SEAPLANES CLEAR TO LAND IN NEW MEXICO
The State of New Mexico has abandoned plans to ban seaplanes from landing on lakes in its state parks, thanks, it would seem, by a lobbying effort among seaplane pilots. Faced with significant opposition, the New Mexico State Parks Division issued this statement. "The Division proposed adding a new section prohibiting the taxiing, landing, or takeoff of seaplanes or floatplanes in state parks. The Division received hundreds of comments opposing the implementation of this rule. Based upon the comments received, and given that the Bureau of Reclamation and United States Army Corps of Engineers already have regulations addressing seaplanes and floatplanes, the Division did not adopt the proposed rule." More...

PILOT SENTENCED ON MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE
A pilot whose daughter was killed when his Cessna 310F twin crashed in 2011 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Massachusetts. Steven Fay, 58, of Hillsboro, N.H., was sentenced to probation until Dec. 31, 2013, and is prohibited from operating an aircraft or seeking reinstatement of his certificate during that time, according to The Associated Press. Fay's daughter, Jessica Malin, 35, was killed when the airplane hit trees while on final approach to a small airport in Orange, Mass., and crashed. More...

NAHF PICKS FOUR FOR CLASS OF 2013
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) this week announced who it will welcome next October as its "incoming Enshrinee Class of 2013" and the list includes three former military pilots and a former CEO of Cessna. Captain Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson, USN (retired) has served as a fighter pilot, flight test pilot and Commander of four Space Shuttle missions. Major General Patrick H. Brady, a Vietnam combat veteran, developed foul weather and tactical techniques for helicopter air ambulance rescue in combat. The late Charles Alfred Anderson helped develop civilian pilot training and has been described as "the father of African-American aviation." He served as chief instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen. And the late Dwane L. Wallace saw Cessna Aircraft Company through some of this country's most difficult years and made major contributions beyond the company as well. More...

HELICOPTER DRILL RIG PROVES COST-EFFECTIVE
An energy company in Canada says an experimental drill rig that can be transported via helicopter has proved to be a viable alternative to building roads into remote regions to explore for oil. Cenovus Energy said recently it has been working on the rig, called SkyStrat, for two years. The rig provides the company with added flexibility and lower costs, executive vice president Harbir Chhina said in a company report. Using traditional rigs, Chhina said, road access and camps are required, and a minimum of 40 to 50 wells must be drilled to justify the expense. "With this rig we can drill one, two, three, 50 wells, whatever we want," he said. More...

NEW MONUMENT TO HONOR WRIGHTS
December 17, 1903, is remembered as the day when the Wright brothers first flew successfully in North Carolina, but now a group in Dayton, Ohio, is working to build a monument to the brothers' pioneering work there. The brothers' bicycle shop was in Dayton, and there they worked on their 1905 design, which improved on their original ideas and convinced the public they had truly solved the problem of controllable and sustained flight. A nonprofit group is working to raise $12 million to build a 250-foot-tall monument to the 1905 Flyer that would stand at the intersection of two major interstate freeways. More...

SUPERJET PILOTS BLAMED FOR INDONESIA CRASH
Indonesian investigators say the pilots aboard a Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner that crashed into a mountain last May, killing all 45 on board, were to blame for the crash. They said the crew ignored repeated warnings from the aircraft's systems of the impending terrain conflicts because they thought the alerts were the result of a database problem. In fact, it appears the crew never knew what they hit since they turned off the terrain avoidance functions just before the aircraft, on a demo flight with potential customers, hit Mt. Salak. According to The Associated Press, cockpit voice recordings show the captain of the aircraft was chatting with a potential customer as the aircraft hit the mountain. More...

JUDGE UPHOLDS HAWKER PROTEST
With a $350 million contract at stake, a court has ruled that it's OK for the U.S. Air Force to restart its bidding process for 20 new training aircraft, the Wichita Eagle has reported. The contract was awarded about a year ago to Sierra Nevada Corp.'s version of Embraer's Super Tocano, but after a protest from Hawker Beechcraft, both parties were asked to resubmit their bids. Sierra Nevada protested that decision, but now the way is clear for both companies to remake their case. The court also said there was adequate evidence that the original decision was "likely tainted by bias." 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: FAVORITE AVIATION FLICKS -- THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI
Yeah, we all know it's a great film, but did you ever stop to think why? Paul Bertorelli has been up late recently watching movies and explains some interesting points about this classic aviation film of the Korean War in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: THE GIFT OF AVIATION
The high cost of aviation has been a theme throughout the year, so let's pretend someone in your circle has a $2,000 contribution to support your aviation habit but you can only spend it on one thing. What would it be?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers if they lose any sleep over the environmental impact of their flying; click through to see a breakdown of responses. More...

SURVEY: ARE YOU FLYING WITH A GARMIN GTN NAVIGATOR?
If so, the staff of Aviation Consumer would like to know what you think of it. Almost two years ago, Garmin introduced the GTN-series navigators to update its mega-popular GNS products. If you've been flying behind one, tell us what you think of it by taking this survey. It'll only take five minutes. 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...

VIDEO: FK'S COMET BIPLANE
FK Lightplanes has significant presence in Europe but almost none in the U.S. They'd like to change that with a sporty little aerobatic biplane called the FK-12 Comet. Right now, it's got a Rotax 912, but it will soon have a fully aerobatic Lycoming AEIO-233, making it one of only a couple of light sports approved for aerobatics and the only biplane. AVweb recently took a spin in the Comet with Hansen Air Group's Mitch Hansen. Here's a video report. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: COOK AVIATION (KBMG, BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Cook Aviation at Monroe County Airport (KBMG) in Bloomington, Indiana.

AVweb reader Paul Johnson told us about Cook recently and how they've worked with him to make some memorable visits:

As a student pilot, I've had the pleasure of visiting Cook Aviation twice on cross-country flights. My daughter and grandson live in Bloomington, so it's an added benefit to visit them. Both times, the folks at Cook have been extremely friendly and helpful. The first time, they loaned us a very nice Cadillac, and more recently [they] offered me a newer SUV.

On my last visit, I had hoped to have my grandson and a couple of his playmates meet us at the airport to see Grandpa's plane. I called Cook to see if that would be a problem and was assured that they would work with us to have our group of toddlers visit safely. They followed through, and the kids had a blast. I earned some "cool grandpa" points with that vist, along with my solo cross-country check-off.

To top it off, their fuel prices are much less than home. There's no question that when we come back to Bloomington to visit, we'll be coming back to Cook. And did I mention the fresh baked cookies?

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 Samuel Ash of Seattle, WA. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. 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.

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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