AERO, CAFE AND AVIATION NEWS IN TODAY'S FLASH
Welcome to the largest issue of AVwebFlash we've ever produced. If you've been following us over the last few days you'll know that Editorial Director Paul Bertorelli has been at Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany since the middle of last week and that Contributing Editor Mary Grady has been at the CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium in Santa Rosa, Calif. So we have dozens of news items, podcasts and videos in today's edition from those shows and oh, by the way, the controllers are back to full strength and there's a new Transportation Secretary. So strap in and scroll down to get caught up on a wide range of innovation, new aircraft, new technology and maybe the coolest picture ever taken of an air demonstration team. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AERO -- WHY IT'S SUCH A PLAYER
The Aero show in Friedrichshafen, Germany is attracting ever more North American participation. There's a reason for that. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli explains -- and offers observations on the Pipistrel Panthera and new regulatory reforms. Read more and join the conversation. More...

FUTURE FUELS MARKET: STILL MIXED SIGNALS IN EUROPE AND U.S.
At Aero 2013 in Friedrichshafen this week, fuel has been a leading topic of discussion and if there's any single word to describe the mood on the industry it's this: confused. In Europe, many airports have three fuels available -- autogas, 100LL and Jet A -- and a handful are distributing French refiner Total's 91UL. But that fuel isn't widely deployed enough to have gained other than toehold market status. More...

PODCAST: ENGINES FOR A MULTI-FUEL WORLD -- CONTINENTAL'S RHETT ROSS AT AERO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN
At Aero 2013, AVweb's Paul Bertorelli asked engine developers how they're coping with the changing landscape of avgas. Rhett Ross from Continental Motors spoke about the challenges of predicting the future and staying current with the wide array of fuels in play today. More...

PODCAST: THE CHANGING FACE OF FUEL -- LYCOMING'S MIKE KRAFT AT AERO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN
How are engine makers coping with the ongoing changes in aviation fuel? At Aero 2013, Paul Bertorelli put this question (and more) to Lycoming's Mike Kraft. More...

PODCAST: SMA TO OFFER A SIX-CYLINDER DIESEL
With avgas in Europe hovering around the $12-a-gallon mark, little surprise that there's continuing interest in diesel technology. At Aero 2013, Thierry Argaud from SMA gave us the lowdown on their upcoming six-cylinder diesel, the SR460. More...

VIDEO: SMART CAR GOES FLYING -- FLYECO'S THREE-CYLINDER DIESEL
Although some may consider it a smugmobile, Mercedes's diminutive SmartCar has gained a worldwide following and a market. The European version has a nifty three-cylinder diesel with impressive fuel specifics that a company called FlyEco has adapted for aircraft use. The engine has all the usual suspects -- high-pressure common-rail injection, turbocharging, and liquid and oil cooling. In this excluse AVweb video from the Aero show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, FlyEco's Arnim Wegener gave us a detailed rundown on the FlyEco 450 three-banger. More...

FLIGHT DESIGN TAPS THE BRAKES ON THE C4
With major certification rules revisions on the book, Flight Design has decided to reset its certification schedule on the much-watched C4 four-place aircraft, its first venture into the world of certified aircraft. Although Flight Design had initially planned a more aggressive development schedule, revisions to CS23/FAR Part 23 now in the works in the U.S. and around the world will almost certainly significantly streamline the C4's trip through the cert process and whatever sales it might or might not lose will be worth the tradeoff, according to Flight Design. The C4 was originally planned for $250,000 (220,000 Euros) and in this podcast from Aero, Flight Design's Tom Peghiny explained that slipping the first flight schedule will increase the likelihood that the company can hold that price based on simpler and quicker certification. More...

VIDEO: PANTHERA WOWS AT AERO 2013
When Pipistrel displayed the innovative Panthera retractable at Aero in Friedrichshafen last year, it was the hit of the show. And now they've flown in the test article in a 90-minute hop over the Alps, and showgoers are crawling over the thing like ants. Pipistrel is allowing cockpit and rear-seat access, and the line stretches nearly around the block. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli interviewed Pipistrel's Vid Plevnik about the test program and, in this exclusive video, Plevnik gives you a visual cockpit tour of this unique aircraft as part of our continuing coverage of Aero 2013. More...

VIDEO: VIDEO TOUR OF TECNAM 2010
At Aero 2013, Tecnam seems to be pulling out all of the stops, introducing two new LSAs -- one aerobatic -- and showing off the highly refined P-2010, which might best be thought of as a reimagined Cessna 172 that's faster and carries more than the progenitor that may have inspired it. In this Aero 2013 video, fliglermagazine chief editor and AVweb contributor Thomas Borchert, who has flown the airplane, gives us a tour of the P-2010. Look for more coverage on the two product announcements from Tecnam later in the week. More...

GARMIN: TABLETS HAVE MADE AN IMPACT, BUT DEDICATED PORTABLES AREN'T DEAD
At Aero 2013, Garmin International expanded its presence with a larger display area and space for demonstrations and training and the company told AVweb that it saw its strongest show yet. In this podcast with AVweb, Garmin VP of aviation sales and marketing Carl Wolf, said the company is looking for even stronger results in Europe and has hired dedicated staff to manage the territory. "Not that other shows have more tirekickers, but we can definitely tell the difference. This show definitely has a good feel of qualified buyers and intelligent questions. We have a large presence here with more sales people than we've had before," Wolf said. More...

VIDEO: JEPPESEN'S NEW EURO CHARTS
For years, we've been wondering when someone would get around to producing data-driven charts -- that is, a portable or a panel mount that renders charts not from an enhanced PDF but from a database of coordinates it uses to draw the basic map graphics. Now Jeppesen has stepped up and done just that, offering what it calls Mobile Flight Deck VFR for the Euro market. In Germany, for instance, pilots are required to carry visual charts -- and not just sectionals but visual approach charts as well. Mobile Flight Deck boxes up everything into one app for the iPad, and fliegermagazin's Thomas Borchert, AVweb's European editorial partner, reports on the new product in this video from Aero in Friedrichshafen. More...

DIAMOND OFFERS AIRLINE TRAINING SOLUTION
Diamond has introduced an airline training package for its DA40 that it says will jump-start students into the airliner environment and make the process more efficient. The Advanced Airline Trainer Concept was unveiled at Aero Friedrichshafen 2013 and the company says it will help schools and airlines mitigate the pilot shortage that many agree is coming. Diamond says the sophisticated environment of current and future airliners should be what the student works with right from the start. "This requirement starts from the Ab Initio training phase, therefore the flight academies need adequate equipment right from the start," Diamond said in statement released at Aero. More...

PODCAST: TRADE-A-PLANE'S GLOBAL PLAN -- 20 YEARS EXHIBITING AT AERO
If everyone on the planet knows what Trade-A-Plane is, there's a reason for that. Long before it became fashionable to have a global business plan, Trade-A-Plane had been exhibiting at shows all over the world. In this podcast, Trade-A-Plane's Cosby Stone tells AVweb the company has been coming to Germany since the day the show started more than 20 years ago. More...

ELECTRIC FLIGHT PIONEERS ASSESS BATTERY OPTIONS
To realize the potential of electric flight, batteries are key -- they must be safe, powerful, affordable, and long-lasting -- and several of the speakers at this week's CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium are working to address these issues. Winfried Wilcke, a researcher in an IBM lab in San Jose, Calif., is studying the potential "Mount Everest" of batteries, which would incorporate lithium-air technology. His goal is to build batteries for electric vehicles that could last for 120,000 miles with operating costs about one-fifth of today's lithium-ion batteries. This is a "bleeding-edge science project," Wilcke said, but perhaps in 10 years or so, lithium-air batteries could provide an option for aircraft as well as cars. More...

PODCAST: IN-FLIGHT RECHARGING FOR AN ELECTRIC AIRPLANE
Chip Yates of Flight of the Century, who set an unofficial speed record last year in an electric-powered Long-EZ, is now working on a mid-air recharging system for the aircraft, which he plans to test prior to appearing at EAA AirVenture later this summer. He spoke with AVweb's Mary Grady about his plans at the CAFE Electric Airplane Symposium in Santa Rosa, California on Friday. More...

PIPISTREL EXPANDS ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT LINE
Pipistrel has several new all-electric and hybrid products in the works, Tine Tomazic told AVweb at the CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium, in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Friday, and the new powerplants offer substantial savings over conventional models. A new battery pack for the Taurus electric G2 will boost power by 33 percent. Also, a converter kit will be offered so owners of the gasoline-powered Taurus can easily switch it to an electric powerplant. Pipistrel is also creating a complete electric-powerplant kit for homebuilders as a drop-in replacement for the Rotax 912. Prices for these new products will be announced at EAA AirVenture, Tomazic said. Also, a hybrid and an all-electric version of the four-seat Panthera are in the works. "We believe hybrid is the future of flight when it comes to general aviation," Tomazic said. More...

ALSO FROM PIPISTREL, FUTURE PLANS
At Pipistrel, "We are not only thinking short term," said Tine Tomazic at the CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium on Saturday. "We are thinking, what will it take to revive aviation? I think it's important to bring fun and affordability back to personal aviation." Tomazic said it would be great if you could take off and land just about anywhere, fly for 30 minutes or travel 50 miles, and fly quietly and emission-free, just for fun. To fill those needs, Tomazic said Pipistrel is working on a VTOL fun flyer that will sell for less than $50,000. Details of the design will be released later, he said, but a preliminary concept sketch has been posted on the CAFE Facebook page. More...

CHEAP NEW COATING COULD ENHANCE AIRCRAFT AERODYNAMICS
Rick Stenberg, the CEO of Coval Molecular Coatings, said this week at the CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium that his product could potentially provide a super-thin, lightweight, smooth and durable coating for aircraft, minimizing parasite drag and preventing dirt and ice from sticking to the surface. The nano-coating won't peel or flake, he said, and has been used in a variety of applications from boat hulls to hangar floors to graffiti-prevention programs on bridges. It's also inexpensive, at less than 30 cents per square foot. More...

PODCAST: CHEAP NEW NANO-COATING OFFERED TO AVIATION MARKET
Rick Stenberg, the CEO of Coval Molecular Coatings, says his product could potentially provide a super-thin, lightweight, smooth, and durable coating for aircraft, minimizing parasite drag and preventing dirt and ice from sticking to the surface. He spoke about his material this week at the CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium and later spoke about it with AVweb's Mary Grady. More...

FAA FURLOUGHS CANCELLED
The FAA has cancelled all employee furloughs, and the National Airspace System should be back to normal operation. The action on Saturday followed legislation rushed through Congress to allow the agency the flexibility to use judgment over where the $637 million in sequester cuts it must make will come from. Congress acted under mounting pressure from the public and the aviation industry after the cuts caused seemingly random and at times significant disruption to the system. More...

FOXX TAPPED AS SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
The mayor of Charlotte, NC has been tapped as the next Secretary of Transportation according to numerous media outlets who have spoken with "unnamed sources." Anthony Foxx was the host of the Democratic National Convention last year and recently announced he would not be running for re-election in Charlotte. Foxx is a lawyer who worked briefly for a hybrid bus company while sitting on Charlotte council. He became Charlotte's mayor at the age of 38 in 2009. He does not appear to have any aviation experience. Among the other potential candidates for the post was NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. More...

NYPD: 9/11 LANDING GEAR FOUND IN NYC
The NYPD said Friday that it believes a piece of wreckage found Wednesday in a narrow space between two buildings in lower Manhattan came from one of the jets that impacted the World Trade Center twelve years ago, but how it got there isn't clear. According to a police spokesperson, the item was found by surveyors conducting an inspection of a lower Manhattan Islamic community center, and it is stamped with a Boeing part number. First reports from police stated that there was no obvious scarring on either wall of the narrow alley above the part, and the part was draped with a section of rope. More...

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES RESUMES 787 SERVICE
Ethiopian Airlines became the first to launch a revenue flight with the Boeing 787 since early January with a flight from Kampala to Nairobi, Kenya. "We would like to thank Ethiopian Airlines for the patience, support and leadership shown throughout the period that the 787 Dreamliner has been grounded," Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Ray Conner said in a news release. Japan's transport minister Friday gave the OK for that country's airlines to resume flights of their Boeing 787 Dreamliners, pending compliance with measures outlined by the FAA, plus additional measures. Along with modifications to the aircraft's battery systems, Japan is requiring that JAL and ANA also add specific battery monitoring systems for test flights. There are 50 Dreamliners in service worldwide and Japanese airlines JAL and ANA together operate 24 of the jets. A first test flight may come as soon as Sunday, but a full return to service may take weeks longer More...

SNOWBIRDS SNAPPED FROM SPACE
While sequestration has grounded all U.S. military aviation demonstration teams, the Royal Canadian Air Force's Snowbirds and its CF-18 demo team are getting ready for a busy season and they got some high-flying public relations help this week. With a little help from the weather, they were able to launch a 12-ship formation with a smoke trail over the ocean off Vancouver Island at the precise moment the International Space Station was orbiting 250 miles overhead. ISS Commander Chris Hadfield, himself a former RCAF CF-18 pilot, was able to snap a photo out the window. "During the two minute photo window, as the ISS passed overhead at 28,000km/h, Cmdr Hadfield was able to see the smoke lines with only his eyes by just looking out the window 370 km above the earth," says a posting on the Snowbirds' Facebook page. 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

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb home page readers every week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss, via e-mail or via telephone [(480) 525-7481].

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your phone or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.