ECLIPSE SAYS SOFTWARE UPDATE WILL FIX THROTTLE PROBLEM
A software update to the Eclipse 500 jet will solve a problem that was the subject of a recent FAA emergency airworthiness directive, Eclipse Aviation said on Tuesday. Earlier this month, two pilots on approach to Midway Airport in Chicago experienced a throttle failure, resulting in maximum uncontrolled thrust from both Pratt & Whitney Canada PW601F turbofan engines. Eclipse says its solution will increase the range limit of the throttle quadrant assembly to prevent the fault condition from occurring. The fix requires approval from the FAA. Eclipse also has updated the Eclipse 500 flight manual and quick reference handbook to include procedures for handling a similar incident. In the Midway incident, the FAA said, the pilot applied full throttle with enough force against the forward stops to exceed the design throttle position signal maximum range. The associated fault mode held the engine thrust settings at the last known throttle position, which was maximum. The pilots were able to land safely after shutting down one engine and declaring an emergency. More...

NEW FLIGHT-PLAN RULES TAKE EFFECT SUNDAY
As part of FAA's ongoing effort to harmonize its paperwork and procedures with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the form for filing a flight plan is about to change, but only for IFR flights that include RNAV arrival or departure routing. Pilots filing VFR, or filing IFR but without the RNAV arrivals or departures, can continue to file using the usual flight plan format. Pilots filing point-to-point (RNAV direct) and "T routes" also are not affected. The format change, which takes effect at 0900 UTC June 29, is being made to help expedite the FAA's transition to a new en route computer system for Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Click here for the text of FAA's Letter to Airmen. Pilots affected by the change can find more information, including FAQs and step-by-step filing instructions, at the FAA Web site. More...

FAA EXAMINES COCKPIT FATIGUE AND FINDS ...
The FAA brought together 325 experts last week to spend three days discussing the problem of fatigue in aviation operations, and the agency says the symposium produced agreement on two major points -- fatigue is a problem, and something should be done about it. No, we're not kidding -- that's from the FAA news release. "The FAA hopes the participating individuals and organizations will use the information and concepts shared during the symposium as a springboard to develop effective fatigue management strategies," the agency says. We're not sure what those strategies might be (dogs in the cockpit?), but reading the FAA's news release is probably not one of them. So in the interest of battling fatigue, we'll summarize. "Many experts consider the key to addressing the problem [to be] scientifically based fatigue risk management systems," the FAA says. Those guiding scientific principles should be developed through "enhanced data collection." Just to keep us off-balance (and alert), the FAA turned up one useful suggestion -- it was noted that employees who excuse themselves from duty due to fatigue should not be penalized. More...

RESEARCHERS AIM TO IMPROVE ICING INFORMATION
Pilots generally seek to avoid flying in clouds with "known icing," but "unknown icing" also lurks out there -- that is, our ability to predict and pinpoint which clouds harbor icing conditions is not precise. Now a team of engineers at Rowan University, in New Jersey, is working on a way to enable pilots to detect the threat of icing while en route, in time to change course. The team created ice clouds in a cloud chamber with ice crystals identical to those found in real clouds. They then projected a laser beam through the cloud and measured its change in polarization, which is dependent on the size, shape and distribution of ice crystals. The polarization is invisible to the naked eye, but can be measured using sensitive lenses and photodetectors. Eventually, this process could enable a pilot to use low-power lasers to detect the crystals in time to allow the plane to avoid the crystal-bearing clouds, the researchers say. More...

UNITED AIR LINES TO LAY OFF 950 PILOTS
United Air Lines will reduce its fleet by 100 aircraft, putting 950 pilots out of work, the company said on Monday. "This process is one of the difficult but necessary steps we need to take to size our business appropriately to reflect the current market reality," the company said in a memo to pilots. By the end of next year, United plans to cut 94 B737s and six B747s from its fleet. While United is the first major U.S. airline to cut flight crews in response to the current economic woes, USA Today says it may not be the last. The newspaper cites a recent study that predicts if oil prices remain at the current $130 to $140 per barrel, about 11,500 pilot jobs will likely be lost. More...

NAVY WILL TEST FUEL-EFFICIENT AIRSHIP FOR MARINE PATROL
A Skyship 600 will be tested by the U.S. Navy this summer off the coast of Florida to evaluate its performance as a surveillance aircraft. Working with the Coast Guard, the Navy will collect data about the utility and cost-effectiveness of airships in this role. The ship will carry a crew of three on patrols of up to eight hours to test both the systems and crew fatigue. The ship's cabin, with room for up to 12 passengers, has plenty of space for surveillance equipment, and vibration is minimal. It can fly for up to 52 hours without refueling, and consumes only about 10 to 12 gallons of fuel per hour. The airship's ability to deploy to an area of operation, lift a sizeable payload, provide a stable platform for sensors, and stay aloft for long periods is unique, according to the Coast Guard. More...

NEW OWNERSHIP FOR CLASSIC WACOS
A new owner and management team have taken over the WACO Classic Aircraft Corp., in Battle Creek, Mich., which manufactures the WACO YMF-5 Super 1930s-style radial-engine biplane. Peter Bowers, president of Centennial Aircraft Services, also based in Battle Creek, will now be president of WACO as well. WACO will continue to manufacture and support traditional aircraft, as well as provide maintenance and services for GA piston aircraft, according to a news release. Bowers also plans to expand the company's restoration and maintenance services for vintage and historic airplanes. More...

CESSNA CRASH SURVIVOR PLUCKED FROM PACIFIC
A 2006 Cessna 172S Skyhawk with three men aboard that had departed San Diego's Montgomery field at 1 p.m. Sunday was returning from Long Beach later in the afternoon when it crashed and sank approximately 1.5 miles off the coast, near Oceanside, Calif.. One man, a passenger aboard the Skyhawk, was rescued by boaters and delivered to a local hospital for treatment of shock and a broken leg. The crash was reported by a pilot who witnessed it from another aircraft shortly after 5 p.m. local time, according to local news reports. Oceanside police told a local news affiliate that the pilot of the accident aircraft was "recently certified." It is not known how long the survivor rescued Sunday had been in the water. An aerial search for the other two men had been called off by 9:00 p.m. due to thick fog over the water. (Various news reports listed visibility at anywhere from 20 feet to 600 feet.) A Coast Guard Cutter dispatched to the area was to remain on site late into the evening. The aircraft was owned by San Diego Flight Training International Inc. Searchers Sunday found no evidence of it in the water. More...

AVIATION ICON JOHN MILLER DIES
A lifelong pilot who was inspired by a young Glenn Curtiss, watched Lindbergh take off from Long Island and held a current instrument rating until he was at least 96 years old, died peacefully in a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., hospital on Sunday. John Miller was 102. As he told AVweb in a 2002 interview, he saw his first airplane when Curtiss landed in a nearby field on his way to claiming a $10,000 prize for flying from Albany to New York City. Miller was smitten from the age of four and taught himself to fly in a barnstormer's discarded ride plane when he was 18. He liked to say his flying career covered "Jennys to jets" and there was a lot of ground in between.

Related Content:
Miller's interview with EAA's Timeless Voices of Aviation

More...

ON THE FLY ...
Eclipse E500 jet is now FAA-certified for flight into known icing...
The Air Race Classic launched Tuesday from Bozeman, Montana...
Linear Air has the first Eclipse 500 air taxi based in the NYC area...
First flight: TL-Ultralight TL-3000 Sirius LSA...
Radar services to pilots in the Reno area will be reduced, NATCA says...
Public Benefit Flying Awards will accept nominees through Friday...
A reporter recalls the fatal flight 50 years ago that he just missed. More...

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

CRUISE DYNAMICS
We spend most of our time in cruise flight, yet little training time is devoted to the finer points of savvy straight and level. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: ICON -- A JETSKI WITH WINGS (CAN YOU TOW IT WITH A PRIUS?)
Can glamor and a "can-do" attitude create a practical, saleable and functional aircraft for under $140,000? Marc Cook, the editor of our sister publication Kitplanes, says he'll believe it when he sees the much-vaunted ICON fly. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH FOR AVFUEL?
Fuel prices toppped $7 a gallon in Detroit earlier this week, and the U.S. average for 100LL is currently sitting at $5.54/gallon according to our own Fuel Finder. This week, we want to know where (and if) you draw the line at paying for ever more expensive fuel. Plus: See what type of instrument panel AVweb readers rated their favorite in response to last week's Question. 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...

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
With well over 100 submissions to this week's contest, we're serving up a miniature "Greatest Hits" version of our regular "Picture of the Week" contest. We've got all the popular themes this week — from wing-walkers to lightning to balloons. And you're sure to find many other favorites (cute kids, beautiful skylines, and perfect approaches among them) in the "POTW" slideshow on AVweb's home page. William Derrickson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania kicks off the festivities with the afore-mentioned wing-walker ... . More...

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

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

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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.

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