NTSB: CAPTAIN COULD HAVE AVERTED DENVER CRASH
The captain of a Continental 737 that ran off a Denver runway in December 2008 as winds gusted up to 45 knots probably could have kept it on the runway if he had applied enough rudder at the right time, the NTSB said in its final report on the accident on Tuesday. However, the board also said that if the crew had been given better wind information before trying to take off on Runway 34R, they might have delayed departure or requested a different runway. Air traffic controllers provided all the weather data that was required, telling the crew winds were from 270 degrees at 27 knots, but information from sensors located in the center of the airfield showed gusts as high as 40 knots. If the crew had been better trained in crosswind techniques, that also might have helped, the board said. Nobody was killed in the accident, but the captain and five of the 110 passengers were hurt. The board also said better seats in the cockpit would help to reduce crew injuries. More...

AVIATION RETURNS TO BAGHDAD
One of the fastest growing business jet destinations wasn't much more than a smoking hole a few years ago but Baghdad is back. According to Business Week, Lufthansa will start scheduled service next week and Royal Jet, which operates 11 corporate aircraft is reporting brisk business carrying oil executives and other business leaders to the calmer and gentler Iraqi capital. "The constantly improving security situation combined with ongoing reconstruction and investment has created ideal conditions for private aviation into and out of the country," John Morgan, Royal Jet's vice president for commercial operations told Business Week. More...

325 CITATIONS IN SPECIAL OLYMPICS AIRLIFT
More than 325 Cessna Citations from all over the U.S. will land at Lincoln, NB on Saturday to deliver 2,000 competitors to the Special Olympics U.S. National Games. This is the sixth time Cessna has organized the gigantic Citation Special Olympics Airlift and this year's effort is chaired by Citation owner Harrison Ford. The airlift is a logistical challenge as flights have to be coordinated to ensure smooth flow into Lincoln. It will take 15 hours to recover all the aircraft, which will be carrying between three and seven athletes apiece. Then they'll do it all over again a week later when they fly back to Lincoln to pick up the athletes. It's clearly a labor of love for Cessna CEO Jack Pelton who is in the thick of the organization and execution of the event. More...

CHINA MAKING PROGRESS TOWARD GA-FRIENDLY SKIES
Changes are expected soon that would make China much more open to general aviation, according to China Daily. "There will be progress in opening up the low-altitude airspace in the later half of this year, and many local governments have expressed interest in investment," said Wang Xia, vice president of the General Aviation School at Civil Aviation University of China. The skies have gradually become more open to private, low-altitude aircraft, but only if operators comply with a complex and time-consuming approval process that involves several different government agencies. To become a private pilot, applicants must pass a series of tests and physical exams, and spend about $20,000. There are only about 1,000 private pilots in China, according to China Daily. Meanwhile, officials are investigating corruption in China's aviation industry, the Canadian Press reports. More...

FORMER AVWEB WRITER NEW FLYING EDITOR
There's been a change at the top of Flying Magazine but the new Editor-in-Chief is a familiar name to long-time AVweb readers. Michael Maya Charles has replaced Mac McLellan at Flying. Charles wrote more than 100 As the Beacon Turns columns for AVweb before he left us in 2006 to devote more time to his other writing exploits. According to a news release from Bonnier Publications, which bought Flying from Hatchett-Fillipacci a couple of years ago, Maya Charles also wrote for Flying and AOPA. The release did not mention McLellan's circumstances. McLellan was Editor-in-Chief of Flying for 20 years and had been with the magazine since 1980. More...

PROMOTIONS AT CESSNA (CORRECTED)

Bill Collier	Peter Wilkinson

Cessna has announced that Peter Wilkinson will head the company's McCauley Propeller Systems operations as general manager, and Bill Collier will take over turbine and propeller aircraft parts distribution. Wilkinson has been with Cessna since 1997, and Collier joined the company in 2005.
More...

CANADIAN MILITARY FLIGHT TRAINING: A RIDE-ALONG IN THE CT-156 HARVARD II
To many people, it's just a joke about funny Canadian place names, but Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is the center of the universe for young military officers from all over the world who want to become military pilots. Under the auspices of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, the Canadian Forces and Bombardier are in a joint venture to train Canada's next generation of pilots and also new pilots from as far away as Singapore. AVweb's Russ Niles went for a ride in the CT-156 Harvard II (the Canadian version of the Texan II used by the U.S. Air Force) and spoke with flight instructor Capt. Zack Charbonneau. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: JACK PELTON SPEAKS; LET'S ALL LISTEN
Last week, Jack Pelton ate into his vacation to visit General Aviation Modifications, Inc.'s test cell in Ada, Oklahoma for a look at G100UL, a proposed avgas replacement. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli suggests that his involvement — and unambiguous report on what he saw — may represent an inflection point in what has basically been a defeatist effort to find an avgas replacement. The first step in succeeding is the belief that you can. Click here to read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
It's a complicated, scary world, full of challenges that compound one on top of another faster than we can keep up — but then again, we may be better at keeping up than we give ourselves credit. When a technological problem is at its worst, the pressure to innovate often gives rise to surprising solutions — and that thought gives AVweb editor Mary Grady a little hope when it comes to the giant hurdles facing aviation. Click here to read Mary's post on the AVweb Insider blog and leave your comments. More...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A ZAON PCAS XRX

Win a Zaon PCAS XRX as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)

And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15 Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)

Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time Friday, July 16, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

Congratulations to Richard Kemp of Canton, Georgia, who won an AV8OR handheld GPS in our last drawing! (click here to get your own from Bendix/King by Honeywell)

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

WHO'S WHERE? YOU TELL US
Get a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. More...

MEET THE AVWEBBIZ TEAM

AVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

The AVwebBiz team is:

Publisher
Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West

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