AVIDYNE AIMS AT GARMIN WITH NEW DROP-IN MAPCOMM
In a continued attempt to tamp down high avionics costs, Avidyne this week announced a drop-in replacement competitor for Garmin's popular GNS430. The new IFD440 is a descendent of a larger model Avidyne introduced last year, the IFD540, a drop in box to replace Garmin's GNS530. Both of Avidyne's products use a combination of touchscreens and traditional knobs in function keys, something that Avidyne claims will appeal to buyers who aren't sold on touchscreens in Garmin's newer GTN line. More...

STUDENTS CAUGHT IN FUNDING FIGHT
A total of 80 foreign students from an Irish flight school are stranded in Florida after a financial dispute between the Irish school and its American contractor ended their training last week. The students, some of whom paid Pilot Training College more than $100,000 for courses that are conducted by the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) at its flight training campus in Melbourne, had completed only a fraction of their course before FIT stopped their classes. According to the Irish Times, the Florida school claims the Irish school owes it money and the Irish school says it's suing the Florida school. "Everything I've been working for in the past 10 months has been ripped apart," student John Rawluk told the newspaper. More...

BRITISH TEST UAV SEE-AND-AVOID SYSTEM
A consortium of British companies is now flight testing a see-and-avoid system for drones that it believes will lead to a lot less cockpit manpower in the not-so-distant future. "It is doing all the things a human pilot would be doing," BAE spokesman Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal told the Daily Telegraph. It would not appear to come cheaply, however and there is human backup available, at least in the test phase. More...

AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447 FINAL REPORT
The French Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA) Thursday released its final report on the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447, an Airbus 330 that went down off the coast of Brazil in 2009, killing all 228 aboard. Among the report's conclusions are that neither of the two copilots flying the aircraft called for the "unreliable IAS" procedure after pitot icing led to the loss of airspeed indications. Neither pilot had training for hand flying the jet at high altitude, according to the report, or for flying with questionable airspeed indications. "Inappropriate pilot inputs" led the jet to "exit its flight envelope" less than one minute after the autopilot disconnected and before the captain returned to the flight deck from his rest station. The report faults the pilots' actions and also finds that their training met regulatory standards. There may be other implications for regulatory agencies, Airbus and Air France regarding their pre-existing knowledge of shortcomings in the aircraft's pitot system.  More...

AKIA -- THE KIT MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION
The Aircraft Kit Industry Association, AKIA, has formed around a primary objective of preserving the FAA's 51-percent rule, improving experimental-amateur built aircraft safety, and promoting the kit aircraft industry. The group is led by President Dick VanGrunsven, the designer of the world's most popular kit aircraft -- the RV series -- and Vice President John Monnett, a kit aircraft pioneer. AKIA so far includes Vans, Sonex, Lancair, Kitfox and Zenith among its members, and includes kit aircraft suppliers Wicks and Aircraft Spruce. Statistics show the experimental aircraft industry is growing and recent actions by federal agencies show that scrutiny of the segment may be growing, too.  More...

TERRAFUGIA COMPLETES PHASE 1 FLIGHT TESTING
Phase 1 flight testing of Terrafugia's roadable aircraft production prototype was successfully completed last month, and the company is pushing forward toward LSA certification and approvals from the NHTSA. Terrafugia's Transition aircraft will have to earn the approval of both the FAA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) before it can go into production. The company says the vehicle has so far passed handling tests that included power-on and power-off flight, and aircraft stability. The team also checked engine cooling and determined optimal settings for different phases of flight. The current flight test program involves five more phases, but now ground (road) testing will be mixed in.  More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: WHY NOT MORE PARTNERSHIPS?
That's the question posed by Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog. A recent survey by AVweb revealed that only 7 percent of LSA airplanes are in partnerships. Even though taking on a partner or two is the most effective way to reduce the cost of ownership, far fewer owners than we imagine seem to do it. Read more and join the conversation. More...

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS IN AVIATION: A MEMOIR; CHAPTER 15: A YEAR IN KOREA, THEN BACK TO OSU
The USS Pueblo incident near North Korea inspired a show of force requiring many reservists, including Richard Taylor, to drop what they were doing (teaching, in Richard's case) and head off to Korea. Along the way, he got to do a little bit of flying and practicing water landings with a parachute. Back in the States after a year, Richard went back to the classroom, but also flew the Ohio Army National Guard's Bird Dog and Beaver. More...

PODCAST: AN AVIATION CLASSIC
This year's Air Race Classic, which recently finished up in Batavia, Ohio, brought together women from across the country who share a passion for aviation. AVweb's Mary Grady talks with Dianna Stanger, who won the race with teammate Victoria Holt, about their strategy, their motivation, and how they hope to inspire girls to pursue aviation careers. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: TREGO-DUGAN AVIATION (KLBF, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Trego-Dugan Aviation at North Platte Regional Airport/Lee Bird Field (KLBF) in North Platte, Nebraska.

AVweb reader Larry J. Newland got the royal treatment on a recent visit:

In June, we stopped overnight, and as soon as we landed I told them I needed a room for overnight each time — and they made arrangements right away and got transportion to and from the hotel. [They also] tied down the airlpane and fueled it, and the whole crew was very friendly.

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

VIDEO: 'AVIATION CONSUMER' TAKES THE SHOW ON THE ROAD WITH FIVE FOLDING BICYCLE REVIEWS

The July issue of our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, features a blow-by-blow comparison of some of the best folding bikes for pilots we could find. See them in action in these five video reviews by Consumer's Jeff Van West.

SHORT FINAL

Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK elevation: 303 feet) with a long-standing glider club on the field recently began tower operations. After the tower had been operating for about a week, on a relatively busy Saturday afternoon, I heard this exchange:

Glider:
"Frederick Tower, Glider XXX at 1,600 feet inbound for a right downwind for landing runway 12 with information Sierra ... ."

Tower:
"Glider XXX, Frederick Tower. Hold your altitude. I have a few ahead of you."

Glider:
"Frederick Tower, I'm a glider."

Tower:
"Glider XXX, cleared to land, runway 12."

Lance Nuckolls
via e-mail

HEARD ANYTHING FUNNY ON THE RADIO?
Heard anything funny, unusual, or downright shocking on the radio lately? If you've been flying any length of time, you're sure to have eavesdropped on a few memorable exchanges. The ones that gave you a chuckle may do the same for your fellow AVweb readers. Share your radio funny with us, and, if we use it in a future "Short Final," we'll send you a sharp-looking AVweb hat to sport around your local airport. No joke. Click here to submit your original, true, and previously unpublished story. More...