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| GA News
| CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON NASM EXTENSION
 Construction has begun on the extension to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at Washington Dulles International Airport. To be called the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the new facility will open in December 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic flight. Udvar-Hazy contributed $60 million for the center’s construction. Udvar-Hazy is president and CEO of International Lease Finance, the commercial aircraft owner and lessor operating worldwide with more than 400 jet aircraft valued at more than $18 billion. Construction began this week with a ground-breaking ceremony. The space shuttle Enterprise, the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird will be displayed there along with dozens of other famous aircraft and spacecraft that are now in storage. The 710,000-square-foot facility will cost $238 million.
CIRRUS UNVEILS 310-HP SR22…
Much of the AOPA ePilot news this week comes from the just-concluded AOPA Expo in Long Beach, California, where Cirrus Design Corporation unveiled the SR22. The new model has a 310-hp Teledyne Continental engine and promises a 180-knot cruise speed, a 1,000 nautical mile range, and a climb rate of 1,300 feet per minute. The all-electric (dual alternator and dual battery) aircraft does not require a vacuum system. It includes a ballistic parachute recovery system found on the present model, the SR20. The base price for the SR22 is $276,600. The instrument panel features the Garmin GNS 430 color GPS/COM/NAV and GNS 420 GPS/COM, an electric HSI, and an S-Tec/Meggitt System FiftyX autopilot. For $294,700, the SR22 includes dual Garmin GNS 430s and a Sandel SN3308 electronic HSI. Cirrus expects FAA certification by the end of the year. For more information, see the Web site.
AS MICCO WINS APPROVAL FOR MORE POWERFUL SP26…
Dressed in traditional regalia, members of the Seminole tribe received an amended type certificate at AOPA Expo for their Micco SP26 from FAA Administrator Jane Garvey. Based on the Meyers 145A and B aircraft, the SP26 offers a bigger engine than its predecessor, the SP20, which received certification last January. The SP26 has a 260-hp engine and turns a 78-inch Hartzell propeller. VFR and IFR packages are available. For more information see the Web site.
EXPO TOPS PREVIOUS ATTENDANCE RECORDS
AOPA Expo 2000 broke the 10,000 mark for the first time with 10,816 registrants, 10 percent more than attended last year's Expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Despite a day and a half of IFR weather at the beginning of Expo, more than 1,200 aircraft flew into Long Beach Airport and other area airports.
For daily news updates, see AOPA Online.
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Inside AOPA
| AOPA GIVES $15,000 TO ERAU
AOPA presented a $15,000 check to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) for the AOPA Career Pathways Scholarship Fund during AOPA Expo 2000.
SENATE LEADER WINS AOPA AWARD
AOPA named Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, as this year's winner of the Hartranft Award during Expo. The award recognizes a government official who makes the greatest contribution of the year to general aviation.
AOPA AIRPORT DIRECTORY ONLINE ENHANCED
Several features�are planned for AOPA's Airport Directory Online, including– beginning in January–free government-published NOS instrument approach charts and the ability to download airport information to a personal computer or a personal digital assistant,� a handy kneeboard-size print option for online airport information, and the return of AOPA's Handbook for Pilots .
SAVE BIGGER BUCKS JUST FOR FLYING
Now, instead of getting a 3-percent rebate on purchases at most FBOs, AOPA members will get a 5-percent reward for using the AOPA credit card. The increase in the AOPA FBO Rebate Program takes effect January 1, 2001. All you need to do is get an AOPA Visa or Mastercard, use it at any qualified FBO, circle the charges on your bill, and mail or fax it MBNA.
| On Capitol Hill
| CONGRESS CONTINUES PUSH TOWARD RECESS
As election day approaches, members of Congress are pushing to wrap up their work for the 106th congressional session and head home to finish their campaign season. At press time, three major appropriations bills remain unfinished and a fourth is on hold, with the current continuing resolution (CR) expiring this week. At least one more CR–a fifth–will most certainly be needed to keep the government running until the appropriations work is completed, much to the dismay of the appropriations committees and GOP leadership sources who hoped that this would be the last week of the 106th Congress. The two bills most important to AOPA, Transportation Appropriations and Interior Appropriations, passed through Congress earlier this month. The Transportation Appropriations bill contains FAA funding at the historic levels dictated by AIR-21, and the Interior Appropriations bill contains language to protect backcountry airstrips from closure. President Clinton signed the Transportation bill into law Monday, while the Interior bill received his signature several weeks ago.
| Airport Support Network
| VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK–WILLIAM GREEN
Noise issues at Four Corners Regional Airport at Farmington, New Mexico, are unresolved. An FAA noise study last spring concluded that few homes are affected, but residents of the area claim that the study was fixed. The citizens have targeted the Mesa Airlines flight school at the airport for most of their complaints. Airport Support Network volunteer William Green attended a meeting with city officials, the citizens, and Mesa Airlines, and provided background information on noise issues to the mayor and council members. As a result, Green has been asked to discuss the issues in greater detail at future meetings.
Click here to learn more about the Airport Support Network.
| AOPA Air Safety Foundation News
| INSTRUCTOR RENEWAL GOING ONLINE
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation and Jeppesen will jointly offer an online flight instructor certificate renewal program called ASF-Jeppesen CFI Renewal Online. The course allows instructors to complete their certificate renewal coursework at home on their own schedule. The course will be available next spring. ASF will continue to offer its live CFI renewal program nationally.
| Quiz Me!
| Here’s a question asked by an AOPA member last week of our AOPA technical specialists. Test your knowledge.
Question: : Must a certificated single-engine-land private pilot fly from the left seat?
Answer: There is no regulation that states you have to fly from the left seat. Some aircraft have front and back seats. Most new aircraft have much of the instrumentation on the left side. But to be prepared, pilots should practice flying on the right side, checking out the view of the instruments for emergency situations. For safety, do this with an instructor the first time. Perhaps you are riding with a friend to get that $100 hamburger when he is suddenly incapacitated. If you have practiced flying from the right side, then your only emergency is quickly getting him to treatment, rather than worrying about how to land when seated on the right.
Got a technical question for AOPA specialists? Call 800/872-2672 or e-mail to [email protected]. Send comments on our Quiz Me! questions to [email protected].
| ePilot Calendar
| WEEKEND FLYING DESTINATIONS
In response to member requests, some destinations will be posted one week in advance.
New Market, Virginia. The Fall Foliage Hot Air Balloon Rally and Aircraft Fly-In takes place October 28 and 29. Includes an FAA Safety Seminar and skydiving. At New Market Airport (8W2), 540/740-3949. Call 540/740-9454 for event information.
Tallulah, Louisiana. An airport open house and EAA regional fly-in takes place November 4. Cosponsored by EAA chapters 276 and 244 at Vicksburg/Tallulah Regional Airport (TVR), 318/574-5841. Call the airport for event information.
Scottsdale, Arizona. The Metris Thunderbird Balloon Classic 2000 takes place November 3 through 5 at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Scottsdale Airport (SDL), 480/994-2321, is located two miles from WestWorld. Call 480/978-7330 for event information, or visit the Web site.
Biloxi, Mississippi. Keesler Air Force Base hosts the largest airshow on the Gulf Coast November 4. Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport (GPT), 228/863-5951, and Ocean Springs Airport (5R2), 228/872-1962, serve the area. Call 610/466-7340 for event information, or visit the Web site.
Polk City, Florida. The World Miniature Warbirds Association hosts the International Jamboree at Fantasy of Flight November 2 through 5. Radio control pilots from around the world are to compete. Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), 941/648-3299, serves the area. Call 863/984-3500 for event information.
For more airport details, see AOPA’s Airport Directory Online. For more events, see the Aviation Calendar of Events.
ASF FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER CLINICS
(All clinics start at 7:30 a.m.)
The next AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics are scheduled in Anchorage, Atlanta, and Dallas, November 4 and 5. Clinics are scheduled in Albuquerque, Houston, and San Diego on November 11 and 12. For complete details, visit the Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic schedule.
ASF SAFETY SEMINARS
The next AOPA ASF Safety Seminars are scheduled North Syracuse, New York, October 31; Henrietta, New York, November 1; Cheektowaga, New York, November 2; Queens, New York, November 6; Long Island, New York, November 7; Poughkeepsie, New York, November 8; and Randolph, New Jersey, November 9. For more information see Web site.
ASF PINCH HITTER GROUND-SCHOOL COURSES
(Pinch Hitter courses start at 9:30 a.m.)
The next Pinch-Hitter� Ground School will take place November 5 in Anchorage, Alaska. For details and a complete schedule, see the Pinch Hitter Ground School Schedule.
AOPA PILOT TOWN MEETINGS
Featuring AOPA President Phil Boyer
(7:30 p.m.; admission is free)
The next Pilot Town Meetings are in Baltimore, November 13; Las Vegas, November 28; Prescott, Arizona, November 29; and Phoenix, November 30. Click for more information on Pilot Town Meetings.
For comments on calendar items or to make submissions, contact Julie Walker at [email protected].
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Contacting ePilot
Got news tips? Contact ePilot editor Nathan A. Ferguson at [email protected].
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