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| GA News
| ePILOT SPECIAL REPORT: ECLIPSE MEETS THE PRESS
Anyone who went to Oshkosh couldn't help but be curious about the mock-up of the Eclipse 500 jet. A project that has yet to fly has once again captured the attention of the skeptical aviation community. Having assembled a broad team of industry leaders, Eclipse Aviation Corporation plans to change the way we think of and use general aviation. And by creating what it describes as "disruptive technology," Eclipse believes there will be a market beyond even the company's imagination. In a special question-and-answer interview with the editors of AOPA Pilot, Eclipse details how it plans to change the aviation world. See AOPA Online.
OLDEST SEAPLANE BASE SHOVES OFF
 An era in seaplane aviation is about to come to a close on the Delaware River. After running the oldest active seaplane base in the country, Bob Mills has sold off his land and will be moving to Florida. The Philadelphia Seaplane Base on the south side of the city was established in 1915 and was handed down from Mills' father. Mills said on Monday that it was a combination of factors, including his taxes being tripled, that led him to the decision to sell. Mills is currently leasing the land until mid-December but the school will likely close before then. Although Mills turns 80 in December, he shows no sign of slowing down. "Mills still moves with the agility of a 30-year-old and jumps in and out of the Cub during docking, faster than I've seen my teenager move when her boyfriend calls," said Mike Laney, who recently earned his seaplane rating at the school. Mills will be taking a Piper Cub, Cessna 140, and a Republic Seabee with him to Florida. Mills will donate artifacts and memorabilia from the seaplane base to the Millville Army Air Field Museum in Millville, New Jersey.
RELIEF IN DOUBT FOR LYCOMING AD
A Textron-Lycoming executive told AOPA that an oil filter converter gasket with a new part number should be available for distribution no later than the first week of October. And the FAA told AOPA that the installation of this new gasket will be considered as an "ending action" to emergency Airworthiness Directive 2000-18-53. The Lycoming executive also told AOPA that the availability of the new gasket will be tight through the middle of October, but readily available after that. After questioning the availability, AOPA was told that Lycoming cannot control the distribution of the critical part once it has been shipped to parts distributors. The source also said that AOPA should encourage its members to try different sources until they can find the gaskets. The FAA gave AOPA essentially the same answer and further stated that the FAA cannot be concerned about the availability of the gasket. For more information, see the Web site.
SATS PROGRAM GETS NEW LIFE
The Senate Appropriations Committee last week added $9 million for the Small Aircraft Transportation System program to an appropriations bill. "For the past seven months, SATS funding has been one of our top legislative priorities," said Ed Bolen, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. "This action by the Senate shows our efforts are making a difference and that our message is resonating." Funding for SATS must still be approved by the full Senate and be accepted by the House of Representatives. Earlier this year members of a House subcommittee had thought the FAA should fund the program instead of NASA and killed the funding. SATS would use technology to provide air travel for the masses.
FAA APPLAUDS SOCAL PILOTS
The FAA congratulated Southern California pilots for a remarkably low number of intrusions into restricted airspace during the Democratic National Convention. During the 48 hours that the temporary flight restriction was in effect, only five unauthorized aircraft entered the TFR. Only three out of the five were unaware of the restriction, while the other two miscalculated their positions and left the TFR as soon as they realized their errors. Besides their normal notification procedures the FAA relied upon aviation organizations, including AOPA, for assistance in disseminating the TFR times and dimensions.
SPRUCE GOOSE GETS A NEW NEST
 The Spruce Goose waddled to a new nest Saturday after spending years in storage at Evergreen International Aviation in McMinnville, Oregon. The World War II-era flying boat will be housed in a partially completed museum a half-mile from Evergreen, which owns the aircraft. About 5,000 spectators watched as a truck caravan pulling the tail, wings, wing center section, and fuselage crossed a four-lane highway separating the old museum site from the new location. The new museum building will open next spring. The fuselage weighs 130 tons while each wing weighs 95 tons. Evergreen has dozens of other aircraft in its collection. The $16 million museum has been named The Captain Michael King Smith Evergreen Aviation Educational Center after the son of Evergreen's present board chairman, Del Smith. The younger Smith, an Air Force fighter pilot, wrote the winning proposal for displaying the Spruce Goose a few years before he died in a car wreck in 1995. The aircraft was formerly owned by the Walt Disney Company and was on display in Long Beach, California. Disney gave the aircraft to Evergreen for free, although Evergreen paid $4 million to move it to Oregon by barge. Look for a feature on the aircraft in an upcoming issue of AOPA Pilot.
PILOTS FACE VIOLATIONS FROM CHART GLITCH
Your current Jacksonville World Aeronautical Chart leaves off an important segment of restricted airspace that is activated for space shuttle launches and landings. One pilot has already gotten tapped on the shoulder by the FAA for violating the airspace during a shuttle launch. The pilot was flying VFR to the Bahamas and was attempting to eyeball the airspace using his WAC. The airspace in question is a fan-shaped sector that is depicted properly on the Jacksonville Sectional Chart but not on WAC CH-25. AOPA has been working to help resolve the issue, but a chart revision is not due until late December. An FAA official said he took no action against the pilot after learning that not only was the chart wrong, but that the pilot had received no warning from the flight service station briefer. NASA puts out a notam 24 hours before a launch or shuttle landing. If you are planning a trip down the east coast of Florida, ask the briefer about R-2932, R-2933, R-2934, and R-2935. Also ask about warning area W-497A and 497B. Some of the airspace over Kennedy Space Center and Port Canaveral is active continuously, while other portions are activated only three hours before a launch and five hours before a landing. To keep track of shuttle launches and landings, see this Web site. Look for a feature article on flying near the launch site in an upcoming issue of AOPA Pilot.
For daily news updates, see AOPA Online.
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Inside AOPA
| AOPA EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT NANTUCKET AIRSPACE
AOPA is concerned that if Class C airspace is implemented for Nantucket Memorial Airport it would restrict general aviation access and create new safety problems. The FAA is currently preparing a feasibility study and requesting comments about establishing Class C airspace for the airport located about 25 miles south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. "The amount and mix of air traffic at Nantucket Memorial Airport varies tremendously over the course of a year and the primary driver behind the push for Class C airspace is the peak traffic level during the summer season," said Melissa K. Bailey, AOPA director of air traffic services, in a letter to the FAA. "We are concerned that the Class C airspace 'solution' is overreactionary and unnecessary, given that during most of the year the traffic count appears to be much lower." One solution Bailey mentioned is increasing participation in radar services from the Cape tracon that would likely achieve much of what a Class C designation would do. "This solution would not require potential inconvenience, cost, or safety considerations for any users," Bailey said. AOPA is also calling for a full discussion of the issue.
BOYER PRESENTS AWARD TO TEXAS LAWMAKER
AOPA President Phil Boyer presented an award this week to Texas State Rep. Ron Wilson (D-Houston) for his support of general aviation last year. The award was presented during an AOPA Pilot Town Meeting in Houston. Wilson worked tirelessly to help AOPA and Austin-area pilots fight to preserve downtown Mueller Field Airport. Although the airport was ultimately closed, Wilson has pledged to ensure that GA has adequate facilities at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (a former military airport now serving the Austin area) and to encourage the building of a new GA airport at Pflugerville, north of Austin. Jerry Hooper, AOPA southwest regional representative, continues to work closely with Wilson on improving GA facilities in the Austin region.
BOYER HONORS TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN
R. Anderson Pew, AOPA Board of Trustees chairman, was honored last week by AOPA President Phil Boyer for 30 years of service to the association and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. Pew guided the organizations through three presidents and saw AOPA grow from 40,000 members to almost 365,000 during his tenure. The award was presented to Pew at the annual AOPA two-day trustees meeting, where the leadership sets the organization's strategy for the future. AOPA trustees serve without compensation and can have no business ties to aviation. Pew owns a single-engine Piper Comanche and flies some 200 hours a year for pleasure.
IAOPA TO ANALYZE GA PROGRESS
The International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA) will examine current issues in general aviation worldwide during the organization's twentieth World Assembly next week in Edinburgh, Scotland. High on the agenda will be technological and regulatory developments in airspace control and airspace/airport access and the affect on general aviation. IAOPA President Phil Boyer, who is also president of AOPA, will preside over the biennial event. For more, see the Web site.
| On Capitol Hill
| SLATER AND GARVEY AGREE WITH AOPA POSITION
Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey echoed calls made by AOPA President Phil Boyer at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill last week on the increasing number of ATC delays. Slater and Garvey expressed their gratitude to the committee for its efforts to pass the AIR-21 legislation earlier this year. They both believe the legislation has given them the tools to start rebuilding the nation's airport and airway system. In fact, Slater pointed to the $9 billion in funding for the Airport Improvement Program as a means to finally begin construction of new runways at the nation's busiest airports. These statements are remarkably similar to those in a letter sent to each member of the U.S. Senate last week by Boyer, responding to proposals to privatize air traffic control. "Although such proposals are well intended," Boyer told senators, "AOPA opposes any efforts toward privatization on the grounds that they are unnecessary with the passage of AIR-21, the landmark legislation approved by Congress earlier this year." The legislation unlocked the Aviation Trust Fund so that billions of dollars could be used to update the nation's deteriorating airspace system.
| Airport Support Network
| VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK–JEFF GERKEN
ASN volunteer Jeff Gerken has been keeping a watchful eye out for the Fairfield County Airport (LHQ) in Lancaster, Ohio. He has been attending zoning meetings and recently discovered a proposal for a soccer park and subdivision east of the airport, adjacent to the end of the runway. Gerken collected the necessary documentation, including letters from the Ohio State Aeronautics Office. AOPA wrote a letter in opposition to the proposed development, and Gerken will continue to keep the association up to date on this proposal.
Click here to learn more about the Airport Support Network.
| AOPA Air Safety Foundation News
| ASF ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Two university students each won $1,000 scholarships administered by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation and the University Aviation Association. The year 2000 McAllister Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Julie Ann Murray of Channahon, Illinois. Murray is a senior majoring in aviation administration at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. The Burnside Memorial Scholarship for 2000 was awarded to William K. Roe of Port Orange, Florida, a senior majoring in aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach, Florida, campus. For more information on scholarships or to download applications, see AOPA Online.
MISSOURI PILOT WINS TRANSEIVER PRIZE
Frank Doerr of Maryland Heights, Missouri, is the winner of a Sporty's handheld transceiver after attending an AOPA Air Safety Foundation seminar. Doerr attended the GPS for VFR Operations seminar that took place in St. Louis in June. For more on safety seminars, see the Web site.
| Quiz Me!
| Here’s a question asked by an AOPA member last week of our AOPA technical specialists. Test your knowledge.
Question: Occasionally on the VFR sectional charts there are VORs with the name underlined. Most of the VOR names are not underlined. What does the underlining signify?
Answer: When the name of the VOR in the designator box is underlined, it means that the VOR is a VFR checkpoint and the name of the VOR is the name of the checkpoint. Note the magenta flag at the VOR. The flag is the visual symbol for a VFR checkpoint.
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].
| What's New At AOPA Online
| To reduce runway incursions and improve surface navigation, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, in conjunction with the FAA Runway Safety Program Office, provides online airport taxi diagrams for more than 330 of the busiest U.S. towered airports. By special arrangement with Jeppesen Sanderson Inc., more than 130 additional diagrams are now available. Diagrams are updated regularly, so check before each flight to be sure you have the most current version. See the Web site.
| On The Road To Expo
| SPECIAL ARRIVAL PROCEDURES IN PLACE FOR AOPA EXPO
Special arrival procedures will be in place for the more than 2,000 aircraft expected to fly to Long Beach Airport/Daugherty Field (LGB) for AOPA Expo 2000. Both VFR arrival procedures and IFR slot reservations will be in effect from October 19 through 22. "The Los Angeles Basin has some of the most complicated airspace in the world," said Woody Cahall, AOPA vice president of aviation services. "For safety, pilots must be absolutely certain they understand and follow the AOPA Expo arrival procedures." For more, see AOPA Online.
LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS AT AOPA EXPO 2000
Whether you're a student pilot or an ATP, there will be more than 82 seminar topics at AOPA Expo 2000 in Long Beach, California, from October 20 through 22. Come and talk to the pros. You'll find sessions on how to improve your flying skills, get the latest on regulatory issues, and learn more about weather. For more, see AOPA Online or call 888/GO2-EXPO.
| ePilot Calendar
| WEEKEND FLYING DESTINATIONS
In response to member requests, destinations will be posted one week in advance beginning with this issue.
Springfield, Illinois. The Springfield Air Rendezvous takes place September 30 through October 1. Featuring the USAF Thunderbirds. Capital Airport (SPI), 217/788-1060, is the host airport. Call 217/789-4400 for event information.
Corinth, Mississippi. The First Annual Roscoe Turner Classic Airplane Show takes place September 30. Roscoe Turner Airport (CRX), 601/287-3223, is the host airport. Call the airport for more information.
Page, Arizona. The Lake Powell Air Affair takes place October 1. Featuring modern and vintage aircraft and hot air balloons. Page Municipal Airport (PGA), 520/645-4230, is the host airport. Call 520/645-2136 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 Baltimore, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 23 and 24. Clinics are scheduled in Wichita, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and San Jose, California October 7 and 8. For complete details, visit the Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic schedule.
ASF SAFETY SEMINARS
The next AOPA ASF Safety Seminars are scheduled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Greensboro, North Carolina, October 2; Detroit, and Raleigh, North Carolina, October 3; and Wilmington, North Carolina, and Indianapolis October 4. For topic 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 September 24 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 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 Daytona Beach, Florida, October 3; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 12; and Baltimore, November 13. Click for more information on Pilot Town Meetings.
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Contacting ePilot
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