FLYING CAR CRASH CAUSE DETERMINED
Some tangled parachute lines, a seriously aft C of G and some kind of air turbulence ganged up on a Maverick flying car to send it spiraling into a schoolyard in western Canada in early May. Canada's Transportation Safety Board turned over the investigation to the manufacturer of the aircraft, ITEC, to come up with the cause and the company's COO Troy Townsend traveled to Kelowna, British Columbia, a week later to conduct the probe. By analyzing video from two GoPro cameras onboard the aircraft, plus video shot from the ground by AVweb and airport surveillance camera video, Townsend and pilot Ray Siebring determined at least three independent factors contributed to the stall/spin that ended with the Maverick spinning from an altitude of about 500 feet into the playground fence of a school in Vernon, B.C., on May 10. "Any one of those factors wasn't enough to bring the aircraft down but they all added up together," said Townsend, who has hundreds of hours on the vehicle, which is really just a large powered parachute with a street-legal car as its payload. More...

VIDEO: MAVERICK FLYING CAR CRASH
When a Maverick Flying Car crashed in Vernon, British Columbia in May of 2013, on-board cameras helped determine the causes of the accident. AVweb's Russ Niles assembled this report from the various media used in the investigation. More...

GAS STATIONS SUED BY STATE FOR SELLING 100LL
New Jersey's Attorney General (AG) and Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) have filed a lawsuit regarding the distribution and sale of 100LL at six gas stations in the state, last December. The suit charges that the avgas was advertised as unleaded auto fuel and sold to customers between Dec. 6 and 8, 2012. According to the state AG, the gas stations "clearly knew, or should have known" that they were selling leaded avgas to motorists. A distributor and transporter were also named in the suit. Zephyr Oil is accused of purchasing more than 70,000 gallons of avgas on Dec. 4, 2012, from a California-based company (not named by the suit) and selling it at a deep-discount price to Pamsel Property Inc., which owned all six affected stations. For pilots, the lawsuit may pose more questions than it seeks to resolve. More...

FLIGHT SCHOOL PLANES COLLIDE: FOUR DEAD
Two single-engine aircraft, both reportedly from local flying schools, collided near Phoenix Friday, killing both occupants of both planes. One aircraft, identified by Phoenix police as a Cessna from Westwind School of Aeronautics, burned almost completely after crashing and the two occupants were not immediately identifiable. The other, a Piper Arrow III, had two flight instructors aboard and was largely intact on the ground. "I thought possibly we might have survivors," Battalion Chief Gary Bernard of the Peoria Fire Department told the Arizona Republic. More...

REPORT: A319 FIRE DUE TO UNLATCHED COWLS
The British Airways Airbus A319 that suffered an engine fire and lost cowlings off both engines on departure from Heathrow on May 24 took off with its engine cowls unlatched, according to an early report. An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report discussed by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the right engine's cowl door departed the aircraft, but not before striking the engine and fuselage, leading to the engine fire. The cowl on the left wing ripped away without significant additional damage. The emergency, which saw the 80-person flight return to Heathrow for a successful emergency landing and aircraft evacuation, temporarily closed both of the airport's runways and caused the cancellation of more than 190 flights. The pilots union has already weighed in regarding some of the report's findings. More...

AVIATION GROUPS SEEK CONTRACT TOWER FUNDING
Eleven aviation advocacy groups Wednesday cosigned a letter to the House Appropriations Committee seeking financial support for the FAA contract tower program through 2014. Signatories included AOPA's Craig Fuller, NBAA's Ed Bolen, and leading members of the National Air Transport Association, Air Carrier Association of America, Regional Airline Association and others. Currently 251 airports participate in the contract tower program, accounting for an estimated 28 percent of all air traffic control tower aircraft operations in the U.S., according to the letter. But, the letter argues, costs associated with the program account for a significantly lower percentage of relevant budgets. More...

AOPA EXPANDS FINANCING OPTIONS
AOPA is expanding its presence in the aircraft finance market with a new service for its members. The AOPA Finance Company is a brokerage that brings together borrowers and lenders to make getting money for airplanes and upgrades easier. Adam Meredith, who is heading up the new company, said in an interview with AVweb that AOPA has been helping members with financing for about 20 years but always through a single lender. The new company will deal with a multitude of lenders that have stuck with aircraft financing through the recession and are looking for new business. More...

PODCAST: NEW FINANCING OPTIONS FROM AOPA
AOPA has revamped its aircraft financing division to include a broader range of prospective lenders. Adam Meredith, head of the AOPA Aircraft Finance Company spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles. More...

AIR FORCE ON TRACK FOR IPAD-INDUCED SAVINGS
The Air Force Air Mobility Command last year awarded a contract for up to 18,000 iPads and believes it is on track to see a $50 million cost savings from their intended use once implemented. The contract, a $9.36 million investment, is one step in replacing what amounts to hundreds of pounds of paper documentation on larger aircraft. In the case of a C-5 Galaxy transport, the weight savings has been estimated at nearly 500 pounds, including paper documentation carried by each crew member and paper documents stored on the aircraft. That weight savings translates to an accountable fuel savings, but doesn't account for the $50 million. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FAA CUSTOMER SERVICE -- JEKYLL, MEET HYDE
As far as delightful customer experiences go, the FAA doesn't bubble to the top of the list. But on the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli reports that he had one good experience with the FAA and one not so good one. Read more and join the conversation. More...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #184: WHAT'S IN A NAME?
A Cub by any other name would fly as sweet (although not as sweet as a Champ). But does calling a cloud a "ceiling" make it any less alluring? Tease out your aviation terminology by acing this quiz. (Includes a new reader survey.)

Take the quiz. More...

AVMAIL: JUNE 3, 2013

Letter of the Week: Regulators Gone Wild

Well done with your report on what is a frightening exposé of Australian aviation regulators. We in the industry have been raising these concerns for over 15 years. Despite these efforts, the politicians have not listened, and we now have a runaway regulator that attempts to dominate rather than work with the industry.

There are a number of people who have attempted to correct these and the large number of submissions to this inquiry and the final result which calls for the regulator to be removed and appropriate regulations be put in place is a major step forward.

There are a number of people who have attempted to correct these, and the large number of submissions to this inquiry and the final result, which calls for the regulator to be removed and appropriate regulations be put in place, is a major step forward.

There are a couple of web sites here and here which are working to collect information and writing about individual issues to bring to the community's attention — issues facing pilots that are of serious concern to individuals and the aviation community. Maybe it's time for another ICAO/ FAA investigation into CASA and ATSB.

Name Withheld

Click here to read the rest of this week's letters.

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: BASE OPERATIONS (PAGE FIELD AIRPORT, FT. MYERS, FL)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Base Operations at Page Field Airport (KFMY) in Fort Myers.

AVweb reader Frank Ladd recommended the FBO:

I have been to this FBO many times in the past on our yearly jaunts to Sanibel Island. I have always had excellent service with Scott and Debra at the Page Airport. This year, they excelled themselves. Their line personnel are very accommodating and most helpful. We were delayed due to weather on May 1, but they still accommodated us and our four-hour late arrival. Fuel prices are very competitive, too. The line guys had my car waiting and were helpful in loading our luggage. This FBO will get my business again.

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: DIAMOND'S NEW DA52
Diamond jumped into the aerodiesel market early, and it still leads the industry in the number of diesels flying. This spring, it's deep into certification work on a new diesel twin, the DA52. Based on the DA42 twin, the DA52 is larger, faster, and carries up to seven people. Diamond views it as a high-class, luxury minivan. On a recent visit to Diamond's factory in Austria, AVweb's Paul Bertorelli took a demo flight in the new airplane and shot this exclusive video report. More...

SHORT FINAL

While flying a Beech 18 in the late 1960s, my instructor requested take-off clearance in an unusual way:

XXX Tower:
"Twin Beech N1234 ready to accelerate on runway heading to generate sufficient lift to overcome the effects of gravity."

Without skipping a beat, the tower retorted:
"Twin Beech N1234, you are cleared to accelerate on runway heading to generate sufficient lift to overcome the effects of gravity."

Patrick Tallon
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.

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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