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The Real Meaning Is Not So Easy To See… FAA Administrator Marion Blakey opened AOPA Expo 2003 with good intentions for the future of GA, and a newly certified engine for now, but by the end of her presentation pilots paying attention to the fine print may have been left a little confused. Blakey announced […]

As one would expect, the ATC facility change and the fires themselves caused major headaches for the various airlines servicing the region. Not waiting for LAX to ground their aircraft, many carriers opted to cancel hundreds of flights in the region. As a result, the entire nationwide route system was affected. At LAX alone, more […]

The fires also affected terminal facilities on Sunday, as Los Angeles International Airport officials opted to hold all takeoffs for about half an hour and then only resume departures on a limited basis. Early Sunday evening, FAA controllers at LAX were handling about half the normal hourly arrival rate of 70 aircraft. The reduction in […]

SOCAL Approach Evacuated… Things have returned to “normal” in the skies over southern California, if you can call flying through thick smoke and dodging fire-related TFRs normal. As AVweb reported on Monday, Californias ongoing battle with massive wildfires has taken its toll on aviation operations. Things took a turn for the worse on Sunday when […]

The new graphical TFR site is easily accessed by clicking on the “Pilots: Graphic TFRs” section of the FAA homepage. The click will take pilots to a national map where they can take their pick of TFRs that might affect the flight they are planning. Clicking on the individual TFRs brings up the map, with […]

New System Online Today… A year after promising them, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will announce that real-time graphical depictions of current TFRs will be available on the FAA Web site starting today. Blakey is expected to make the announcement at AOPA’s annual meeting in Philadelphia. She made the promise at last year’s AOPA Expo in […]

The same reports also brought a swift, and negative, response from the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), the union that represents FAA systems specialists. “America’s armed services are there to respond to threats to our national security,” said PASS President Tom Brantley, in a news release on Wednesday. “And they seem to be pretty occupied […]

In a news release on Wednesday, Carr elaborated: “We are pleased that Chairman Mica has recognized how important this issue is to aviation safety and we support his premise that air traffic control is an inherently governmental function. You will recall it was the House Aviation Subcommittee, under the leadership of Chairman Mica, that inserted […]

ATC A Defense Function?… With the House and Senate (not to mention Republicans and Democrats) still wrangling over language about privatization in that FAA funding bill, a bit more fuel was added to the fire last week. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chair of the House Aviation Subcommittee, proposed shifting command of the air traffic control […]

Meanwhile, on Friday, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reported that in the first nine months of this year, deliveries of general aviation airplanes totaled 1,602 units, a 9.3 percent drop from the same period last year, with industry billings dropping 24.4 percent to $6.43 billion. However, one bright spot could be found: Shipments of […]