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Congress OKs Long-Term FAA Funding
The Senate on Monday voted to pass a four-year FAA funding bill that just last week was agreed on by a joint committee and then passed in the House on Friday. The bill now goes to President Obama. General aviation advocacy groups were united in applauding the bill. AOPA President Craig Fuller said the $63 billion in funding provides a "vital step" toward modernizing our air traffic system and improving our airports. Pete Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, said, "The policies contained in this bill are critical to the health of general aviation manufacturing." For about five years, the FAA has operated on short-term funding appropriations from Congress while waiting for a full re-authorization bill to be hashed out in Congress.
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Another Aviation Movie In The Works
Hollywood's aviation films often prove disappointing to aviators -- though it might be argued that a bad flying film is still better than none -- and another one now in the works, starring Denzel Washington, provides a fresh chance to see if Hollywood can portray the life of a pilot in a way that rings true. Flight, which started production last October, tells the story of an airline pilot, played by Washington, who becomes a hero after coping with an in-flight emergency but then is revealed to have problems with drugs and alcohol. The director is Robert Zemeckis, who also directed Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, and Cast Away.
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AVmail: February 6, 2012
Letter of the Week: In Defense of the FAAIt is in the nature of pilots to complain about the FAA and the news about the temporary grounding of Operation Migration's aircraft, and its migrating whooping cranes in December sparked some strident criticism of the agency from pilots. As a member of the board of directors of Operation Migration (OM), an EAA member, and a private pilot, I'd like to set the record straight.FAA officials were not the bad guys in this affair far from it. They have long recognized the value and the uniqueness of what OM is doing for an endangered species and the high standards of safety that we have maintained in our flight operations....For the birds,David SakrisonClick through to read the full text of our "Letter of the Week" and other notes from AVweb readers.
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Podcast: New Attitude at the FAA?
As the FAA works on rulemaking to allow the integration of unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace system, there are signs that the agency has significantly ramped up the safety requirements for this brand-new aviation sector. Aviation consultant Gary Church discussed the issues and their potential effect with AVweb's Russ Niles.This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation.
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FBO of the Week: Golden Eagle Aviation (K06A, Tuskegee, AL)
>>> AVWEB FUEL FINDERCURRENT PRICE FOR 100LL: $5.74 (no change from last week)CURRENT PRICE FOR JET A: $5.46 (down 5¢ from last week)Fuel prices provided weekly by AirNav, based on prices from the past 2 weeks. Changes are relative to last week's prices. /TEXT_ONLY-->AVweb's newest "FBO of the Week" is Golden Eagle Aviation at Moton Field Municipal Airport (06A) in Tuskegee, Alabama. Reader Billy Tyndall tells us how an unplanned stopover made Golden Eagle a standard by which other FBOs are measured:On a cross-country flight in my Sport Cub from North Carolina to Arizona, I encountered adverse weather and landed at Moton Field Municipal Airport in Tuskegee, Alabama to wait it out. The rain which arrived took three days to pass, and during that time the staff at Golden Eagle Aviation made those days the most enjoyable of the trip. Sylvester and Minnie run the FBO with such personality and warmth that transient pilots immediately feel at home. They helped us with the standard FBO offerings, such as avgas, computer access, and coffee, and went further to see that we found the cultural and culinary assests of Tuskegee, which were many. When it was time to leave, Sylvester improvised an apparatus to preheat the cold engine in the Cub, even though the climate in Tuskegee doesn't normally require preheating engines. He went the extra mile to get us back in the air, and we'll remember his FBO for their caring actions!Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!
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Short Final
Years ago, I had an interesting ATC encounter in Washington airspace that I think would be humorous to your readers of "Short Final." While flying my RV-4 in the narrow VFR slot between the old Washington ADIZ and the expanded Camp David TFR, I lost my GPS. Without a VOR, I contacted Wash. Center. The call went as follows:N1234 (me):"Washington Center, N1234."Center:"N1234, go ahead."N1234:"I've lost all nav aids over Frederick, and I'm concerned that I will violate airspace and cause a little excitement. Please give me vectors to keep me out of trouble."Center:"No worries. Everyone is targeting you."Bruce MacInnesvia e-mail
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Flight Attendants Plan OccuFLY Event
Flight attendants from more than 20 airlines will "occupy" a section of LAX on Monday to protest labor provisions in a proposed FAA reauthorization bill. The OccuFLY protest, organized by the Association of Flight Attendants, is a reaction to change in voting standards for union organization that unions consider an attack on organized labor. "This controversial labor provision is nothing less than an attack by the 1% against the 99%," said AFA PresidentVeda Shook in a news release.
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Video: Where's My Flying Car?
A practical flying car with everyman usability has so far eluded the public, but we may have already been introduced to a design that could lead to a breakthrough. Some of the major challenges of producing a point-to-point simple and safe to operate vehicle are technological in nature. Autonomous navigation (enter the destination, press a button, and allow the vehicle to navigate, communicate with, and autonomously avoid other aircraft) may be one key to safely organizing masses of flying vehicles in the same airspace. And as society progresses, the gap between the dream and reality may be shrinking.
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FAA UAS Rule May Reflect New Standards
The FAA's next major rulemaking effort may reflect a shift in agency standards that could hobble one emerging sector and set the tone for the rest of the industry, according to a Washington-based consultant. Gary Church, of Aviation Management Associates, has been representing companies developing unmanned aerial systems for several years and he told AVweb in a podcast interview he believes the forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking on UASs will set a new standard for safety regulations. He said the agency appears to be aiming for a "do no harm" regime called a "targeted level of safety" that may realistically be unachievable. He also expects legal challenges to the current ban on commercial use of small UASs if the agency continues to drag its feet in establishing regulations.
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Migration Pilots Defend FAA
Operation Migration (OM) has leapt to the defense of the FAA in light of the recent controversy over the use of allegedly paid pilots in the well-known aircraft-led migration of whooping cranes to Florida. In a letter to AVweb, OM spokesman David Sakrison said the temporary grounding of this year's migration resulted from the persistent complaints of an unidentified person outside of OM and was not initiated by the FAA, which has been supportive of the effort and had previously inspected and cleared all aspects of the operation. The LSA-category trikes flown by the OM pilots cannot be used commercially and OM and the FAA had previously agreed that while the pilots were paid OM employees, the flying was done voluntarily. However, the launching of a formal complaint by the same person obliged the FAA to open an investigation and the pilots voluntarily grounded themselves in Alabama to avoid any chance of being found in violation. "At that time, agency officials made it clear that they would work with us toward a solution, possibly through a permanent exemption from the 'flying for hire' prohibition," Sakrison wrote. The new rule is expected to be in effect in a few months, in time for the spring cycle of the migration. However, not even the blessing of the mighty FAA is more powerful than Mother Nature and the pilots won't be needed any longer.
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