Some Chinese airlines, reacting to rapid industry growth, are seeking to attract experienced pilots by offering salaries and benefits roughly double that of the average U.S. airline captain, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Top salaries offered by some Chinese airlines exceed $225,000, and the country's current pay leader, Hainan Airlines, is advertising pay packages up to $270,000 per year. That push is part of a surge that has over the past 18 months seen pay offers to foreign pilots rise by up to 30 percent, the Journal said. But with the pay comes a price. Read More

ECi is using a new web page to highlight resistance to the FAA's proposed Airworthiness Directive targeting TITAN brand 520/550 series cylinders produced between 2002 and 2009 that may cost $83 million in compliance-associated costs, but the resistance isn't universal. The FAA wants to require initial and repetitive inspections of the cylinders, plus full replacements at reduced times-in-service. ECi maintains that its TITAN cylinders have the lowest failure rate in the industry and the FAA's analysis is flawed. Some overhaul shops contacted by AVweb this month did say they support the AD or have moved away from ECi cylinders because of issues with cracking. Read More

A new report by marketsandmarkets.com says the aircraft refurbishing and repurposing market will grow to $4.3 billion in 2017, up from about $3 billion in 2012. The report ($4650 for a single download), which covers aircraft from business jets to heavy transport, looks at the existing opportunities and areas of future growth and covers opportunities all over the world. Read More

New airplanes sales may be a little soft, but we're seeing plenty of refurb work -- everything from new panels to fresh paint to full-up interiors. We would like to feature some of these airplanes in the pages of AVweb and spotlight the owners and shops doing the work. If you have photos of your restored aircraft -- single, twin or turbine -- send them to us at refurb-otm@avweb.com. If we select your airplane as refurb of the month, we'll contact you for more information. Read More

While old airframes may keep soldiering on, the instruments and radios in the panels usually don't. At AirVenture this year, Electronics International rolled out a new instrument designed to replace older instruments, including tachometers, engines instruments, and other indicators. In this video, EI's Tyler Speed gives us a quick product tour of the new CGR-30P. Read More

Paul Poberezny, who founded EAA in 1953 and served as the organization's leader for many years, died on Thursday morning, EAA has announced. He was 91 and living in a retirement village in Oshkosh, Wis. The Poberezny family released a statement: "We deeply appreciate all the support shown to Paul and Audrey over the past five months. As Paul often said, he considers himself a millionaire because through aviation he made a million friends." Speaking personally with AVweb, Thursday, EAA media relations director Dick Knapinski said, "You know what stands out to me? When people said it ought to be just about homebuilders ... he'd say, 'so, who do we tell that they aren't invited? Who do we turn to and say you're not welcome?'" Read More

Seventeen-year-old student pilot McKenzie Morgan, while flying part of a long cross country Tuesday, crashed the Cessna 172 she was flying in mountains near Meeteetse, Wyo., not far from a cabin once owned by Amelia Earhart and, fortunately, within sight of two hunters. Morgan told reporters she had become disoriented, flying in nearly the opposite direction of her intended destination. She entered a valley with rising terrain that evolved into a box canyon. The plane eventually impacted the ground near 13,150-foot Francs Peak and the aircraft flipped. Read More

A Nigerian teenager who survived a stowaway flight in a main gear well of an Arik Air airliner was captured after hopping onto the ramp at Lagos International Airport on Sunday. The flight from Benin to Lagos (153 miles) is a short one and the aircraft only reached 21,000 feet on the 30-minute hop, no doubt contributing to the survival of the boy. Read More

Selling an airplane can be tough but a Minnesota man found a ready market for his 1946 Cessna 140 when he included it in a garage sale he organized for his father. “We just put it in there as a last-minute deal,” Robbie Love, 58, of East Grand Forks, Minn., told GoodMorningAmerica.com. “We were going to have a garage sale for my dad, and I just figured I’d put it in there to see what interest there was in the local area. And geez, I’ve gotten calls from all over.” Read More

As the quest for a replacement for 100LL drags into its third decade, our sister publication Aviation Consumer, is seeking opinions from owners, pilots and aircraft operators on how you think the process is going. The FAA has established a special office devoted to a replacement for 100LL and piston fuel in general. We would like to know if you've followed the process and if so, what you think of it. And how about mogas? We have some questions on that, too. Read More

Whilst flying back from Belfast to Blackpool in the U.K. several years ago, I heard a GA pilot behind me cleared for take-off by the tower. The tower then reminded him of the local noise regulations. The pilot replied that he understood and added helpfully that he would only be using one engine in this instance. Read More

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.

Read More

AVweb is the world's premier independent aviation news resource, online since 1995. Our reporting, features, and newsletters are brought to you by:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Paul Berge

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

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.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb web site 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 at (480) 525-7481

Read More