Pilots authorized by air traffic controllers to taxi onto runways and await takeoff clearance will be instructed to "line up and wait" rather than "position and hold" beginning on Sept. 30, the FAA reminded pilots this week. The new terminology, which was recommended by the NTSB, conforms to the terminology established in guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Also, an FAA safety analysis found that the new phraseology will eliminate confusion, particularly among pilots who also fly overseas, and will further reduce the risk of runway incursions. Starting Sept. 30, controllers will state the aircraft's call sign, state the departure runway and then instruct pilots to "line up and wait," as in, "Cessna N2090W, Runway 33L, line up and wait." The phrase "traffic holding in position" will continue to be used to advise other aircraft that traffic has been authorized to line up and wait on an active runway.
For a while now, an ASTM committee that develops the standards for light sport aircraft to operate under instrument flight rules has struggled to reach consensus on a key point -- whether Special-LSAs should be allowed to fly in actual instrument meteorological conditions -- and although the committee members still disagree, they have decided to move forward and change the standards to prohibit the use of S-LSAs in IMC. That proposed change now must go through some further approvals and then be submitted to the FAA for an OK before it takes effect. That process could take until the end of this year or perhaps longer, Dan Johnson, chairman of the Light Aircraft Manufacturing Association, told AVweb on Wednesday. The change will not be retroactive, Johnson said. Any S-LSA that is flying today, or that is built before the new standard takes effect, is not prohibited from IMC flight if the aircraft is properly equipped and flown by a qualified pilot (although manufacturers may choose to prohibit IMC flight in their aircraft even when the ASTM standard allows it).
Chandler Negrete, an 8-year-old boy, is preparing to fly from Arizona to New York in a Cessna 172 with an instructor to raise money for children with parents serving overseas in the military. The instructor will wield pilot-in-command responsibility for the flight, but clearly the intent is to get Negrete some stick time. The third-grader is currently preparing for the flight and has accumulated all of 12 hours in a simulator and 12 hours in an actual airplane. His instructor, Matt Forsey, works for Sawyer Aviation in Arizona. The team is seeking donations and hopes to raise between $80,000 and $100,000 for their charity's cause. But, according to a local news report, Negrete "needs to collect $15,000 in donations to cover the cost of the flight," and no date has yet been set for the trip. Of course, for some pilots, simply the proposition of the flight itself may conjure memories of another one altogether.
Air Force veteran Richard Young will attempt, this Sept. 11, to establish a closed-course speed record using unleaded fuel developed by Swift Enterprises. Young will be flying his one-of-a-kind Western Air Racing Special, which is a "purpose built closed course pylon racer" that he flew at Reno in 2007, 2008, and 2009, according to his website. The current and applicable closed-course speed record for a piston-engine aircraft weighing between 300 and 500 kilograms was set in 2004 at 238 mph, according to Young. That aircraft burned conventional leaded avgas. Young hopes to run the course at 260 mph in his aircraft burning Swift's product and "verify the performance characteristics of clean burning bio fuel" at the same time. That could be difficult to do in one 62.1 mile stint flown at 260 mph (or about 15 minutes), but we'll be watching for whatever information the attempt produces.
NASA is often perceived as being all about space, but this week the agency said it will offer scholarships to encourage students to pursue careers in aeronautics research to develop vehicles that fly in the atmosphere as well as in space. Twenty grants of up to $15,000 per year for two years will be awarded to undergraduates, and graduate students can receive up to $35,000 per year for up to three years. All the students can also apply for summer research internships at NASA, which pay a $10,000 stipend. "We want more students to pursue careers in aeronautics," said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By offering these scholarships, we are extending to students not just an opportunity to become familiar with NASA's research, but also an extra dose of inspiration. Scholarships are an excellent way for us to attract talented young innovators to our work force."
Nate Foster, a 17-year-old from Maryland who took off in August to fly across the U.S. in a Piper Cub, has made it safely to Monterey, Calif., according to the Baltimore Sun. Foster received his private pilot certificate just a few days before launch, but he had logged about 150 hours at the controls since the age of 14. He completed the trip in just six days, staying mostly on schedule except for one day waiting out thunderstorms in a small Nevada town. He flew across the Rockies via a 12,000-foot pass, and told the Sun the scariest part of the trip was flying across the wide, empty spaces along the border of Wyoming and Nebraska. "It was like flying over the moon," he said. "I felt this horrible loneliness. I just had to get out of there."
Your AirVenture photos continue to dominate the "POTW" submission box! This one, from John E. Rees of Blacklick, Ohio, is our latest baseball cap winner (and, incidentally, our current desktop wallpaper).
By now you've likely heard about John and Martha King being held at gunpoint by police in Santa Barbara last weekend. We've already heard from more than 100 readers about how they feel about the whole thing. Now, we want to know how you feel not about what happened to the Kings, but where GA fits in the whole scheme of security and crime.Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers about a mid-air collision between a radio-controlled model airplane and a biplane and whether than indicated a need for new regulations. Click through to see the breakdown of answers.
Click for more photosRarely have we seen the spontaneous outpouring of reader response that we have with the gunpoint detention of John and Martha King last weekend. We've picked a few letters that represent a broad range of views on the fallout from the incident. We also encourage you to take part in our weekly "Question of the Week" reader's poll, which is related to the incident.
Last week's "Question of the Week" on further regulation of RC models in light of the collision between a biplane and an RC model at Brighton, CO generated huge response. Many of the letters reminded us that the investigation hasn't been concluded. The FAA has promised a full report within a week or so, and we'll carry it.
