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The compromise was offered on the eve of a formal hearing on the safety of the contract tower program. On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Aviation examined a recent report by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General Ken Mead, which stated that contract towers are much less expensive to run than government-staffed towers and report […]

Compromise Offered On Contract Towers… Politics and airplanes may both be about the art of compromise but opponents to expansion of the contract tower program say a White House olive branch is covered in thorns. Rep. Peter DeFazio and Rep. James Oberstar have written their colleagues urging them to turn down the administration’s proposal to […]

There’s nothing new about rockets but when Burt Rutan starts looking spaceward, you can bet there’ll be something unconventional supplying the kick. As AVweb reported last week, two companies, eAc and SpaceDev, were in line to build the hybrid rocket that will push Rutan’s SpaceShipOne to 62 miles high in the race for the $10 […]

But while ATP grapples with the problem of heavy batteries and developing fuel-cell technology, NASA researchers have successfully tested a model electric plane that leaves all that bulky stuff behind. Staff at the Marshall Space Flight Center kept the 11-ounce balsa-and-Mylar contraption flying by pointing an invisible laser beam at it. The Laser Beaming Project, […]

Rooted In The Past… For now, the closest “new” technology that means anything to power GA is an idea that’s been kicking around for decades and with companies like Boeing getting serious about it, an electric airplane, powered by a fuel cell, is not only feasible, it might even be desirable for some applications. As […]

If there is any politician who knows how to close an airport, it’s Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Now proponents of a privately funded field in suburban Peotone are wondering if the mastermind of the destruction of Meigs Field can stop their project before it’s started. Daley doesn’t want Chicago’s third regional airport in Peotone but […]

Although far more airports close every year than are opened, there are jurisdictions that see the wisdom in keeping the flying fraternity safe and happy. But as St. Augustine, Fla., officials found out last week, expanding an airport into an existing neighborhood is about as popular as expanding a landfill in the same direction. The […]

They’re Expensive To Replace… What happens when you close perfectly good GA airports that serve hundreds of pilots and planes in a metropolitan area? Chances are you’ll have to spend tens of millions on a new one. Flying folks in Austin, Texas, were horrified when both Austin Executive and Robert Mueller Municipal Airport were closed […]

If, as Martin predicts, the funding extension bill fails, then what happens if the full Reauthorization Bill isn’t passed by Sept. 30? Another top FAA official is predicting thousands of furloughs and the halting of dozens of airport projects. “It’s not something we’re bluffing about,” Woodie Woodward, the FAA’s associate administrator for airports, told a […]

FAA Says Let The Vote Proceed… The FAA hopes to have its Reauthorization Bill in place by the end of the month despite a proposal by a senator to delay Congress’ vote on $60 billion package by six months. John Rockefeller (D.-W.Va.) has proposed a bill that would extend the funding authority of the agency […]