AVWEB'S FRIDAY PODCAST:
ALOUETTE HELICOPTERS DECLARED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BY THE FAA
When Joe Altizer's employer (Marpat Aviation of Logan, West Virginia) bought three French-built Alouette helicopters, they'd all been flying previously in the U.S. All three came certified in the standard category and with current airworthiness certificates. A couple of weeks ago, FAA inspectors, accompanied by state troopers, visited Altizer's hangar and grounded the helicopters, resulting in the layoff of two pilots and a very uncertain future for the company.

The FAA says the absence of a piece of paperwork called a Certificate of Airworthiness for Export, which should have been with the aircraft when they were originally certified in the U.S., means they aren't eligible for that certification, and inspectors are tracking down all the Alouettes in the U.S. to possibly ground them as well. What's frustrating Altizer and other Alouette operators is the FAA doesn't seem to have a solution for a bureaucratic error of their own making and it's the current aircraft owners who are paying the price. We've contacted the FAA and expect a response from them shortly, but, in the meantime, AVweb's Russ Niles talked with Altizer about the unusual situation and the burden it's placing on unsuspecting Alouette owners.

Click here to listen. (9.7 MB, 10:34)

BONUS!
A PRE-AIRVENTURE LOOK AT LIGHTSPEED'S ZULU HEADSET
LightSPEED says it's time for Zulu, the company's newest active-noise-cancelling aircraft headset. It won't be officially unveiled until next week at EAA AirVenture, but AVweb Editor-in-Chief Chad Trautvetter caught up with LightSPEED President Allan Schrader before the air show to get a sneak peek at the next-gen, Bluetooth-capable ANR headset.

Click here to listen. (16.1 MB, 8:48)

AERION PURSUES SUPERSONIC ALL THE WAY TO PARIS (AND BACK)
In its quest to develop a supersonic business jet, Aerion Corp. made its first trip to the Paris Air Show a few weeks ago to drum up risk-sharing partners and an OEM manufacturing lead. Now that the air show hoopla has wound down, AVweb Editor-in-Chief Chad Trautvetter spoke with Aerion Vice Chairman Brian Barents to see what came of the face-to-face meetings and find out where the company is in the design process of its supersonic airplane.

Click here to listen. (8.8 MB, 9:39)

DAVID BILLINGS AND THE ENDURING MYSTERY OF AMELIA EARHART
Every year about this time, we hear about the mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Was she taken prisoner by the Japanese only to die or be executed in captivity? Or did she, her navigator Fred Noonan, and their specially-outfitted Lockheed Electra simply vanish into the vastness of the South Pacific? David Billings, an aircraft engineer in Brisbane, Australia, says he has hard evidence that strongly suggests that Electra, and the 70-year-old mystery it contains, is under a mat of jungle on New Britain Island, off New Guinea. AVweb's Russ Niles asked Billings about the evidence, why it's important that we put the Earhart story to rest, and the relatively modest effort that would achieve that goal.

Click here to listen. (11.7 MB, 12:47)

As you tune in to these podcasts, we're already on-site at Oshkosh and gearing up for a week of big news and exclusive conversations with the most compelling voices in aviation. Starting Monday, we'll be posting daily coverage on AVweb.com and sending out a recap of each day's news (in the form of an AVwebFlash newsletter) every morning. Look for a new podcast every day during the show!

With all the news coverage pouring out of Oshkosh, we'll give your inboxes a break and skip next week's issue of the AVwebAudio newsletter. Look for a recap of the AirVenture podcasts in the following week's AVwebAudio. And to help you prepare, here's a quick link to our preview interview with the EAA's Dick Knapinski:

AIRVENTURE PREVIEW WITH EAA'S DICK KNAPINSKI
The countown toward each EAA AirVenture begins when the show closes each year, but it's now a little more than two weeks before the big event and the anticipation is starting to build. The 2007 event kicks off in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on July 23, and it will be a week of memorable performances, announcements, and enough hangar talk to last most of us the rest of the year. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with EAA's communications director Dick Knapinski about what's new and what we can expect to see at this year's AirVenture.

Click here to listen. (7.5 MB, 8:13)