Aviation Interest

The FAA has published in the Federal Register an AD, effective March 11th, for Piper PA-28, PA-32, PA-34, and PA-44 airplanes. The AD was prompted by reports of control cable assembly failures that may lead to failure of the horizontal stabilator control system and could result in loss of pitch control.

General Aviation is dead. If it’s not dead, it’s dying. If it’s not dying, it’s paralyzed with a sickness that manifests itself in the form of high prices, lousy service, ancient participants, and a generalized sense of ennui among the spectators at the fence line. You’ve read these charges, and I’m here to tell you they’re bunk.

AOPA President Craig Fuller on March 6 leveled sharp criticism at the sequestration cuts planned by the Obama administration and the FAA, suggesting that the decision to close control towers and scale back aviation services constitutes a risk to aviation safety. 

San Carlos, CA. – Females interested in aviation can get more information at one of a number of events held in San Carlos next week celebrating the Women of Aviation Worldwide Week.

Today, about 6 percent of pilots are female in most developed countries, according to the Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide. Similarly, the percentage of female aircraft mechanics is less than 3 percent and female aeronautical engineers make up about 9 percent of their field. The week was created in 2010 to encourage “awareness and outreach celebrating women of aviation and their contribution to the betterment of the air and space industry.”

Airport Executives Association President Says Nearly Half Of The Nation’s Control Towers May Close – Airports with 150,000 or fewer operations per year are in danger of losing their control towers due to sequestration, affecting as many as 168 airports across the country.

FLIGHT ADVISORY GPS Testing NAFC GPS 13 – 04 February 26, 2013 – March 15, 2013 Las Vegas, NV This will affect a huge area see URL link for more information https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2013/Feb/NAFC_13-04_GPS_Flight_Advisory.pdf  

The FAA has announced that its study “General Aviation Airports: A National Asset,” which will help the FAA make planning decisions, has entered its second phase “to further define the role of GA airports.” Earlier work has resulted in the creation of four new categories for GA airports — national, regional, local, and basic. More than 2,950 airports are included in the study and the FAA has found that almost 500 of those do not fit into one of the defined categories. Yours could be on the list (PDF — scroll to page B93). The FAA has now committed to gathering additional information about the airports, in concert with state aeronautic divisions and airport sponsors, for further classification. The FAA says phase one has “revealed the many functions the majority of GA airports provide” and categorization of the airports will help the agency “make more consistent planning decisions.”

Local residents may finally get some relief from the helicopter noise that disrupts sleep and makes it hard to work. Congressman Adam Schiff is joining with Congressmen Henry Waxman and Brad Sherman, and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to keep the Los Angeles Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act in the legislative pipeline. The bill was reintroduced Monday.

Lessons from the NFL – A few days before the Seattle Seahawks played the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card round of the National Football League playoffs, General Aviation News columnist, and nearly Washington D.C. resident Charles Spence emailed me to poke a little fun about the upcoming game. I took the comments to Facebook for…

The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) for airplanes equipped with Continental Motors, Inc. (CMI), continuous flow, fuel injected engines. The airworthiness concern is related to certain throttle and mixture control levers. Affected engines include all IO-240, IO-360, LTSIO-360, TSIO-360, IO-346, IO-470, GIO-470, TSIO-470, IO-520, GTSIO-520, LIO-520, TSIO-520, IO-550, GIO-550, TSIO-550, and TSIOL-550 continuous flow, fuel injected engines (except FADEC-equipped engines).