TROLL DOLLS IN THE FRZ
Potomac Airport owner and operator David Wartofsky's latest YouTube video may educate pilots about the Washington, D.C., area's Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), though some viewers may find the video's use of troll dolls a bit unorthodox. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, Wartofsky's airport, along with Hyde Field and College Park Airport, attracted special attention from the DOT and TSA for their proximity to potential terrorist targets in the nation's capitol. The result was the FRZ. It imposes additional procedures and restrictions for pilots operating in the area, or to and from its airports. Wartofsky would like the rules revisited. Until then, he says his video is designed to "have a little fun, explain things to pilots ... and push policies to the next much simpler logical step." In his thinking, that step would "acknowledge the presence of surface to air missiles and stand down the rest." As for the video, Wartofsky says its content is "technically correct on all fronts." The method of presentation may be open to interpretation. Click through to view. More...

HYPERSONIC FAIL
The third test of an unmanned X-51A Waverider, designed to test a scramjet engine flying at six times the speed of sound, failed Tuesday and the vehicle was lost off the coast of Southern California. Early accounts provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base state that the vehicle dropped from a B-52 and was accelerated by rocket boosters, as planned. But 15 seconds after separating from its boosters, and prior to successful ignition of the scramjet, vehicle control was lost. The Air Force is blaming the failure on a faulty control fin. Previous attempts have had mixed results. One WaveRider test vehicle remains. More...

AIRVANS TO BE ASSEMBLED IN U.S.A.
GippsAero, the Australian manufacturer of the GA8 Airvan, said this week it has signed a partnership agreement with Soloy Aviation Solutions, based in Olympia, Wash., to assemble the airplanes for the North American market. Soloy also will provide technical support. GippsAero said it has been working for more than a year to increase its presence in North America, and moving assembly to Washington is a "significant next step." Since many components of the aircraft originate from the U.S., including the engine, propeller and avionics, "it makes good commercial sense to ship critical aircraft components from Australia for local assembly," the company said. The plan aims "to reduce lead time and improve flexibility in delivering a more customized solution for the North American market." More...

HYBRID BLIMP FLIES
A new hybrid air vehicle built by Northrop Grumman and Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd. for the U.S. Army flew for the first time last week, at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. The long-endurance multi-intelligence vehicle (LEMV) is the first airship of its kind, the company said. It's designed to provide an "unblinking stare" above ground troops, with the ability to stay aloft up to several weeks while relaying intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information. "The successful first flight of the vehicle demonstrates the readiness of hybrid air vehicle technology to serve military needs," said Gary Elliott, CEO of Hybrid Air Vehicles, which is based in the U.K. More...

FAA TO DECOMMISSION LAST DIRECTION FINDERS
The FAA has asked for comments on its plan to take the last Direction Finders in U.S. airspace offline. Twenty-nine DFs remain operational in Alaska, along with their associated approaches, but the FAA says nobody has used them since 2008. GPS and ADS-B have reduced the need for DF steers, the FAA says, and Flight Service Stations have other tools available to assist lost or disoriented pilots, such as VOR, ADF, and GPS. "DF equipment is beyond its useful lifecycle," the FAA says. If you disagree, or have any opinion on the matter, the FAA is ready to hear your comments until Sept. 10. More...

JET SKIER FINDS FLAW IN JFK SECURITY
The security at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport cost $100 million, but a regular guy with a broken-down jet ski inadvertently thwarted the entire system on Saturday night. Daniel Casillo, 31, of Howard Beach, was out at a bar with friends when they decided to go for a ride on their watercraft in Jamaica Bay, the New York Post reported Sunday. After his craft broke down in the dark, and his friends were nowhere to be seen, Casillo swam to shore, heading for the bright lights of Runway 4 Left, which protrudes into the bay. Casillo scaled an eight-foot fence, walked across two runways, and made it to Terminal 3 without anyone trying to stop him. More...

ERRANT SKYDIVERS LAND ON NUKE SUB BASE
Two skydivers who missed their intended drop zone at St. Mary's Airport in southeast Georgia and instead landed at Naval Base King's Bay next door, which hosts Ohio Class nuclear submarines and their Trident nuclear missiles were quickly detained last Sunday. They landed on a ball field. Base spokesman Scott Bassett said the pair, who were caught by unexpected winds, were "noticed immediately" and met with a response that will have to be left up to the imagination since Bassett declined to tell NBC News the details of the interaction between security forces and the errant jumpers. "Security is robust," he said. "It's extraordinarily dangerous to parachute into this base." The two jumpers also warranted some extra security attention. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: CURIOUS ABOUT CURIOSITY
Imagine the technical challenge of flying a Toyota Camry to Mars and plopping it down in one piece. NASA has done just that with the Curiosity rover, although it's a tad more sophisticated than the Toyota. And at $2.5 billion, you could cover Mars in economy cars. Resident cheapskate Paul Bertorelli offers this question on the AVweb Insider blog: Could a private company like SpaceEx do it for less? Read more and join the conversation. More...

LABACE ON IN SAO PAULO
The Latin America Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (LABACE) runs from Wednesday to Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the show is now billing itself as the second-largest business aviation event in the world (behind NBAA). All the major OEMs will be there in force with multiple aircraft in the static display and booths on the convention floor. Last year more than 15,000 registered delegates attended the event. More...

CELLPHONE USE CITED IN FATAL CRASH
Texting and talking on a cellphone while flying is being cited in the fatal crash of an aerial survey aircraft in Canada in November of 2011. The Transportation Safety Board stopped short of blaming the crash of the Cessna 185 on the pilot's extensive cellphone use while on the short flight from Peace River, Alberta, to Fort St. John, British Columbia, but it did mention it as a potential contributing factor. "While it did not appear the pilot was actively engaged in cellphone communications during the last 11 minutes of the flight, this distraction was prevalent throughout the flight and in conjunction with the night conditions encountered may have contributed to the CFIT event," the board said. The report said the pilot may have been a victim of "black hole effect" in which the limited visual cues available during a night VFR flight in a remote area can affect depth perception. The aircraft descended gradually and under positive control until it hit a tree about eight miles short of the Fort St. John Airport. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK: DISTRACTIONS IN THE COCKPIT
Do you feel tempted to answer a call or reply to a text while you're flying? Canada's Transportation Safety Board has implicated texting while flying in an accident in nothern British Columbia in 2011.

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers how they felt about the Pilot's Bill of Rights; click through to see the breakdown of their answers. More...

SURVEY: HOW ARE YOUR GAMIJECTORS WORKING?
General Aviation Modifications has been out there with a staple of eninge mod business: Custom fuel injectors called GAMIjectors. If you have GAMIjectors on your airplane, our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, would like to know how they're working out for you. Click here to take the survey. 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...

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS IN AVIATION: A MEMOIR; CHAPTER 16: BOOKS, HELICOPTERS, AND GLIDERS
After time in Korea, Richard Taylor re-entered civilian life with many duties: teaching at OSU, writing books, shuttling students and staff in the university's Air Transportation Service in T-Bones and Diesel-3s, learning to fly helicopters and sailplanes. And for good measure, he added time in the Army National Guard and the Air Force Reserve. Click here to read the 16th chapter. More...

VIDEO: AIRPLANE CRASH IN-COCKPIT FOOTAGE -- STINSON 108-3
Video of a plane crash as it was experienced from the right seat, inside the cockpit. The accident took place on Saturday, June 30, 2012 near Bruce Meadows airstrip, not far from Stanley, Idaho. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE IDAHO CRASH
When a pilot does a mea culpa on YouTube, the natural reaction is a cyber lynch mob. But shouldn't we, as an industry, be asking how we can get inside the heads of pilots who make bad judgements to prevent accidents in the first place? That's the subject of Paul Bertorelli's latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: LIBERTY FLYING SERVICE (LONESONE PINES AIRPORT, WISE, VA)

Our latest "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Liberty Flying Service at Lonesome Pines Airport (KLNP) in Wise, Virginia.

We hear plenty of stories of FBO personnel going above and beyond, but this tale from AVweb reader Dennis Wilt may top the list:

My wife and I arrived late in the day due to weather on our way to Oshkosh for AirVenture on Saturday, July 21. We called the FBO manager, who had left for the day, and he immediately came back to the airport to give us the keys to the courtesy car and give us directions to a hotel. The FBO manager, Robert Spera, is a member of SAFE, and it turns out we knew him — but he didn't know that when he drove back to the airport to help us. He was trying to get his wife to a surprise retirement party that evening, and we delayed him somewhat. The next morning, when we needed to depart for Oshkosh, he came out to the airport again on his day off to fuel the plane. This is beyond the call of duty for an FBO. Wonderful kudos to Bob and Liberty Flying Service.

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
Our latest winning photo comes from Jimmy Robinson of LaGrange, GA. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. More...

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