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News You Can Use
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Flight Preparation More Important Than Ever
On this first official weekend of summer 2002, EAA reminds all pilots to be particularly alert in their own flight preparations as well as activities at their local airports. This week’s incident with the Cessna 182 flying into restricted airspace in Washington, D.C. clearly indicates that flight preparation is more important than ever. The C-182 was intercepted by military aircraft after inadvertently straying into the TFR while attempting to avoid bad weather. This incident is further reinforcement of the federal government’s continuing re-examination of security procedures for general aviation.
Before taking off, contact FAA Flight Service to receive the latest information; know and understand all applicable NOTAMs, and know where the Temporary Flight Restrictions are. Also maintain high vigilance at local airports, report suspicious activities to local authorities, and take the time to secure your airplane or hangar before you leave. It is critical that pilots continue to use the highest levels of preparation, responsibility and judgment, and that they encourage others to do so as well.
On Friday, June 21, EAA President Tom Poberezny communicated to all chapters through EAA’s ChapterGram e-newsletter urging members to use the strength of EAA’s network of members and chapters as an effective way to get the word out in the aviation community.
GA Coalition Urges FAA to Make Graphical NOTAMs Available to Pilots
 Just hours before the airspace incursion in Washington, D.C., on June 19, the General Aviation Coalition, Chaired by EAA President Tom Poberezny, agreed to urge the FAA and Transportation Security Agency to make graphical depictions of airspace restrictions outlined in NOTAMs available to the pilot community via the Internet. The suggestion came during discussions on common-sense security practices that could be readily and cost effectively implemented by the general aviation community.
Since February the FAA has been distributing graphical NOTAMs internally to flight service personnel but has thus far been unwilling or unable to make them available to the public as part of flight planning briefings. Since immediately after the September 11, terrorist attacks that resulted in the wholesale closure of airspace for security purposes, EAA in conjunction with its flight planning service partner AeroPlanner.com has made graphical NOTAMs available to pilots seeking information about airspace restrictions. Other GA Coalition member organizations such as NBAA and AOPA have also made similar information available on their web sites. Disturbingly, the FAA, which is responsible to disseminating safety of flight information does not make these types of products available as part of standard electronic or telephonic weather and flight planning briefings.
EAA strongly supports the position of the GA Coalition and it’s 16 other member organizations in making this information readily available to help prevent future TFR airspace incursions.
Timeless Voices of Aviation: 'Let No Story go Untold'
 EAA will launch one of the most important heritage preservation programs ever attempted during AirVenture Oshkosh 2002, the 50th convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Timeless Voices of Aviation is an ambitious act of stewardship involving the gathering, cataloguing, transcribing and distribution of the pioneering oral histories of aviation’s first century. Phase one of the program focuses on gathering oral histories of aviation combat and support veterans. This priority is set largely by the rate at which our WWII veterans are being lost.
Of the 16 million men and women who served in history’s most destructive conflict, only about 5 million are left, and we are losing them at a rate of approximately 1,100 per day.
(read more)
GAC-Backed Security Plan Presented to FAA Administrator, TSA
 The General Aviation Coalition (GAC), chaired by EAA President Tom Poberezny, met Tuesday with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and Tom Blank of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in Washington, D.C. The GAC pressed home the importance of its general aviation security recommendations that had the unanimous backing by the full GAC membership, which includes all major GA organizations. EAA and AOPA, GAMA, HAI and NBAA originally submitted the recommendations for enhancing the security of general aviation operations to the TSA, in December 2001.
(read more)
Fossett Continues on Historic Flight
 Steve Fossett’s historic solo attempt to be the first person to fly a hot-air balloon flight around the world continues to go extremely well according to reports from Bud Light Spirit of Freedom mission control in St. Louis. Forty-eight hours after lifting off from Western Australia, the flight has been “a relatively fuss free mission,” according to controllers. As Fossett
(EAA 562868) continued his eastward trek high over stormy New Zealand, he remarked he was “going straight to where I want to go...towards my goal." Fossett acknowledged that there was potential trouble ahead. "There's a very tricky low center before I approach South America. Right now we plan to go to the north and kinda circle around it. So we'll see how that goes and whether I can avoid thunderstorms on that one," he said. Fossett will soon head out over the Pacific Ocean on a flight path that puts Fossett at the west coast of Chile within 5 days, then 100-knot winds are expected to blow the balloon across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Bud Light Spirit of Freedom could be back to the southwest coast of Australia in less than 12 days, much faster than original predictions of
approximately 20 days.
For the latest updates, visit www.spiritoffreedom.com.
Volunteers Sought For NAFI AirVenture Headquarters
The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) is in need of some more volunteers for AirVenture Oshkosh 2002. If you know an instructor who's planning on attending this year’s 50th convention, encourage him or her to volunteer at the NAFI Flight Instructor Headquarters, located just across Knapp Street from the FAA building, next to EAA's Convention Headquarters. NAFI specifically seeks people to answer student questions, inform visitors about NAFI membership benefits, and network information with other NAFI members. For more information, call Sue Strehlow, NAFI Program
Manager, at 920-426-6840 or send an e-mail to
nafi@eaa.org. NAFI/Flight Instructor Headquarters is sponsored by Cirrus Aircraft.
Museum Speaker Showcase Features Top Aviation Personalities
The top names in aviation will be featured in more than 60 presentations at EAA AirVenture’s Museum Speaker Showcase during the organization’s 50th annual gathering. Showcase presentations will cover a wide variety of aviation topics and bring museum exhibits to life. Apollo astronauts Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon, and Frank Borman, commander of the first crew to orbit the moon, will present their part in aviation history. Academy Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson will share his personal aviation and movie experiences.
(read
more)
On The Flight Line ---
Mooney Airplane Co. Re-launches With a 20 Percent Price Cut
As it restarts production facilities in Kerrville, Texas, the new Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., has reduced the price of the three Mooney products, the Eagle2, Ovation2 and Bravo, by an average of $90,000, or 20 percent. Mooney Aerospace Group, Ltd., the former Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures, Inc. (AASI), acquired Mooney Aircraft assets in March. The first airplane is scheduled to roll out in July, and plans are to produce eight aircraft per month by second quarter 2003. The Eagle2 (180 knots cruise) is now $299,950, with the Ovation2 (190 knots) $349,950, and the turbocharged Bravo (220 knots) priced at $399,950. All three models come with a complete IFR avionics package, plus autopilot standard. The company’s new comprehensive sales program—the Mooney Alliance—includes Mooney showroom sales facilities at the Long Beach Airport in Long Beach, California and at the Louis Schreiner Airport in Kerrville, plus regional sales representatives. Mooney’s Alliance Support program includes over 40 approved Mooney service centers, a two-year, 600-hour spinner-to-tail warranty and initial training for owners.
www.mooney.com
Boeing To Bring 307 Stratoliner All The Way Back...Again
The Boeing Company will repair the 307 Stratoliner airplane to the pristine airworthy. Upon inspection, the repair team determined there is only secondary structural damage to the airplane after it ditched in March in Seattle’s Elliott Bay. The aircraft was first seen by the public at AirVenture Oshkosh 2001 and is destined for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum where it will become a permanent exhibit in the new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, in Northern Virginia.
Approximately 70 people, full-time Boeing employees and volunteers, are working to bring the aircraft, the world’s first pressurized airliner, back to airworthy condition. Cleaning, repairing and reinstalling parts will continue through next summer, which is when the company originally planned to deliver the airplane to the Udvar-Hazy Center.
EAA will provide a B-17 engine mount to the restoration project. (The 307 was based on the B-17 airframe.)
Cherokees Speed Gain from Power Flow Systems
Power Flow Systems, Inc., claims it can boost a Cherokee 140’s cruise to 150 m.p.h. by installing a Power Flow tuned exhaust and a set of Laminar Flow speed mods. Along with a 21 m.p.h. speed gain over a stock aircraft, the STC’d installations increase rate of climb by 30 percent. The patented tuned exhaust system eliminates back pressure and increases engine efficiency, adding 15 to 25 horsepower. Laminar Flow mods include Flap Gap Seals, Aileron Gap Seals, Flap Hinge Fairings, Wing Smoothing/Fuel Tank Fairings, and a new set of Wheel Pants. “For a hair over $7,000, you can upgrade a Cherokee 140 to rival or exceed a Cherokee 180 in performance, but with a much better fuel burn, said Power Flow General Manager Darren Tilman. For more information, call 386/253-8833, toll-free 877/693-7356 or visit
www.powerflowsystems.com.
CHR Opens its Second North American Factory
Safari helicopter kit manufacturer Canadian Home Rotors, Inc. has opened its second North American
factory in Marianna, Florida. Manufacturing of its popular helicopter kit will be divided between the new facility and its Toronto, Canada, plant, which has been churning out kits for more than 20 years. Assembly, main rotor blade and fiberglass production will take place in Marianna. The new factory is located on the Marianna Municipal Airport (MAI), which is two hours from the Pensacola Marine Airbase and three hours helicopter flight from the Sun ‘n Fun grounds at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.
www.acehelicopter.com
ERAU Safety-Security Program in August at Prescott Campus
Professional development in safety and security issues are the focus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Safety and Security Certificate program, slated for August 5-22, at ERAU’s Prescott, Arizona, campus. The program is offered through the Center for Aerospace Safety/Security Education (CASE). The course is designed to enhance and develop knowledge of safety and security issues through intense case studies and on-site investigation at the Robertson Aviation Safety Laboratory. Participants in the CASE certificate program include American Eagle Airlines, Gemini Air Cargo, the United Nations and, for the first time, the National Transportation Safety Board. For more information, contact Roy Rosales, ERAU Director of Aviation Professional Programs, at 386/226-6186, or
rasalero@erau.edu
Q & A:
Question of the Week
Question For EAA Government and
Industry Relations:
I enjoy reading your question and answer on the weekly EAA email bulletin I receive. Now I've got a question:
I am considering the purchase of a Pietenpol powered by a Model-A Ford engine from another area builder. If I buy the aircraft, can he still perform maintenance, especially annual inspections on the aircraft for me? While the aircraft structure is brutally simple, the thought of having an off-the-shelf A&P look at, let alone work on the engine scares me.
Answer: If the person you plan on purchasing the Pietenpol from was the original,
primary builder and received the amateur-built aircraft repairman's certificate to do the annual condition inspections on that aircraft,
then the answer is yes.
As the owner of an experimental amateur-built aircraft, anybody you designate can perform any and all types of maintenance, including major
repairs, modifications, alterations, and/or changes on that aircraft. The FAA only limits who can perform the annual condition inspection - the holder of that aircraft's repairman's certificate,
an authorized FAA repair station, or an A&P. These options will be yours as long as you own the Pietenpol.
How can we help you?
To
ask a question regarding government issues, email govt@eaa.org. If you have a question
about registration, airmen, aircraft and medical certification,
safety records, performance, or any other matter, email infoserv@eaa.org.
We are pleased to provide this info to EAA members
as a membership benefit. To ensure that this service continues, renew your membership or join EAA today by calling 800-843-3612 or 920-426-5912.
EAA SportAir Workshops
JULY 12-14, 2002, GRIFFIN, GA
Topics: RV Assembly
See the complete schedule of
upcoming SportAir Workshops.
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additional information on EAA websites referred to in EAA Sport Aviation.