briefs

As technological achievements go, the new Boeing 777-200LR may set a new standard for range and efficiency. Using lighter materials and more efficient engines, Boeing engineers were able to create a plane that can fly more than 10,000 miles nonstop. Now, they just have to come up with passengers and crew that can take 20 […]

A private airport in San Antonio is seeing the effective length of its runway being whittled away by housing developments the FAA is powerless to stop and the local city council seems to endorse. Like so many urban airports, Twin-Oaks Airport was on the outskirts when it was built in the 1950s. Now, it’s an […]

https://www.avweb.com/avmail/ Reader mail this week about the FSS contract, the GA anthrax scare and more.

___________AEROMEDICAL FAA Streamlines “Special” MedicalsThe FAA recently expanded its special issuance program for pilots with medical problems; now the program includes First- and Second-Class medical certificates as well as Third-Class medicals. The change promises to streamline the FAA’s approval process for pilots who require the higher certificates. Senior FAA Aviation Medical Examiner Brent Blue, M.D., […]

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVwebs NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE […]

Drop us a line. If it caught your attention, it will probably interest someone else, too. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com.

For those of you eager to take off into the Sport Pilot era, some new information sources are available. The FAA has posted online its list of Light Sport Aircraft Examiners by category, to make it easy to find the right person to give you the checkride. So far there are only a dozen listings […]

The FAA’s response to pre-9/11 warnings of terrorist threats against aviation got slammed last week, as a newly declassified staff report by the 9/11 Commission was released. The report adds more details about exactly what information was available to FAA officials and when. Despite dozens of warnings that al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden posed […]

New Mexico has some wide-open skies, but apparently there is not enough room there for all the military and civilian pilots who want to fly. The U.S. Air Force wants to add 700 square miles to the 2,600 square miles now used by the F-16 Falcons based at Cannon Air Force Base. The airspace expansion […]

A bill that would allow on-demand air-charter operators to conduct limited scheduled service has been introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.). The legislation (H.R. 488) would permit on-demand Part 135 operators to conduct public charter flights, provided the service consists of fewer than five round trips per week. The purpose of […]