Briefing

Seaplanes led the news at EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh this year, with Icons debut of the final production version of its aircraft. The company is ramping up for production at a new plant in Vacaville, Calif., with plans to start deliveries of the LSA seaplane next year. Also, a new contender, MVP.aero, showed off a concept with a bundle of unique features. The mock-up and graphic display of the MVP.aero Model 3 amphibians unusual design, targeting fun flying, featured a cockpit that opens up to a deck for fishing, relaxing, and camping out.

Two general-aviation aircraft designs, the Turbine Mallard and the all-metal tandem SAM LSA, are up for sale. Thierry Zibi said he enjoyed designing and building the SAM, but doesnt want to run a production company. The SAM is certified in Canada as an Advanced Ultralight, and is compliant with the LSA rule in the USA. Frakes Aviation acquired classic Grumman Mallards type certificate some years ago, and upgraded the fleet with turbine engines. The TC is back on the market now, as the current owners are ready to retire. Were looking for someone to take on the entire project, said Sam Jantzen, of Mallard Aircraft, who is working with Frakes. That would include not just the type certificate but the inventory of parts and several partially-built aircraft now owned by Frakes and based in Texas.

The Office of Inspector General for the Transportation Department reports that the FAAs ADS-B plan faces significant risks and challenges. The number-one issue: Reluctance to purchase and install the required new avionics. Users have raised justifiable concerns about evolving requirements and uncertain equipage costs and benefits, the report says and brings back up the idea of cost sharing on incentives for upgrading users. The report also points to promised cost savings by using contractors that have evaporated or ended up costing more than doing things in-house. Meanwhile, the Airline Electronics Association says the new FAA guidelines that require ADS-B equipment to be installed under the supplemental type certificate (STC) process will stall early equipage, delay early implementation, and, at the extreme, cause the failure of ADS-B implementation all together.

The long, slow process to find an alternative to leaded aviation fuel took a step forward in July when the FAA said it will start to evaluate nine possible replacement fuels from five producers. Avgas is the only transportation fuel in the U.S. that still contains added lead, a substance banned from most fuels due to its toxicity. The FAA has set a goal to find a new, unleaded aviation fuel by 2018. This summer, the FAA will analyze the candidate fuels in terms of their impact on the fleet of 167,000 lead-fuel-burning GA aircraft, the production and distribution infrastructure, their environmental impact, toxicology, and cost. By September 1, the FAA will select several of the fuels for further testing. The nine proposals now under evaluation were received from Afton Chemical Company, Avgas LLC, Shell, Swift Fuels, and a consortium of BP, Total, and Hjelmco.

A controversial airworthiness directive that affects certain Superior Air Parts cylinders took effect April 25 despite widespread opposition from the maintenance industry and the manufacturer. The AD grounds any aircraft with Continental 550, 520 and 470 engines with SAP cylinders that have been in the engine for more than 12 calendar years.

Although it hasnt released the final report to the public, the FAAs unleaded avgas transition rulemaking committee (UAT-ARC) will recommend a fuel-approvals process stretching out as long as 11 years and will be asking Congress for at least $60 million to fund the project, plus as much as $13 million from the industry. The snowball is starting to turn down the hill, said Lycoming General Manager Michael Kraft What it does is to give anyone…

A Senate Appropriations Committee report says Aeronav should immediately restore the 17-day advance availability of digital charts to the public on its website, and further demands to see a business case supporting Aeronavs claims that it needs to charge fees for digital charts. Sales of paper products have fallen but the FAA should not view the sale of digital products simply as a convenient source of revenue to compensate for the loss of revenue, the…

The FAA will discontinue the paper application for FAA medical certification. After Oct. 1, 2012, you must use FAA Form 8500-8 application, otherwise known as FAA MedXpress. That virtual form was introduced in 2007 and has evolved considerably, streamlining FAA medical certification into a much more efficient and seamless process, says the FAA. More than 400,000 pilots fill out one of these forms each year, so its understandable a digital system might save a few…

The FCC will indefinitely suspend LightSquareds authority to carry terrestrial broadband signals on frequencies close to GPS frequencies after receiving a report that concludes the two systems cannot currently coexist. A year of testing demonstrated serious and widespread interference according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. LightSquared says it profoundly disagrees with the findings, which will effectively cancel its plans for a $14 billion high-speed wireless system. However, there may be room in the…

The White House responded to a 8500-signature petition titled Take Aviation User Fees off the Table with a treatise called Why We Need Aviation User Fees. It concludes that a $100 per flight user fee is an equitable way for those who benefit to bear the cost of this essential service and is signed by OMB associate director Dana Hyde. Hyde has twice called for all users to pay or do their fair share. The…

The FAA plans to reduce the number of VOR facilities to a minimal operational network by 2020. A minimum network would be enough that an aircraft anywhere in the continental U.S. would have no more than 100 miles to go via VOR to some GPS-independent approach. The FAA is accepting comments on its proposed policy until March 7.…

With officials in Washington unable to agree on a budget compromise, the stalemate known as the sequester resulted in an announcement that 149 contract towers across the country will be closed, starting in April. Although the budget restrictions apply only to this fiscal year, which ends September 30, its unclear whether any of the closed towers will be included in the next budget. Some local entities have come forward to fund operations, but many are…