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The perfect pilot gift—Ask a friend or relative to renew your AOPA membership for you for 2010! You’ll need to provide your membership number and this link. today’s top storiesRemos receives “significant” capital infusion GA NEWSFuller appointed to aviation technical boards Long-term FAA bill likely deferred to 2010The House on Dec. 8 passed another three-month funding extension for the FAA. The FAA has been operating under temporary extensions since its last long-term authorization expired in 2007. The current extension is due to expire Dec. 31. The House passed a three-year reauthorization in May, but the Senate has yet to pass a long-term bill. Read more >> White House names nominee for FAA deputy administratorPresident Barack Obama announced Dec. 7 that he plans to nominate transportation policy consultant Michael P. Huerta for the position of deputy administrator of the FAA. Huerta currently has a firm that advises clients on transportation policy, technology, and financing. Until April 2009, he was president of the transportation solutions group of a technology services provider supporting transportation agencies across the world. He has held senior positions in the Department of Transportation and city agencies. Read more >> 'SpaceShipTwo' unveiled TLC to feature sport pilot without arms Dec. 13She impressed attendees of AOPA Aviation Summit in Tampa, Fla., this November with a demonstration of the type of “out of the shoe” thinking it takes to become the first sport pilot without arms. Now, inspirational speaker Jessica Cox will reach a national audience when she is featured on the hour-long special “ Born Without Arms” on TLC, Sunday, Dec. 13, at 10 p.m. Eastern time. The show will document the day-to-day struggles and artistic and professional achievements of three individuals born without arms. Check your local listings to watch more of Cox’s inspiring story. AOPA donates to Embry-Riddle scholarship fundAOPA Air Safety Foundation President Bruce Landsberg presented a $30,000 check to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Dec. 3 on behalf of the association for the AOPA Career Pathways Scholarship fund. The scholarship fund is part of a longstanding alliance between the world's largest aviation organization and one of the world's leading aviation universities. Each year, the association contributes 10 percent of the AOPA member dues paid by ERAU alumni to the university's endowed scholarship fund. The association has provided a total of $264,640 in scholarship funds to ERAU since 1997. Read more >> 83-year-old student pilot solos Senate committee discusses GA securityMembers of the Senate Commerce Committee discussed general aviation security and how to incorporate industry input into security regulations during a Dec. 2 hearing about post-9/11 transportation security challenges. Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) expressed his views on GA security during the hearing, indicating in his written statement that he remains “deeply concerned about the state of aviation security, especially general aviation security and air cargo security.” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) made it a point to discuss GA security as well, cautioning against overregulation of the industry. Read more >> Kids in South Carolina to get exposure to aviation in high schoolHigh school students in Horry County, S.C., may soon get the chance to experience flight training or airframe and powerplant training, thanks to a joint resolution by the county council and school board. AOPA member Al Allen, a county councilman since 2001, helped start the initiative in order to make use of existing airport facilities and give high school kids in the area exposure to aviation. Read more >> Beechcraft, Santa spread cheer to military familiesSanta Claus will trade his sleigh next week for a Premier IA and travel to 10 military facilities across the United States to spread holiday cheer. The jet will carry Santa and an elf to visit veterans and their families at medical facilities and military bases from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Calif., Dec. 14 through 18. Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is providing the jet for the flight, which is in support of Santa’s Traveling Workshop Foundation. Follow the flight on the company’s Web site. Thunderbirds return to LakelandThe U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will return to next year’s Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In and Expo. The show takes place April 13 to 18 in Lakeland, Fla. The Thunderbirds plan to arrive during the second half of the six-day event. Read more >> Cessna to phase out Georgia plantCessna will phase out its one plant in Columbus, Ga., during the next two years, moving the work to Independence, Kan., and Mexico. The phase-out begins in mid-2010. Read more >> Deadline approaches for Wolf Aviation Fund grants If you have an idea to support or promote general aviation, the Wolf Aviation Fund may be able to help you fund your dream. According to the foundation’s Web site, your proposal must fit into one of the following categories: developing public policy and airports; networking and mutual support; development and alternative resources; communications, media, and community relations; general aviation technology, safety, and noise; improving public understanding and perception; and aviation and space education. The deadline for grant proposals is Dec. 15. Information about how to apply and past winners is available on the Web site. Garmin wins collision avoidance approvalSoon there will be few aircraft in the sky that are not approved for one of Garmin’s anti-collision devices. Garmin International says the FAA has granted an approved model list supplemental type certificate for Garmin’s traffic avoidance system and traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) I traffic systems, the GTS 800, GTS 820 and GTS 850. The approval includes approximately 580 different aircraft makes and models, and Garmin expects to add additional aircraft in 2010. Read more >> Fly over Cuba, chill in the CaymansLooking for a getaway to kick off the new year? Caribbean Flying Adventures is hoping pilots will want to migrate south to warmer weather. The company is planning its fourth fly-in in cooperation with the Cayman Ministry of Tourism from Jan. 15 through 19, 2010. Pilots who participate will fly about 330 nautical miles, fly over Cuba, and visit different airports. For more information, visit the Web site. American homebuilt headed for ChinaChina is benefitting from American aviation companies at all levels. Chinese citizen XueQiang Si is building a Sportsman 2+2 at Glasair’s Two Weeks To Taxi program. XueQiang Si, who will base his airplane in the city of Laiwu in China’s Shandong Province, said that he believes his Sportsman will be the first experimental category aircraft to fly in the People’s Republic of China. Read more >> Folding electric bike solves pilot ground transport issuesA new folding, electric bicycle promises convenient ground transportation for pilots, all in a 54-pound package—and a tax credit to boot. The Wildfire 20-inch bike can be ridden like a conventional bicycle. Or flip the switch on the handlebar to the “assist” mode and the bike’s electric motor kicks in to help propel it while you pedal. Or for an even less-strenuous workout, flip to the “auto” setting and let the electric motor do all the work, propelling you along at a comfortably brisk speed. Read more >> Were you affected by the TCM cylinder recall?Teledyne Continental Motors plans to wrap up its cylinder recall by the end of the month, because full warranty coverage ends Dec. 31. There’s still time to qualify for the full warranty coverage if you were affected by recall MSB09-1B. Read more >> For daily news updates, see AOPA Online. GA serves americaFlying for the public good | Got news? Contact ePilot. Having difficulty using this service? Visit the ePilot Frequently Asked Questions now at AOPA Online or write to [email protected]. |
Remos Aircraft announced Dec. 10 that it has received a significant capital infusion from its investors that will strengthen the company going into 2010. The German manufacturer of light sport aircraft, a privately held company, had filed a proceeding known as a “notice of insolvency” earlier this month. The action was necessary because of a German law that requires businesses to notify the courts of possible financial problems and pertained only to the company’s manufacturing arm, based in Pasewalk. With the infusion of capital, that notice has been withdrawn. 
AOPA President Craig Fuller has been appointed to the board of directors and policy board of an organization charged with developing recommendations to lead American aviation into the future. Fuller will continue AOPA’s longstanding involvement in air transportation system modernization by filling the association’s spot on the boards of RTCA, a private, not-for-profit corporation that develops recommendations regarding communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management system issues. 
The spacecraft that may be the vehicle for the first commercial “spaceline” for suborbital space tourism flights was unveiled Dec. 7 in Mojave, Calif. SpaceShipTwo is the sequel to Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipOne, which completed the world’s first manned private space flights in 2004. The joint venture between Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites has a goal of launching daily space tourism flights—for tourists able to shell out $200,000 or more per flight. 
Anne Osmer finds that sometimes life in a retirement community can be a little too quiet. That may be why she took up flying, she says: “It sure isn’t boring.” She had never thought of learning to fly until just a few years ago when a friend took her up in his ultralight and later in a Cessna. The 83-year-old soloed a Diamond DA20 on Dec. 1 at Rutherford County-Marchman Field in Rutherfordton, N.C. 
In 43 years in the Air Force, Gene Hartman served across the United States and in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Taiwan before retiring as a colonel. It was a career he said he “enjoyed very much,” but Hartman would go on to find fulfillment, too, in the missions he flew on the home front for the Civil Air Patrol following Hurricane Katrina. /icon_video.gif?w=20&h=16&as=1&hash=7B06DF4EAE5A6E43DE6B4B0EA49D4907){kind=icon}
GA is foundation for L-3 Avionics
A holiday vacation could be the perfect chance to save time on travel and share your love of flying by taking the whole family along in your airplane. But an extra bumpy ride or poor communication aloft could mean that on the next flight you’ll be flying solo. So keep your passengers comfortable: The AOPA Pilot Information Center subject report 
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