U.S. Congressmen Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) and Chris Carney (D-Pa.) recently sent a letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means requesting an extension of the current accelerated “bonus” depreciation incentive for aircraft purchases through Dec. 31 and placed in service by Dec. 31, 2011. “We have seen in the past how bonus depreciation is […]
News
Court says info on tail numbers must be made available
A district court judge for Washington, D.C., has ruled that aircraft tail numbers submitted to the FAA for blockage from distribution to sources outside the FAA under the National Business Aviation Association’s Blocked Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program must be made available in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The […]
New name for FAA magazine
Starting with the March/April 2010 issue, FAA Aviation News is changing its name to FAA Safety Briefing. “We’re changing the name to more accurately reflect the magazine’s mission: Safety,” said John Allen, director, FAA Flight Standards Service. “Briefings are used in health care, in the military, and in aviation, and are essential to get crucial […]
‘Pistons and Pixels’ demonstration slated
Sierra Industries, a South Texas aircraft modification company, will host a “Pistons and Pixels” demonstration to showcase its avionics and airframe upgrade capabilities for a variety of high-performance aircraft. The event will be held at Gillespie County Airport (T82) in Fredericksburg, Texas, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 13. Owners and operators of […]
A fun weekend of ski flying
Reader Blake Hermel sent us some photos of a gathering this weekend of a group of ski pilots from Mankato, Minn., who got together to “put on some mileage.” “We headed for Hayward, Wis., to see the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, and followed it up by spending Sunday flying around the Mankato area,” he […]
Wright B replica prepares for 100th anniversary of first military flight
Volunteers from Wright “B” Flyer Inc. in Dayton have assembled and taxi-tested lookalikes of two Wright Model “B” Flyers in preparation for the Military Flight Centennial on March 2, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. According to foundation officials, 13 volunteers are taking part in the all-volunteer organization’s biggest ever deployment. The event will […]
Tsunami warnings prove CAP’s preparedness
The 13th Air Force, in support of the state of Hawaii Civil Defense, launched planes from Civil Air Patrol’s Hawaii Wing Saturday morning for statewide tsunami warnings following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chili. About 80% of the shoreline in Hawaii does not have a fixed base siren, said Hawaii Wing Commander Col. Roger Caires, […]
Speaking up for GA
In a column printed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, talk show host — and pilot — Neal Boortz opines about the anti-GA crowd flying off the handle after the Austin crash. He tries to set things straight: “Let me start with the idiot talking heads I heard on the cable news channels in the hours after […]
On the horizon: Hybrid planes
A former president of Cessna Aircraft is working on a project to use electric hybrid propulsion instead of aviation fuel to power GA aircraft, according to a story in The Wichita Eagle. Charlie Johnson, the former Cessna leader, is chief operating officer and one of the founders of Bye Aerospace, and its subsidiary Bye Energy, […]