Flying in the mountains of Colorado is now a little safer, thanks to the installation of four more Automated Weather Observing Systems by the Vaisala Group. For the past few years the company has been working with state officials to install units near passes that aircraft use to transit the mountains. The most recent installations […]
St. Helens roars to life (again)
Pilots flying over southern Washington State and northern Oregon had to alter their flight plans on Tuesday, March 8, when Mt. St. Helens erupted for the second time in five months. The eruption, which occurred around 5:30 p.m., sent a cloud of smoke and ash some 40,000 feet into the air. Aircraft were warned to […]
The Texas Fly-In to set down in Hondo in May
The Southwest Regional EAA Fly-In, known as the Texas Fly-In, is billing itself as a Texas-sized celebration of a little-known American privilege: the freedom to build your very own airplane. A wide variety of airplanes from homebuilts to warbirds will be on display — and flying — during the event, which is set for May […]
Sport Pilot Tour scheduled
The first Sport Pilot Tour, designed to ignite interest in the new category of flying, takes off in June. First stop is Marysville, Calif., as part of the Golden West Regional Fly-In June 3-4. It’s then on to St. Louis June 10-11 and Franklin, Penna., June 17-18. The tour includes sport pilot forums, education for […]
NTSB debuts historical publication
As it marked its 30th anniversary as an independent agency, the NTSB issued a new publication that examines safety improvements that resulted from more than three decades of NTSB accident investigations. Titled “NTSB: Lessons Learned and Lives Saved,” the publication surveys safety measures inspired by NTSB’s more than 12,000 recommendations over the years. “We believe […]
NATA takes fingerprint subsidiary international
An agreement between the TSA and the National Fingerprint Collection Clearinghouse, a subsidiary of the National Air Transportation Association, has been expanded internationally. The clearinghouse, which has been training and certifying individuals to collect and process fingerprints for background checks since September 2002 for the TSA, will now take that work worldwide. TSA mandates that […]
Ohio bill more GA friendly than first feared
The Ohio Senate has passed a homeland security bill that is much friendlier to general aviation than it had first appeared. As it was introduced, Senate Bill 9, sponsored by Senate President Jeff Jacobson, would have required airports to screen all GA passengers, maintain five-year logs of all transient aircraft, and require double locks on […]
$5 billion government assurance nearly matches $5.4 billion airline woes
The $5 billion allocated by the federal government to compensate U.S. airlines for lost revenue after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was amazingly close to the actual financial setbacks the airlines sustained, according to two researchers in the College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In their study, Dr. Notis Pagiavlas and Dr. Vitaly […]
G1000 equipped Diamond approved by Transport Canada
Diamond Aircraft’s DA40-180 Diamond Star equipped with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit has received Transport Canada approval. Deliveries to Canadian customers will begin immediately. FAA certification was awarded in June 2004.