FAA DELAYS VANCOUVER AIRSPACE CHANGE
The FAA has delayed by a month plans to implement a controversial airspace amendment over Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, Wash. More details have also emerged about just how restrictive the so-called "Pearson Box" AVweb first reported earlier this week would be. According to OregonLive the plan would have given priority to traffic from nearby Portland International (PDX) and only one aircraft at a time would be allowed in the one-mile by eight-mile box that would encompass Vancouver's Pearson Field. The root of the proposal appears to be that traffic in the Pearson pattern was triggering TCAS alerts in overflying airliners. "FAA will be delaying implementation of any airspace changes for at least 30 days. During this time we intend to re-engage with stakeholders to see if we can find some middle ground on this issue," FAA officials wrote in an email to Vancouver city officials. More...

WINGSUIT SKYDIVERS SEEK RECORD, ONE INJURED
Skydivers from 21 countries flew a massive 100-person wingsuit diamond formation, near Perris, Calif., Monday, that will be submitted to Guinness as a world record, but not all participants escaped the effort without injury. The skydivers used five different aircraft, jumping from an altitude of 13,000 feet over Perris Valley. Successive attempts were observed by three judges who represented the U.S. Parachute Association and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. During one attempt involving 98 skydivers, Sunday, two of the participants collided after opening their chutes. Though both landed under reserve canopies, one was reportedly hospitalized and unconscious, Tuesday. More...

DATE SET FOR SUPERSONIC STRATOS SKYDIVE
Felix Baumgartner is set for an Oct. 8 attempt to freefall from an altitude of 120,000 feet near Roswell, N.M., breaking the sound barrier along the way, and a record that's stood for more than half a century. The jump will be the culmination of the Red Bull Stratos project, which began in 2005. It aims to best USAF Col. Joe Kittinger's 1960 record for jumping from 102,000 feet and landing safely with a parachute. The team suffered a setback in July, when a practice run from more than 97,000 feet saw Baumgarnter reach 537 mph in freefall. He landed safely, but his 2,900-pound capsule did not, suffering minor damage. The team now says it's ready to go. In Baumgartner's words, "I feel like a caged tiger waiting to get out." More...

FAA GRANTS SPACEPORT SUPPORT
It's rare to find funding, support, and space for a new airport in the U.S., but on Tuesday the FAA said it will provide nearly $500,000 in grants to three projects in California, Colorado, and Hawaii to help develop and expand the infrastructure for commercial space transportation. "Government and private-sector partnerships are essential to carrying out our national space policies," said FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta. "Today's grants help keep America competitive." Efforts to develop proposals for new commercial launch sites in Hawaii and Colorado won grants of $250,00 and $200,000, and a grant of $23,750 will go to buy a new rapid-response firefighting system for the Mojave Spaceport, in California. More...

EDMONTON SETS $80 MILLION AIRPORT EXPROPRIATION BUDGET
The central Alberta, Canada, city of Edmonton has set an $80 million (CAD) budget to expropriate every business and individual with a property or other interest at Edmonton City Centre Airport so it can close the busy (80,000 movements a year) facility within a year. The closure would make way for houses, condos and shopping centers. The city has identified 198 people with interests in the airport land and has its checkbook open to offer them fair market value for whatever that interest might be. The dozens of businesses at the airport range from FBOs to flight schools and aviation-related suppliers. There are also some businesses that are located off the airport lands by a few feet that are not included in the expropriation offer but will have to move if the airport closes. The airport was formerly the city's main airport and has been there since the 1920s, but a new international airport was built on the outskirts 20 years ago and the "Muni" as it's called became the main reliever for GA and business traffic. Its fate has been a political issue ever since and the most recent election installed a city council and mayor intent on getting rid of it. The city's plan hit a major legal roadblock on Tuesday, however. More...

NEW FEATURE COMING FROM AVWEB
Beginning next week, AVweb will step up its coverage of general aviation with a new news feed called Friday Features. Each week, we'll be offering in-depth reporting on products, services and companies that we're sure will be of interest to our readers. Our focus will be primarily on stories related to aircraft upgrades, repair and refurbishment, but we'll also be covering new products of interest to all pilots. Twice a month, we'll also feature articles on safety, maintenance and instrument operations condensed from Belvoir Media Group's widely read aviation print publications. We'll continue to offer audio podcasts as part of Friday Features. If you have a topic in mind, drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you. More...

60-YEAR HOMEBUILT PROJECT READY TO FLY
An 84-year-old former Boeing manufacturing engineering instructor says he hopes to finish a 60-year-old project this year with a flight in a replica of one of the most unusual homebuilt aircraft designs ever conceived. Ed Kusmirek built a replica of a 1924 Dormoy Bathtub aircraft at his home in Renton, Wash. According to a story in the Los Angeles Times (rerun from the Seattle Times) the project began in the 1950s when Kusmirek found an authentic engine for the type (actually a motorcycle engine) in Oklahoma. Since then he's plugged away at recreating the single place and very light aircraft, starting in his living room and moving to his garage. Now, he says, he's a few pen strokes away from flying it. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: HOMEBUILT DREAMS
A Washington State man has finally finished his tiny Dormoy Bathtub homebuilt after 60 years of effort. Have you started and/or finished a homebuilt?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers about their level of political activity; click through for a breakdown of their answers. More...

SURVEY: ARE YOU INSTRUCTING IN LSAS?
If so, AVweb would like to talk to you regarding your impressions of teaching flying in light sport airplanes. Send us an e-mail with your contact information, and we'll set up an interview. 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...

UNITED GETS FIRST U.S. 787
Nearly two dozen Boeing 787 Dreamliners are already flying all over the world, but this week the first one for a U.S. airline was delivered to United Airlines, in Everett, Wash. The airplane is the first of 50 copies the airline has on order, with five to be delivered by the end of this year. The 787 will start out on domestic flights, then transition to international flights later this year. Next year, the airplane will operate on United's new Denver-to-Tokyo route. "Customers will be more comfortable with improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and enhanced ventilation systems," according to Boeing. The airplane will be flown to United's hub in Houston sometime this week. More...

PIPER AD CLARIFIED
FAA official Keith Noles has clarified the cost estimates published in last Monday's airworthiness directive affecting some Piper aircraft. According to Noles: "An owner/operator could choose one of two paths, either inspection or replacement. The key here is that the disassembly/removal and reassembly/installation is the bulk of the cost in any scenario, and it would not be repeated in any one event. Here are the possible scenarios: 1. Disassemble, inspect with no discrepancies, reassemble. Cost estimate is $1020. 2. Disassemble, inspect with discrepancy requiring replacement. Cost estimate is $1592. 3. Disassemble, do not inspect, replace/reassemble. Cost estimate is $1592." AVweb's story last Monday read, "If the assembly needs to be replaced, it would cost another $1,600," but that amount should be $572. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

Have you signed up yet for AVweb's no-cost weekly business aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz?

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.

Add AVwebBiz to your AVweb subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions."

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: SO WHY DON'T AIRPLANE WINDOWS OPEN?
No, it's not a good excuse for a highly technical explanation — it's a joke. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli speculates on why it fell flat. Maybe Mitt Romney just needs a better straight man. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: GETTING OUT THE VOTE
Does the pilot community have something to teach us about how democracy works? AVweb contributing editor Mary Grady looks for signs of hope in her latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. More...

VIDEO: SUPER LEGEND FLIGHT TRIAL
American Legend gained success with its popular Legend Cub, and now it's followed up with a new Lycoming-powered version of the airplane. If you like the Super Cub, you'll like the Super Legend, too, because its performance is quite similar. AVweb ventured to Legend's Sulphur Spring, Texas, homebase to fly the airplane, and here's a video report on the flight. More...

VIDEO: THE LAST FLYING B-24 BOMBER (COLLINGS FOUNDATION)
The B-24 was the most widely produced bomber in world history. This video shows the sole surviving regularly flown example, from roughly 18,000 B-24 Liberator bombers produced. This is the Collings Foundation's B-24, Witchcraft. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: BERG AIR (S33, MADRAS, OREGON)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Berg Air at Madras Municipal Airport (S33) in Madras, Oregon.

AVweb reader Charlotte Echelberger explains how Berg has taken care of her traveling party on different occasions this year:

As part of the Oregon Air Tour, in May we stopped in. It felt like they could not do enough for us! Tracy even took time to go through the newspaper to find us a coupon for a free root beer float, and Rob helped us hand-tow our 182 to the gas pump so we didn't have to start the engine. We returned to Madras in August for the Air Show of the Cascades and camped at the FBO. Excellent facilities! (Even though I lost the pool game.) They even have a little yellow rubber duck in the shower. With all the comotion and large crowds [from the air show], Rob and Tracy were calm, cool, and wonderful. Can't say enough about them.

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!

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.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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