PIPER CELEBRATES ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW FLEET SALES
At its Vero Beach factory headquarters Saturday, Piper celebrated its 75th anniversary as an airplane company, hosting many of the very same vintage aircraft that Piper built to establish its legacy. More than 200 people attended the event and were given factory tours, presentations of the company's history and a look at some of Piper's latest products, including the popular M-class aircraft that have proven popular as luxury travelers and business aircraft. During the event, Piper CEO Simon Caldecott announced that Florida Institute of Technology, a long-time Piper customer, will soon take delivery on eight Archer TX training aircraft, with options for additional Archers and Seminole training aircraft. More...

VIDEO: PIPER'S 75TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
On Saturday, November 10, Piper Aircraft celebrated its 75th anniversary as an aircraft company. AVweb was there and got a look at some terrific vintage aircraft as well as Piper's latest line of M-class airplanes. More...

STOLEN CRJ CRASH VIDEO HITS WEB
Video has emerged of the July 17 event that resulted in a CRJ200 taxiing at high speed into a terminal building at St. George Municipal Airport, Utah, and severing most of its wing, before its pilot stepped back into the empty cabin and shot himself. The aircraft was operated by former SkyWest pilot Brian Hedglin, who had been placed on leave by after the carrier learned he was being investigated by police in the killing of his former girlfriend. The video includes footage from various surveillance cameras and shows the aircraft backing away from its gate under thrust reverse, charging past and impacting the terminal building, and then bucking wildly as it impacts obstacles in a nearby parking lot. Fourteen cars were damaged during the event. Hedglin had previously been arrested on charges related to his former girlfriend and was out on a $10,000 bond. AVweb's prior coverage is here. Click through for video. More...

FIVE-YEAR-OLD IMPLICATED IN FATAL CRASH
The NTSB says (PDF) it's likely a five-year-old girl's restlessness started the chain of events that led to the crash of a helicopter that killed her and four others on Valentine's Day in 2010. Although there is no direct evidence to support the hypothesis, the board says simulator scenarios and a biomechanical study point to the girl, who was sitting on her father's lap in the left pilot seat of the Eurocopter EC135, inadvertently stepping on the collective control and pushing it suddenly to its bottom stop. Then, the board postulates, either the pilot in command in the right seat or the left-seat passenger (and aircraft owner) yanked up on the collective and back on the cyclic. The violent control movements then caused the main rotor to hit the tail boom, causing the aircraft to go out of control about 2,000 feet above the Arizona desert near Cave Creek. The board cited the pilot's failure to enforce "proper cockpit discipline" as a contributing factor in the crash. More...

SKYCATCHER SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED
essna has issued a Mandatory Service Bulletin (PDF) to beef up the wing structure of the first 228 Skycatchers delivered. The MSB, issued in early September, requires the addition of a rib and other reinforcement at the wing attach points. The MSB was issued after Cessna found cracks in the attach point of its cyclic test aircraft. "This modification improves the durability of the wing strut attachment structure," the bulletin says. More...

AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS WARN OF SAFETY LAPSES
Aircraft maintenance engineers meeting at an annual congress held by Aircraft Engineers International (AEI) this year at Malta were told "a staggering amount of evidence" shows safety lapses by airlines and regulators. The group says an ICAO safety audit results show carriers' average rate of compliance with safety regulations is "around 60 percent." At the same time, according to AEI, safety regulator positions are manned at 24 percent of their target levels. The group says regulators and carriers are pushing for further deregulation, self-regulation and more reliance on "transparent safety reporting" systems. But statistics suggest "the aviation industry is not yet ready" for that responsibility. AEI is not an unbiased observer. More...

NTSB GETS ACCESS TO SAFETY DATA
The NTSB now has access to safety data gathered by the FAA, airlines and pilots thanks to an agreement signed last week. The deal will allow the NTSB to ask for information gleaned from anonymous reports gathered by the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program. "I am grateful to the FAA, industry and labor for their leadership," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "Better information leads to better investigations." The NTSB will use the data to determine if an accident is an isolated event or part of a systemic problem. More...

AOPA FLYQ APP GOES LIVE
AOPA's FlyQ Electronic Flight Bag app for iPad launches today, according to AOPA, putting flight planning tools into the hands of pilots and, according to some industry players, turning the organization from "pilot advocacy group" to "competitor." The debut of the subscription-based app packages airport directory information, weather, moving maps, approach plates, synthetic vision, smart "auto-routing" based on predicted winds aloft, and a host of other tools for pilots. The app last month prompted a letter that Sporty's and two other aviation companies sent to AOPA. In the letter, the companies warned that the app was placing AOPA in competition with its own advertisers, who offer similar products and, along with AOPA members, sponsor AOPA's existence. AOPA has a different take on things.  More...

SKYLANE AN 'ULTIMATE WONDER' IN NIGERIA
A Nigerian telecom company has caught the attention of the country with a promotion that has a general aviation theme. MTN will announce the winner of a new Cessna 182T on Tuesday in its Ultimate Wonder contest for customers who sign contracts with the cellphone carrier. However, it's not likely the prize will ever land on Nigerian soil, according to commentators. Although it has at least a couple of flight schools, recreational aviation is all but unheard of in Nigeria and so is avgas. Cessna announced in July that the turbo version of the Skylane will be replaced with the diesel-powered JT-A, but it won't be available until next year. The company says the winner can take $400,000 in cash instead of the plane. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: ELECTION -- READY, SET ... WHAT?
For aviation, last week's election may represent some interesting possibilities. Unfortunately, most of them involve budget cuts and possibly the delay or elimination of programs most of us consider important. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli observes that, to a degree most of us have never seen, aviation's outlook is tied to larger taxation and policy considerations. Welcome to the world of the challenged special interest group. Read more and join the conversation. 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: MAVERICK AIR CENTER (KFSD, SIOUX FALLS, SD)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Maverick Air Center.

AVweb reader Clay Anderson works alongside Maverick at Joe Foss Field Airport (KFSD) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota - and has plenty of good things to say about them:

I started a flight school with one aircraft at my home airport less than a year ago. I've gotten to know [the people at Maverick Air] over the last several years as they were trying to get onto the long-time monopolized field. When I opened up [my business], they immediately offered me a discount on gas. Last week, they towed my flat-tired Cessna Skyhawk safely to my hangar for a new tube and tire. They jumped at the chance to let me have a nice, smoke-free ground school in their new board room. I just can't say enough about Maverick Air Center in Sioux Falls, SD. They are trying to earn my business every day, not just on the days I need 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!

VIDEO: FLYING EYES PILOT SUNGLASSES
Sunglasses are a must-have for pilots, but when you shove the temples under a headset for several hours, the pain isn't far behind. A new product called Flying Eyes solves that problem. In this video by Larry Anglisano and Marc Gunther, AVweb takes a close look at this product. More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
Our latest winning photo comes from Grant McHerron of McKinnon, VC (Australia). Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. More...

SHORT FINAL

Climbing out of Houston on a Sunday afternoon:

Houston Center:
"Citation 123, please see if you can contact Challenger ABCD on 128.17 and have them contact Houston Center."

[A few minutes pass.]

Challenger ABCD:
"Houston Center, this is Challenger ABCD checking in at flight level 360."

Houston Center:
"Roger, Challenger ABCD. Descend to FL 240. What was the last frequency you were on?"

Challenger ABCD:
"It was New York Center 132.05. They never handed us off."

Peter Serodino
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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Tom Bliss

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Paul Bertorelli

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Russ Niles

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Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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