briefs

“People’s lives shouldn’t be in danger just so more listeners can hear the top 40, news, weather and sports,” reads an editorial in Tuesday’s Denver Post. At issue is a new communications tower that has worried some pilots in the area. The 1,996-foot tower rises to 7,000 feet above sea level, and is not far […]

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has asked the DOT’s inspector general to rescind a recent analysis of contract control towers because of what it terms “critical misstatements” in the description of the facilities. As AVweb reported Monday, Inspector General Ken Mead issued a report saying the 189 FAA-funded towers that are run by […]

The U.S. is not the only country worried about aviation security. In Australia, airport owners are asking the government to create new rules that would require that all aircraft at GA airports be locked and secured, and that pilots have a photo ID. “You’ve got to lock your car if you leave it in the […]

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) took part in a homeland-security practice drill in Nevada late last month, working with the U.S. military’s Northern Command. The exercise, dubbed “Determined Promise ’03,” called for a simulated terrorist release of pneumonic plague on the Las Vegas strip. CAP aircrews patrolled highways where pharmaceuticals and medical equipment were moving […]

The Piper 6XT has received its Type Certificate from the FAA, New Piper CEO Chuck Suma announced in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday. The Piper 6XT is a turbocharged fixed-gear version of the six-place Saratoga II aircraft. The Piper 6X, which was certified in July of this year, is its normally aspirated equivalent. The announcement was […]

The inspiration for thousands of “weekend pilots” through his columns and books, aviation author Frank Kingston Smith died last Wednesday of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84. Smith wrote columns for AOPA pilot, Flying and Sport Aviation magazines and also penned the books “I’d Rather Be Flying,” “Weekend Pilot” and “Flights of Fancy.” He wrote a […]

Canadian officials are wondering how an Air Canada Airbus A319 crew on a perfectly clear August day appeared to set up to land at a tiny municipal airport in British Columbia, instead of their real destination. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is investigating the incident in which the A319, with its gear down and flaps […]

If it seems like everything out west is big, consider Denver International Airport’s new runway. Runway 16R/34L was christened by a United Air Lines Boeing 777 last Thursday likely using a fraction of the 16,000 feet of pavement to take off for Chicago. The $166 million runway is the longest commercial runway in North America […]

Which comes first, the expanded terminal or the runway? The issue vexing relations between Ft. Lauderdale and Broward County came to a head last week with the county ignoring an order by the city to stop working on new buildings at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. County lawyer Ed Dion said it will take a court […]

Diamond has picked Williams International to power its single-engine entry in the burgeoning personal jet market. A lone Williams FJ33-4 will provide the ponies for the D-JET, which is lumped loosely in an ever-increasing field of twin-engine mini-jets dominated by the Eclipse 500, Adam 700, and Cessna Mustang, among others. Adam has also picked the […]