hazards of a helicopter rotor blast taught to new students?” The answer is sometimes and sometimes not. Being dual rated, I understand the affect the rotor down wash can have on an airplane. As an instructor, it is always something I teach to students. Wind direction and strength must be considered [...]
  
  Rotor downwash
- Bad ideas
  
  There are some things that helicopter pilots do that are just not smart. For example the pilot of a Robinson R22 Beta landed in a field to pick up some equipment and while he was there he decided to hot refuel. The pilot’s father drove a pickup truck equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank under [...]
  
  Bad ideas
- Basic autopilots
  
  The majority of single-engine helicopters do not have autopilots installed. The few that do have autopilots (not counting experimental designs) use a series-parallel model. Even a simple two-axis system without a flight director can be somewhat complicated as it will have a series actuator and a parallel actuator for both pitch and roll. In the [...]
  
  Basic autopilots