THIELERT OUSTED AS CEO
Diesel aircraft engine maker Thielert AG's board of directors has removed founder Frank Thielert as chief executive amidst a cash crisis that's prompted a sell-off of shares to raise $24.4 million Euros to cover immediate needs. The company's shares have plummeted in value in recent months in response to a court decision that nullified its financial statements for the years 2002-2005. The engine maker's shares dropped to 3.17 Euros in trading Friday. Last July they hit 25.22 Euros. The board has also removed Chief Financial Officer Roswitha Grosser. "Anyone who was surprised has been sleeping for the past weeks," Jochen Klusmann, an analyst at BHF Bank in Frankfurt told Bloomberg News. "The bottom line is the company has booked relatively high sales and profit, but never has had good cash flow." More...

LIBERTY AEROSPACE UPGRADES THE XL-2: ENTER THE VANGUARD
While the training aircraft market in the U.S. more or less holds its own, it's booming in other parts of the world, especially in China and in India. Melbourne, Florida-based Liberty Aerospace has been riding the wave with its sophisticated two-seat XL-2. At the Sun 'n Fun show, Liberty's CEO Keith Markley, told us about an improved version of the XL-2 called the Vanguard. More...

CUBCRAFTERS ADDS FLOATS, ADJUSTABLE PROP TO LSA OPTIONS
CubCrafters has certified its Sport Cub to fly with Baumann 1500 Straight Floats, chairman Jim Richmond announced at Sun 'n Fun on Friday. At gross weight, he said, the Cub launched from the water in less than 8 seconds. "I was not prepared for the performance we have seen with this airplane. Light weight does wonderful things," Richmond said. The Cub on floats starts at $141,500. Richmond also announced that the new Sensenich ground-adjustable, carbon-fiber prop is now available for all Sport Cubs, either as an option on new models or as a retrofit kit. It takes only about five minutes to make the adjustment, Richmond said. The pitch can be optimized for cruise or flattened for more power and maximum climb performance on skis, floats, or tundra tires. The prop is also about 10 pounds lighter than the standard metal prop. More...

VISTANAV ADDS APPROACH PLATES AND VNAV GUIDANCE
Along with EFIS displays, synthetic vision devices seems to be the must-have technological innovation of Sun 'N Fun 2008. With its VistaNav product, Mercury Computer Systems stunned users of cockpit tablet computers with a sophisticated, easy-to-use software package that runs nicely on machines like Samsung SSDs and the popular Motion Computing platforms. At Sun 'n Fun this week, the company announced VistNav 3.0, which adds an improved approach plate viewer and vertical guidance for descents and approaches. VistaNav already has impressive FLIR capability and sensor-originated synthetic vision using a terrain database. When configured as a Class I EFB, the system include an inertial navigation unit and a WAAS-capable GPS receiver with Bluetooth wireless interface. With the new 3.0 release, the software now supports the popular Samsung Q1 Ultra Mobile SSD tablet PC. See VistaNav in booth 95 (Hangar D) and on the web at VistaNav.com. More...

AVEMCO OFFERS NEW COVERAGE FOR CFIS, FINE-FUNES LSA PLANS
General aviation needs more good instructors, Avemco President Jim Lauerman said on Friday at Sun 'n Fun, but insurance costs have been a barrier for many experienced owner/pilots who have earned a CFI ticket and might like to teach on an occasional basis. Now Avemco is offering customized liability coverage that will make it possible for those CFIs to take on students, Lauerman said. He also said that Avemco is analyzing data from its light sport aicraft coverage, and is passing on information to the LSA community to help improve training. "We've found that the light wing-loading of LSAs requires a greater emphasis on low-speed directional control," he said. Once the data analysis is complete, a few months from now, he expects it will lead to differentiation in the LSA insurance market. "We've been lumping them all together," Lauerman said, "but will end up with probably three different categories of LSA." More...

SPORTY'S DVD AIMS TO HELP PASSENGERS RELAX
Sporty's Pilot Shop is offering a new "Introduction to Flying" DVD program that aims to help passengers feel more at ease in the cockpit. Passengers will learn about what the pilot is doing and why, and also will learn how to be helpful in the cockpit and how to cope with an emergency. The program is also available via download from the Sporty's site. The company also said this week that its popular Flight Gear bags have been redesigned, with five different products each optimized for a specific type of pilot. Each bag is reinforced to hold up to 200 pounds, and prices have been cut. The company also announced the date for this year's popular Open House event at their headquarters in Batavia, Ohio. The fly-in to Clermont County/Sporty's Airport is set for Saturday, May 17. More...

NEW LSA MALL GREETS SUN 'N FUN VISITORS
This year, when visitors walk through the gate onto the Sun 'n Fun grounds, they don't have far to go before they can start shopping for -- or at least starting to dream about -- their next airplane. Right inside the gate, 18 shiny new Light Sport Aircraft are arrayed, wingtip to wingtip, along the grassy lawn on either side of the main walkway. "We definitely hit a home run when we scored this location," said Dan Johnson, chairman of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, who organized the project. Visitors can quickly assess a wide variety of different airplanes -- high-wing, low-wing, floats, taildraggers, and more -- talk to the company representatives, and find out where to go on the field to find each company's full-size exhibit. "It's great for the customers, and it's great for the manufacturers, too," says Johnson. Although LSA sales have slowed a bit recently, as the national economy has stalled, airplanes at the Mall were selling, he said. More...

INDUS LSA FLIES WITH DIESEL ENGINE
Saturday at Sun 'n Fun, the IndUS Aviation folks, who were the first to get their airplanes certified as LSAs, will show off their latest achievement, an LSA that flies with an ASTM-certified diesel engine. "Now our technology can go worldwide," IndUS President Ram Pattisapu told AVweb on Friday. In many parts of the world, he said, diesel and jet A are the preferred fuels, while avgas and even motorgas are hard to come by. "We're an American company, based in Dallas," Pattisapu said, "but we want to sell to the global market." Here in the U.S., as well, interest in the engine alternative is high; the engine typically burns up to 25 percent less fuel than gasoline engines at the same power setting, and can run on biofuels as well. The WAM-120 is a three-cylinder, two-stroke liquid-cooled engine of inverted configuration with pressure-fed lubrication and an integral sump. It weighs no more than traditional avgas engines, the company says, and is easy to install. (Click through for video of the IndUS LSA in flight.) More...

COURT APPROVES ADAM SALE TO RUSSIAN-BACKED FIRM
A Colorado bankruptcy court has approved the sale of the assets (and some liabilities) of Adam Aircraft Industries to AAI Acquisition Inc. for $10 million. The company is a subsidiary of Russia-based Industrial Investors, which, according to a company release, owns Russian air taxi operator Dexter and what it calls a business jet airline called Velvet Club. Although Adam has both a piston and jet design, Industrial Investors seems to be leaning toward getting the A700 very light jet off the ground. "We plan to revive Adam Aircraft's operations, including continuing the process of certification for the A700 jet," said AAI VP Dmitry Shokhin. While the company's own aircraft operations would seem a natural extension of the business plan for the Adam acquisition, AAI says it expects the A700 and A500 to stand on their own. More...

FRONTIER AIRLINES KEEPS FLYING THROUGH BANKRUPTCY
Frontier Airlines says customers weren't inconvenienced (any more than usual) on the first day of operations under a Chapter 11 (restructuring) bankruptcy. The Denver-based carrier announced it had filed for Chapter 11 early Friday and then got to work serving more than 29,000 passengers on 405 flights. According to the company, none of its flights were cancelled and three-quarters were on time. The company says it filed for bankruptcy over an issue with its major credit card processor. More...

LIBERTY AEROSPACE UPGRADES THE XL-2: ENTER THE VANGUARD
(RECORDED LIVE AT SUN 'N FUN 2008)
At the Sun 'n Fun show, Liberty CEO Keith Markley told us about an improved version of the sophisticated XL-2 trainer called the Vanguard. It sports a higher gross weight, toe brakes — replacing the original XL-2's finger brakes — and the new Evolution EFIS from Aspen. Hear about it all in this podcast.

This podcast brought to you by Bose Corporation and WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather. More...

AVEMCO: NEW POLICY ALLOWS CFIS TO INSTRUCT IN THEIR OWN AIRPLANES
(RECORDED LIVE AT SUN 'N FUN 2008)
Some CFIs who are also aircraft owners make a little money on the side by instructing in their own airplanes, although insurance policies don't cover them for the risks. Avemco's Jim Lauerman told AVweb in this podcast that the company will soon introduce a specific policy product to address this tiny niche of the market. Premiums will be a fraction of the expensive commercial policies FBOs and flight schools have to buy, but Lauerman believes it won't affect those businesses measurably.

This podcast brought to you by Bose Corporation and WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO FROM SUN 'N FUN 2008:
AIRCRAFT ENGINE MONITOR XERION AURACLE CRM2120 PREVIEW
Xerion Avionix showed at Sun 'n Fun the AuRACLE CRM2120 cockpit resource management system that will soon offer piston-twin owners the a single-unit certified replacement for all their primary engine instruments. The company currently produces the certified CRM 2100 for piston singles. Aviation Consumer's Paul Bertorelli spoke with Xerion's Eric Hathaway about the products. (Click through to watch.)

This video brought to you by WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather and Bose Corporation. More...

AVWEB'S SUN 'N FUN 2008 GALLERIES: TAKING IN THE SIGHTS
This is what we've waited for all winter! Join our photographer, Mariano Rosales, as he wanders the grounds of Sun 'n Fun and snaps photos. More...

AVWEB'S BLOG BUZZING WITH ACTIVITY DURING SUN 'N FUN
AVweb's only official blog is packed with off-the-cuff reviews, personal experiences, and fun diversions from our contributors on the ground at Sun 'n Fun. Look for new posts from our own Paul Bertorelli and Kitplanes magazine contributors Rick Lindstrom, Marc Cook, and Amy Laboda — all of whom are enjoying the sights, sounds, and gadgets at Lakeland. More...

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...

GOT CYLINDERS? TELL US ABOUT YOUR SERVICE HISTORY
Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is conducting a survey on aircraft engine cylinder products. If you've done an overhaul during the past several years, the magazine's editors would like to hear from you on how the cylinders have performed. Just click on this link to take the survey.

The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here. More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

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

The AVwebFlash 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

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