NEW NATA PRESIDENT PLEDGES COOPERATION
The National Air Transport Association's new president is pledging close cooperation with NBAA, AOPA and other aviation organizations as he settles into the job. Tom Hendricks, a former Delta Air Lines chief pilot, came to NATA from Airlines For America (A4A and formerly known as the Air Transport Association) and although his group is oriented toward jet-fuel-burning enterprises, he said in a podcast interview there is plenty of common ground between his and others' aviation groups. More...

PODCAST: NEW NATA PRESIDENT TAKES OVER
Tom Hendricks came up the airline side but is pledging cooperation with GA groups. He spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles. More...

BOB ODEGAARD KILLED IN PRACTICE
Experienced warbird and airshow pilot Bob Odegaard was killed Friday when his Super Corsair reportedly failed to recover from an aerobatic maneuver and crashed in Valley City, N.D. Odegaard was practicing for an airshow scheduled for Saturday. The show was cancelled. Odegaard owned an FBO in Kindred, N.D., but was perhaps best known for his warbird work. More...

ENDEAVOUR'S RETIREMENT FLIGHT
The NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour is headed for retirement at the California Science Center and new details about the Shuttle's trip from Kennedy Space Center to LAX could create widespread photo opportunities. Endeavor is scheduled to leave Kennedy at dawn on Sept. 17, atop a modified 747 transport. It will fly over Florida's Space Coast, NASA's Stennis Space Center near St. Louis and Endeavor's assembly plant in New Orleans. It will head next to points in Texas, including Clear Lake and Galveston, before putting down at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center, outside of Houston. The next leg is scheduled to begin Sept. 19, carrying the vehicle to Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, followed by low-level flyovers at White Sands Test facility near Las Cruces, N.M. Its final stop of the day will be at Edwards Air Force base in the Mojave Desert. Sept. 20, for Endeavour, begins and ends in California. More...

GULFSTREAM G650 HITS POSITIVE MARKET
Marketed as the "most technologically advanced" business aircraft with the largest, "most comfortable" cabin in its class, Gulfstream's G650 has earned its type certificate and is entering a business jet market that has seen a half-year surge. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) last month released figures for the first six months of 2012, finding that business jet deliveries are up 13.1% year over year. Some analysts cited improvements as high as 20 percent with an even higher resurgence in Europe. The fly-by-wire G650 will enter that market as Gulfstream's standard-bearer for performance, range, speed and comfort. It has not reached this place without challengers and adversity. More...

FILM SERVICE: AIRPLANE! FUNNIEST FILM TODAY
Lovefilm, a European film subscription service with two million members, says its research has found that the 1980 movie Airplane! produces three laughs per minute, making it, by the company's accounting, the funniest movie of our time. Lovefilm's members are based in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The company created a list of ten comedies collected from the votes of those members. Airplane! then beat out nine other films including The Hangover and Monty Python's Life of Brian as measured by laugh counts among a Lovefilm member audience. Airplane! has previously been recognized by the U.S. Library of Congress. But according to Lovefilm, by the measure of actual votes in its survey, Airplane! lost out. More...

FLY BY BRAINWAVE (WITH VIDEO)
A Chinese team of researchers has developed a system for controlling a quadcopter using brain signals and has suggested that further development could create a system that allows disabled pilots to act as pilot in command of their own aircraft. And there could be other applications. The system works by using an electroencephalography (EEG) headset that picks up brain activity and relays the data via Bluetooth to a laptop. The computer translates the information into flight commands and sends the signals wirelessly to the quadcopter. The team's headset is commercially available and limited in its abilities so, for now, commands are limited, creative, and not especially intuitive. Though not specifically addressed, the concept might sooner bring additional functionality to able-bodied pilots, as well. (Video after the jump.) More...

DRONES AS ART
Drones are a fact of life and since art imitates life it's perhaps no surprise that the capabilities that make them so useful can also use them to create something like what Ars Electronica Futurelab did at the Cloud in the Net festival in Linz, Austria, earlier this month. The company used 49 Hummingbird quadrotor UAVs, each carrying a variety of lights. The control system synchronized the flight patterns and light displays to create some pretty amazing 2D and 3D presentations. According to CNET, the quadrotor display is just the beginning for the aerial expression of ideas, art and even sculpture, assuming the authorities permit it. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: NO TIME? NO KIDDING
Cost is a big reason that many owners have reduced their flying hours. But so is lack of time. No surprise there, either, says Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog. You probably don't know anyone who's working fewer hours than they did a decade ago, and neither do we. Modern life puts so many demands on the 24-hour day that flying gets bumped to the bottom of the to-do list. Plus, some additional thoughts on the passing of Neil Armstrong. Read more and join the conversation. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: GTO AVIATION (KM33, GALLATIN, TENNESSEE)

Our latest "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to GTO Aviation at Sumner County Regional Airport (M33) in Gallatin, Tennessee.

AVweb reader Ronald Goro explains how GTO has worked tirelessly to promote aviation at their airport:

GTO Aviation is a relatively new FBO at Sumner County Airport. In the last year, they have done more for the area and promoted aviation to its fullest. They have put on a Warbirds Aviation Day — a big sucsess — and also an RV Aircraft fly-in. Lots of great-looking planes.

In June, [they held] an all-Tennessee fly-in, [which drew] lots of vendors as well as new and old aircraft, light sports, and biplane rides. At all of these events, gas prices are very cheap — like, $4.99 a gallon!

The EAA has their great breakfast at all the events, and lunch is usually catered. They also have two bands going. It is just a great friendly atmosphere all the time, and anyone can check out all the planes and really get close to aviation like the old days. Hopefully it will just keep on growing.

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!

SHORT FINAL

One day I took a friend's son up for a flight in my Cessna 150. As we flew around the area, I explained, "One of the things we have to do is look out for other airplanes."

As I was scanning the skies, I found a plane off in the distance and pointed it out to the young boy. "Do you see the plane over there?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Is it one of ours?"

Ron Hogle
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...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

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