SAJ Aviation Brief

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Read on Four Continents 
May 14, 2012

Photo by Shahn Sederberg 

www.belfortinstrument.com COLORADO GENERAL AVIATION ALLIANCE ORGANIZED by Penny Rafferty Hamilton A concept originally considered in 1995 finally came to be as the Colorado General Aviation Alliance (CGAA) held its first organizational meeting Saturday, May 5th. Many leaders of general aviation groups along with enthusiastic individuals met in the Mt. Evans meeting room at the Rocky Mountain Metro Airport-RMAA/BJC. Read more: State Aviation Journal Colorado Prepares to Celebrate Aviation Week  Back in April Governor John Hickenlooper proclaimed June to be General Aviation Appreciation Month for the State of Colorado. A number of special events have been sheduled for the week of June 4 - 10, 2012. See list: State Aviation Journal   North Dakota Pietsch Named to Aeronautics Commission A longtime Minot pilot has been appointed on the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. Governor Jack Dalrymple appointed Warren Pietsch to the commission. Pietsch is part owner of Pietsch Aircraft and Minot Aero Center in Minot and is a former airline pilot. Read more: KFYR News 5   California FAA Cancels Annual Airports Conference Scheduled for Long Beach in June On Friday Mark McClardy, manager of the airports division for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Western Pacific Region in Los Angeles, sent an e-mail to participants who had been planning on attending the Region's annual airports conference, explaining that the conference had been cancelled.  Read more: State Aviation Journal   North Carolina Division of Aviation to Sponsor Free Pilot Safety Seminars The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation is sponsoring a series of free pilot safety seminars across the  state on May 12, 14-16.  Each presentation is titled, “Wanted Alive” and discusses trends in general aviation aircraft accidents.  “Programs like this seminar create a positive safety culture among North Carolina general aviation pilots,” said Division of Aviation Director Richard Walls.  Read more: State Aviation Journal Minnesota Duluth airport chief to leave for Michigan airport post Brian Ryks, executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority for the past 10 years, is leaving to take a similar post in Grand Rapids, Mich. Ryks, 49, said he formally accepted the job Monday to head Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Ryks’ last day on the job in Duluth will be June 22. Read more: Duluth News Tribune http://www.baldwinllc.com/   U.S. States Offer Incentives to Visit Airports States across the country—and AOPA—offer incentive programs to encourage general aviation pilots to explore different airports around them. The rules and sponsors for these programs vary, but each offers one more reason to get out and fly. Read more: AOPA Online South Carolina Infrasense Airport Surveys Take Off Infrasense, Inc. recently completed the ground penetrating radar (GPR) phase of a project to provide pavement condition and capacity data for 24 South Carolina airports. The project provides the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission (SCAC) with information to update their statewide Pavement Maintenance and Management System.  Read more: PRWeb Georgia Dalton uses state's airport economic impact study to promote open house    Dalton Municipal Airport Manager Frank Hubbs admits that many local residents have never used the airport. But he says that its economic impact affects everyone in the area, whether they use it or not. According to a 2011 Georgia Statewide Airport Economic Impact Study, the Dalton Municipal Airport creates some $3 million a year in economic benefits. Read more: Chicago Tribune Maine Airport's new name has coastal appeal Town councilors voted unanimously last week to change the name of the town's airport from Sanford Regional Airport to Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport. The change stems from a recommendation by an airport marketing consultant engaged last fall by Sanford's Industrial Development Corporation.  Read more: Fosters.com North Dakota Ulteig welcomes new employee Ulteig, a Fargo, North Dakota company, welcomed James Lewis to Project Controls. Lewis joined the company as a project manager trainee in the Minneapolis office. He has electrical experience in the residential, commercial, aviation and wind energy industries. Read more: Prairie Business Massachusetts Barnstable Municipal Airport to be Dedicated on May 18 The new Barnstable Municipal Airport terminal and air traffic control tower will be dedicated officially during ceremonies Friday, May 18th at 1 p.m. on the airport grounds. State, federal and local officials will take part in a program that includes the unveiling of commemorative plaques for the terminal and tower. Read more: Barnstable-Hyannis Patch U.S. The frequent fliers who flew too much Many years after selling lifetime passes for unlimited first-class travel, American Airlines began scrutinizing the costs — and the customers.There are frequent fliers, and then there are people like Steven Rothstein and Jacques Vroom.  Read more: Los Angeles Times Washington State Paine Field Aviation Day Set for May 19th On Saturday, May 19th from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field – KPAE) and the Washington Pilots Association - Paine Field Chapter will present Paine Field Aviation Day. Read more: Seattlepi.com Washington D.C. Special counsel warns White House on FAA issues Air traffic controllers in New York sleeping, playing video games and going home early. Planes bound for one airport hitting turbulence from big jets headed to another airport. Those safety concerns and a whole slate of others were among seven outlined by U.S. Special Counsel Carolyn N. Lerner in a letter last week to the White House criticizing the FAA.  Read more: Washington Post   Don't rely on someone else to forward a copy - Get Your Complimentary Weekly Skybrief Direct Illinois St. Charles pilot who helped save 184 dies of cancer As a trained pilot, Denny Fitch knew instinctively everyone aboard United Flight 232 could die in a matter of minutes. “I was 46, I had the world ahead of me, I had a beautiful healthy family, and at 4 p.m., I was trying to stay alive,” he said in a documentary interview. Read more: Daily Herald Minnesota Airport hangar: Will it be worth it?  Mankato's City Council will soon decide whether or not to build a $1.4 million hangar at the airport with the help of a grant from the state for half the cost.  Read more: Mankato Free Press Awesome Blue Angels video recorded in FL and El Centro CA.  See Video:

International News England Government has no idea on airports, says IAG chief Willie Walsh  Willie Walsh, the boss of International Airlines Group, has said he will not be engaging in the coalition's long-awaited consultation on the future of Britain's airports because the government "has no idea what it is talking about. When I hear the government talking about an intelligent use of capacity at Heathrow – they have no idea what they are talking about."  The Guardian Germany Fire safety problems delay new Berlin airport yet again The opening of Berlin's new airport will be delayed by up to three months due to fire safety problems, authorities said on Tuesday, dealing an embarrassing blow to the German capital's flagship project less than a month before its planned launch.  Read more: Reuters     Press Releases Foreign Airworthiness Certificates Bring Nearly 100 Aircraft to Duncan Aviation  GS&P Bolsters Aviation Group with New Hires Gresham, Smith and Partners has hired Robert Fuller and Altan Cekin to bolster the company's aviation group. Read more: State Aviation Journal   New Duncan Aviation-Provo Aircraft Maintenance Facility will Keep Growing  Duncan Aviation is the Market Leader in Aircraft Internet Installations with Wi-Fi   Now Availble!   March/April                            Jan/Feb   Arizona Aviation Journal March/April Issue   www.pantherinternational.com Coming Events!  8th National Aviation System Planning Symposium (May 20-22) View other upcoming events FOLLOW US ON Facebook & Twitter!   Drone Talk Finland Aeronautics wins $30m Finnish UAV deal "It's like winning the Oscars in the mini-UAV market," Aeronautics Ltd. told "Globes" about the company's $30 million contract to supply hundreds of UAVs to the Finnish Army. "This is the most expensive and expansive mini-UAV deal every made outside the US, and it belongs to us. Read more: Globes Tech Western Helicopter 'Buzzes' Wind Farms for Radar Testing Western Area Power Administration recently participated in a study to limit any potential impact wind farms may have on radar systems run by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. In early May Western's Huron-based Bell 407 helicopter in South Dakota flew numerous test patterns over three wind farms in Minnesota to test technology designed to "clear up" the radar signal in and around wind farms. Read more: Avionics Intelligence

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