ELECTRIC POWER FOR EXPERIMENTALS, PERHAPS LSA'S
Randall Fishman won last year's AirVenture Oshkosh Grand Champion Ultralight and Innovation award for his ElectraFlyer Ultralight, but his latest project at this year's AirVenture may win even more attention from the ranks of certificated pilots. Fishman has about six flights on his ElectraFlyer-C. With real-world experience behind him, plus calculations in front of him, Fishman believes he may have in this aircraft a single-place experimental that can fly at about 70 mph for up to one hour on batteries alone -- provided the pilot chooses to land with a half hour's power in reserve. Maximum endurance under power (calculated, and to be proven by further flight testing) is expected to be near 90 minutes. Fuel cost for that flight? Less than 75 cents. The aircraft is scheduled to be front and center at AirVenture Oshkosh this year, but Fishman told AVweb last week that his eyes are on a bigger prize -- a larger, more powerful, electric LSA. More...

PIPERJET TESTING 'IMMINENT'
Piper officials say the first engine start of their proof-of-concept PiperJet very light jet is "imminent" and it'll be flying by no later than this fall. In a podcast interview with AVweb on Friday, VP of Sales Bob Kromer said the first aircraft's airframe has been through all the static testing required before first flight and easily handled the +3.8g and -1.5g loads that will be the aircraft's normal design limits. Kromer, a former engineering test pilot, said development of the proof-of-concept aircraft went smoothly and the jet is now out of the jigs, sitting on its gear with all systems ready. More...

DIAMOND DA40XL FLIES 2250 NM LEG
A Diamond Star DA40XL successfully flew a 16=hour, 52-minute, 2250-nm nonstop leg from Japan to Nome, Alaska, as part of an around-the-world flight that began May 11 at Diamond's London, Ontario, facility. The trip for new owner Marc Aurel Lehman was facilitated by an extra fuel tank and the company of Karl-Heinz Maxwitat. On an adventure that took them through Croatia, Greece, Kuwait, Dubai, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Alaska and Northern Canada, the two men added 150 flight hours to their logs and witnessed more than 20,000 nautical miles of world geography. With the aircraft's return to London, it will now enjoy some factory maintenance and a G1000 upgrade to take advantage of the Garmin's synthetic vision technology and digital sightseeing. Following the upgrade, Lehman has planned a flight to Europe that should include stops in St. John's and the Azores. “Piloting an around-the-world flight has been my dream since I received some flight training lessons for my birthday in 2004,” said Lehman ... who now seems due for a new dream. More...

CONCERNS LEAD TO CANCELLATION OF RED BULL RACE
Moving the location of the course "compromises the safety and quality of the race," according to Red Bull, and so the race originally scheduled for July 5 and 6 in Stockholm, Sweden, will not take place. The Red Bull Air Race World Series has thrilled crowds worldwide with its high-energy display of extremely precise low-altitude racing that pits each pilot's time against the others' as they fly through a course of inflated pylons. So far, the race has been free of any serious accidents. Pilots enter the course near redline and routinely pull close to 10 G's while flying. Red Bull hopes to continue its safety trend but a late change to the race's location in Stockholm prompted series officials to cancel operations there, suggesting there are some situations that persuade even the best pilots in the world not to fly. Close attention to the news release from Red Bull, which states that both safety and the "quality" of the race would be affected by the move, suggests that at least two variables led to the cancellation. But speaking for Red Bull, Bernd Loidl, CEO of the air races, said "safety is paramount for an event of this scale and we are proud of our strong safety standards and track record of 33 successful races around the world." More...

INSURANCE WOES HALT CANADIAN INTRODUCTORY FLIGHTS
Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) has announced that due to complications with EAA liability insurance requirements it has imposed a temporary suspension of all its introductory flights. The notice, announced in May, was "amplified" in COPA's June newsletter to clarify that, "Under no circumstances should COPA Flights carry out any other forms of group introductory flights, at this time, and until further notice." That includes all COPA group introductory flight events -- not just those associated with EAA Young Eagles flights. All group flights must cease until further notice. In the past, an agreement with EAA had allowed COPA to conduct the flights. But according to COPA, EAA has "reviewed its liability insurance and tightened up on the requirements, resulting in a policy that only EAA members can fly Young Eagles Flights." COPA says EAA now requires it to name EAA as an insured party on its insurance and meeting that requirement has proven more difficult than expected. More...

GAMA GOES GREEN
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has established an Environment Committee to represent general aviation in the theater of environmental policy and government and to ensure participation in research and policy making. Speaking for GAMA, GAMA Chairman and Cirrus chief Alan Klapmeier, said "it is imperative that the entire industry focus on its common objective of rational, science-based environmental policies that allow all sectors to grow even as they reduce their environmental impact." GAMA intends to become a leader in providing environmental data from which analysis can be gleaned. It has selected Steven Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, based in Montreal, to chair the new committee. Ridolfi also serves as a GAMA board member and was selected for his "unique blend of knowledge and experience," according to Klapmeier. GAMA president Pete Bunce added that aviation's carbon footprint has improved. "The general aviation manufacturing industry has a powerful record of technological advancements that has brought about a 50 percent improvement in specific fuel consumption of business jet engines since they were first introduced during the 1960s," said Bunce. More...

NATCA: FAA AND CONTROLLERS AGREE EVEN LESS
A new work rules proposal offered to the nation's air traffic controllers by the FAA, while discussion of trainee attrition rates took place in Washington, proposes "to resolve even fewer of the outstanding articles" and refuses to change position on "the most important issue: air traffic controller pay bands," according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). As a result, NATCA has rejected the FAA's offer, Doug Church, NATCA director of communications, announced Friday. In a written response to FAA acting administrator, Robert Sturgell, NATCA president Patrick Forrey called the FAA's gesture "just another tactic to delay the only true resolution," which he says would be "a return to good faith negotiations" and a collective bargaining agreement that could be ratified by NATCA's membership. Forrey invites Sturgell to meet for negotiations and outlines an eight-point strategy with the goal of reaching a voluntary agreement or binding decision via an objective arbitration board. More...

NEW TURBINE CLEANER, MORE EFFICIENT
The gas turbine engine is due for an overhaul and Engineers at Purdue University have reached the testing stage of the wave rotor combustion turbine, a new generation of gas turbine engines. They say the engine is about 15-20% more efficient and could cut carbon dioxide emissions in aircraft by 20 percent or more over traditional gas turbine engines now in use. According to NASA, the wave rotor combustion turbine derives its efficiency from a rotating core that is exposed to hot and cold flow which keeps its mean temperature considerably lower than the peak cycle temperature. Leading the project is Razi Nalim, P.E., Ph.D., associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). “Our goal is to design an alternative to the gas turbine application that is just as reliable, but cleaner, more efficient, and more powerful," said Nalim. "It will not only help reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in traditional applications like airplanes and power generation, but a lighter, more efficient engine may allow Boeing to design an aerospace plane to carry us all the way to outer space and return safely to earth.” More...

AVMAIL: JUNE 23, 2008
Reader mail this week about the future -- and price -- of 100LL, aircraft registrations, diesel engines and more. More...

DO YOU LIKE THE HEADSET YOU OWN? HOW ABOUT TELLING US ABOUT IT?
Our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, is conducting an extensive customer survey on headset quality, performance and comfort. We would love to hear from readers everywhere about their headset experiences. The survey takes just a few minutes. Click here to take part.

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

LEADING EDGE #19: DESIGNING YOUR FLIGHT REVIEW
The FAA-mandated Flight Review has some pretty basic requirements, but you can help your instructor make it more useful and meaningful for the flying you do. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AVIATION REGULATORS NEED TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
Live-saving aviation technologies are available--if only the road from tech to flight deck wasn't so long and slow. In the latest installment of our informative and opinionated AVweb Insider blog, contributing editor Mary Grady is as baffled as the rest of us with the frustrating gap between inspiration and implementation. More...

HOW TO GET TRAINED AS A FLIGHT ATTENDANT TO WORK IN THE PRIVATE CORPORATE WORLD
With the explosion of corporate aviation, many staffing companies and corporate flight departments are turning to placement services like Fly Contract to find contract flight crews and flight attendants. But where do apiring flight attendants go for training if they don't have an airline background? AVweb's Mike Blakeney speaks with Mary Lou Gallagher of Beyond & Above flight attendant training to see what it costs and what it takes to enter this lucrative and glamorous side of aviation. More...

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: FLOAT PLANE TAKEOFF FROM A MOVING TRAILER
While we certainly don't recommend this, it does make for an interesting video. Lee Hilbert and Scott Ross found themselves with a Cessna 120 (O-290) on Edo floats miles from the nearest lake, and rather than tow it to the water, they came up with an interesting solution to get the Cessna airborne. (Click through to watch.) More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: B-2 SPIRIT STEALTH BOMBER CRASH TECHNICAL REPORT
The crash on takeoff of a 509th Air Wing, Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber, February 23 operating at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, was caused by water in the aircraft's sensors, according to an Air Combat report issued Thursday. Specifically, moisture in three port transducer units "distorted data introduced by a B-2 Spirit's air data system" which led to flawed information entering the bomber's flight control computers. The aircraft was reacting to inaccurate airspeed and a "perceived" negative angle of attack. This resulted in an "uncommanded 30 degree nose-high pitch-up on takeoff," according to the Air Force. (Click through to watch our video crash report.) More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: AEROFLIGHT EXECUTIVE SERVICES (BFI, SEATTLE WA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Aeroflight xecutive Services at BFI in Seattle, Washington.

AVweb reader Andy Couch explained how Aeroflight delivered that all-important personal touch:

As I taxied to the FBO, a lineperson came out to meet me and directed me to a tiedown; I didn't have to wander about the ramp, looking for a place to park. The lineperson helped me with my baggage and with my ground transportation. When I returned to the FBO a few days later to depart, I used both the computer-based flight planning services the FBO made available and the FBO's telephone to contact Flight Service. ... I was treated as if I were Bill Gates flying my personal bizjet instead of a piston-engine GA driver who purchased only 54 gallons of 100LL.

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!

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

En route from North Platte, Nebraska to Cedar Rapids, Iowa I overheard the following:

Cessna:
"Minneapolis Center, Cessna 12345, request flight following to Omaha."

Center:
"Cessna 12345, Minneapolis Center. Say position."

Cessna:
"I'm almost on the Kansas border."

Center:
"That's a fairly wide state. Can you narrow it down for me?"

Keith Reed Marion
Iowa

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST weekly business aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry. Business AVflash is a must read. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/. 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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