PELTON: EAA WILL KEEP ON COURSE
The departure of Rod Hightower on Monday from the helm of EAA doesn't signal any major change in the direction of the organization, chairman of the board Jack Pelton told AVweb on Wednesday. "This all happened kind of quickly and unexpectedly," Pelton said. "We're still focused on our core mission, which is supporting our EAA membership, volunteers, and employees." He said he will be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization, and no timeline has been set for finding Hightower's replacement. "Transitions are never easy," he said. "My real goal here is to keep everybody on the track that we've been on … and get the day-to-day stuff done while we focus on getting to an airshow in July." More...

PODCAST: EAA MOVES ON AFTER HIGHTOWER
As of Monday, Rod Hightower is no longer president of EAA. Jack Pelton, who is leading the search for his successor, speaks with AVweb's Mary Grady about what happens now.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: HIGHTOWER'S EAA DEPARTURE -- WHAT'S NEXT?
In a surprising move that wasn't all that surprising, EAA's board dismissed Rod Hightower as the association's president. The good news? Jack Pelton will chair the board to get the association back on track. Paul Bertorelli runs down the plusses in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: ADVICE FOR PELTON?
Not that he likely needs any, but Rod Hightower's sudden departure may open opportunities to make EAA better. What would you tell Pelton to do?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers how they feel about aviation movies; click through to see a breakdown of their answers. More...

NASA TESTS BOEING SUPERSONIC DESIGN
A number of technologies are in the works to solve the problem of sonic booms and resurrect commercial supersonic flight, and recently NASA tested one potential design from Boeing. Two models were tested in the supersonic wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The model in the photo is the larger of the two, and it's shown upside-down. The model contains a force measurement balance used to measure forces on the model such as lift and drag. The smaller model was used to measure the off-body pressures that create a sonic boom. NASA has been funding research by Boeing and Lockheed Martin to develop designs for a small supersonic airliner that would carry between 30 and 80 passengers and potentially enter service in the 2025 timeframe. More...

DRONE COLLISION-AVOIDANCE TECH ADVANCES
As the FAA faces a challenging deadline to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace by 2015, probably the biggest challenge is to ensure collision avoidance. This week, an engineering company in Maryland says it has successfully tested an ADS-B-based, fully autonomous collision avoidance system on a UAS. The test by R3 Engineering took place in August in Newfoundland, Canada. The sense-and-avoid system, with no external command or control inputs, "commanded the UAS's autopilot to depart from its programmed flight path, execute an internally computed maneuver to avoid a potential collision, and then return to the original planned flight path when well clear of the intruder," the company said in news release on Wednesday. More...

FOREFLIGHT: IPAD MINI WILL IGNITE PILOT SALES
With this week's news that Apple we release the iPad Mini on Nov. 2, aviation app providers are almost certain to see increased sales as a result. "After every new Apple device release, we've always seen a wave of new pilots and new customers. There's always a group of pilots waiting to see what new technology brings," said Tyson Weihs of ForeFlight, a leading aviation app. AVweb spoke to Weihs at Redbird Flight Simulations' industry training conference on Wednesday. Although the iPad has achieved impressive penetration in the GA market as an all-purpose navigator, plate reader, E6B and pre-planner, many users have complained that it's just a bit too large for the cockpit. The Mini measures 7.9 by 5.3 inches and is barely a quarter inch thick. It weighs .68 pounds, according to Apple. Base price is $329. By comparison, the iPad2 measures 9.5 by 7.3 inches, with a base price of $399. More...

PODCAST: NEW APPS FOR PILOTS
The iPad Mini starts to ship on November 2, providing a new option for pilots to access apps and information in the cockpit. AVweb editorial director Paul Bertorelli talks with Foreflight's Tyson Weihs about the impact of the new tablet and other new products and innovations in the works for pilots.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

REDBIRD'S MIGRATION TRAINING: A NEW PARADIGM
After a year of research and training at its San Marcos, Texas, Skyport simulator lab, Redbird Flight Simulations is poised to roll out a new simulator-based pilot training program that expands its business beyond sim sales and into the wider market of flight training delivery. The training could, in some iterations, be based on a fixed-cost, fixed-time model that Redbird says it has had success with at its San Marcos location. Redbird will continue to market its line of affordable simulators while a separate company called Redbird Media will produce training support and outreach materials based on simulator-centric training. The new system is called Migration and will capitalize on what Redbird has learned from a year of intensive research on simulator training methods at its San Marcos facility. More...

GAMA: DIFFERENT WORLD AHEAD
FAA budget cutbacks are almost certain to directly impact the industry next, according to General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Pete Bunce. "The world will be different starting next year," Bunce told participants Tuesday at Red Bird Simulations' second annual flight training industry conference in San Marcos, Texas. "There will be cuts made," he added, explaining that these might result in a more difficult regulatory environment for the short term. On the other hand, Bunce said a proposed revision of FAR Part 23 that is now underway shows promise of reducing the hoops aircraft manufacturers and modifiers have to jump through to gain certification approvals for new aircraft and mods. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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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: EAGLES OF AMERICA (KABY, ALBANY, GEORGIA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Eagles of America at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport (KABY) in Albany, Georgia.

AVweb reader Matthew Hevey recommended the FBO, writing:

While flying with my family to Atlanta from Orlando Sunday evening before Labor Day, I experienced an alternator failure which required a diversion to KABY (the nearest airport). On very short notice late on a Sunday before a holiday, they arranged for a rental car in a matter of minutes. Ron (maintenance) kept in contact with me and updated me regularly on the status of repairs. I understand that they are a relatively new FBO at Albany, and they did a fantastic job with assisting my family and me. Kudos!

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 Steve Durtschi of Centerville, UT. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. More...

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