leadnews

FBO Wants AD… A Midwest FBO wants the FAA to step in on a defect issue with late-model Cessna Skyhawks. Shawn Sayle, maintenance manager of Langa Air, in East Alton, Ill., said all of the company’s eight Skyhawks have developed cracks in the firewalls within the first 200 hours. Although Cessna has issued Mandatory Service […]

Don’t Drive To The Airport Without It… Well, now it’s official. As of today, general aviation pilots will be required when flyingto carry a government-issued photo ID. Like it or not … or whether it in fact represents any change at all to your previous behavior … it is now a regulatory fact of aviation […]

An Industry-Wide Overview… GA deliveries are down … surprise, surprise. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reports that shipments of general aviation airplanes manufactured throughout the world totaled 1,766 units in the first nine months of 2002, down 16.6 percent from last year’s same-period number. The total dollar value of those airplanes was $8.4 billion. […]

Industry Reacts And Readies… The headlines faded months ago and now the real work of creating a new class of airplane and a new class of pilot is grinding on. It’s hoped the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category and its accompanying Sport Pilot certificate can be ready for the government stamp sometime in the first […]

TCM, Aerosance System… The car you drive to the airport almost certainly has one, even the garden tractor you had to use before giving yourself permission to fly might have had one. Now, your airplane can have a Full Authority Digital Engine Control system keeping everything happy under the cowl. Aerosance and Teledyne Continental Motors […]

Altitude Records Set… Don’t ask Bruce Bohannon what the view is like from 41,301 feet — he was too busy keeping the engine on his Exxon Flyin’ Tiger from melting down. “Next time I do this I’m going to put a note on the panel to have a look around,” said Bohannon, who claimed four […]

Modification Rule Suspended… …Exemption “Temporary”… Earlier this month, as FAA officials began enforcing therule (reluctantly, according to some sources), the Alaskans got organized. ToddBureau, a tour company operator out of Hope, Alaska, said they bombarded theircongressmen and pressured the regional FAA brass until on Thursday the orderwas lifted in Alaska. FAA officials agree the “information” […]

Maybe Next Year, Hopes New Piper… New Piper and Raytheon joined the chorus of GA companiesrepeating the mantra of missed projections and staff layoffs this week. At NewPiper, they’ve already cut pre-9/11 staff levels by a third to about 1,000employees and no further cuts are anticipated … except in revenue. New Piperhad hoped to build […]

Senior Managers Let Go… Belt-tightening at Mooney Aerospace Group (MAG) has led tothe departure of two senior managers. MAG’s new CEO and former general counsel NelsonHappy told AVweb the former CEO L.Peter Larson and Operations Manager Dale Ruhmel were let go for financialreasons. Larson, you’ll recall, wasbrought in to replace Roy Norris, who tendered his […]

Cracks Found On New Cessna 172s… A California pilot says fellow owners of late-model Cessna172s should add an unusual step to their preflight inspection. Brian Boyd, an80-hour-pilot, told AVweb no one should start up a new 172 withoutthoroughly inspecting the prop spinner and its mounts. His 57-hour-old 172developed what he considers a potentially serious problem […]