SUN 'N FUN CRASH AND SPECULATION

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A Lancair Legacy that departed the Sun 'n Fun Fly-in and airshow at Lakeland, Fla., April 13 may have done so with an open canopy and did result in a fatality. An AVweb reader sent our newsteam an image of the accident aircraft departing with a gap clearly visible along the canopy/fuselage joint and at the rear of the canopy. The Legacy is an all-composite, retractable-gear, two-place kit-built aircraft, in this case powered by a Continental IO-550. Its canopy is usually forward-hinged. The NTSB's preliminary report on the accident states that the aircraft, N1177M, departed Lakeland's Runway 27L in VFR conditions. Witnesses told the NTSB that the pilot and sole occupant appeared to have difficulty closing the canopy. One witness stated that during takeoff climb he saw the canopy moving "up and down about 6 to 12 inches." Shortly after takeoff, another witness said the "engine lost power," the aircraft continued straight and level before nosing down 40 degrees, dipping its left wing and crashing beyond a tree line. More...

GLASAIR PILOT SUES SUN 'N FUN FOR "SKINNY RUNWAY" CRASH
A Florida pilot is suing the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in for a crash that occurred four years ago while he was trying to land at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The pilot, Terry Edward Morris, is seeking more than $15,000 in damages. Morris was attempting a go-around in his Glasair III homebuilt when, according to the NTSB, he failed "to maintain airspeed and establish a climb during an attempted go-around" and “nosed over” onto the runway and adjacent grass after stalling. Air traffic control called Morris's go-around because they observed him landing on Runway 9R instead of “skinny runway” 9L. More...

F-16/PILATUS INCIDENT: AIR FORCE SAYS NO CLOSER THAN 600 FEET
The U.S. Air Force says that an F-16 came no closer than 600 feet to a Pilatus PC-12 it intercepted while flying VFR in the Gladden MOA near Phoenix last month. The incident raised quite a ruckus when AVweb reported it earlier this month following an eyewitness report from the PC-12’s pilot, Patrick McCall, who told us the F-16, one of a flight of four, maneuvered aggressively and came as close as 20 feet to his airplane. (Hear McCall’s report in this podcast.) More...

RAF INSTRUCTOR FINED FOR BUZZING PRO GOLFERS
RAF flying instructor Flt. Lt. Rodriguez pleaded guilty Tuesday before a court martial hearing regarding his low altitude flight with a student over an Open golf championship. Rodriguez, with student in tow, reportedly descended a Grob trainer to 400 feet AGL and flew over some 30,000 people who had gathered to watch the world's best golfers, all of whom were "protected" by temporary flight restrictions. Aside from being identified by its registration number, the flight was also tracked by a satellite. Rodriguez has accumulated more than 1600 flight hours, including time logged refueling coalition fighter aircraft over Iraq. The instructor earlier told investigators that he had not been made aware that the course had been identified as a "no-fly" zone by his station commander at RAF Leuchars ... and that he was an avid golfer. He was fined 1,500 British pounds and "given a severe reprimand," according to the Telegraph UK. More...

"CORRUGATED" SKIN FOR LOWER DRAG
Texas A&M University researcher Dimitris Lagoudas and his colleagues claim that by creating an undulating skin they have been able to demonstrate reductions in skin friction drag of up to 50 percent. To maximize efficiency, the skin must be able to adapt to very subtle changes (micrometers in height) at different speeds, adopting active wrinkle patters in a skin that "shifts to the shape of an ideal surface wave," according to NewScientist.com. The complexity of controlling an actively morphing skin controlled by electric fields that match the wavelengths necessary to reduce drag currently poses significant challenges, and would be especially difficult to adapt to aircraft. But the researchers claim that even a fixed corrugated skin design would reduce drag and could be tailored to be most effective during specific phases of flight -- cruise, for example. With some tweaking, the same fixed skin could also be designed to increase drag while the aircraft is in landing configuration. More...

HONDA AIRCRAFT'S HONDAJET SEES EUROPEAN EXPANSION
Honda Aircraft Company Inc. will begin expansion of HondaJet sales to Europe beginning at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) to be held in Geneva this May. The move is a reaction to strong demand for the aircraft from customers in the European market, says Honda, and follows on recently expanded sales throughout North America that included a sales and service strategy for Canada and Mexico. "We are excited to initiate sales in Europe, where we have received a steady stream of inquiries from interested customers who will now have the opportunity to reserve delivery of a HondaJet," Michimasa Fujino, Honda Aircraft president and chief executive officer, told WRAL.com. Honda Aircraft Company last week finalized its distribution network in the U.S., adding Albany, N.Y., to a list that includes Tallahassee, Aurora, Phoenix and Salt Lake City as locations for its five sales and service facilities across the country. More...

HELICOPTER PILOT FILES SUIT FOR BACKYARD HELIPORT
John Casciani is fighting Webster, N.Y., for the right to use his own land as a helipad, claiming his rights are protected under the First and 14th Amendments of both the U.S. and New York Constitutions. Casciani had done as much, on occasion landing his 2004 Enstrom 480B on his 1.5-acre property without concern from 2003 through 2006. That lasted right up until the Town Board passed a law prohibiting private aircraft from landing in the town, but beyond 2005 when Casciani drafted for the Town Board a proposal that would allow him to keep his private heliports. Casciani's lawsuit, filed against the town and Supervisor Ronald Nesbitt includes the claim that he was told by the Town Attorney he would be exempt from any future laws that might ban his backyard landings and takeoffs. Regardless, Casciani's hopes are now balanced by a group of about 50 private citizens who have organized in opposition to his aerial interests. More...

AVIATION PROGRAM TO HELP KIDS OF THE FALLEN
Retired Marine Corps Col. Jack Howell wanted to help the children of fallen soldiers and through the magic of aviation he has found a way. Teens-In-Flight is a program designed to provide flight scholarships to the teenagers of soldiers that were killed or severely disabled in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. “I wanted to do something more to help the grieving families,” Howell told AVweb. “These scholarships will make flight training accessible to these kids and will encourage them to use their brainpower to succeed.” The scholarships are also available to children from non-military families who are disadvantaged. The aircraft and instruction has so far been provided free of charge through the generosity of local instructors and flight schools but as the program expands, Howell told AVweb in a podcast interview, he's looking for corporate sponsors. Anyone interested can contact Howell through the Teens-In-Flight Web site. More...

AVMAIL: APR. 21, 2008
Reader mail this week about the Fenway flyby, airliner mergers, synthetic vision and just who can fly in an MOA. 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...

Columns | Features | What's New | Calendar | Brainteasers

THE PILOT'S LOUNGE #125: TO ABORT; PERCHANCE TO LIVE
AVweb's Rick Durden had a close call when he didn't abort a bad takeoff, and he has suggestions for how to be a little more embarrassed but a little less dead. More...

THE LOOKING GLASS
New technologies have brought us very capable "glass panels," and they're popping up everywhere. But has training progressed at the same rate? More...

FBOS OF THE WEEK: BARRETT AVIATION/AIR CHARTER EXPRESS (ACE) (KORK, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR)

Maybe it's all the travel related to Sun 'n Fun, but we received quite a few (really compelling) nominations for "FBO of the Week" over the last few days. The standout among these was a rather unusual recommendation (and plea) from AVweb reader Doug McDowall of EAA Chapter 165. Doug raved about two airports he frequents in North Little Rock, Arkansas — Barrett Aviation and Air Charter Express (ACE) — both located at North Little Rock Municipal Airport, KORK (formerly 1M1). On April 3, the airport was hit by a tornado, causing massive damage to both FBOs' rental and charter airplanes. The two have still managed to keep up with Doug's demands, and he hopes the exposure as AVweb's "FBOs of the Week" might encourage more people to stop by and support the FBOs during their reconstruction.

Doug writes:

[Fuel sales] may be the only source of income for both Barrett Aviation and Air Charter Express for months to come. If you are coming through this area and need to make a fuel stop, it would really help these two FBOs to get through some tough times. Barrett Aviation is a Phillips 66 dealer, and Air Charter Express handles Shell products (also has a 24-hour self-fueling faciltiy on the SW corner of the field). Both Barrett Aviation (Harry Barrett) & Air Charter Express (Tommy Murcheson) ... have taken a major hit from Mother Nature and deserve a helping hand.

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!

TEENS-IN-FLIGHT PUTS CHILDREN OF FALLEN SOLDIERS INTO THE SKIES
When we think of victims of war, we most likely think of the men and women in uniform who either never return or come back injured and disabled. But their families are also victims, and retired Marine Corps Col. Jack Howell is using aviation to help the children of those soldiers find solace and direction. The Teens-in-Flight program has already helped dozens of young people and is on the cusp of becoming a national program for kids who have already paid a heavy price in America's conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and for those whom life is more challenging than others. More...

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: F-16 MODEL (WITH AFTERBURNER!)
It's been a while since we're run a radio-controlled airplane clip as our "Video of the Week," but when AVweb reader Taber Bucknell told us about this realistic-looking F-16 model with a working afterburner ("The information with the video says afterburner 'effect,' but still — it looks great!"), we couldn't resist. (Click through to watch.) More...

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

I was en route to a New England airport famous for its fog. The ATIS reported below minimums but gradual ix, improving. Approach said to expect the ILS, and I could hear one aircraft ahead, a local airliner. Approach cleared me for the approach and sent the other aircraft to tower.

Me:
"Did the aircraft ahead get in?"

Approach:
"Well, he didn't fly the missed. Contact tower."

Me:
"Tower, at what altitude did the previous plane break out?"

[pause]

Tower:
"I didn't ask."

Me (after landing a little proudly):
"Tower, be advised that we broke out just above minimums."

Tower:
"Everybody does."

John Ward
via e-mail

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