It wasn't enough that they won the Ansari X prize, or that they going to start hauling rich folks to the edge of space, now Paul Allen and Burt Rutan have formed a new venture to eventually carry cargo and people into orbit.

To do it, Allen and Rutan have announced they're behind a gigantic new plane, funded by $200 million from Allen .It is called Stratolaunch Systems, part of Vulcan Inc., the business and philanthropic holding company Allen owns in Seattle.

At a Mojave news conference Dec. 13 they said the plane "will be the largest ever flown," with a wingspan of 385 feet - longer than a football field.

The new plane has a twin-fuselage, six engines and will be used to launch a SpaceX rocket at an altitude of 30,000 feet. The rocket will then zoom to the edges of space.

The Mojave, Calif.-based Scaled Composites is the prime contractor for Stratolaunch System's carrier aircraft. Space Exploration Technologies, which is pursing a more traditional capsule design to carry cargo and people into orbit, is signed on to provide a modified version of its Falcon rocket to serve as Stratolaunch's booster.

"It's not a competition within SpaceX," said company vice president Adam Harris. "It's actually a complementary capability."

The project will revolutionize space transportation by providing orbital access to space at lower costs, greater safety and increased flexibility, Scaled owner Northrop Grumman said in a relase.
Stratolaunch's aim is to stage the first test flight of its "carrier aircraft," similar to White Knight Two but substantially larger, in 2015. The initial rocket launch is set for 2016.

Allen is a co-founder of Microsoft, a multi-billionaire who owns the world's largest yacht (and the second largest).

He also owns the Seattle Seahawks football team and the Portland Trailblazers. In fact, Allen has so much money that he lost $8 billion in his investment with cable company Charter Communications.

It filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 and he still has plenty left.

The new craft weighs more than 1.2 million pounds and has a 385 foot wingspan. By contrast, the largest commercial airliner, the Airbus 380, has a wingspan of 261 ft 10 in.

Their plans call for it to carry a rocket high into the atmosphere and drop it, avoiding the need for a launch pad and the expense of additional rocket fuel.

The system is similar to SpaceShipTwo, a commercial successor to SpaceShipOne, which clinched the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 for the first non-government human spaceflights.

Flying at roughly 30,000 feet, the new craft will climb sharply just as it releases the rocket, which will use a cluster of four or five engines to boost itself into orbit, the Wall Street Journal noted.

"The sheer size of the endeavor presents severe engineering and production challenges. While scientists have long studied the principles of air-launched rockets - Mr. Rutan recalls beginning preliminary work on such a project as long ago as 1991 - Stratolaunch Systems Inc. ... still hasn't firmed up critical design details," the paper reported.

Several other companies are also competing to develop spacecraft to deliver cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station, now that the Space Shuttle program has ended, but it's still not clear whether the new rocket will be able to reach the space station.

"In an interview, Gary Wentz, a former senior National Aeronautics and Space Administration official tapped as the new company's chief executive, suggested the business case for the project also may be fluid," WSJ reported. "He didn't give details about the most likely types of missions and why the new system would manage to attract a wider range of customers than NASA's phased-out Delta II rockets, which Stratolaunch hopes to replace.

The Delta II's production costs and other expenses were too high to justify serving limited government and commercial markets.

"Unlike conventional rockets that blast off from a pad, air-launched systems similar to the one Mr. Allen wants to put together are designed to deliver a broad range of satellites to space without the constraints of weather or optimal times and locations to try to reach specific orbits," the paper said.

"As a result, the project's motto is 'any orbit, any time,' and a big selling point is that the carrier aircraft can relocate more than 1,300 miles without refueling to search for a suitable launch location," the paper reported.

SpaceShipTwo, which the new project resembles, is currently undergoing testing in Mojave, Calif. It is owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which so far has reservations from nearly 500 private individuals and science researchers for short rides beyond the atmosphere.

Rutan founded and served as the chief executive of Scaled Composites, which built both SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo. He retired from Scaled in April.

Wentz said Stratolaunch is in the process of buying two used 747-400s which will contribute many of their parts - engines, avionics, flight deck, landing gear and other systems - to the new plane.

Stratolaunch expects to be able to launch medium-weight satellites and eventually crews of about six people at a time, said former NASA administrator Mike Griffin, who is working with the new venture.

Scaled, now owned by Northrop Grumman, will manufacture and test the plane at a new facility in Mojave. A launch site has not yet been selected.

The Falcon launch vehicle is beoing developed at Space Explorations Technology (SpaceX) in Hawthorne, Calif. and the mating and interface system needed to suspend the rocket is being developed by Dynetics, Inc., an aerospace engineering company in Huntsville, Ala.

The rockets will eventually carry people, but the first tests, scheduled for 2016, will be unmanned. It should be another five years before people can fly in one.

The spaceship and booster will be provided by another Internet tycoon, Elon Musk of PayPal, who has built a successful commercial rocket.

Not yet firmed up is where Stratolaunch will operate from as it requires a 12,000 ft. runway and the capacity to fuel the two stage, liquid-fueld rocket.

Under consideration are Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Mojave and Hickam AFB in Hawaii.
"There's an amazing amount of flexibility to fly multiple payloads in a short period of time, from different locations and to different orbits," Allen said.

"If there was sufficient demand, we could see our way to building more carrier aircraft. That's a long way down the road," he added.

"The beauty of large turbofan airplane is it really meets the definition of re-usability," Rutan said. "A typical 747 throughout its entire life spends somewhere between 12 or 15 hours a day airborne."

Utilizing the C-206's high wing location, Soloy's STC wing mounted hardpoint is readily adaptable for the forward looking infrared (FLIR) cameras that record in a variety of lights and thermal imaging.

The wing mount location is an ideal location for surveillance and patrol and allows for a 360° view.

The wing mount location also allows more visibility and better operational awareness to the camera operator.

The camera is placed away from the hot exhaust trail and lens damaging exhaust emitted from the engine as well as runway debris.

The stability of the wing mount minimizes vibration to/from the airframe for clearer imaging.

Also included in the package is a rear observer's station with a large observation window and a 270° articulating observer's seat.

The headliner is modified for increased room and four point harnesses are installed for the flight crew's safety.

The complete Soloy's MK II Sentinel airborne observation package includes a Rolls Royce RR250-B17 turbine conversion which includes communication console and a 185 amp electrical bus that handles any anticipated electrical load.

In a press conference to discuss the future of the National Championship Air Races, the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) announced Jan. 4 the formation of a Blue Ribbon Review Panel "to study the event."

The panel will review any possible changes or modifications that could be made to enhance the level of safety established by the FAA and existing RARA procedures. RARA also announced that, despite many challenges in the near and long-term future, they are planning to hold the 49th Annual National Championship Air Races at the Reno-Stead Airfield, Sept. 12 - 16, 2012.

"Buoyed by the overwhelming support of the victims and families of last year's terrible tragedy, our sponsors, air race participants and fans and aviation enthusiasts all over the world, we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to hold this historic event in 2012," said Mike Houghton, president and CEO of RARA.

"The safety of our fans and pilots has always been our foremost and primary concern, which is why we feel so strongly about a blue ribbon review. This effort is not designed to interfere or duplicate the efforts of the National Transportation Safety Board and we will continue to cooperate with them to the fullest extent."

The panel conducted its first meeting shortly after the press conference and will release its preliminary results and recommendations to RARA within the next 90 days, allowing race officials to study them before the event's annual Pylon Racing Seminar (PRS) in June.

The panel will be headed by the former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jim Hall, and former associate administrator for aviation safety for the FAA, Nick Sabatini.

The panel is rounded out with Steve Hinton, movie pilot, aviation choreographer, two-time national Unlimited Air Race champion and current pace plane pilot in the Unlimited Class, and Jon Sharp, an aeronautical engineer and the winningest pilot in the history of air racing.

"In addition to the blue ribbon panel, as is an annual matter of course, we will work with the race classes and emergency responders to conduct an internal review, in the very near future, of all of the event's operations and procedures," said Houghton.

"Until we get further down the road, we will not speculate on possible changes to the event or the results of either of these reviews or the NTSB investigation.

"As has been the case, the NTSB has asked that they remain the point for all communications related to the accident."

It was also announced that RARA had a loss of up to $1.5 million for 2011.

In order for the 2012 event to occur, RARA must receive permits from the City of Reno, Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority and the FAA. RARA has already begun to initiate conversations with each of these entities regarding permitting for 2012 and these conversations are ongoing.

"For planning purposes, we have to receive our waiver from the FAA for PRS by the end of February or March, at the latest," said Houghton. "This will provide a pretty good indication of our ability to get permits and waivers for September's event.

"Regardless, many people, including victims of the accident, have told us they are coming to Reno in September, one way or another. We'll do whatever we have to do in order to memorialize and celebrate courage, passion and indomitable spirit that is so often associated with aviation but, more importantly, was so vividly exhibited during the accident and the weeks and months since, even if that means just holding a memorial air show."

The company said in November that it was studying whether to close the Wichita facility, which specializes in modifying commercial aircraft for military or government operations, following Defense Department budget cuts.

The first layoffs are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2012.

The company said it was moving aircraft maintenance, modification and support to its plant in San Antonio, Tex., while engineering work would be done in Oklahoma City.

Work on the Air Force refueling tanker will be performed in Puget Sound, Wash.

The company said the 24 Kansas suppliers on that program will continue to provide parts as originally planned.

Boeing won a contract worth at least $35 billion to build 179 Air Force refueling tankers and Wichita officials had hoped the number of jobs at the facility would grow.

The modification work on the planes had been expected to be done at the Wichita plant. It would have brought with it 7,500 direct and indirect jobs and an overall economic impact of nearly $390 million.

Boeing has had a facility in Wichita since it bought Stearman Aircraft in 1929.

During World War II, employment at the plant peaked at more than 40,000 as the company churned out four bombers a day, the Associated Press reported.

For decades, the company remained the city's largest employer.

The Wichita facility had already been facing the end of some programs. One was the international tanker program that supplied refueling tankers to other countries.

But this past summer, Boeing announced it would cut 225 jobs at the plant through the end of this year.

Congress had effectively restored the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program by overwhelming vote in November, in a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill.

Privacy advocates in Congress and the general aviation industry had been fighting for the restoration of BARR since the announcement earlier this year that the program - which allows participants to block their N number and associated flight information when flying IFR - would be limited to those who could prove a "valid security concern."

"On behalf of our AOPA members, we thank those in Congress and the administration who recognize the importance of assuring a measure of privacy protection to individuals operating their own aircraft," said AOPA President Craig Fuller. "We are pleased to have the BARR program back in operation."

The dismantling of BARR, which took effect Aug. 2, was met with bipartisan opposition in Congress. Many members of Congress and senators voiced their opposition to the change in letters to the Department of Transportation in the summer, and two bills to restore the program began making their way through each house of Congress.

The appropriations bill that led to the program's reinstatement cut off funding to anything that would limit an operator's ability to request that his or her aircraft's information be blocked from public dissemination.

Proponents of BARR argued that releasing information to the public such as the aircraft's altitude, airspeed, destination and estimated time of arrival invades privacy, poses a security risk to those on board and threatens the competitiveness of U.S. companies.

NBAA led the initiative to restore BARR, and AOPA joined the association in taking the fight to court, petitioning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to invalidate the new limitations on BARR.

"NBAA and its members thank the leaders in Congress for taking action to address our industry's long-standing concern that curtailment of the BARR program represents an invasion of privacy, a competitive threat to businesses and a potential security risk," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.

"We commend the administration for working with our industry to implement this change."

The Experimental Aircraft Association joined the effort by filing a friend of the court brief in support of the suit.

The court was scheduled to hear arguments Dec. 2. In advance of the hearing, the Department of Justice late Dec. 1 issued a letter to the court clerk, announcing that the FAA was withdrawing its policy that was at the center of the case.

"Effective immediately, the FAA will no longer require an owner or operator of general aviation aircraft or of on-demand air charter aircraft (operating under 14 CFR Part 135) to submit a Certified Security Concern to block that owner or operator's aircraft registration number form the FAA's ASDI or NASSI data," except for data made available to the government.

Cessna is a little worried about it and launched an initiative to educate owners about new required inspections for the 145,000 single-engine aircraft in the 100- and 200-series that were built between 1946 and 1986.

The supplemental procedures were added into the service manuals this month for aircraft in the 100 series and will be in April for the 200 series.

The big problem is corrosion and fatigue damage, the company said, and checks will be required.
ÒThe new inspection requirements weÕve developed are very simple, and are based on visual inspection that can be done quickly by a trained inspector during an annual inspection,Ó said Beth Gamble, CessnaÕs principal engineer for airframe structures.

ÒCorrosion and fatigue are inevitable,Ó she said, Òbut with early detection and proper maintenance, severity and effects can be minimized.Ó

A PowerPoint presentation and a short video to provide more details about the process for owners has been produced by Cessna and is available on their website.

It comes at a bad time for AOPA and EAA. The two groups plan to ask the FAA to allow pilots to fly many of the older airplanes with fixed gear and 180 hp or less, without a 3rd class medical and only a state driverÕs license.

The cause was complications following heart surgery, the newspaper reported. Mr. Norton was well-known in aviation circles for his encyclopedic knowledge of aircraft.

He joined General Aviation News' parent company Flyer Media in 2001 as editor of the now-defunct The Southern Aviator and writer for General Aviation News.

He was a retired Naval Aviator, having spent 31 years flying A-4s in the Naval Reserves after serving in Vietnam. He was also an attack squadron commander and training officer.

The most likely? Nobody.

So goes the thinking in Washington, with media pundits noting that Obama hasn't had any success with his last two nominees (an ambassador to El Salvador and one to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals).

"I doubt that the Senate will approve any of President Obama's nominees next year," Illinois Rep. Jerry Costello, the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's aviation panel, told the website Politico. "So I think it's very likely that the acting administrator will stay in for all of 2012 through the end of the president's term."

FAA administrators serve a five-year term. Republicans have their eyes firmly on the prize of taking back control of the Senate and White House, leaving them unlikely to sign off on a nominee from Obama, Politico noted.

"The GOP doesn't want to let Obama choose an agency head who will serve the entire first term of who they hope will be a Republican president."

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood named Deputy Administrator Michael Huerta to replace Babbitt as interim administrator. Babbitt, of course, made the usual comments expected of a politician caught in an unapproved act:

"I am unwilling to let anything cast a shadow on the outstanding work done 24 hours a day, seven days a week by my colleagues at the FAA," Babbitt, 65, said. "They run the finest and safest aviation system in the world and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work alongside them."

Babbitt was arrested on drunk driving charges in suburban Virginia on a Saturday night when a patrol officer saw him driving on the wrong side of the street and pulled him over. Babbitt was going home to Reston, Va. after an evening event in the capitol.

LaHood told reporters he was disappointed to learn of Babbitt's arrest from a news release issued by the Fairfax City police department on Monday, two days after the arrest. It is that police department's policy to disclose the arrests of public officials, a spokesman said.

Babbitt was the only occupant in the vehicle, police said. He cooperated and was released on his own recognizance but police refused to disclose the results of Babbitt's blood alcohol test. The legal limit is .08.

Like most states, Virginia's laws regarding driving under the influence are strict. Babbitt, unless he pleads to a lesser charge, faces five days jail time if his blood alcohol level was .15 to .20 and 10 days if it was above .20. There's also a $250 minimum fine, a one year license suspension and a "complete alcohol safety action program" of meetings and lectures, plus attorney's fees.

LaHood has aggressively campaigned against drunken driving and is working with police agencies and safety advocates on an annual holiday crackdown on drinking and driving.

Babbitt's easy manner, commitment to safety and insider's knowledge of the airline industry generated respect in Congress, where he regularly testified on safety issues and in support of NextGen.

The FAA has been subject to more than four years of stopgap authorization bills from Congress and it will eventually need someone who can replace Babbitt's expertise on both aviation and unions.

There was also concern that Babbitt's sudden departure could delay or jeopardize several important safety efforts under way at the FAA that are strongly opposed by the airline industry. One effort involves crafting the first new regulations in decades governing pilot work schedules in an effort to prevent fatigue.

The NTSB has identified pilot fatigue as one of the airline industry's most pressing safety problems. Industry opponents lobbied White House officials against the proposed regulations, saying they would cost too much or be too burdensome.

Babbitt was a former airline captain and internationally recognized expert in aviation and labor relations when Obama tapped him in 2009 to head the FAA. He was a pilot for now-defunct Eastern Airlines for 25 years and had served as president of the Air Line Pilots Association in the 1990s.

As head of the Air Line Pilots Association, co-founded by his father, he championed the "one level of safety" initiative implemented in 1995 to improve safety standards across the airline industry. Shortly after his arrest, he announced he was taking a "leave of absence" but the next day it was announced that he had submitted his resignation.

The cause was cardiopulmonary failure after several bouts of pneumonia, said his daughter Carole Helms Reichhelm.

Mr. Helms, a decorated pilot who left the Marine Corps as a lieutenant colonel in 1956, became president and chief executive of Piper Aircraft In 1974. As FAA Administrator, he supported President Ronald Reagan's decision to fire more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers.

He subsequently helped restore the nation's crippled air traffic control system. Mr. Helms served as Administrator from April 1981 until January 1984.

He began his aviation career at Oklahoma, joining the Navy aviation cadet training program, was a Navy test pilot and awarded both the Marine Corps Air Medal and the United States Air Force Air Medal with Oak-Leaf Cluster for Combat and Exceptional Service during the Korean War.

Mr. Helms left the FAA under a cloud after The Wall Street Journal had examined his private business practices and concluded that he and a partner had engaged in shady ethical and possibly illegal behavior.

They were later charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with diverting $1.2 million from an issue of tax-exempt municipal bonds to their personal use.

Mr. Helms signed a consent order that settled the case, though he did not have to repay any money.

Those opportunities will be primarily focused through the Scouts' Learning For Life's Aviation Exploring program, a hands-on program that exposes young people to flying and offers aviation experiences as a possible career or for the sheer pleasure of being around airplanes.

"As the Young Eagles program, which has already flown more than 1.6 million young people since 1992, continues to evolve and grow, giving more organized opportunities to young people through organizations such as Aviation Exploring is a natural partnership," EAA President/CEO Rod Hightower said.

"Working together to foster these positive life experiences fits well within EAA's effort to create the next generation of aviators."

Learning for Life school-based programs serve boys and girls from early childhood through 12th grade. Exploring is a worksite-based program for students ages 14 to 21 able to learn about careers through practical application guided by experts in the field.

Dr. Diane E. Thornton, national director for Learning for Life, which oversees the Aviation Exploring program, said, "EAA's youth programs are an excellent fit as we seek ways to build self-confidence in young people, while establishing a love of learning and career choices.

"Aviation provides a strong pathway to positive development for young people and EAA has shown consistent leadership in aviation education."

The agreement will provide students with the opportunity to: highlight all aspects of the aviation industry, explore career orientation opportunities and Enjoy aviation education experiences, the organizations said.