Aviation Interest

We’re asking every pilot and aviation enthusiast to introduce someone new to aviation on Learn To Fly Day,” EAA’s Ron Wagner told AVweb at Sun ‘n Fun this week. “It’s coming up soon … May 15 … and pilots around the country are making plans to participate.” Participation can be as simple as inviting a friend or neighbor to visit the airport or go for a flight, or as robust as planning a weekend-long community festival, as one group in Louisiana is doing, Wagner said. “This is not just an EAA initiative,” he added. “It’s aviation-wide.” There are so many barriers to discovering the world of flight today, from fences to finances to fear of the unknown, Wagner said. “If each of us just got one person interested, the aviation community would double.”

When Arnold Failano was ready to realize his childhood dream of learning to fly an airplane last fall, he had to leave Salinas to do it. Salinas was without a flight school since Air Trails/Verticare closed after the death of owner Jim Cheatham early in 2009 and Light Sport Airplanes closed later in the year. Failano started his training in Watsonville. But when San Jose-based AeroDynamic Aviation opened at Salinas Municipal Airport in April, he switched.

New IFR Departure Procedure Is Basis For Complaints
The city of Santa Monica is not happy about new IFR departure procedures being tested by the FAA at Santa Monica Airport (KSMO), and says it will “aggressively pursue all avenues” to force the FAA to conduct a full environmental impact study before any change is made permanent.

“Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts flew a small plane over San Francisco with pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. Roberts witnessed Sullenberger’s perfect landing on the Hudson River in 2009 from her apartment window, and wanted to meet the celebrated pilot. “I’ve never seen San Francisco quite like this,” Roberts said. ABC News

Max demonstrated crosswind….who came up with that? Before an airplane is type certificated by the FAA, it must be demonstrated in flight to be satisfactorily controllable with no exceptional degree of pilot skill or alertness in 90° crosswinds up to a velocity equal to 0.2 VSO. This means a windspeed of two-tenths of the airplane’s…

California’s Edwards Air Force Base offers the Edwards Aero Club for members of the military and retired military personnel. Civilian defense employees and contractors are also eligible to join the flying club, which costs $25 a month. The club has six flight instructors and an FAA-approved ground school. The Examiner

Effective June 30, 2010, the FAA is deleting the term “taxi to” from taxi and ground movement operations as it pertains to aircraft cleared to taxi to an assigned takeoff runway. The change requires controllers to issue explicit runway crossing clearances “for each runway (active/inactive or closed) crossing.” And aircraft issued clearance to cross a runway must cross that runway before receiving clearance for a subsequent runway crossing. There is an exception: “At airports where the taxi route between runway centerlines is less than 1,000 feet apart, multiple runway crossings may be issued after receiving approval by the Terminal Services Director of Operations,” according to the FAA.

EPA Issues Proposed Rulemaking for Leaded Avgas
On April 28, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), the first step in a process that may lead to standards mandating GA’s transition to unleaded avgas. This action allows the public to comment on the current data being considered to develop standards to control lead emissions from piston-powered aircraft.

Los Osos Developer Jeff Edwards is still at it. The second in the series of six “informational” meetings with the intent to bulldoze the airport for development (and profit). Come and make your voice heard! We had great media for the event on March 17th, and were featured on KSBY and the Tribune. We need to send a resounding “no” to closing our beautiful Oceano Airport.

The G-AIRMET was created to provide hazardous en-route weather information in a condensed and higher resolution product than had previously been available, according to Murphy. The new product may be used by itself or in conjunction with other in-flight products such as the legacy text AIRMET that has been produced for decades. Responses from a survey of pilots held from July 2007 to March 2010 showed a high pilot preference for the new tool.