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Safety-of-flight issues warrant careful analysis. So when the Environmental Protection Agency asked for input about the effects of the potential regulation of general aviation lead emissions, industry groups urged the agency to continue with research and base any decision on ample data.

Pilots in southern California had the opportunity Aug. 20 and 21 to find out more about what AOPA is doing to work on general aviation issues that matter to them - including the effects of costly flight school regulations, the transition to an unleaded avgas, and a potential airspace redesign that could restrict GA operations in the Los Angeles basin.

The Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will submit a certification plan to the FAA in October for use of Swift fuel in a Cessna 172 equipped with a Lycoming IO-360 engine. Both the engine and the aircraft must be approved.

You’ve seen stories about aviation companies moving jobs to Mexico. Specifically, many of the jobs go to Chihuahua, Mexico, a booming new center for aerospace where Cessna Aircraft opened a fourth building. They aren’t alone.

The FAA's proposal to increase the Detroit Class B airspace ceiling to 10,000 feet msl and expand much of the airspace from 25 nautical miles to 30 nm lacks justification, AOPA wrote in formal comments Aug. 23.

The only remaining delay before Panama City, Fla., pilots can move into general aviation facilities at the new Northwest Florida-Panama City Airport is installation of the card access reader for the GA hangar areas, airport officials told AOPA Vice President of Airport Advocacy Bill Dunn during meetings Aug. 18 and 19.

Limiting seaplane access to the northern and southern edges of Ross Lake in northern Washington is too restrictive, AOPA wrote in formal comments to the National Park Service.

The NTSB will require operators of unmanned aircraft to notify the board of accidents involving the craft effective Oct. 25.

A bill that would delay the implementation of costly new requirements for flight schools in California passed the state Senate Aug. 24.

For the first time in its history, the FAA is requiring that all aircraft be re-registered. To get started, review your aircraft registration card and see in which month your aircraft was originally registered.

The Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education will meet Aug. 26 to consider regulating Part 61 flight schools as "private vocational programs" - making those schools subject to regulatory requirements and fees similar to those in a controversial new California law.

A bill that would delay the implementation of costly new requirements for flight schools in California passed the state Senate Aug. 24.

While his tenure as the FAA federal air surgeon lasted only three years in 1980s, Dr. Frank H. Austin Jr.'s legacy still benefits thousands of pilots who hold medical certificates. Austin, a visionary who saw the FAA's medical standards as overly conservative and bureaucratic, died June 22 in Arlington, Va., at the age of 86.

As a member of AOPA, receive up to 40 percent off your next rental at Alamo, now through Sept. 20. Plus, Alamo is offering weekend rentals from $20 a day for AOPA members through the same time period.

A.E. Purcifull, an insurance agent in Frankfort, Ind., says the best part of joining AOPA's Medical Services Program is, "It took the anxiety out of going in for the Medical."

Drivers in the southern states may see, in the next few days, a flatbed truck carrying the wreckage of a Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver. It was recovered from the bottom of Lower Otay Reservoir in San Diego County, Calif., and is headed for the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.

From a battle victory in the war against user fees to the quest to keep flying affordable, AOPA President Craig Fuller and Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) discussed the implications of public policy for pilots at a General Aviation Serves America community event in Athens, Ga., Aug. 18.

Get ready for a change in ATC terminology expected to take place on Sept. 30. Instead of the familiar phrase "taxi into position and hold," the controller will issue "line up and wait" instructions to indicate that you may taxi onto the runway and wait for a takeoff clearance.

Delivery delays in the Cessna Skycatcher program appear to be ending. Seven of the two-seat light sport aircraft were in final assembly at one time.

On Aug. 23, while thousands of Maryland students were trudging back to school, 17-year-old Nate Foster launched on the trip of a lifetime. He is flying a 1975 Piper Super Cub from Maryland to California.