Originally published in 2002 Help may be on the way for general aviation Following September 11, 200 I, Congress acted quickly to provide financial assistance to ensure the continued viability of our nation’s commercial airline industry. The general aviation industry, which was also affected by this disaster, has thus far been left to fend for…

Originally published in 2002 Abilene Regional Airport – Interim Airport Director: Keith Kaspari, P.O. Box 60, Abilene, TX 79604, 915/676-6368. Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Austin – Update: Jim Smith, Executive Director of Aviation, 3600 Presidential Blvd., City of Austin, Box 4 I I, Austin, Texas 78719, 512/530-2242. Brenham Municipal Airport – Correction: Jack Hess, FBO…

Originally published in 2002 Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives James E. “Pete” Laney received the 200 I AOPA Hartranft Award for his efforts to preserve general aviation in Central Texas. This prestigious award, named for the association’s first president, is given annually to the political leader who makes the year’s greatest contribution to…

Originally published in 2002 The National Aeronautic Association honored Neil Armstrong with its Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy last December. The award, established in 1948, is given every year to a living person for “significant public service of enduring value, as a civilian, to aviation in the United States.” Previous winners include Charles Lindbergh and Donald…

Originally published in 2002 By Elizabeth J. Murray Last October the Houston Endowment and Southwest Airlines both approved major grants for the 1940 Air Terminal Museum located on Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). The grants gave the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society the green light to begin restoration on the city’s original art-deco air terminal,…

Originally published in 2002 MOYA LEAR Moya Lear, wife of Learjet designer William P. Lear, died last December in Reno, Nevada; she was 86. Faithful to the last request of her husband, she completed his Lear Fan project as chairman of Lear Aviation and saw the aircraft fly in December 1980. She was the daughter…

Originally published in 2002 Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced recently that the U.S. Department of Transportation will implement a plan to maintain the adequacy of backup systems for each area of operation where Global Positioning System (GPS) is “critical to transportation issues.” An earlier study prepared by the DOT’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center found…

Originally published in 2002 The Army plans to retire its UH- I “Huey” helicopter fleet, between 400 and 600 aircraft, over the next few years. The Aviation and Missile Command Project OLR will recondition the helicopters for use in foreign military sales or international humanitarian missions. One of the six Project OLR sites worldwide is…

Originally published in 2002 AASI announced on February 8 that it will acquire Mooney Aircraft Corporation (MAC). Mooney, which has produced more than I 0,000 aircraft since 1947, has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since July 2001. The new company will be called Mooney Performance Aircraft Company (MPAC) and will use Mooney’s existing line–Eagle2, Ovation2,…

Originally published in 2002 The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame and its flying division, The Lone Star Flight Museum, finished up the year with some “good numbers” according to Museum President Ralph Royce. “Attendance for 2001 was up 4 percent during the period where some of our Museum friends were reporting decreases in teen [th]…

Originally published in 2002 By Keith Kaspri Interim Airport Director Rick Crider, A.A.E. Airport Director is now the Executive Director at the Gainesville Airport in Gainesville, Florida. In the meantime, I am the interim airport director until Crider’s successor is found. RECAP: * Phase II of the terminal renovation and expansion project, complete with new…

Originally published in 2002 ACCIDENTS ARE NOT ACCIDENTS… The FAA’s top ten list of things that lead to crashes. * 1) Inadequate preflight preparation. 2) Failure to obtain or maintain flying speed. 3) Failure to maintain directional control. 4) Improper level off. 5) Failure to see and avoid objects or obstruction. 6) Inadequate fuel management….