Departments
GA News 
On Capitol Hill 
Inside AOPA 
Air Safety Foundation 
Quiz Me! 
ePILOT Calendar 
Coming in Pilot 
Rod's Tips 
Photo of the day 
Weekend Weather
| AOPA values its relationship with you. If you would rather not receive AOPA ePILOT, a free weekly email newsletter, simply Reply to this message with the word Unsubscribe in the Subject line.
GA News
| Continental buys Mattituck Aviation
Teledyne Continental Motors has bought the assets of Mattituck Aviation Corporation of Long Island, New York. Mattituck Aviation Corporation is a privately owned aftermarket supplier and piston engine rebuilder and overhauler to the general aviation marketplace. The terms of the asset acquisition were not announced.
Glass cockpit developed by German firm
Germany’s Becker Avionics has designed a glass cockpit for the general aviation market that is now undergoing certification in the new Extra. The product will be standard equipment in the new six-place, pressurized Extra 400 that will be sold in the United States through Aero Sport at St. Augustine, Florida. The complete package consists of a GPS moving map, engine monitoring, and primary flight displays.
Lancair delivery planned soon
The first production-line Lancair Columbia 300 is scheduled to be delivered within the next few weeks. The production aircraft, which is lighter than the prototypes, has a 1,200-pound useful load and cruise speed of 190 kt. To date, Lancair has 95 firm orders for the Columbia 300 and expects to deliver 60 of those aircraft in 2000. The new aircraft sells for $285,500 with the standard IFR package and $299,700 with the premium IFR package. For more information, visit http://www.flycolumbia.com.
Gulfstream V pilots see through fog
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation will offer the Gulfstream and Kollsman Enhanced Vision System (EVS) on Gulfstream V aircraft delivered in the third quarter of 2000. The proprietary thermal imaging system projects a real-time, real-world image of the view outside the cockpit window on a heads-up display in the cockpit. Pilots can literally see through fog and darkness, allowing for greatly improved safety during all phases of very-low-visibility flight operations.
Air Force to train at local FBOs
The U.S. Air Force will end its Enhanced Flight Screening Program and quit flying its fleet of Slingsby T-3A Fireflies, but will continue to screen pilot candidates by training them at civilian flight schools. The T-3A aircraft have not been used since July 1997, when they were grounded following a series of fatal accidents. The screening program will be replaced by an expanded Introductory Flight Training Program, in which FBOs and civilian flight schools will provide pilot candidates with 50 hours of flight time, during which they must earn the private pilot certificate. The most likely civilian flight schools to get the new business are those located near universities with Air Force ROTC programs.
Cessna offers leaseback and loan programs
Cessna Aircraft Company has developed two programs to help control the cost of flying. One is called Cessna Leaseback, and allows the purchaser of a new single-engine aircraft to lease the aircraft back to a Cessna flight school. The company has prepared a cost-analysis spreadsheet, available at participating flight schools, to help buyers determine whether leaseback is right for them. The other program teams Cessna with SallieMae, the educational financing company, to provide student loans for flight training. Students who qualify can complete their private pilot flight training for as little as $50 a month. Ask about the program at any Cessna Pilot Center. For more information, visit http://www.cessna.textron.com.
Reid-Hillview hit by thefts
A round of avionics thefts has hit San Jose, California’s Reid-Hillview Airport. The thieves are picky; they only want Bendix/King radios. About five aircraft were hit. A Piper Saratoga lost its entire avionics stack.
| On Capitol Hill
| Aviation trust fund talks break down
Efforts to free funds in the aviation trust fund for improvements to the nation’s air transportation system failed Wednesday after negotiations between the House and the Senate broke down. The fight will continue next year. In a statement released Wednesday night, House Transportation and Infrastructure committee chairman Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) said he could not support the Senate position, which eliminated any contribution to the FAA budget from the U.S. Treasury’s general fund. For the complete statement, see http://www.house.gov/transportation/press.html. The focus now shifts to funding the FAA for the current fiscal year. Many analysts believe lawmakers will simply pass an interim measure. However, Shuster plans to oppose such a measure. "This band-aid approach can only delay the significant investments that the flying public has paid for and deserves," he said.
| Inside AOPA
| AOPA briefs GAO investigators on GPS/WAAS
How well is the FAA doing with the satellite navigation program, particularly WAAS (the Wide Area Augmentation System)? That’s what investigators from the General Accounting Office (GAO) wanted to know. Last week at AOPA headquarters, AOPA President Phil Boyer and Dennis Roberts, vice president of government and technical affairs, told GAO investigators that AOPA supports the implementation of satellite navigation, but the FAA must provide enough benefits to general aviation to make the switch to satellite-based navigation worthwhile. That includes providing a low-cost GPS database, adding new GPS/WAAS approaches to GA airports, and simplifying the avionics certification process.
Massachusetts bill drops sales tax
A bill in the Massachusetts House would eliminate the state sales tax on aircraft and parts. AOPA is currently supporting the House bill, 4837, and you can, too. Massachusetts pilots are encouraged to contact their legislators and the state House Ways and Means Committee to support the bill. Further information is available at http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/legis/legis.htm.
Phelps MOA proposed without public comment
After telling AOPA that the Phelps Military Operations Area in North Carolina would never be reproposed without public comment, the FAA did just that last July. Now, AOPA is going to ask that the proposal, which adversely affects Manteo’s Dare County Regional Airport, Kill Devil Hills’ First Flight Airport, Englehard’s Hyde County Airport, Billy Mitchell Airport at Hatteras, and Ocracoke Island Airport, be resubmitted for public comment. The MOA is needed, the Air Force says, to allow bomb runs to begin from a higher altitude over the Dare County Bombing Range.
Charlotte offers access to RNAV-equipped aircraft
Currently IFR traffic is routed around most Class B areas. But GPS and other means of direct navigation have made it possible to allow passage through such airspace along a precise route. At AOPA's request, the FAA has chosen Charlotte, North Carolina, for a prototype study of GPS and other direct-navigation means through Class B airspace. Once success has been achieved at Charlotte, the procedure will be implemented in other terminal areas. It may take two years for the process to be completed, but it will eventually enable IFR pilots with GPS or other RNAV tools to take a shortcut through Class B airspace.
| AOPA Air Safety Foundation news
| New FAA ground ops circular coming
A new FAA Advisory Circular is in preparation on ground operations at airports. Much of the advice you have been seeing and reading from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation in past years will be included. The FAA has asked MITRE Corporation to develop guidelines for standardized cockpit procedures for surface movement, and MITRE will draw heavily from ASF. There will be three major parts to the AC: multi-piloted aircraft, single-pilot aircraft, and nontowered airports. To see past ASF booklets on the subject, visit http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa07.pdf for "Operations at Towered Airports," or http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa08.pdf, "Operations at Nontowered Airports."
| Quiz me!
| Here's a question asked by an AOPA member last week of our AOPA technical specialists. Test your knowledge.
Question: Is it possible for me to use an IFR-approved GPS receiver for IFR en route only without requiring an external course deviation indicator (CDI)?
Answer: In most applications, both en route-only and approach-capable GPS units will require a separate CDI. Here is the note from AC 20-138 on the location of the GPS display.
Each display element (i.e., the cross-track deviation display [CDI], horizontal situation indicator [HSI], map display, etc.), used as a primary flight instrument in the guidance and control of the aircraft, for maneuver anticipation, or for failure/status/integrity annunciation, shall be located where it is visible to the pilot (in the pilot's primary field of view) with the least practicable deviation from the pilot's normal position and line of vision when looking forward along the flight path. NOTE 1: CDI displays contained in the control display unit (the GPS itself) will most likely not be acceptable for IFR operations.
The reasoning here is that the display must fall in the pilot’s normal field of vision. Most GPS installations will put the GPS in the avionics stack, which is outside of this normal field of vision.
Got a technical question? Call 800/872-2672 or e-mail [email protected].
| ePILOT Calendar
| Fly away picks for this weekend
Wickenburg, Arizona, north of Tucson, celebrates its 20th Annual Bluegrass Festival and Fiddle Championship November 12 through 14. There are arts and crafts and bluegrass bands. The Wickenburg Municipal Airport (E25) is located three miles from the city. Taxi service and car rentals are available. Call 520/684-5479 for more information, or visit the Web site ( http://www.wickenburg.com). For airport information call 520/684-5690.
Racine, Wisconsin, hosts the Festival of Trees November 13 through 21. The festival features balloon rides, New Orleans-style food, and arts and crafts. John H. Batten Airport (RAC) is located two miles northwest of the city. Taxi service and car rentals are available. For festival information, call 414/634-6002; for airport information, call 414/631-5620.
Easton, Maryland, hosts the Waterfowl Festival November 12 through 14, with exhibits by wildlife painters, carvers, sculptors, and photographers. Easton/Newnam Field (ESN) is located two miles from the city, and shuttle service to the event is offered. Call 410/822-4567 for festival information, or visit ( http://www.waterfowlfest.org). Call 410/770-8055 for airport information.
Other events
12-14—Tucson, AZ. Tucson International Airport (TUS). Tucson Treasure Hunt in the Sky, sponsored by the Tucson Ninety-Nines. Call Kaye Craig, 520/881-0988.
13—Fairview, OK. Fairview Municipal Airport (6K4). World's Oldest Free Fly-In and Air Show. Call J.R. Regier, 580/227-3788.
13—Mansfield, OH. Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport (MFD). International Comanche Society Fly-In. Call Phyllis Cermack, 419/789-5809.
13—Winter Haven, FL. Gilbert Field (GIF). Winter Haven Pilots Association Annual Airplane Lovers Fly-In. Call 941/293-7672.
13-14—El Monte, CA. El Monte Airport (EMT). San Gabriel Valley Air Fair. Call Yvonne Guerra, 626/576-8692.
For more events, see http://www.aopa.org/pilot/calendar.html.
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics
(All clinics start at 7:30 a.m.)
November 13-14—San Diego, CA. Four Points Hotel by Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, San Diego, CA.
November 13-14—Houston, TX. Sheraton North Houston Hotel, 15700 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Houston, TX.
November 13-14—Newark, NJ. Wyndham Garden Hotel, 901 Spring Street, Elizabeth, NJ
For more ASF Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics, visit http://data.aopa2.org/asf/schedules/firc1.cfm
Pinch-Hitter Courses
November 14—San Diego, CA. Four Points Hotel by Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, San Diego, CA. 9:30 a.m.
For more Pinch-Hitter courses, visit www.aopa.org/asf/seminars/pinch.cfm.
| Coming up in AOPA Pilot
| Your December issue of "AOPA Pilot" just went to the printer. In it, you’ll find the wrap-up article about the Aero SUV, AOPA’s Sweepstakes Cessna 206. Some lucky pilot will win it in January. You will also find articles dealing with com radio failures and the new Superior Air Parts engine. More about your new issue next week.
| Check out Rod Machado’s Tips
| Each month aviation humorist and flight-training author Rod Machado posts a helpful flying tip on AOPA Online. This month he offers advice on navigating Los Angeles airspace.
| Photo of the day
| Windows users, dress up your dull computer desktop with exciting aviation photography. Here’s a link to photos from AOPA Pilot’s Mike Fizer. Right click on the photo to capture wallpaper for your work area. Visit http://www.aopa.org/online_gallery/.
|
Not YOUR 15 minutes of fame!
Were you surprised to see your name in print in last week’s ePILOT? Our e-mail distribution contractor personalized your newsletter. Rest assured that you were the only one to see your name and AOPA member number in the Quiz me! Section; everyone else saw his or her own name and AOPA number. No actual pilot certificate numbers were published.
Contacting ePILOT
Got news? Send it to [email protected]
ePILOT is a distribution-only newsletter. If you have difficulty using this service, please e-mail to [email protected].
To UNSUBSCRIBE from this service: reply to this e-mail with the word "unsubscribe" as the subject.
To SUBSCRIBE to this service, visit http://www.aopa.org/members/epilot.html.
Copyright � 1999. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
| Sponsors
   
|
