AIR FORCE CANCELS EMBRAER LIGHT ATTACK CONTRACT
The Air Force Tuesday cancelled its contract for a Light Air Support aircraft with Sierra Nevada Industries and Embraer, will reopen competitive bidding, and has announced an investigation into the way the previous bid was handled. The Air Force raised eyebrows in December when it kicked Hawker Beechcraft's AT6B out of the running for the $1 billion contract. That left only Sierra Nevada's assembled-in-Florida version of the Embraer Super Tucano in the competition and the contract was awarded a few days later. "While we pursue perfection, we sometimes fall short, and when we do we will take corrective action," Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley said in a statement. Donley would not say why the contract was overturned, only that senior officials were not satisfied with the documentation supporting the award. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., said a sudden reversal like this is rare and significant. "The Air Force does not do that lightly," Pompeo told The Washington Post. "This is highly unusual, which suggests that there is going to be a very broad re-look of the entire process." More...

FAA PROPOSES CHANGE IN FIRST OFFICER RULES
The FAA said on Monday it wants to substantially raise the qualification requirements for first officers who fly for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines. The proposed rule, which the FAA said complies with a law passed in 2010, would require first officers flying in Part 121 operations to hold an ATP certificate, which requires 1,500 hours of flight time. Currently, first officers are required to have only a commercial pilot certificate, which requires 250 hours. Also, first officers would need to log at least 1,000 flight hours in air carrier operations before they could serve as pilot in command in those operations. And if first officers are flying an airplane that requires a type rating or a multiengine rating, they must log 50 hours of multiengine flight experience and complete a new FAA-approved ATP Certification Training Program for those ratings, which would include classroom and simulator training. More...

BIGGEST PRIVATE AIRCRAFT DELIVERED
Boeing delivered the first passenger version of it new generation 747 Tuesday, but it left the factory without the 467 seats most of its stablemates will carry. The first 747-8I is going to an unnamed individual, but he or she won't actually get to fly on it for a couple of years, long enough to turn it into "the jewel of the sky" at a completion center in Germany. However, the delivery makes the aircraft the biggest private aircraft in the world, at least until Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal gets his A380. More...

RESEARCHERS WORK TOWARD QUIET TAXIING
The heat energy produced by the friction of a passenger jet's braking system during landing could be captured and converted into electricity, according to recent research by an engineering team in the U.K. "Taxiing is a highly fuel-inefficient part of any trip by plane, with emissions and noise pollution caused by jet engines being a huge issue for airports all over the world," said Paul Stewart, a professor at the University of Lincoln, who led the research. Motor-generators built into the landing gear could capture the wasted heat and convert it into electricity, which would then be stored and supplied to the in-hub motors in the wheels of the plane when it needed to taxi. An Airbus A320, for example, could potentially produce up to 3 megawatts of power, Stewart said. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: USER FEES -- THE USUAL BLATHER FROM BOTH SIDES
The administration's proposal to charge $100 per flight for all but piston aircraft is meeting expected -- and deserved -- opposition from all segments of aviation. On the AVweb Insider, Paul Bertorelli opines that it's less the principle than the practicality. Why is the government coming at us for more money without demonstrating that it's not wasting what we already give it? Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVIATION CONSUMER ENGINE CYLINDER SURVEY
Cylinders are the big-ticket item during an engine overhaul, and the market has changed substantially during the last five years. Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is surveying owner experiences on engine cylinders. If you'd like to participate, click here to take the survey. 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: DYNON SKYVIEW PRODUCT TOUR
Dynon's SkyView big-screen avionics suite brings sophisticated automation to LSA and experimental aircraft cockpits. Aviation Consumer's Larry Anglisano offers a detailed look at the system's features. More...

VIDEO: HELICOPTER SHAKES SELF APART
Some observers speculate that a bad episode of ground resonance may be to blame for the violent self-destruction of a medevac helicopter as it landed in a field in Para, Brazil. Few details are available about the incident, which reportedly took place Wednesday -- the same day video of the accident began spreading, online. The helicopter appears to be a Eurocopter A-Star AS350BA. Some reports state that there were four aboard -- two pilots, a doctor, and a nurse -- and all escaped serious injury in spite of the helicopter engaging full-flail mode. Several accounts repeat that the aircraft suffered excessive vibration while airborne and that vibration developed into destructive ground resonance after the aircraft landed. Generally, ground resonance will resolve itself if the pilot is able to respond quickly by returning the aircraft to hover. Click through to watch. 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 world's premier independent aviation news resource.

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Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

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Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

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Scott Simmons

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Jeff Van West

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