PRESIDENT BUSH’S RANCH – If anyone is thinking about flying over this ranch near Crawford, Texas to check out the new president’s place – think again! The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bus declared it off limits. A Prohibited Area has been established in the airspace above the ranch, extending from the surface to 5,000 feet…

By Jeff Borowiec Texas Transportation Institute The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently sent an airport hangar financing questionnaire to all airport managers in Texas. Texas Department of Transportation, Aviation Division, undertook with Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University to develop and administer the questionnaire which ultimately will improve the Texas Airport System. The questionnaire…

The educational process should start now as the heat of summer approaches and the chances increase for pilots to become dehydrated with increased risk for incidents and accidents. Three Stages of Heat Exhaustion Transition from one to the other can be very evident, hardly noticeable, or not evident at all. Heat stress (body temperature, 99.5…

By Marie C. Peinado Located at the former Webb Air Force Base in Big Spring, Texas, Hangar 25 has its very own distinctive place in Texas aviation history; a lingering and living testimony to the thousands of flight crews, pilots, and service personnel who trained here for the specific mission of protecting our country during…

Grant Airport Name Grant Awarded Grant Amount Project Description Coleman Municipal Airport 3/23/01 $654,540.00 In general, the project consists of: Rehabilitating, striping, and marking Runway 15-33; Rehabilitating and marking taxiway to Runway 15 end: Rehabilitating and marking taxiway to Runway 33 end; Rehabilitating and marking stub taxiway; reconstructing apron; Installing Runway End Identifier Lights (REILS)…

Air Traffic Control at William P. Hobby (HOU) Airport has a new and improved working environment. The Federal Aviation Administration moved into a new ATC tower at Hobby this quarter. The state-of-the art HOU ATC tower cost $8.3 million, is 147 feet tall, and has a 7,300 square foot building attached to the base, which…

Bill Gunn, at TxDOT Aviation, spent ten days in March of this year assisting the Air Safety Foundation, Australia (ASFA) setting up trial safety seminars and flying instructor refresher clinics. Sample clinics for flight instructors were conducted in Sydney, Bankstown and Melbourne as part of a comprehensive revision of the Australian Civil Aeronautical Regulations equivalent…

The 12th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference was held in Reno, Nevada on March 22-24. Scholarship Awards at WAI’s Conference approached $1 million. Scholarship selection criteria include achievements, attitude toward self and others, commitment to success, dedication to career, financial need, motivation, reliability, responsibility and teamwork. The following Texans were WIA award recipients: Airline…

Ron Jackson Manager of Airports Chambers County Airport in Anahuac recently participated in TxDOT’s Routine Airport Maintenance Program (RAMP). A 60-foot x 80-foot hangar was repaired and renovated with the support of this program. Another project in the works includes the extension of runway 12-30, rehabilitation of all taxiways and ramp area, installation of medium…

Austin’s Own Experimental Aircraft Builder and Writer – Antoni “Tony” Bingeles died on March 29 in Austin after a long illness, he was 80. After serving 23 years in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Tony went to work for the Texas Aeronautics Commission, now the Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division and retired after 18…

Some of the major “firsts” in aviation and space history: 1903 – 1st successful Airplane (Wright 1903 Flyer) 1926 – 1st successful Liquid-Propellant Rocket (Goddard Rockets) 1927- 1st solo transatlantic flight (Ryan NYP “Spirit of St. Louis”) 1942 – 1st American Turbojet (Bell XP-59A Airacomet) 1947 – 1st aircraft to travel the speed of sound (Bell…

By Fred Johnson Texas Aerospace Commission William “Bill” Looke, the new Executive Director for Texas Aerospace Commission, has successfully presented the case for increased TAC funding during the current legislative session. The Conference Committee on Appropriations voted unanimously to increase the Commission’s funding to $2 million for the biennium-an increase of about 500 percent from…

Brazoria County Airport – Airport Manager: Louie Jones, Route 1, Box 5, Angelton, TX 77515, 979/849-5755. Bridgeport Municipal Airport New airport manager: Bob Barham, 812 Halsell Street, Bridgeport, TX 76428, 940/683-3996. Capella Air Ranch, near Coupland the airport is being constructed on a 103-acre tract of land in this Central Texas community, including an aircraft…

By the time you receive this newsletter, the 77th session of the Texas Legislature will be history. Several aviation issues were addressed during the session including: (1) Development of a State Airport in Central Texas: The Texas Department of Transportation was directed to establish and maintain an airport open to the public in Central Texas. Funding…

By Marie C. Peinado Aviation Division AUSTIN– The 19th Annual Texas Aviation Conference, co- sponsored by Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division and the Texas Airport Management Association, was held again at Austin’s DoubleTree Hotel North from Wednesday, April 4 through Friday, April 6, 2001. There were 450 conference participants at TAC this year, the…

AUSTIN–In March 2001, Richard F. (“Ric”) Williamson became Governor Rick Perry’s first appointee to the Texas Transportation Commission. Williamson joins John W. Johnson of Houston and Robert Nichols of Jacksonville on the three-member commission overseeing statewide transportation programs of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Williamson, a resident of Weatherford and a former state legislator,…