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FAA Forecast Meeting Carries Hints Could the United States soon join the majority of countries in which pilots and/or aircraft owners are charged user fees to fund airspace, airport and navigation operation and infrastructure? From the way senior government officials were talking at the FAA’s 30th Annual Forecast Conference in Washington, things could be moving […]

Aviation Consumer’s report was based on lengthy detailed interviews with legal counsel for both sides. The final verdict has not yet been entered by Judge Jerry Sandel in Texas district court. A hearing is scheduled for March 22 — tomorrow — to consider that process and also to entertain possible motions from Lycoming to seal […]

Lycoming’s legal team is now formulating its appeal and further action could revolve around the FAA’s involvement in the case. During the massive recall of some 1800 crankshafts during 2002 and 2003, the FAA accepted Lycoming’s contention that Interstate had overheated the forgings and weakened the metal in them. It included that finding in the […]

Appeal Of Crankshaft Decision In Works It’s a long way from Textron headquarters in Williamsport, Pa., to Anderson, Texas, both literally and figuratively, but corporate honchos from the company that brings you Cessna and Lycoming products are getting to know the place pretty well. For it’s in that unlikely little city north of Houston that […]

But, as if on cue, a couple of security-related stories involving small aircraft surfaced over the same time period. WABC News reported that a couple of New Jersey State Police helicopters were nearly fired upon after they flew over a nuclear power plant in Lower Alloways Creek Township. The police were conducting a drill, but […]

Boyer said the Times story’s emphasis on GA was far out of proportion to its significance in the report. In 24 pages of text, Boyer said, only two paragraphs were devoted to GA, yet that formed the basis for the story. AOPA’s Web site calls the premise for the story “highly overstated and misleading.” It […]

Alphabets Slam Times Story Officialdom’s goals for GA security have been kicked up a notch, according to a leaked FBI/Department of Homeland Security report quoted in a front-page story in Monday’s New York Times, and that’s brought a predictable flurry of backlash from the alphabet groups. In fact, AOPA President Phil Boyer did four television […]

Phillips said at least two other unsuccessful bidders, Raytheon and Computer Sciences, have filed interventions, as has the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists, the union representing FSS employees. The FAA administrator was to have filed her response to the protest from within her ranks by Wednesday and Washington has until Friday to comment on […]

In the protest, Washington, through his lawyer, asks ODRA to stop Lockheed Martin from proceeding with the transition to its own system and the resulting equipment and staffing decisions. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin officially takes over the FSS on Oct. 1 and is now getting ready for the transition, including recruiting personnel from existing […]

In-House FAA Team Wants Competition Reopened The FAA’s decision to contract out the Flight Service Station system is being challenged — from within the FAA. James H. Washington, the Agency Tender Official for the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, claims the FAA’s own proposal to modernize and economize the FSS system wasn’t given a fair shake […]