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Cirrus Announces New Standard
Maintenance Program
A planemaker fond of comparing its planes to high-end luxury automobiles
just brought those two seemingly disparate markets a little closer.
Cirrus Design has announced the launch of Cirrus Maintenance, a new
"standard with purchase" benefit designed to help reduce the
cost of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. For more information,
click here. 
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| A Final Word from Sun 'n Fun — And It's
"FADEC" | | back to
top |  | |
EXCLUSIVE
VIDEO FROM SUN 'N FUN 2008:
FADEC COMING OF AGE?
For more than 100 years, piston aircraft pilots
have been priming, pumping and leaning their engines to coax maximum
performance out of them (or just keep them running). Other types of
gasoline-powered conveyances largely ditched carburetion and all that
comes with it 10 years ago but aircraft have been slow to adopt digital
control of the things that make the prop go around. Continental has
certified Full Authority Digitial Engine Control (FADEC) on its 0240
engine and the lessons learned are modestly leading the industry in a
direction that seems inevitable. AVweb flew the FADEC demo
Diamond DA20 at Sun 'n Fun and, thanks to software upgrades and other
tweaks, there were none of the running faults that have been reported in
the past. Not only does the engine run well, it can tell you when it's
not feeling well. In this AVweb Exclusive Video, Continental's
Phillip Grice explains the system and its advantages. (Click through to
watch.) This video brought to you by WxWorx XM WX Satellite
Weather
and Bose Corporation. 
More...AEROCAR
FLIES AGAIN — WITH FADEC (REALLY)
 Modern technology has come to the
rescue of a persistent problem, which, had it been addressed in its
time, might have made Molt Taylor's Aerocar more appealing in its day.
The aircraft flew to Sun 'n Fun (it's the only flying example of five
left) from its home away from home at a museum in Kissimmee, Fla. with
its O-360 engine equipped with full authority digital engine control
(FADEC). Owner Ed Sweeney said that through most of its life the machine
suffered chronic running faults because of the geometry of its old
carburetor installation. (Click through for video of Sweeney showing off
the Aerocar at Sun 'n Fun.) More... |
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Do You Have Enough Life
Insurance?
The truth is most people do not. Studies show that 40% of adult
Americans have no life insurance whatsoever and over 50 million people
in this country lack adequate life insurance. Pilot Insurance
Center can help you protect your family with full-coverage life
insurance and no aviation exclusions. PIC specializes in
providing pilots — from student to ATP — with the life
insurance protection they need. For a personalized quote, call
PIC today at 1 (800) 380-8376 or
visit online. 
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G3
SR20 HAS NEW WINGS, REFINED INTERIOR
 When Cirrus unveiled the G3 SR22 at
last year's Sun 'n Fun, the reaction was positive and the response from
customers was favorable. Lessons learned from the improvements of the
flagship model were applied to the entry-level SR20 and it made its show
debut at this year's Sun 'n Fun. Probably the biggest change (and
biggest mystery) of the project was putting the new wing from the SR22
on the new SR20. Previous SR20s had a smaller wing than their more
powerful stablemates. But when the larger wing was put on the SR20, the
cruise speed actually went up by six or seven knots. (Click through to
get inside the cockpit with us in a short video.) More... NEW
CESSNAS MAKE SHOW DEBUT
 Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 models
made their air show debut at Sun 'n Fun last week and company officials
say there's been overwhelming response to the aircraft. Cessna was the
winning bidder at a bankruptcy auction for the former Columbia Aircraft
late last year and began building the speedy composite singles in Cessna
colors in December. The aircraft have been integrated into the company's
sales and support systems and Cessna continues to hire more staff at the
Bend, Ore. plant. (Click through for video of the Cessna 400 at Sun 'n
Fun.) More... |
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Cessna
Caravan
Introducing the perfect union of brains and brawn. With more than 10
million fleet hours under its heavy-lifting wings, the Cessna
Caravan now has brains to match. The standard Garmin G1000®
glass cockpit combined with the WAAS-certified GFC700 automated flight
control system integrates all primary flight, engine and sensor data to
provide intuitive, at-a-glance situational awareness and precise flight
guidance and control.
For complete information, go
online. 
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CROWDS
GANDER AT NEW GOOSE
 Antilles
Seaplanes made its first appearance at Sun 'n Fun 2008 and the
company says it hopes to be delivering newly-manufactured modern
versions of the venerable Grumman Goose in the next year or two. The
company has the type certificate for the aircraft and has been
developing the manufacturing processes at its plant in Gibsonville, N.C.
and the company says it's getting close to actually building aircraft.
(Click through for video of Antilles talking turkey — er, "Goose"
at the show.) More... "CONVERTIBLE"
LSA OFFERED
 Warner Aerocraft is offering a unique concept in
Light Sport Aircraft design with a three-way convertible cockpit. The
Sportster can be flown single or tandem with or without a canopy. The
company says it only takes five minutes to reconfigure the plane. It's
powered by a Continental 0200 and has a top speed of 130 mph. It has a
fabric fuselage and metal wings. (Click through for video.)
More... |
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JA Air Center, Your Garmin
GPSMap 496 Source, Is Looking to Purchase Used GPS Units, Avionics, and
Aircraft
Call (800) 323-5966 for current value, with no purchase required.
JA Air Center is your source for Garmin GPS and Avionics,
including the popular GPSMap 496 with XM Weather, Terrain, AOPA
Airport Guide, Taxiway Database, and built-in StreetPilot Auto GPS.
JA Air Center [Dupage Airport (KDPA) in West Chicago, IL]
provides the finest avionics installations, turbine/piston maintenance,
avionics/instrument service, mail order, and aircraft sales. Call
(800) 323-5966, or
click for more information. 
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Lycoming
Engines
Lycoming Engines specializes in Engineering, Manufacture, Service
and Support of piston aircraft engines. Headquartered in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, Lycoming piston engines power more than half of the
world's general aviation fleet — both rotary-wing and fixed-wing.
Lycoming Engines is a division of Avco Corporation, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Textron Inc.
More information is available
online. 
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ON
THE FLY ...
A pilot leaving Sun 'n Fun was killed after his
plane crashed just after takeoff ...
National Guard pilot grounded
after blown flypast ...
Prince William got his RAF wings.
More... |
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What Are the Advantages of Working with an
Aviation Insurance Broker?
An aviation broker gives you a choice of coverage and pricing options
offered by numerous insurance companies. Today's policies offer more
enhancements and features, including coverage for handheld avionics,
automatic increase in insured value, trip interruption, and more. The
AOPA Insurance Agency can help you select the features that best
meet your unique insurance needs. Call for a complimentary quote at
(800) 622-2672, or
go online. 
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Find Your Next Aircraft on ASO!
When you search for used aircraft on ASO, you get the most
complete picture of the market available anywhere. View thousands of
listings with detailed specs and photos or use ASO's advanced
search tools to quickly find your next aircraft. Best of all, know that
every ad is current and no time is wasted on stale listings. If you're
ready for your next aircraft, it's ready for you — on ASO.
Visit ASO.com today! 
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FBO
OF THE WEEK: AMELIA REID AVIATION (KRHV, SAN JOSE,
CA)
 AVweb's
"FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Amelia Reid Aviation at KRHV in San Jose,
California. AVweb reader Konstantin Blank
recommended the FBO, citing the unique training
experience: Amelia Reid Aviation is a rare place where you
get excellent flight instruction while connecting with the roots of
aviation. While they instruct for all airplane ratings, the spcialty is
in tailwheel aircraft ... a place where hangar flying is a both a
pleasure and valuable (non-loggable) flight experience. I recommend
everyone get a tailwheel transition training here as it will be fun and
make you a better pilot. While tailwheel training
isn't on our list for this year, we'll definitely spread the word. (And
now we know a good FBO in San Jose to stop in on during our
travels.) Keep
those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here. AVweb is
actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one,
submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!
More... |
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Cessna Owners & Pilots — Gain
Knowledge, Have Fun
Join the fastest-growing and best association for Cessna Flyers
— the Cessna Flyer Association ( CFA), since 2004
providing same-day parts locating, faster answers to technical
questions, an informative monthly magazine, online forums, national and
regional events, an annual gathering, seminars, member discounts, and
more for only $40 yearly. The CFA is located in the Blue
Hangar on the Waupaca Municipal Airport (PCZ) in Waupaca, Wisconsin, 35
nm NW of Oshkosh. For more info, visit
CessnaFlyer.org. 
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | | back to
top | | |
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Choose the Flight Explorer Edition Right for
You
Flight Explorer is an information system tracking commercial and
general aviation flights. With the Flight Explorer Personal
Edition, view air traffic for the U.S., Canada, or New Zealand and
monitor and display real-time delay information, TFRs, SUAs, and more.
With the Flight Explorer Pilot Edition, view weather along a
route, receive alerts with your preliminary flight plan, and have an
e-mail sent to someone on departure or arrival.
Click here for more information and to
subscribe. 
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SHORT
FINAL
 We were a flight of three consisting of
two Cessna 180s and one Maule headed into the Lake Parker holding
pattern [for Sun 'n Fun 2008]. We had dropped to extended trail and
began circling the lake following a Glastar, and we had two twins
holding above us as well. After about 20 minutes of circling and waiting
for the field to re-open after the airshow, we were joined in the hold
by a new Cirrus pilot. Controller:
"Tailwheels,
nice job keeping the seperation. Keep the pattern a little closer to the
shoreline on the west side of the lake. The field should open in the
next 10 to 15 minutes. Cirrus, enter the hold behind the red-and-black
high wing." Cirrus:
"Control, we have a rental car
waiting for us, and if we don't get down there in time they may give it
away. Could we get priority consideration as soon as the field
opens?" Maule:
"Control, we have cold beer waiting for
us in the campground, and if we don't get down there in time, it may get
warm. Could we get priority consideration as soon as the field
opens?" Controller (laughing):
"All
aircraft continue in the hold for now. We will advise when the field
re-opens and release the aircraft as they arrived." Chris
Davis
via e-mail during Sun 'n Fun 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
Click
here to send a letter to the
editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not
intended for publication.) Comments or questions
about the news should be sent
here. Have a product or service to advertise
on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's
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trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd
prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device),
there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete
instructions on making the switch, click
here. Aviate.
Navigate. Communicate. More... |
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