Flying Across America to Promote General Aviation

I’m sure that everyone in business/general aviation can agree that the industry has been taking a beating in the past seven months.  Several efforts – including No Plane, No Gain and GA Serves America – have been created to counteract some of the negative images created by the media.

I learned about another effort via my followers on Twitter (@avweekbenet).  Two GA pilots – and active aviation bloggers – have come up with Flying Across America.  The mission of pilots Jason Schappert and Vincent Lambercy is to fly a Cessna 150 from Daytona Beach, Fla., to Catalina Island, Calif., with plans to hold rallies on behalf of General Aviation.

Schappert is a 1,500-hour Certified Flight Instructor and was awarded AOPA’s Top Flight Instructor Award at NIFA 2008. He currently works as a flight instructor in the central Florida area and operates Schapp Aviation. He also blogs at www.m0a.com and is on Twitter at @mzeroa.

Lambercy is a Swiss private pilot living near Frankfurt, Germany with an IFR rating and more than 360 hours total flight time.  He blogs at www.plasticpilot.net and is on Twitter as @plasticpilot.

Lambercy “met” Schappert after they traded comments on each others’ blogs and started doing cross posting.  “One good series was about what a student pilot and an instructor expect from each other at different stages of training,” he said.

The pair came up with the idea for Flying Across America via Twitter, said Lambercy.  “We were exchanging tweets about the price of flying. Jason chose to own and operate a Cessna 150 because it makes possible for his students to earn their certificates for less than $5.000,” he said.  “I stupidly asked him what it would cost to fly across America in his plane. A few tweets later, the project was born.”

The number of pilots are decreasing each year, and some thinks aviation is only a luxury, or even worse, a threat, said Lambercy.  “What is the last positive GA event that you can recall without searching for too long?” he asked.  “The recent cross-border flight of a stolen Cessna, for example, got a lot of media attention. Do you really think it was such a threat ?”

Although the flight isn’t schedule to happen for about a year, the pair thought it was important to start creating positive buzz before, during and after the flight.  “We also need time to build a community of supporters, find partners and raise funds,” he said.  
“The example of krizphoto.com (who designed our logo) and destinjet.com (the FBO hosting our first stop) are perfect examples of that.”

The partners plan on 70 hours of flight June 18-July 10, 2010.  “The goal is not to set a speed record but make friendly, fun and positive trip,” said Lambercy.  “For performance and safety reasons, we plan to stay south of the Rockies in both the Florida-California and California-Florida directions. The exact route will depend on where we'll find supporters.”

“For the time being, the two first stops will be Destin, Fla., on the invitation of destinjet.com) and Baton Rouge, La., where an early fan of us invited us,” said Lambercy.  “By having us sleeping at home, we'll save on the hotel costs on this stop.”

The trip has been budgeted at $15,000, said Lambercy.  It is being financed partly with the partners’ own funds and partly with donations and sponsorship, he said.  “Obviously Jason will not charge for his time. We are selling miles on our web site, with patronage starting at $3.75,” he added.  “An important secondary goal of ours is to make a donation to an aviation charity in the end, so each mile helps, but they are primarily funding the flying and accommodations.”

The effort already has almost 300 Twitter followers, almost 50 members in its Facebook group and a handful of sponsors, said Lambercy.  “We're examining any offera and are happy to work with anyone having an aviation product or service to promote. We also help our partners where possible,” he said.  “For example, both friendsofaviation.net (non-profit trying to make all aviation fans talk together) and mytransponder.com (social network for pilots) help us spreading the word about our project and we're happy to return the favor.”

The most important at this time is to help spread the word, said Lambercy.  “The more people will receive our message the better,” he added,

Pontiac students can fly, if they get parents’ permission

By CHRIS VANNINI Special to The Oakland Press

Students in the Pontiac school district can soar to new heights thanks to the foundation created to help them.

The Pontiac Alumni Foundation will take 65 students, ages 12-18, to the Oakland County International Airport on July 8, where they will see presentations and enjoy a 15-minute flight in a general aviation aircraft for “Aviation Day.”

“This is for the kids of Pontiac,” said former Oakland Circuit Judge Fred Mester, who created the foundation. “What we’re trying to do is hopefully introduce them to new aspects of life and possibilities for employment, to study physics and other things and become pilots.” The deadline for parents to turn in completed applications and signed waivers is Wednesday. “We need help to make sure these kids know we need their applications,” Mester said. “They have to have signed waivers by Wednesday, otherwise they can’t participate.”

Participating students should be dropped off the morning of July 8 at the Odell Nails Administration Building, 47200 Woodward Ave. in Pontiac, where they will take a bus to the airport. The bus leaves at 9 a.m. and will
return at 3 p.m.

At the airport, the students will see a special presentation from World War II Tuskegee Airman Col. Harry T. Stewart.

“We will have about 10 different stations where they’ll learn something about the industry but they’ll also learn some stories that would be exciting to kids,” Mester said.

Mester created the Pontiac Alumni Foundation more than 10 years ago to help the children of Pontiac, he said.

“It was to give the children of Pontiac an opportunity.” he said. “We’ve given out over 125 scholarships. We’ve given teachers incentive awards. We’ve mentored over 1000 kids.”

The foundation has other programs such as a tennis clinic that starts July 16 and a soccer clinic that started last week.

Mester said the sports clinics provide activities for young people.

He credits the foundation’s success to its corporate sponsors.

“We’re able to do more than we ever were before and that’s because we have good partners ... and other people who are willing to come forward for these kids,” he said.

 

GA pilots could influence security measure

By AOPA ePublishing Staff

Members of Congress are calling on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to formally work with the general aviation community to modify its controversial Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP).

Since the TSA issued its notice of proposed rulemaking on the program in October, lawmakers have been objecting to the measures in letters, hearings, and proposed legislation. Now Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) has introduced a bill, the General Aviation Security Enhancement Act of 2009, that would require the agency to engage in negotiated rulemaking in order to find a solution for the LASP that does not impose costly security regulations on GA without justification. He introduced the bill, which AOPA supports, on June 26. The bill has eight co-sponsors, including Reps. Pete Olson (R-Texas), Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.), Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Candice S. Miller (R-Mich.), Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis.), John L. Mica (R-Fla.), and John Campbell (R-Calif.).

In its original notice of proposed rulemaking, “the TSA abandoned its traditional risk-based approach at addressing security concerns and instead attempted to adopt large, commercial-aviation standards to these small, independently owned and chartered aircraft,” Dent said in a letter to his colleagues. “Though the title refers to ‘large’ aircraft, the rule proposes to regulate general aviation aircraft that are smaller than a U-Haul truck. … This legislation would simply require that, should TSA move forward with a rulemaking addressing general aviation, the TSA use a negotiated rulemaking process.”

The LASP proposal would apply airline-style security requirements to aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds, regardless of how they are used. In response to opposition from pilots and lawmakers, the TSA told Congress in March that it would issue a second notice of proposed rulemaking before proceeding to a final rule; this would give the public another opportunity to submit comments on the proposal, although the TSA is not obligated to make any changes based on industry recommendations. The TSA has also hosted three listening sessions with the industry to work on alternatives that will be less burdensome to GA.

A negotiated rulemaking process would expand and codify the process the TSA has already begun. A negotiated rulemaking process requires a committee of stakeholders to work together to come up with written recommendations for the TSA and includes a written record of the proceedings. In order to abandon the recommendations of the committee, the TSA would be required to provide justification.

“This legislation recognizes the concerns of AOPA and general aviation pilots about the implications of the proposed LASP for GA,” said AOPA Vice President of Legislative Affairs Lorraine Howerton. “A negotiated rulemaking process with the industry will help the TSA explore less costly and less intrusive ways to enhance GA security.”

The legislation is similar to an amendment that co-sponsor Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) introduced to the TSA Authorization Act of 2009 (H.R.2200). The TSA authorization bill passed the House June 4 with provisions directing the TSA to include GA stakeholders in the process of creating security regulations that affect the industry. Dent’s stand-alone bill would address the LASP specifically, ensuring that those who would be affected by the regulations have an opportunity to provide recommendations as part of an established, transparent process.

Homeland Security Funding Bill Addresses LASP Concerns

By: Paul Lowe

Under a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010 that was passed by the House last week, lawmakers lauded the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for working with general aviation stakeholders to develop a modified Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) rule that “minimizes adverse affects on general aviation while addressing security concerns. H.R.2892 urges the TSA to “weigh all the costs and benefits associated with new security mandates for general aviation operators and airports.

A companion bill in the Senate (S.1292), which is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor, contains similar language. The initial notice of proposed rulemaking for LASP would apply commercial air carrier security measures to GA aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds, regardless of how they are used.

Responding to objections from pilots and legislators, the TSA has said it will publish a new NPRM before issuing a final rule. H.R.2892 also rejected termination of loran and provided continued funding for the system.

Meanwhile, NBAA yesterday praised a new House proposal (H.R.3093), sponsored by Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), that would require the TSA to create a rulemaking committee with GA stakeholders when developing security measures for the industry.

Crazy for the Storm

From CNN, Doug Cross

(CNN) -- Norman Ollestad remembers the tree limb.

He was 11 years old, riding in a Cessna in a blizzard through California's San Gabriel Mountains in 1979, on his way to pick up a trophy he won in a skiing competition.

"The gray clouds were just pressing against the windows; it didn't even seem like we were moving," he recalls. "Then, there's a limb reaching out of that fog and disappearing. Then another one and another one.

"Then realizing we were in the trees."

The plane crash that followed killed his father and the pilot and badly wounded his father's girlfriend, who with young Norman was tossed violently onto the top of an 8,600-foot mountain in the freezing, February chill.

"I felt three thuds. The third one must have knocked me cold," says Ollestad, now 41. "I remember feeling those thuds in my spine -- a clear memory of that. Then I woke up who knows how long after."

The ensuing nine-hour, life-or-death descent -- in the end, he was the only survivor -- is the topic of "Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival." Watch the press conference that followed his survival »

But the book is about more than a plane crash, namely his relationship with an adrenaline-junkie father who basked in the wild life of Malibu in the 1970s and relentlessly pushed his "Boy Wonder" to excel from the ski slopes of northern California to the crashing surf off the Mexican coast.

"It's actually 100 percent about my relationship with my father," Ollestad said. "That relationship was present on the mountain with me, even though he was dead."

Released this month, the book already has been picked up by Warner Bros. [a sister company of CNN] for a feature film and has earned critical acclaim, including comparisons to John Krakauer's 1997 nonfiction best-seller "Into Thin Air."

"An engrossing story of adventure, survival and psychological exploration," wrote the journal Kirkus Reviews.

In the book, Ollestad cuts back and forth between the crash and journey down the mountain and the years leading up to that moment.

Included are memories of life in Malibu, where he grew up the son of divorced parents in a cottage on the beach. There are surfers and skate rats, musicians and nudists and memories of smoking weed and spying on his neighbors' most intimate moments.

But mostly there's his father, Norman Ollestad Sr., an athlete, actor, lawyer, musician and former FBI agent. From the age of 3, Norman was groomed for competitive "extreme sports" by his father and pushed to be the best.

The book's jacket features a picture of a 1-year-old Norman clinging to his father's back as he steers a surfboard atop the waves of California's Topanga State Beach.

He acknowledges that many times, when his father was cooking up a new adventure for the two of them, he would rather have been "riding my bike or eating chocolate cake."

"[At first] a lot of people are, 'Wow .. I had a lot of trouble with some of the stuff your dad was doing,' " says Ollestad, who studied creative writing at UCLA and attended UCLA's film school. "But then it turned out that a lot of that stuff was really beautiful."

And he believes it saved his life.

The skiing made him aware of how steep the mountain's slope was and what it would take to get down it without falling. The skiing and surfing gave him control of his body and awareness of the exact movements required to work his way out of the descent's most treacherous spots.

"Some of it was sort of eerily, specifically perfect for the situation," he says. "Forty-five degree pitch, blizzard with ice, well, I've been here for eight years doing this. It was familiar to me."

The book has had another, unexpected result for Ollestad, who now lives in Venice, California. He says he's been shocked at the e-mail from readers.

"Nobody's even written about the plane crash," he says. "[They say] 'it reminds me of some of the things I did with my dad or some of the things I didn't get to do.'

"In every e-mail, whether it's a woman or a man, they talk about ...their relationship with their father or mother. It touches something in there where they want to talk about it."

Now, for Ollestad, the story has followed him all the way around. He's the father of an 8-year-old, Noah, and seeks to walk the line between responsible parenting and teaching his child the lessons he says saved his life.

"Those were different times," he tells the boy in the book's epilogue. "My dad made me do lots of things that I'd get arrested for making you do."

Now, for Ollestad, the story has followed him all the way around. He's the father of an 8-year-old, Noah, and seeks to walk the line between responsible parenting and teaching his child the lessons he says saved his life.

"Those were different times," he tells the boy in the book's epilogue. "My dad made me do lots of things that I'd get arrested for making you do."

Avtrak GlobalNet

Turbine Aircraft Maintenance and Regulatory Compliance

Avtrak GlobalNet™
Maintenance Tracking

Internet based Avtrak GlobalNet™ has become the industry standard for tracking turbine aircraft maintenance and regulatory compliance. An ideal system for tracking a mixed fleet, Avtrak currently supports more than 4,000 aircraft representing 140 different makes and models. Avtrak GlobalNet has earned praise from our users for its ease-of-use, speed and quality support from our dedicated Compliance Specialists.

Avtrak GlobalNet has also been Approved and/or Accepted by most Corporate aircraft manufactures making it the ideal system for tracking any type of aircraft. When it comes to maintaining resale value of your aircraft, there is simply no better choice than Avtrak or an Avtrak emPowered system.
 
If you are considering upgrading to Avtrak from another tracking system, like CAMPTM, CAMs, FlightDOCs, CESCOM or an Excel Spreadsheet - you can rest assured that Avtrak’s Compliance Specialists will go to  work for you in ensuring your enrollment into Avtrak is accurate and complete.

For newly manufactured aircraft, in most cases Avtrak is available right out of the factory and provided free of charge for the first year of service.
 
 
System Features
 
Analyst Supported

Mixed Fleet Support

Task Cards for All Models

 Web Based

Flexible Service Levels

 Fleet – Aircraft Status at-a-glance
 PDA – Mobile Interface

 Automated email alerting

Fleet Planning

 Integrated with Flight Scheduling

 CTA/FOS

 PFM
 
Supports all OEM's

Gulfsteam - Avtrak “emPowers” Gulfstream CMP.net
Dassault FalconJet – Avtrak is available for all Dassault Falconjet aircraft.
Bombardier – Avtrak is accepted by Bombardier for the tracking of all Learjet, Challenger and Global Express aircraft
Sino-Swearingen – Avtrak “emPowers” the Sino-Swearingen MX system
Sikorsky – Avtrak is an Approved tracking service for all Sikorsky S76 aircraft
Cessna – Avtrak is available for all Cessna Citation aircraft.
 

For information about supported aircraft: Supported Aircraft

Thermoil takes off

Battery Demister

Several visitors to Vertikal Days last week were extolling the virtues of Thermoil, which claims to both extend battery life while reducing maintenance times.

The products almost seem too good to be true, however Aerial Platforms of Leigh, Lancashire has been trialing Thermoil’s De mister battery additive over the past few weeks and director Jason Seddon told Vertikal.net that the results with significant and immediate. He claims that a typical electric scissor lift is now taking up to two hours less time to recharge, while the requirement to top-up has all but vanished.

Seddon took time at Vertikal Days to meet up with Terry Fellner, president of Thermoil Inc of Appleton, Wisconsin, USA which was exhibiting. Speaking to Fellner he said: “ We have noticed from the start of treatment that the units with the additive, charge more quickly than the untreated units and maintain their water levels completely. We are delighted with the results and see it as a standard part of our maintenance management or all our future fleet”.

Another visitor from a midlands based access rental company, claimed that having purchased £2,000 worth of Turmoil’s De-sulfater treatment, he has already “rescued” around £3,000 worth of batteries from its scrap area, and put them back into service.

In a statement Thermoil Europe said that Vertikal Days proved a very busy event for with good traffic to its stand and “a large number of very strong enquiries along with immediate orders”.

Vertikal Comment

While we were convinced that the two Thermoil products had some merit, the almost over enthusiastic response from those UK companies that have tried the product is a surprise and almost as 'unreal' as the product claims themselves.

However, unless this is some massive highly organised scam, which to be fair is highly unlikely, the potential benefits from these products appear to be so strong that any company looking to cut costs and improve reliability ought to conduct their own trials.

If those we spoke to are to be believed, the results show up very rapidly and will save electricity usage, through faster recharges and improved battery life between recharges, eliminate topping up time and servicing time and for the longer term extend the battery's working life.

We understand that Thermoil is also looking for dealers throughout Europe.

If you have or are planning to evaluate these products in your fleet, please do let us know how it goes - good, bad or indifferent.

Common Sense and Funny

It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just
bombed."  -    U.S. Air Force  Manual
--------- ---------- ---------- -------- --------- -------

  "Yea, though I Fly Through the Valley of the shadow of Death , I  
Shall Fear
No  Evil.  For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."
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"You've  never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3." - Paul F.
Crickmore (test  pilot)
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  "The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."

------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------  -------

"If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a
helicopter  -- and therefore, unsafe."
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------  -------

  "When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have  
enough power  left to get you to the scene of the crash."

------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------  -------

  "Even with ammunition, the USAF is just another expensive flying  
club."

----------- --------- --------- --------- ---------  -------

  "What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots?


If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; If ATC  screws up, .... The  
pilot dies."
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  "Never trade luck for skill."

------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------  -------

  The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in  
aviation are:
"Why  is it doing that?", "Where are we?" And "Oh S...!"

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  "Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to  
successfully complete  the flight."

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  "Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up  
there!"

----------- --------- --------- --------- ---------  -------

"Flying  the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to  
a person on the  ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."


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"There  is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime."   
Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970



------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------  --------

"You  know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full  
power to taxi to  the terminal."

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  As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having  
torn off the  wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives,  the
rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks "What  happened?".
The pilot's reply: "I don't know, I just got here  myself!" -
  Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test  pilot)