http://www.aopa.org A daily listing of new and updated material on AOPA Online. Copyright 2008 Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:33:00 EDT http://www.aopa.org/images/rss/whatsnew-tn.jpg http://www.aopa.org A free online digital charting service launched in 2005 is calling it quits, with founder Dave Parsons citing pending digital chart fees, and licensing fees as the primary reason. http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2012/120210runwayfinder-to-shut-down.html Fri, 10 Feb 2012 1:53:35 EST http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2012/120210runwayfinder-to-shut-down.html Sikorsky has invited 35 companies to help it build two scout-attack helicopters for evaluation by the Pentagon. The helicopter, called the Raider, will cruise at 220 knots and have a dash speed of 240 kt. The prototype X2 has already surpassed those speeds. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120210suppliers-chosen-for-sikorsky-raider.html Fri, 10 Feb 2012 5:13:31 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120210suppliers-chosen-for-sikorsky-raider.html AOPA submitted several suggestions that would mitigate the impact of a proposed restricted airspace reserved for unmanned aircraft in North Dakota, but remains opposed to the creation of such an exclusive airspace. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209aopa-urges-uas-airspace-proposal-changes.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 1:23:00 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209aopa-urges-uas-airspace-proposal-changes.html A coalition of aviation industry groups sat down with Connecticut lawmakers Feb. 6 to build on a growing understanding within the capitol of the value of aviation. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209aviatiors-find-audience-in-conn-legislature.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 2:53:28 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209aviatiors-find-audience-in-conn-legislature.html Vermont Rep. Janice Peaslee said she doesn't leave home without flight following. On Oct. 9, the precaution paid off. http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/120209in-engine-out-atc-is-there-when-you-need-them.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 5:56:58 EST http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/120209in-engine-out-atc-is-there-when-you-need-them.html "Welcome to Indy. You're the first piston we've seen all weekend," the van driver said as he drove two pilots across the ramp to Million Air's welcome hangar, complete with a red carpet and enclosed canopy for Super Bowl weekend. http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2012/120209flying-into-the-big-game.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:44:55 EST http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2012/120209flying-into-the-big-game.html Two pioneering general aviation aircraft designs, and two advances at the other end of the aircraft spectrum, have been nominated for the National Aeronautic Association's 2011 Robert J. Collier Trophy. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209innovative-ga-concepts-earn-nominations.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 3:02:50 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209innovative-ga-concepts-earn-nominations.html Recreational aviation and backcountry strips in US Forest Service lands recently received a much-needed lift. Forest Service planners must now consider aviation in their plans, whether it be preserving or maintaining backcountry strips. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209rec-aviation-gets-stake-in-forest-service-planning.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 1:18:40 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209rec-aviation-gets-stake-in-forest-service-planning.html A valuable tax incentive for business aircraft owners has scaled back for 2012, and a coalition of manufacturing groups led by the National Business Aviation Association is urging Congress to keep "bonus depreciation" intact. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209nbaa-asks-lawmakers-to-extend-depreciation-rule.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:35:44 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209nbaa-asks-lawmakers-to-extend-depreciation-rule.html The FAA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Class B airspace in Atlanta. The agency maintains that reducing the diameter of the outer ring while lowering many interior shelves will save airline fuel, and enhance the efficiency of the world's busiest airspace. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209faa-issues-proposed-rulemaking-for-atlanta-airspace.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:03:54 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209faa-issues-proposed-rulemaking-for-atlanta-airspace.html A milestone for the nation's transition to satellite navigation was celebrated Feb. 9 in an FAA office in Silver Spring, Md. - and in cockpits equipped with GPS around the country. http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2012/120209faa-marks-gps-approach-milestone.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 2:58:03 EST http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2012/120209faa-marks-gps-approach-milestone.html With concern rising over Cincinnati's intent to close Blue Ash Airport later this year, AOPA is calling on area pilots to take their protest directly to Mayor Mark Mallory. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209keep-blue-ash-open.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:14:37 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120209keep-blue-ash-open.html An Arizona community traumatized by a 2010 aircraft crashing into the local high school began to heal recently. First Flight Education and pilots helped inspire aviation enthusiasm in middle school children who once ducked whenever an aircraft would fly overhead. Now, they want to be pilots. http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/120209aviation-turns-students-horror-into-passion.html Thu, 9 Feb 2012 1:26:51 EST http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/120209aviation-turns-students-horror-into-passion.html Submerged in the dark waters around the Raja Ampat Islands, pilot Richard Wood watched the region's elusive "walking shark" - some of the vast biodiversity that makes the archipelago what Wood calls "some kind of Mecca" among scuba divers. Wood, his wife and daughter, and another couple saw the bottom-dwelling wobbegong shark and enormous manta rays in the area during a 4,500-nautical-mile trip across Indonesia in a Pilatus PC-12. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209pilatus-tours-indonesia.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 10:01:55 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209pilatus-tours-indonesia.html Aerospace analyst Brian Foley says future helicopter sales will receive greater scrutiny by accounting departments, and require a strong business case to be made. Still, there are strong sales to be had. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209helicopter-sales-require-greater-justification.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 9:51:33 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209helicopter-sales-require-greater-justification.html After Embraer's A-29 Super Tucano won a bidding contest worth $355 million over Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6, HBC was stunned. The company launched an all-out effort to review and reverse the decision, but Sierra Nevada Corp., which partnered with Embraer for the Super Tucano bid, says the Air Force got it right. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209hawker-beechcraft-protests-trainer-contract.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 9:58:00 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120209hawker-beechcraft-protests-trainer-contract.html A conditional approval of LightSquared's use of the mobile satellite spectrum in 2011 put GPS signals at risk of dangerous interference, but Congress has the power to protect GPS from present and future threats, AOPA President Craig Fuller told a House subcommittee Feb. 8. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120208protect-gps-from-threats.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:48:04 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120208protect-gps-from-threats.html Real time weather and traffic information is now available for free in dozens of terminal service areas around the country. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120208ads-b-traffic-weather-now-available.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 9:40:14 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120208ads-b-traffic-weather-now-available.html Newly hired Hawker Beechcraft CEO Robert "Steve" Miller expressed confidence that the company will weather the financial storm during an interview with local media on Feb. 7, the day he was hired to replace Bill Boisture. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120208hawker-beechcraft-hires-new-ceo.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:09:09 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120208hawker-beechcraft-hires-new-ceo.html AOPA is working to inform members and Airport Support Network volunteers about proposed military training that would include two temporary military operations areas July 22 through Sept. 1 near Grayling, Mich. Members may submit comments on the airspace proposal until Feb. 15. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120208temp-moas-proposed-in-michigan.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 9:27:42 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120208temp-moas-proposed-in-michigan.html Walter Crosby spent the last seven years of his life working on the Piper Cub he had dreamed of restoring since he paid $650 for the tattered two-seater in 1962. In October, Crosby and his wife, Geri, returned to Florida for a seventh winter of work on the Cub, and the sixth year of Walter Crosby's battle against cancer. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120208pilots-final-wish.html Wed, 8 Feb 2012 10:11:53 EST http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120208pilots-final-wish.html Keeping user fees out of the new FAA reauthorization bill was a "big win" for general aviation--but vigilance and education efforts must continue, said Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the House GA Caucus co-chairman and member of the conference committee that produced the final bill. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120207faa-bill-protects-ga.html Tue, 7 Feb 2012 9:06:51 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120207faa-bill-protects-ga.html A proposed hike in aviation registration fees would only "further depress" a tax-burdened aviation economy in Illinois, AOPA said, urging officials to reject the plan. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120207illinois-bill-would-raise-av-fees.html Tue, 7 Feb 2012 2:46:58 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120207illinois-bill-would-raise-av-fees.html Two AOPA-backed bills - one providing aviation sales-tax relief and the other establishing funding sources for airport ground-access maintenance - have won overwhelming passage in the Indiana House and are now before the Senate. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120207pro-ga-bills-clear-indiana-house.html Tue, 7 Feb 2012 2:01:19 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120207pro-ga-bills-clear-indiana-house.html The Senate, following up on House action last week, has passed a four-year, $63.4 billion FAA reauthorization bill with no user fees or fuel-tax increases. The bill, now headed to the desk of President Barack Obama for signing, would give the FAA its first long-term operating authority since 2007. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120206faa-bill-clears-congress.html Mon, 6 Feb 2012 6:24:52 EST http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120206faa-bill-clears-congress.html "It was probably the greatest thing to ever happen to me. It made me realize many things are possible, and opportunities are available if you seek them out." That's the sentiment from Zachary Alcantar, one of four winners of $5,000 flight training scholarships last fall. http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/120206scholarship-winner-earns-private-certificate.html Mon, 6 Feb 2012 2:36:43 EST http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/120206scholarship-winner-earns-private-certificate.html