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Extended-time medical certificates, GA-friendly FAA funding, administrator promises
 FAA Administrator Marion Blakey promised pilots longer-running medicals and a new FAA funding system that won't "stifle the GA community," during her annual speech at Oshkosh Wednesday. Blakey said the agency has started rulemaking to extend the duration of third class medicals for pilots under age 40 from three to five years. (AOPA first petitioned for extended duration in 1979 and had met with the federal air surgeon early last year to encourage the FAA again for longer duration medical certificates.) More
Forty-Third Annual General Aviation Awards
 AOPA's Director of Public Relations Sue Walitsky (center) presents checks to the winners of the 43rd Annual General Aviation Awards on behalf of AOPA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation to Rich Stowell of Ventura, Calif., CFI of the Year; Terry Markovich of Bedminster, N.J., Avionics Technician of the Year; Joseph Hawkins of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year; and Gene Hudson of Mission Hills, Calif., Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year. AOPA participates in these awards along with the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA); Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI); the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA), Women in Aviation International (WAI); National Business Aviation Association (NBAA); National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO); National Air Transportation Association (NATA); Helicopter Association International (HAI); General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA); Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA); and Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA). Mike Goulian gets new aircraft
 Airshow star Mike Goulian has a new Extra 300SHP, one of a kind, for his airshow circuit and is considering a departure from the current fast-and-furious tumbling routine now commonly seen at airshows. The new Extra has several differences from previous models. It weighs 100 pounds less by using thinner composite skin and construction and has a new 550-hp Lycoming IO-580 engine from Lycoming's Thunderbolt lab, a sort of skunkworks for the engine manufacturer. Smaller radios also reduced weight. The horizontal stabilizer was moved six inches back, but then the elevator trailing edge was made six inches longer, giving more positive control in extreme maneuvers. Goulian said he is considering changing his act, which could signal a change in the airshow business. He said he wants to include slow routines as half of his act, performing hovering and mini maneuvers in a smaller aerobatic box in front of the crowd. BRS reaches 190 saves, develops chute for Diamond's D-Jet
On Thursday, Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) updated the press with its latest two saves, bringing the total number of people saved by the company's whole airframe parachutes to 190 known cases. BRS CEO, COO, and President Larry Williams related that there are likely more pilots saved by chutes, primarily in the ultralight community, than they know of. Williams outlined the state of development for the recently announced BRS installation planned for Diamond Aircraft's D-Jet, stating the technology is already there to manage aircraft in the 5,000- to 5,300-pound weight class, and that he sees significant prospects for putting the chute on other single-engine jets in the future. Sweepstakes, screenings, and new art from 'One Six Right'
 One Six Right, the movie celebrating general aviation through the story of the Van Nuys Airport, just keeps inspiring people and pilots — noted aviation artist Sam Lyons has created a painting in honor of the movie; limited-edition prints will be available through Sporty's Pilot Shop in time for the holiday season. Also, filmmaker Brian Terwilleger announced a sweepstakes, which features, among other prizes, dinner with legendary pilot Bob Hoover. Screenings of the high-definition filmed movie will take place at AirVenture, and at AOPA Expo in Palm Springs in November, and in 10 other cities this fall. Hartzell goes composite for new propeller family
 That rakish new prop on the front of the turbo Cirrus SR22 is the first new composite general aviation propeller from Hartzell Propeller in many years. The ASC-II propeller received FAA certification two weeks ago. In an effort to make a less expensive composite propeller for general aviation, Hartzell went to back to the drawing board to look at how it might adapt modern manufacturing processes to bring more value to the market, according to Hartzell's Mike Disbrow, senior vice president of marketing and customer services. Hartzell has been making composite propellers since the 1970s, but earlier versions were not cost competitive with some other manufacturers. The new ASC-II is the first FAA certified advanced structural composite propeller developed specifically for GA with Cirrus being the launch customer on the turbo'd SR22, also announced here at AirVenture. Using proprietary new manufacturing processes, Hartzell was able to achieve several advantages over old-style composite props, including about 30 percent lower weight per blade (resulting in about a 12-pound savings over the standard prop on a Cirrus); low inertia, which translates to less vibration; and lower life cycle costs. While the new composite prop is still more expensive than a conventional metal prop, the lifetime cost can be lower because the prop is highly repairable and any erosion can be replaced, providing virtually unlimited blade life. Other airframe manufacturers are expected to evaluate the propeller soon. Gathering of Mustangs and Legends planned for 2007
Owners of 60 of the expected 100 North American P-51 Mustangs to appear at the "Final Roundup" of Mustangs have agreed to participate, and that is nearly every owner called so far. The event takes place September 27 through 30 in Columbus, Ohio, at Rickenbacker International Airport. Of the 15,875 Mustangs built, 284 survive today. 'Flyboys' hits theaters Sept. 29
Three years ago David Ellison had his choice of careers. He appeared at Oshkosh that year as an airshow Star of Tomorrow. But his college training was to be an actor. Now it appears his acting career is the thing taking off, rather than his Extra 300L. On September 29 he will be one of the top stars in Flyboys, a $60 million movie about seven Americans who volunteered for the Lafayette Escadrille in France during World War I. The director, Tony Bill, is also a pilot whose cinema project is the result of a 30-year dream. If you like exciting flying, head for one of 2,500 theaters showing the film. The film had its world premier July 26 at AirVenture before 1,300 enthusiastic viewers. The actor in the lead role, James Franco, became a pilot during the filming of the movie. Frasca displays glass-cockpit-equipped Cirrus flight training device
Frasca International, makers of aviation training devices, has teamed up with Avidyne and Cirrus to demonstrate its latest flight training device, a Cirrus SR22 equipped with the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra flight deck. The FTD features two 10.4-inch displays, dual Garmin GNS 430s, full-size flight controls including rudder pedals and brakes, multi-channel sound, and Frasca's TruVision display system. The ability to offer highly realistic training for a glass-cockpit environment is critical for improving the quality of the flight-training experience. Cirrus launches new path to aircraft ownership
 The target customer for a Cirrus Design aircraft has always been somewhat different in profile from what one may think of as a typical pilot — and perhaps that's been critical to the company's success. On Wednesday at AirVenture, Alan Klapmeier, president and CEO of Cirrus, detailed a new program that will help new pilots break through what he sees as significant barriers to enjoy the benefits of general aviation. Cirrus Access will provide a potential pilot with a pilot that will serve in succession as that person's instructor, corporate pilot, and then mentor after the new pilot receives his or her certificate. The program, which lasts one year, costs $85,000, and during that year, the Cirrus owner engages in flight training while making use of the services of the instructor pilot on personal and business trips. The goal is to provide what Klapmeier calls "safe utility" from the beginning, rather than the completion of the pilot certificate, though that will probably be acheived along the way. "The problem [with getting more numbers into general aviation] isn't that people can't afford it — the problem is that people can't do it safely," said Klapmeier — at least gain useful travel benefits from it as low-time pilots. The Cirrus Access program is designed to launch beginning pilots straight into being able to use a private aircraft for travel. Back to AirVenture Main Page |
