DIAMOND FLIES ITS NEW DA52
Diamond reported Tuesday that its new DA52 twin completed its first flight, with Diamond CEO Christian Dries and test pilot Ingmar Meyerbuch at the controls. The DA52 is essentially the cabin of the DA50 SuperStar, which was proposed a few years ago, paired with new wings and two 180-HP Austro AE300 engines. The engines are manufactured in a new facility adjacent to Diamond's factory in Weiner Neudstadt, Austria. According to Diamond, the aircraft took off at a gross weight of 3,900 pounds and climbed to 12,000 feet in nine minutes, for an average two-engine climb rate of about 1300 FPM. On the initial flight, the aircraft achieved a true airspeed of 190 knots with no abnormalities, Diamond said. More...

PAL-V ROADABLE GYROCOPTER FLIES IN EUROPE
PAL-V, a personal air and land vehicle, has been in development in the Netherlands for several years, and recently achieved its first flight, the company said on Monday. A folding pusher prop provides power and the auto-rotating rotor provides lift. On the road, the vehicle accelerates like a sports car and handles like a motorcycle, according to the company. Several flights were conducted over the last two weeks, the company said. Robert Dingemanse, CEO and co-founder of PAL-V, said he is now inviting investors to help support development of the aircraft. "We know there is a lot of interest for the PAL-V," he said. "Prior to announcing these test flights, we were already approached on a daily basis by potential customers and dealers wanting to be part of this exciting project." More...

FIRST FLIGHT FOR TERRAFUGIA PROTOTYPE
Terrafugia's production prototype of its Transition street-legal airplane took flight for the first time just over a week ago, the company announced on Monday. The first flight took place in Plattsburgh, N.Y., on Friday, March 23, the company said. The flight lasted for eight minutes, staying in the airport vicinity, and reached an altitude of 1,400 feet above ground level. The flight "demonstrated the controllability and safe operational characteristics of the aircraft," the company said. An earlier version of the airplane flew in 2009, providing data that helped in the design of the current prototype. The current version is scheduled to complete the flight testing required to qualify as a light sport aircraft, with first deliveries expected within a year. Click here for video from the flight -- and the drive to the airport. More...

COLGAN PARENT AIRLINE FILES CHAPTER 11
Pinnacle Airlines Corp., the parent company of Colgan Air, announced over the weekend that it has filed for relief under Chapter 11. "Our current business model is not sustainable," said CEO Sean Menke. "Increasing operating expenses, liquidity constraints, business integration delays and difficulties associated with combining our operations have hindered our ability to maximize our growth potential." As part of the reorganization plan, Colgan Air will stop operating its Saab 340 and Bombardier Q400 fleet by the end of the year. More...

UTAIR PULLS ATR72-200S FROM SERVICE AFTER CRASH
Russian airline UTair has pulled its ATR 72-200s from service after a weekend crash that killed 31 people and injured 12. The airline said the move was an attempt to reassure passengers. The aircraft will be replaced with ATR 72-500s, newer versions of the same aircraft. Despite the grounding, the airline insists there was nothing technically wrong with the crash plane. The crash is one of a series of serious airliner crashes in Russia of late, which goes against the worldwide trend to greater safety in air travel. Russia's poorer-than-average record has been blamed on antiquated aircraft but the plane involved is a relatively modern French twin turboprop with a good safety record. More...

AIRPLANE CRASHES THROUGH STORE ROOF, FIVE HURT
An experimental aircraft crashed through the roof of a Publix grocery store in DeLand, Fla., about 7:20 p.m. on Monday, critically injuring both men in the airplane and sending three people in the store to the hospital. The airplane was an amphibious Seawind 3000, built in 2000, according to the FAA database. The crash sent a ball of fire through the store, according to local news reports, and the aircraft was completely destroyed. Three people in the store were hurt; one was hospitalized for burns on his legs, and the other two were treated and released. The aircraft had just taken off from the nearby DeLand Municipal Airport. More...

PASSENGER LANDS SAFELY AFTER PILOT STRICKEN ALOFT
Helen Collins, age 80, was able to make a safe landing in a twin-engine Cessna 414 Monday evening in Wisconsin after her husband, John, 81, lost consciousness while flying. According to local news reports, Helen Collins called in an emergency at about 5 p.m., near Sturgeon Bay. She is not a pilot but had some training over 30 years ago, when she had soloed. An instructor flew to her side to help coach her through the landing, and they flew several practice runs over the runway, according to ABC News. At about 6 p.m., Collins made a rough landing -- after a couple of bounces, the airplane ended up in a ditch and the gear collapsed -- but she was able to escape with only minor injuries. John Collins was taken to a hospital and declared dead. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: SUN 'N FUN AT THE CROSSROADS
All the vendors we spoke to at Sun 'n Fun had a good show, even if the traffic in the booths may have been down a bit. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli argues that none of us should make much of the numbers from year to year, given that the show is in a mature market in an industry that's on the downswing. More to the point, we think the show's management and its board are finding — and will find more — ways to improve Sun 'n Fun. Read more and join the conversation. More...

FARMER JOINS LONDON OXFORD AIRPORT

Tony Farmer

Tony Farmer is the new Head of Sales and Route Development at London Oxford Airport. He was formerly at Saudi Airlines.
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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...

SUN 'N FUN 2012: NEWS COVERAGE ROUND-UP
AVweb attended the 38th annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida from March 27 to April 1, 2012 — and brought back an assortment of news and interviews. Click here for a handy index to all our coverage from the show, including podcasts, videos, and blogs. 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...

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

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Paul Bertorelli

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Glenn Pew

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Scott Simmons

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