It was FIFI’s first flight since October 2012, when the B-29 experienced trouble with the number two engine and returned safely to the ground during a routine photo mission. The B-29 is equipped with four radial engines, which are needed to power the massive aircraft, and it was determined the number two engine would need major repairs and therefore the aircraft was grounded. For three months, maintenance crews have worked to repair the engine and get the historic aircraft flying again. “It’s all the difference in the world seeing it fly instead of in a museum,” said Preston McPhail, the 70-year-old son of a former B-29 mechanic. “You can smell the exhaust from the engines.”

A fundraising campaign was launched in November with a goal of raising $200,000 to repair the engine and purchase a replacement. Currently the campaign has raised just over $105,000 to get FIFI flying again, but is still short $95,000 to purchase a fifth engine, a spare, which will ensure continuous future operation and flight.

For more information, please visit: www.keepFIFIflying.org.

Measuring over 32,800 square feet, the canopy is part of the current construction of Henriksen Jet Center at Houston Executive Airport located along Houston’s energy corridor in west Houston. Weir Enterprises is building the canopy as part of ongoing construction of the 22,500-square-foot premier FBO terminal building which is expected to be completed and open for business in February 2013.

Located near Houston’s energy corridor, Houston Executive Airport is a private commercial development established by Ron Henriksen, a Houston businessman and pilot with over 40 years in the aviation industry. The airport caters to business and general aviation aircraft.

Houston Executive features first-class amenities including 24-hour aircraft fueling, ground handling operations, rental and crew cars, crew lounge, catering services and complimentary wireless Internet access.

Houston Executive Airport is located at 1900 Cardiff Road, Brookshire, Texas 77423.
Phone: 281-AIRPORT.
More information about the airport is available by contacting Andrew Perry at 281/945-5000 or
at www.houstonexecutiveairport.com.

Air Race Classic Champion, Dianna Stanger with scholarship winner, Whitney Brouwer alongside her Flight Science Chair, Lauren Bitikofer at LeTourneau University

LeTourneau University (LETU) student Whitney Brouwer, a senior flight science major from Raymond, Minn., was awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the 2012 Air Race Classic champions Dianna Stanger and Victoria Holt, known as The Racing Aces.

On Friday, February 1, Stanger and Racing Aces representative Jasmine Gordon presented Brouwer with the $5,000 scholarship during a luncheon celebration at the Abbott Aviation Center. “There is nothing better than giving back — especially when it is so well deserved,” said Stanger.

Stanger and Holt won the 36th Air Race Championship in June 2012 following a four-day air race covering nearly 2,900 statute-miles across eight states and making nine stops. They decided to donate their $5,000 winning purse and sponsorship money to empower a female flight student to realize her own dream of flight. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that only 7 percent of all pilots are women, and that percentage has not increased in nearly a century.

Brouwer dedicates her time to working with the university flight team and at a local flight service center. She earned her private pilot’s certificate in August 2010 and has logged over 250 flight hours.

“Aviation is an exciting field, and I enjoy the different opportunities it presents,” said Brouwer. “I love to fly, and I’m also becoming certified as an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic.”

Brouwer will use the scholarship to help pay her university expenses. LETU Flight Science Chair Lauren Bitikofer says Brouwer is a top student. “Whitney helps the aircraft mechanics with annual and 100-hour inspections by performing many tasks including: changing oil, cleaning spark plugs, and servicing wheels and brakes,” said Bitikofer. “In more than 35 years of observing and teaching students, I would place her within the top 2 percent of all students for potential, ability and personal integrity.”

“I really want to thank everyone at the luncheon celebration for recognizing Whitney and helping her achieve the goals she has in aviation,” said Bitikofer. “She will be an incredible asset to our industry.”

In addition to presenting Brouwer with a ceremonial check and certificate, the pilots toured the Abbot Aviation Center. The Abbott Aviation Center houses LeTourneau’s School of Aeronautical Science at the East Texas Regional Airport. “I was extremely impressed with the facility and the level of hands on experience the students receive,” said Stanger.

The NCTCOG aviation careers website provides excellent resources for students, teachers, parents, plus interactive career planning videos that elevate aviation education efforts.

By Michael W. Mallonee
North Central Texas Council of Governments

With another new year, many people set resolutions and think about the future. For junior high, high school and college students focused on a new semester of study and possible career choices, a new North Texas aviation and aerospace career website helps provide some clarity with important information and facts about an industry in need of future generations of workers.

The website, www.nctaviationcareers.com, was developed to show students a path to a successful career in aviation. An interactive career planning tool allows students to quickly explore information such as job descriptions, salary, projected job growth and educational requirements. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for students to discover which aspects of aviation interest them and options for pursuing education needed in those careers.

“There is an urgent need to grow and train the future generation of aviation professionals,” Texas State Senator Royce West said. “It is our duty to make sure our future workforce – students – know rewarding careers and opportunities await them in the aviation profession.”

The website highlights more than 25 types of aviation-related careers, and it includes information on how to fund your education, a list of potential grants and scholarships, internships, and even resources for parents and educators.

North Texas’ status as the largest metropolitan area in the nation without access to a seaport has led to the development of a wealth of aviation assets and opportunities. There are more than 300 aviation-related businesses in the region plus 500 others statewide. In Texas, the aviation industry employs an estimated 771,000 people and boasts an economic output of $59 billion. North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) staff worked with aviation professionals and stakeholders to develop a long-term general aviation and heliport system plan and concluded enhanced aviation education and career information would be needed to sustain such prominence.

Attracting students to become part of a qualified aviation workforce is important to the aviation industry and region. A study of local demand for aviation jobs reveals shortages are expected for avionics or aircraft electronics professionals as well as technicians, pilots, flight engineers and air traffic controllers as current professionals near retirement. In North Texas, aviation activities are expected to increase through 2035, according to the long-term general aviation and heliport system plan.

“Over the past several years, increasing the capacity to train and educate the future aviation workforce has been a primary concern for our region,” said Bobby Waddle, Former Mayor, City of DeSoto, Former NCTCOG Executive Board President, Col., USAF (Ret). “The work accomplished by NCTCOG and its stakeholders will prove instrumental to providing a strong and sustainable aviation industry in North Texas.”

Aviation professionals, elected officials and educators have been working to advance aviation education at all levels. The new website complements ongoing efforts by offering an engaging comprehensive resource to help students learn about aviation and aerospace education and career opportunities.

“In honor of our WWII Veterans, the Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour brings extremely rare bombers and fighter aircraft for a local living history display as part of a 110-city nationwide tour,” says Airport Director Sharon Rostovich. “We are proud Temple Airport is a part of this amazing tour!”

The tour offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a 30-minute flight aboard these rare aircraft. Prices are $425 for the B-17 and B-24, or you can get some stick time in the world’s greatest fighter – the P-51 – for $2200. The tour will also have a Huey joining the group, and a ride in the front seat is $100.

Draughon-Miller Central Regional Airport will also host an air show from May 3-5. For more information, call Sharon Rostovich at 254/298-5350.

TxDOT’s full-time pilots (L to R) Captains David Morgan, Jim Reid, Chuck Scott, Dave
Heronemus and Director of Flight Services, Jay Joseph

By Kim Blonigen
King Air Magazine

As the saying goes, “Everything’s bigger in Texas.” But does it go on to say anything about being super efficient and economical? The Flight Services section of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) seems to think so. Its mission is “to transport Texas state employees and officials with the safest, most efficient, and economical aviation transportation system possible,” which it upholds to the highest degree.

The King Air plays a prominent part in its success, as they have four 200 models in their own fleet, providing operational oversight for the University of Texas King Air 350 and Texas Department of Criminal Justice King Air 200, while managing Texas A&M’s two King Air 200s. Besides providing transportation, TxDOT Flight Services also provides maintenance services to a fleet of 48 state-run aircraft – 18 helicopters and the remainder a variety of fixed-wing airplanes – with 13 full-time mechanics.

Model Manager

Part of TxDOT Flight Services’ responsibility is to recover all of their operating expenses – a feat in itself in today’s economy – yet they manage to do just that and still only charge recovery costs for their services. Director of Flight Services Jay Joseph explains, “We can offer superior quality maintenance services (their mechanics have an average of 31 years of A&I and A&P experience) to our clients at 26-50% below the costs of the private sector because we’re not looking to make a profit – just meet the requirements of our cost recovery model. We also buy our fuel in bulk, so there is an added cost benefit there, as well.”

TxDOT is considered to be the “model-manager” for state-operated fleets, as it receives many calls asking for advice from other state-run aviation departments. Joseph explains, “We’re all facing the same situation. It’s really no different than what corporate flight departments are also facing right now. Everyone is focused around the leanest economics of running an aviation department in the safest manner.”

Joseph was hired in 2006 as the change agent to get the costs in line. Drawing from his 29 years in the Marine Corps, 21 years flying for the airlines and strong safety background, Joseph said, “I felt that a well-qualified flight crew, well-maintained and standardized aircraft fleet and the need to have a safety culture that supported everything we do, was needed to run the department as efficiently as possible. The leadership at TxDOT understood that and has allowed me to do so.”

When Joseph arrived, there were nine different aircraft in the fleet. TxDOT Flight Services sold the airplanes that were no longer efficient and used the money to upgrade the existing King Air fleet (currently averaging 25 years – the oldest model being 31 years old and the newest 12). At the time, the King Airs all had different avionics, engines, propellers, etc. Today, they’re identical; they all have the Garmin 530/430 avionics suite, new paint and interior (replaced mainly to prevent corrosion), and Blackhawk engines. “I’m a huge advocate of the engines. They are a superior product in terms of performance and predictability. Since we’ve installed them, we have realized a three to five percent fuel reduction, a nine to 13-knot increase in cruise speed, and the time for phase inspections has been reduced by 20% − exceeding all of our expectations,” Joseph explained.

TxDOT 1 in flight

Standardizing the King Airs made them much more economical and efficient to maintain, as well as operate. All of the work done to upgrade the King Airs was kept in state – Blackhawk Engines is located in Waco and they were installed at Hawker Beechcraft Services in Houston, the avionics were purchased and installed by Temple Avionics in Houston, and the paint and interior completed at Murmer Aircraft Services in Arcola. Joseph comments, “It was an incredible value as we used the money from the proceeds of the aircraft we sold, so it didn’t cost the state anything, and an added benefit was generating in-state business to get all the work done.”

Last year, TxDOT provided services for 40 different state agencies (or entities thereof), transporting nearly 3,000 passengers and flying close to 1,300 total hours. Joseph explains, “We are very big in promoting the ‘business tool’ aspect of using our aircraft; the time and cost-savings of going from point to point and out and back in the same day. For example, if a typical state agency flew eight staffers to an in-state location for a four-hour meeting, the average cost savings is approximately $3,000.” Joseph does have a valid point. With only 27 commercial airports in Texas and only six of those with direct service to the capital of Austin, it would put restraints on when the airlines would make sense to use or how much time and money it would take to fly commercially and/or rent a car. There are 389 airports that the TxDOT aircraft can access – a figure Joseph proudly shares when educating the agencies of TxDOT’s services. Joseph adds, “We cannot be good stewards of the state’s money, if we’re not first good stewards of the state’s time.”

Safety First

Joseph says the King Air is the perfect airplane to fit TxDOT’s mission. Besides the efficient and economical aspects of operating and maintaining the aircraft, its safety record is also appealing. “Safety is the most important component of our operation. It’s the cornerstone of what we do and how we do it,” he said.

Using the SMS (Safety Management System), and drawing from his years of experience in the Marine Corps and airlines with an emphasis on safety, Joseph holds a meeting every day at 1:30 p.m. (something he brought from the Fleet Marine Force called a “1330 turnover meeting”). Everyone involved with the operation is part of the meeting – operations, maintenance, scheduling and dispatch, line service, and Joseph as the director. “Before we launch a flight, we have a matrix of 38 different items that we review. If any one of those items looks like something I wouldn’t do myself, we don’t go. In fact, anyone at any time can stop a flight if they feel it’s unsafe; we don’t question it. There is no pressure to go,” Joseph expresses.

TxDOT’s pilots all have prior King Air experience, hold an ATP rating, and average 11,000 hours total time. They fly the King Air 200s with two pilots for every flight. As Joseph explains, “There are two radios and two engines that aid in the safety of the airplane, why wouldn’t you include two pilots? We don’t compromise on safety.” And their safety record reflects that, they have 31 years and 66,000 hours of incident- and accident-free flying. “We’re not just saying it, we practice it,” Joseph adds.

It could be what he learned in the Marine Corps or the airlines and brought to TxDOT or his extensive study of aviation safety, but when asked what he credited the most for the success of his department, Joseph answered, “More than anything, it’s the people. They have enthusiasm, they are professionals, and they have their heart in it every day. It’s almost like we’re a small family. We take care of each other and we take care of our clients.” He concluded by saying, “We’re the second largest state in the country and if we can’t do this better than anyone else, we’re missing the boat, but we do.”

Reprinted by permission of King Air Magazine, Copyright November/December 2012.

A lot of attention is given to high-level issues in the national aviation media. “Will user fees be thrust upon us?” or “Is 100LL an endangered species?” The headlines frequently overshadow a lot of good work that is done at the local level, often one airport at a time. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) recognized the need for grassroots efforts at a time when general aviation airports were disappearing at a frightening rate, mostly due to land-use conflicts and economic pressures. Since most airports are owned by city or county governments, it was clear that early warning of an impending threat was critical to their survival. To address this need, AOPA established the Airport Support Network (Airport Support Network) program in 1997.

Volunteers were solicited to be AOPA’s eyes and ears at public-use airports, to sound the alarm if a threat loomed that might harm or close the airport. Presently, AOPA has 2,500 ASN Volunteers nationwide. Over the years, the program was grown from a defensive “save the airport” stance to a more proactive “let’s promote the airport” effort. Instead of waiting for trouble, investing the time to help a community understand the value of its local airport is an important activity we all need to support. Therefore, AOPA also wants to help recognize those airports/governments/public officials who are showing the positive value airports bring to a community, whether by way of holding an Airport Open House or supporting an airport improvement project. In addition, AOPA has created tools to help our members and ASNVs with their efforts, such as the Holding an Airport Open House or Participating in the Planning Process guides.

Texas has 182 ASN Volunteers who perform a wide range of activities that are supporting our airports. However, AOPA’s goal is to have an ASN Volunteer at every public-use airport in the U.S. This means we still need 133 volunteers in Texas to cover all the public-use airports we have in Texas. We need your help in filling those seats. The following is a list of some of the airports that currently need an ASNV:

For more information about the Airport Support Network (ASN) program and to view a complete list of airports that need volunteers, visit www.aopa.org/asn. If you want to know more about what’s going on in Texas or the Central Southwest Region (NM, TX, LA, OK, AR, KS, MO, NE and IA), visit http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/airports/region/southwest.html or follow me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AOPACentralSW).

Faulkner’s Air Shop for November 26, 2012

AVweb’s latest “FBO of the Week” comes to us from reader Sandra Wirth, who found herself making an unplanned stop at Burnet Municipal Airport/Kate Craddock Field (KBMQ) in Burnet, Texas, where she discovered Faulkner’s Air Shop.

Wirth writes:
While on a ferry flight from California to Florida in a Piper Warrior last month, due to a weather system in western Texas, I made an unplanned evening landing at KBMQ. It was after 6:00 p.m., and I was expecting to find a deserted airport and to have to figure out the fueling and lodging on my own. Instead, the lights were on at Faulkner’s Air Shop, and smiling faces greeted me as I entered the building. Dale took care of my fuel needs before I had much chance to think about it and then gave me some phone numbers of nearby motels. When none of [the hotels] would pick me up, Johanna drove me herself. The next morning, I ended up waiting several hours for some low clouds to clear. Johanna brought me back to the FBO, and I had a comfortable  place to relax while the activity of a busy flight school swirled around me. At lunch time, they offered me a ride into town. Meanwhile, Dale towed the aircraft into the shop, serviced the flattened nose strut with nitrogen, and towed it back to the ramp. They wouldn’t accept payment for any of this, nor were there tie-down fees. By the time I was finally able to take off around 2:30 p.m., I felt I had been given VIP treatment to a level that was far above anything else I experienced on my 2,500-nm journey across the country.

Mount Pleasant Regional Airport for January 21, 2013

Aerial view of Mount Pleasant Regional Airport

AVweb’s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Mount Pleasant Regional Airport (OSA) in Mount Pleasant, Texas.

AVweb reader Larry Richardson writes:
At OSA you get great service; a courtesy car if needed; competitive fuel prices; 6,000×100-foot runway; and always a friendly smile.

Rick Amber (above) founded Challenge Air with the belief that, “every disabled person should see the
world from a different view…out of their wheelchairs and in the sky.”

An 8-year-old boy emerged from a single-engine aircraft. His mother, crying, was beside him. Asked what happened, the mother replied, “These are tears of joy. My son said, ‘Mommy, I fly plane.’”

They were the first words her son ever spoke.

That scene plays over and over in the mind of April Culver, the CEO of Challenge Air, based at Dallas Love Field. Every time she thinks of the mother and her disabled, non-verbal son, it helps to motivate her to keep Rick Amber’s dream alive.

Amber created Challenge Air 20 years ago. Paralyzed at age 26 after his jet crash-landed on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War, Amber eventually made it his mission to take physically challenged children for their first airplane rides. He bought a Cessna 177B Cardinal in 1993 and began taking special-needs children up at community events nationwide. As a result, Challenge Air was born. After four years of making children’s dreams of touching the sky come true, Amber passed away from cancer in 1997.

“Rick’s goal was to make sure every disabled person experienced the world from a different view,” Culver says. “If we can get them up in the air and let them take control of the plane, it will let them know that they can do anything.”

Since 1993, Challenge Air has given 30,000 disabled children the gift of flight. Pilots donate their time to help make the lifechanging experience possible. The impact those flights have on the kids and their parents is well known among the staff of Challenge Air, who regularly receive thank-you notes from both pilots and parents.

Challenge Air has become so successful that the one full-time and one part-time staff members can’t keep up with the demand.

“Unfortunately, we have to turn down requests for fly-days at airports across the county,” Culver says. “We are in desperate need of additional staff, but the donations we receive now go toward current expenses.”

Challenge Air is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Culver, volunteer pilots, parents and, especially, the kids are hoping Rick Amber’s dream of ‘seeing the world from a different view’ continues.

To donate to Challenge Air, please visit their website at: www.challengeair.com.

One Thank You Note from a Grateful Parent

My son has flown with Challenge Air in the DFW area several times. When he first started, he could not sit up by himself enough to sit in the ‘co-pilot’ seat. Now, he has ‘flown’ the plane several times thanks to several wonderful pilots.

I cannot begin to express the joy and pride on his face as he is loaded on the plane from his wheelchair, flies, and then gets off the plane — all to the cheers of the crowds and numerous devoted volunteers! It brings joy to my heart and tears to my eyes each time! Thank-you from the bottom of our hearts!!

Karen and Matthew