- ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH, author, aviator, and widow of Charles A. Lindbergh, died at her home in Vermont on February 7, 2000, at the age of 94. After her marriage to Charles in 1927, she flew as co-pilot with her famous husband on record-breaking flights across oceans and around the world, and wrote extensively about their adventures, publishing 13 books. Her best-seller, “Gift From The Sea”, was published in 1955. The Lindberghs had six children. Her death marks the final flight of yet another of aviation’s original pioneers.
- TEXAS JET, an FBO at Fort Worth’s Meacham International Airport, has been awarded the 2000 Phillips 66 Aviation “Wings of Excellence” for contributions and commitment to general aviation. The award was presented to Reed Pigman, Texas Jet’s owner.
- LLANO MUNICIPAL AIRPORT now provides pilots a free courtesy car for use in the city for up to two hours. Llano Flying Service offers I 00LL fuel, aircraft rental, brokerage and maintenance. The maintenance opportunities will improve substantially with the addition of a new maintenance hangar which is expected to be completed soon.
- FAA HQ AIR TRAFFIC DIVISION – Bill Peacock, a 27- year FAA veteran, will assume the title of acting director, replacing division director Ron Morgan who will soon leave the agency after some 30-odd years in ATC. Peacock started out as a controller at the Lubbock, Texas, ATCT; an instrument-rated private pilot and a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
- SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION in the Bush administration is California Democrat Norman Y. Mineta. Mineta, former Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton administration, has long been a fixture in aviation and surface transportation circles, having served as chairman of the House subcommittee on aviation from 1981-88 and as chairman of that panel’s parent, the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, from 1992-94. In addition to being a long-time aviation supporter (he has two sons who are rated pilots), Mineta is also well respected by virtually everyone in the industry. During his tenure in Congress, he was known to forge consensus on FAA funding and aviation safety policy.
- PRECISION APPROACHES FOR SMALL AIRPORTSUPS Aviation Technologies is working on a GPS-based precision approach system that it expects to be certified later this year. The UPS equipment uses signals from the FAA’s Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in conjunction with GPS technology to provide pilots with vertical and horizontal guidance to the runway without the need for extensive ground-based infrastructure. The system includes a mechanism for ensuring the integrity of the signal, which should satisfy the FAA’s concerns about the safety of such approaches. If approved, the equipment could make hundreds of smaller airports accessible in instrument conditions.
- REP. BUD SHUSTER (R-Pa.) – the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman who overcame formidable opposition to ensure that highway and aviation taxes are spent for their intended purposes retired from 11 Congress effective January 31, 2001. A veteran politician who wielded great power as chairman, Shuster first pushed to secure special budget treatment for the Highway Trust Fund. And, then, in a move that many initially thought impossible, he authored legislation, AIR-21 – signed by President Clinton on April 6, 2000-to do the same for the Airport and Airway trust Fund.
- CFI RE-CERTIFICATION TIED TO WINGS PROGRAM Flight instructors may now qualify to renew their certificates by offering flight training in the FAA’s WINGS program, according to an FAA bulletin issue in December 2000. The instructor must hold an unexpired certificate and must have provided at least 15 hours of WINGS flight training to at least five pilots within the preceding 24 hours. This new method for flight instructor renewal is contained in the FAA Flight Standards Handbook Bulletin for General Aviation (HBGA) as bulletin number HBGA 00-18; effective December 18, 2000.
- U.S. SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON has been named chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee Aviation Subcommittee. Senator Huchison’s elevation to chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee follows passage last year of her airport safety bill that tightened standards and training requirements for airport workers. She continues to be a member of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Surface Transportation Subcommittee and has served as vice chairman and acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board in 1976.
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
(979) 317-2000