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Quotes reprinted with permission: Professional
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Consumer, 8/07.
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CESSNA
SUSPENDS DIESEL 172 SALES, DIAMOND STEPS UP SUPPORT
AOPA says
Cessna has suspended its delivery schedule of 172 TD models in light of
the crisis at Thielert Aircraft Engines, which supplies the engines.
According to AOPA, Cessna intends to continue with certification of the
diesel Skyhawk but none of the 100 on order will go to customers just
yet. "At this point we have decided that we will not deliver 172TD
aircraft during 2008, and we have informed our customers accordingly,"
AOPA quotes an unnamed Cessna spokesman as saying. Meanwhile, Diamond
Aircraft appears to be moving aggressively to establish technical and
parts support for its installed base of Thielert diesel engines,
following Thielert's bankruptcy filing last week. In a series of letters
to owners, Diamond says it plans to order a "significant spare parts
inventory" and is asking dealers and owners for status reports on parts
needs. It has also established a North American hotline for owners and
shops that can be reached at 888-613-0096 or via e-mail at
DA42-TAE-NorthAmericaSupport@diamondair.com.As we reported last week,
Thielert declared bankruptcy due to a looming liquidity crisis and on
news that German authorities were investigating the company for
financial anomalies relating to its IPO filing in 2005.
More... ETHANOL
RAMPANT, MOGAS USERS WARNED
AOPA is warning aircraft owners
who normally use automotive fuel purchased off the airport to test the
gas for ethanol even if the pump doesn't say there's alcohol in the
fuel. The federal government mandate to increase the use of renewable
fuels in gasoline blends has prompted some companies to add ethanol
without notification and that can be dangerous for aircraft engines.
"While AOPA has successfully prevented ethanol from being blended with
avgas, there are limits to what the general aviation industry can do to
prevent auto gasoline from being blended," AOPA said on its Web site In Idaho, pure gasoline is apparently so
rare that it's no longer available at some airports. "What I'm hearing
from my members is that they cannot find ethanol-free auto gas on
airports anywhere," Idaho Aviation Aviation Association Director Ken
Jackson said in an email to AVweb. "Their choices now are to switch to
100LL, run contaminated fuel, or hang it up." More... |
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JA Air Center, Your Garmin
Source
GPSMap 495 and 496 have AOPA Directory and terrain. 496 includes
automotive directions and XM weather and music. Have an old GPS? Do
not let it lose its value! Call (800) 323-5966 for the
current value.
JA Air Center [Dupage Airport (KDPA), 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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TOYOTA'S
VENTURE WITH MITSUBISHI JETS
Toyota Motor Corp has decided to
invest more than $96 million in Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp., taking a
10-percent ownership interest in the company that will oversee launch of
Mitsubishi's new regional jet. Mitsubishi's Aircraft subsidiary was
established by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. just last month and was
prepared to begin operations April 1 to manufacture and market the new
plane. The 70- to 90-seat regional airliner is expected to launch in
2013, may be Japan's first aircraft project of its kind, and will put
Mitsubishi in direct competition with Bombardier and Embraer. Japan's
ANA airline has shown its support for the native project by ordering 15
of the aircraft. Rather than marking an initiation of Toyota's
involvement in aircraft production, Toyota officials say the
relationship should allow the auto manufacturer to improve its
development of automobiles through the application of aeronautical
technologies. More... D-JET
EARNS FIRST EUROPEAN FRACTIONAL PROGRAM
Smart Air S.A. has
announced the first fractional ownership program in Europe for Diamond's
single-engine (and very roomy) four-plus-one place composite D-JET. The
company has purchased eight D-JETs, which it expects sometime in 2010,
and has options for more. Smart Air's business plan aims to offer a
"hassle-free, flexible" and "even more economical way" for people to
travel across Europe. Smart Air plans to operate the fleet from offices
in Finland, UK, France, Benelux, Germany and Italy, offering its
co-owners transport to 1,835 airports across the continent with
"guaranteed availability." Diamond Aircraft president Peter Maurer said,
"We have designed the D-JET to be an affordable personal light jet to
make jet travel attainable to more people. Smart Air's fractional
ownership solution is a good complement to our product."
More... |
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Cirrus Encourages You to
Compare & Fly All the Airplanes That May Fit Your
Mission
Features unique to Cirrus include no-cost Cirrus
Maintenance™ for two years; CAPS™ (Cirrus Airframe
Parachute System); easy-to-use avionics; robust, fault-tolerant
electrical systems; easy access; and a comfortable cabin. Cirrus
innovations have made Cirrus aircraft the standard by which all
others are judged.
For complete information, go
online. 
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NARCO
ACQUIRED BY INTERNATIONAL AVIONICS
International Avionics
Inc., a Delaware corporation, has acquired what it says is the oldest
general aviation electronics manufacturer in the world, Narco Avionics
Inc. All operations at Narco's Fort Washington, Pa., facilities "will
continue as they are," according to a Narco release. Narco says that all
its customer service, support and dealer network functions will continue
to be fully supported and new product research and development will
continue at "maximum effort." Alan Hanks, CEO of International Avionics
Inc., was employed by Narco in 1967 as regional sales manager, served as
president of Narco from 1994 to 1998, and has served more recently as a
consultant. Hanks holds commercial and instrument ratings and has logged
more than 18,000 hours. Narco was originally incorporated November 11,
1945, and will celebrate its 63rd birthday this year. More... SATSAIR
AIR TAXI POSTS BIG GROWTH
SATSair Thursday announced that its
on-demand "air cab services" (or air taxi) finished 2007 with strong
financials and growth, and that the trend has continued into 2008. From
2006 to 2007, SATSair grew its number of flights by 60 percent,
operating more than 16,000 flights in 2007. The company has flown more
than six million passenger miles since November 2004 and reports a
314-percent increase in flights taking place in Florida for 2006. The
company says 2007 marked a shift in the way its services were used --
away from a more traditional role as a replacement for driving trips of
two to five hours and toward use as a point-to-point vehicle and
substitute for airline travel. The company operates new Cirrus SR22
aircraft, claiming a rate of three flights per day from its South
Carolina headquarters. More... |
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Pilot Insurance Center (PIC)
Offers Quick Decision Term Life Insurance
PIC is offering Quick Decision Term product. The
application, approval, and delivery processes are streamlined, allowing
decisions in a few minutes or days versus weeks or months with
traditional insurers. In most cases: No medical examinations, no
testing, and no waiting for results. Face amounts up to $300K, available
to most pilots. Ask about it today. Call PIC today at 1 (800)
380-8376, or
visit PIC online. 
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FIRST
FATAL T-38 CRASHES IN YEARS PROMPT STAND DOWN
Two fatal
accidents in nine days snapped five years of fatality-free operations
for the Air Force's T-38C trainer and have now grounded the aircraft. An
April 23 crash and a May 1 crash together claimed four pilots. The Air
Force has so far offered few details, offering Thursday that the
accidents so far appear unrelated. "Until we have a more complete
understanding of the causes," said General William Looney, commander of
Air Education and Training Command (AETC), "it's prudent to stand down
the T-38's." AETC will observe a "safety day" Monday, leaving all its
aircraft on the ground. The April 23 crash occurred on takeoff at
Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, killing Maj. Blair Faulkner and
2nd Lt. Matthew Emmons. The May 1 crash killed two more pilots whose
names had not yet been released when AVweb went to press. Those
pilots -- a student and instructor -- were flying a training mission out
of Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. More... FAA
FIGHTS FOR JETS AT SANTA MONICA AIRPORT
Last month, the Santa
Monica, Calif., City Council approved a law banning jets with approach
speeds between 139 and 191 mph, but a Federal Judge has granted the FAA
a temporary restraining order blocking the move. Santa Monica airport
saw 18,575 jet operations in 2007. The FAA says that the law is not only
unnecessary, but would also significantly harm jet operators and their
supporting businesses. The City Council says it acted to protect local
residents from jet overruns and acted in accordance with the FAA's own
safety standards. In court, the judge asked the city attorney how many
aircraft of the type that would be affected by the ban had been involved
in overruns at the airport. The answer is none, but that smaller, slower
aircraft have been involved in overruns and the city's attorney stated
that the results of such an incident involving larger aircraft would be
disastrous. The judge responded noting that the larger aircraft in
question were flown by professional pilots and were considered safer
than smaller private aircraft. More... |
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POLITE
PILOT RELEASED FROM PSYCH WARD
Welsh pilot Maurice Kirk gets
full marks for politeness but his questionable judgment landed him in a
Texas psychiatric hospital. Kirk, from the Vale of Glamorgan, was
detained for psychiatric assessment after landing his Piper Cub in a
field about six miles from President Bush's Texas ranch April 25. Known
as the Flying Vet, Kirk wanted to personally thank Bush for help he got
from the U.S. Coast Guard when he crashed off the coast of the Dominican
Republic in February. According to the BBC, police who stopped Kirk in
the Texas field originally thought he was drunk, but he was sober.
McLennan County Chief Deputy Sheriff Randy Phlemons said he was not
arrested but was ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment. Kirk was
released from the Austin State Hospital last Thursday.
More... LASER
PRANKSTER NABBED BY VICTIM, A PILOT
Hit twice on the same
night by a laser beam, Mark Westwood, a helicopter pilot for the British
police, found justice ... and the man responsible. Westwood was
momentarily blinded by the beam, but kept control of his helicopter and
turned his thermal imaging camera on the culprit. It turns out that
20-year-old Dean Bottomley had targeted the helicopter from his bedroom
with a green laser pen and in moments, Westwood had his location locked.
In minutes, police arrived and arrested Bottomley at his home. Stating
that he was "just having a laugh," according to the Mirror UK, Bottomley
now faces a potential jail term of five years for admitting to
endangering an aircraft and will contemplate that fact until his June 6
sentencing date. "He knows he has been very stupid," offered his
attorney. Bottomley, who reportedly bought the laser pen on eBay, added,
"I didn't realize just how serious it was." More... |
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Find Your Next Aircraft on ASO!
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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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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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COCKPIT
SMOKE HOODS
Our trials revealed that all three perform well,
although Parat-C is our first choice. But you'll need to train and
practice to handle them well in a real emergency. More... |
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Avidyne Extends Interface Capability for
Tactical WX Detection System
Avidyne's TWX670 Tactical Weather Detection System has a
Compatibility Mode providing a second output format for display
of monochromatic lightning strike and storm cell information on a number
of existing lightning detection-compatible displays. The TWX670's normal
RS-232 output protocol supports the TWX670's TWxCell™ and Color
Strike modes on compatible displays, including Avidyne's EX500,
EX5000 and MHD300. With Compatibility Mode, the TWX670 provides
an alternate protocol compatible with other manufacturers' displays.
Click here for more information. 
Sign up to be an Avidyne Insider. 
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FBO
OF THE WEEK: AIR 51 (LEX, LEXINGTON, KY)
 AVweb's
"FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to a relatively new FBO, Air 51 at LEX in
Lexington, Kentucky. AVweb reader Graham Richardson
discovered Air 51 "quite by accident": We
were stopping for fuel at [another FBO] as is our habit when at LEX when
we passed a spectacular P51 Mustang heading out for an evening flight. I
questioned ground control and found out that the owner had just opened a
new FBO called Air 51. We changed our destination and taxied down
taxiway Delta to the nicest airport facility I have ever seen.
Service was imediate, friendly and competent ... free soft drinks and
popcorn [and] a brand-new Porsche Boxter convertible loaner car. ...
This was the best FBO experience I've ever had in over 20 years of
flying. I only hope these guys go national. 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... |
EXCLUSIVE
VIDEO: PATTY WAGSTAFF INTERVIEW AND FLIGHT
 Ride along with Patty Wagstaff as she
flies her airshow routine at Sun 'n Fun 2008, courtesy of AVweb's
Glenn Pew. Or, if you're easily queasy, just close your eyes and
listen to our post-flight interview with Patty about how it feels to fly
the maneuvers and what it's like to perform. Special thanks to our
friends at Bose Corporation and Aircraft Spruce & Supply Co., whose
good people stepped up when we needed them and helped make this video
happen. And very special thanks to Patty's main sponsor, Cirrus Design,
maker of the airplanes that changed the industry. (Click through to
watch.) More... |
SHORT
FINAL
On a Qantas flight from Adelaide to Perth last
week, our lovely senior air steward announced the following after the
doors closed: Over the Speaker:
"Ladies and
gentleman, please turn off all electronic devices such as laptops,
mobile phones, washing machines and hairdryers. However, if they have a
flight mode, please switch now." It made me smile; must be
hard to repeat the same thing every flight. D.
Dann
via e-mail 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
sales team. If you're having
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... |
|
Our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, is
preparing a follow-up story on user experience with Thielert diesel
engines. If you'd like to participate, drop an e-mail to 
