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| Top News: Boeing Crash, Jet Pack Updates | back to top |  |
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Boeing 777 Heathrow Crash Update -- AAIB Interim Report
One AAIB theory involves "ice accreted over a period of time" downstream of the forward boost pump connection into the fuel manifold and upstream of the high-pressure pump inlet. "This ice would have had to have accrued to an extent to block approximately 95 percent of the cross sectional area," inducing pump cavitation and resulting in loss of power. Investigators have not been able to reproduce that scenario, but the possibility is still being evaluated.
The second theory is that ice had accreted throughout the fuel system and was released when the pilots commanded a second acceleration on final approach that was not met by the engines. Central to both theories is a requirement for the fuel system's extended exposure to both low fuel flows and temperatures "below the Critical Icing Temperature." The report states in summary that the investigation has shown that both engines suffered from restricted fuel flow "most probably due to ice within the fuel feed system." Again, it is noted that the aircraft was operated within its certified operational envelope at all times, but also for long periods "with low fuel flows, in an unusually cold environment." Find the AAIB's full Interim Report here (PDF).
Where's My Jet Pack? It's In San Carlos ...
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The investigation into why a British Airways Boeing 777 on Jan. 17 crashed (with no fatalities) short of the runway at London's
Heathrow airport has determined "that there are two possible scenarios" that match the data collected from the flight -- both involve ice in the fuel system. The Air Accidents Investigation Board
(AAIB) has found that of all flights flown with similar equipment (about 140,000), less than 0.2 percent had been subjected to fuel temperatures at or below the minus 34 degrees centigrade recorded
for the accident aircraft. The accident aircraft is also noted for operating in those temperatures at very low fuel flows, but within certified operational limits. As a result, Boeing 777 pilots will
be required to cycle the thrust of their engines (maximum thrust for 10 seconds prior to descent) to clear the system of ice before landing and vary their altitudes en route when fuel in the main tank
is below 10 degrees Celsius for more than three hours. There are rules for low-temperature ground operations, too. All instructions apply to 220 777s worldwide. This short-term fix aims to address
concerns while the exact root of the problem is further investigated and (for now) acts in place of retooling the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 fuel feed systems on the jets. For the accident itself, the AAIB
has detailed its two most likely causal scenarios.
Saturday at the Hiller Aviation Museum's
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| Meeting the Demand for On-Demand Flights | back to top | |
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Miwok Airways To Try Ultra Short Hops In SoCal
Unless you're driving a Hummer, it will still be cheaper to drive, but over congested California highways, the service has demonstrated its ability to cut travel time by about 60 percent. Some present-day airline complications apply -- travelers will pay extra for luggage weighing over 20 pounds and a plane fully loaded with passengers will impose limits on luggage per person.
Related Content: |
People in southern California who are short on time or patience or both may find salvation in
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| Airplane-Building — Small-Scale and Large-Scale | back to top | |
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Why You Should Care About The 51 Percent Rule
Your comments on the FAA's proposal are welcome before the comment period ends later this month:
The experimental segment contributes to general aviation by increasing accessibility, stimulating the development of new technology (like glass cockpits and ballistic parachutes) but also contributes in numbers. Vans aircraft, for example, estimates builders have completed more than 5,800 examples of the company's designs. Vans founder Dick Van Grunsven offers his inside perspective here (PDF).
Machinists Union Strikes, Boeing Halts Production
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Some of the most popular general aviation aircraft designs available today (the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, the Cessna 350 and 400, the Liberty XL2 and others) trace a major part of their roots back to the
experimental aviation segment. The argument could be made that if you like innovative certified brand new general aviation aircraft, you should care about the FAA's proposed changes to the 51% rule.
The FAA's goal is to better control businesses like builder assist centers that may significantly reduce a builder's actual involvement in the building process. While older kits previously approved by
the FAA may be excluded from new regulation, new kits like the 
Boeing has reportedly halted production of 737, 747, 767 and 777 aircraft as 27,000 members of the Machinists union rejected
Boeing's most recent benefits and pay raise offers. Boeing intends to keep its plants open, expecting non-machinists union workers to report in but with production stopped in Everett and Renton, Wash.
Analysts expect Boeing could lose up to $3 billion per month and losses to trickle down. Suppliers will be directly affected and, depending on the duration of the impasse, airlines could see delayed
deliveries and development of the 787 Dreamliner could be further delayed beyond current plans to fly it by December and deliver it in the third quarter of 2009. Airbus could theoretically step in to
fill the void for needy carriers, but for some airlines it's not quite that simple. The strike represents the first time the union has taken such action in consecutive contract cycles (previously in
2005) and the shortest period between strikes. The 2005 strike lasted about 24 days and delayed delivery of more than 24 aircraft. Workers say salary increases under the latest proposal would be
eroded by changes that increase health-insurance premiums. The company earned $13 billion in net profits over the past five years. Boeing says it is open to further discussion but has no date (as of
Sunday) for future negotiations.
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| Safety & Security | back to top | |
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Judge: FAA Must Pay For Flawed Investigation
In removing the divan, the Lear's captain had contacted the FAA FSDO at Albuquerque to determine a proper procedure and subsequently, and as instructed, had the seat removed by an A&P mechanic. The mechanic recalculated weight and balance, prepared maintenance records and returned the aircraft to service. Then, upon the jet's arrival at Teterboro, N.J., local FAA inspectors determined that removal of the divan required an STC and, as performed, was in violation of regulations. While at Teterboro an A&P mechanic found the aircraft's ELT battery failed a bench test but reinstalled the old battery while awaiting a freshly ordered replacement. The FAA alleged that operation of the aircraft without the new battery constituted a violation of regulations. It later found that the regulations would not apply because the unit had been temporarily removed for replacement. The judge sided with the pilots on both issues and the pilots have been awarded over $12,000 in fees and expenses.
Pre-Reno Air Race Fatality
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The FAA has been ordered to pay fees and other expenses incurred by two ATP-rated Learjet pilots, whose certificates the agency
had ordered suspended, according to 
Commercial pilot Erica Simpson, 32, was flying a Cassutt IIIM "Little Lynn" Saturday in preparation for the weeklong event that begins
today (Monday), when the wings apparently failed, the aircraft crashed and Simpson was killed. Reno's Air Races run this year from Sept. 10 through 14 with about 150 pilots competing for $1 million in
prize money. Qualifying begins Monday. Simpson competed in the Race's Biplane Class in 2006, missed last year's races when three pilots were killed, and this year intended to fly in the Formula One
Class. The near-term misfortunes at Reno now account for four of the 19 fatalities attributed to the event in the last 45 years. Critics say that fatalities threaten the future of the sport making it
far less appealing as a destination for local field trips and spectators who prefer to see a demonstration of inspirational skill and excitement. A
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Next-Gen Heli: Disc-Rotor Compound Helicopter Program
Such designs have previously been studied by NASA and some suspect that through development of the disc-rotor concept, a compound helicopter could theoretically be capable of supersonic flight. In the near term, the Disc-Rotor Compound Helicopter program will explore the "flowfield environment" created by a disc-rotor in transition from blade-hover to disc-wing flight. According to one source, "the circular disk has similar aerodynamic abilities as a delta wing," with "no bad habits" throughout its flight envelope and with characteristics well-suited to high-speed flight.
On the Fly ...Cirrus Design laid off 100 workers last week in response to a sales slump. COO Brent Wouters told Associated Press the reduction was due to "not selling as many airplanes as we'd hoped to this year." There were 79 layoffs at the main plant in Duluth and 29 at the composite facility in Grand Fork, ND. The cut represented eight percent of the workforce and there are now 1,230 people working for Cirrus ...
A man who has a lifetime ban from driving based on 12 related convictions has been jailed for four years for drunkenly taxiing a twin-engine aircraft (type unknown) into a soybean field next to Laporte, Ind. airport and causing $160,000 in damage. Michael Santos, 39, told the court he was trying to impress his girlfriend, who is expecting their first child ...
Air Emirates grounded its only operating A380 Super Jumbo last week for technical reasons and passengers flying between Dubai and New York will have to make do with the single-storey Boeing 777ER for now. There's no word on what put the A380 AOG.
AVweb's Newstips Address ...
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Intended to explore the possibilities of high-speed flight and high-efficiency hover beyond the capabilities of aircraft like the V-22
Osprey, DARPA's Disc-Rotor Compound Helicopter program may ultimately develop a helicopter-like aircraft with a rotating circular wing and retractable blades. Boeing Thursday was announced as the
expected recipient of a Sole Source contract for ongoing development of the program, beginning with small-scale model testing, and will be supported with $3 million in 2008 and $6 million in '09.
According to an unclassified DARPA report, "the enabling technologies are disc-rotor configuration, circulation control, seamless reversible transition between hover and wing borne flight, and
loading/center-of-pressure control." Following wind-tunnel tests of scale models, a full-scale demonstrator aircraft would be built to establish the concept's feasibility with hopes of evolving it
into an aircraft capable of cruise speeds in the 300-400 knot range. That aircraft could provide vertical takeoff and landing plus hover capability for troop and cargo insertion.
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
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Columns | Features | What's New | Calendar | Brainteasers
The Pilot's Lounge #130: Competition Spot LandingsIf you think spot-landings within 100 feet of the required spot are a challenge, try it without power on approach. And do it within 20 feet of the mark. AVweb's Rick Durden can do it now.
Click here to read Rick Durden's column.
We had our "Hey, Let's Have a Barbeque" barbeque at the virtual airport recently. Of course it rained. I had retreated indoors to the Pilot's Lounge, where pilots were blasting the TSA for its most recent screw-up. They were wondering how an organization that hired morons who climbed on TAT probes marked "No Step" while trying to break into several jets was charged with anything more responsible than shining shoes. As I was listening, and determining just how much sauce I could spill on myself, Sandy, our resident airline captain and Citabria owner, walked up to me. Without preamble, she asked, "Hey, the flight school says you are approved to instruct in their Cessna 150. Any chance you could ride with me sometime tomorrow while I get single-engine current?" As Sandy has more flying time than I'll ever approach and I was certain that she owned a single-engine airplane, I responded with the first thing that came to mind: "Huh?" Before I could further cover myself with conversational brilliance, Sandy went on."The Citabria is in the shop and I want to compete in the spot-landing contest at a fly-in breakfast next week. The flight school's 150 is available, but I haven't rented it in a while, so I need to go with an instructor to meet their rental requirements. You game?" "Sure, let's go see what time the airplane is available tomorrow."
Just Another Checkout Flight?
So it came to pass that I was soon in the right seat of a late-model 150, sitting quietly, while Sandy renewed her acquaintance with the airplane. After some time aloft going through steep turns and a stall series, she said it was time to return to the airport and do a half-dozen or so spot landings. I expressed concern that my weight would adversely affect her practice should she be solo at the competition. She told me she would have a passenger, so it shouldn't be a problem. Nearing the end of the downwind leg, I found myself preparing for Sandy to do something akin to the spot landing required in the Commercial pilot practical test, what the FAA refers to as the "Power-Off 180-Degree Accuracy Approach and Landing." The target is considered to be a trench across the runway. The applicant is expected to land, on centerline, beyond the "trench," but as close to it as possible, and no matter what, within 200 feet. The procedure is generally to treat it as an advanced version of a forced landing. The pilot will close the throttle opposite the point of desired touchdown, slow to best-glide speed, turn base fairly quickly, and start deploying flaps as needed. The pilot will adjust the turn to final based on how things are going, so as make a normal, power-off landing just past the line. Any combination of flaps and slips is allowed in the process of alighting where desired. I'd been doing and teaching spot landings for years, and I was usually happy to be able to come within the 200-foot margin of error. I, and countless other instructors with whom I had associated, tended to unconsciously group the skill for a spot landing with the group of Commercial maneuvers that included gliding spirals, forced landings and accuracy landings. They were to flow together in the real world: Once a landing site is selected, descend at approximately best glide speed (so as to avoid the cardinal sin of squandering altitude), position the airplane at roughly pattern altitude, on downwind, just opposite the landing point, and then touch down, on the spot, as slowly as possible (but without stalling) so as to minimize the energy to be dissipated once on the ground. I never differentiated the technique for a forced landing from that for a spot landing. Over the years, I had happened upon a few spot-landing competitions, and I noticed that the organizers usually added an extra rule or two to the Commercial accuracy landing procedures, most often requiring that once flaps were extended they could not be retracted at all. (There are some contests in which power is allowed on the approach, but Sandy advised me those are considered to be only for airplane drivers who also had difficulty getting past the training-wheel stage with their bicycles.) At the spot-landing events in which I had participated, I had behaved according to habit, treating them as the Commercial maneuver, and had been happy when I landed beyond, but within, 200 feet of the mark on the runway. It is a trifle embarrassing to admit that the only time I won a spot-landing contest at a fly-in was when I was merely arriving and had no idea there was a contest. I had landed on the grass runway in use. Upon getting out of the airplane, I was told I had touched down a matter of mere inches beyond the line. I had never seen the line. As we came opposite to our touchdown spot, Sandy pulled on the carb heat and closed the throttle. I settled in to watch yet another simulated, forced-landing/accuracy-landing procedure unfold. I think I yawned. Sandy blew my calm expectations to smithereens.
Not Just The Old Commercial Maneuver
In a matter of a minute or so she taught me that competition spot landings should be an Olympic sport, that they were only a distant cousin to minimum-energy forced landings, and that even I could learn to touch down within a few feet of a line marked on a runway. The only thing she did that I expected was to pull the power back to idle opposite the touchdown spot and let the airplane start to decelerate. As soon as the speed was inside the white arc, she dropped 10 degrees of flaps, while commenting, "I like electric flaps for this because you're not limited to detents and can make very small changes." Rather than target the 60-knot best-glide speed for the 150, she settled on 70 KIAS while telling me that, if it were really windy, she might increase the speed by five or even 10 knots. I was too amazed to say anything. After losing about 100 feet, Sandy made a very deliberate turn to base leg. It wasn't a steep bank, but she didn't fool around, getting established with the nose pointed slightly toward the runway, crabbed just right for the crosswind. "OK, on base, we keep the speed up, at least 70, and start judging how things are going. The wind is pretty light, so I'm going to aim about 400 feet short of the line, about two runway lights. If it were windy, I'd aim to come into ground effect a hundred feet or so closer to the line. I'm also going to make sure I keep my speed up because I want to reach ground effect with enough speed that I can put the airplane anywhere I want." The airspeed indicator needle stayed pegged on 70 KIAS as Sandy dropped about five degrees more flap. "Right now, I use just lift flaps, 20 degrees or less, and am watching to see how we look on the glide path I want. In some of the competitions, you can't add any more flap once you turn final ... never have figured out the reason for that rule, but we'll pretend it's in play today. If I feel like I'm high, I'll get into the drag flap range -- more than 20 degrees -- but not until I'm in the turn to final. You don't believe in that old wives' tale about not adding flaps in a turn, I hope?" I allowed that there was nothing wrong with adding flaps in a turn; good grief, it's actually a good way of taking advantage of the behavior of those airplanes that pitch up with flap extension.
Fast FinalSandy kept looking out the window and providing me with a commentary, "All right, things are looking about the way they should, so we'll make a normal turn to final. If we were low, we'd turn early and aim straight for the runway; if we were high, I'd get more flap out and slip and delay the turn to final so that I'd make the turn past the runway and come back to make us travel further." On final, where I would ordinarily be holding about 55 or 60 KIAS with the just under 20 degrees of flaps Sandy had extended, she still had the speed nailed on 70 KIAS and we were noticeably below the glide path (and low in the sight picture I was used to seeing). Sandy was unperturbed, "We've got at least 10 knots of extra speed and I'm going to take advantage of ground effect with it." We came into the flare well short of the line, so much so that I was convinced we going to plop down ignominiously before it. I was starting to think of placating things to say: "Hey, it's been a while since you flew one of these," or, "Yeah, the first one is where you start getting the feel for what's going on." I never got a chance to use them. Sandy held the descent right to flare height, then raised the nose gradually until the airplane was less than six inches off the runway. She held the airplane right there, pitch attitude slowly increasing as the speed gradually bled off and we ate up runway toward the line. As the line was about to disappear under the nose, the airplane began to settle. As I learned moments later, Sandy had slightly relaxed her back pressure on the yoke. The wheels touched and the airplane stayed on the ground. In a moment, Sandy had snapped the flap switch up, was pushing the carburetor heat knob to cold and opening the throttle. The nosewheel never touched the ground as deceleration ended, acceleration took over and we lifted off.
How'd You Do That?
I was flabbergasted. As we climbed, Sandy explained, "Ground effect breaks up wingtip vortices, so the effect is to reduce drag. I just take advantage of it. When I'm holding altitude a little bit above the runway, even going as fast as 70 knots, the nose is high enough that if I put the mains on the runway, the nosewheel isn't going to touch. So I'm in landing attitude as soon as I break the descent. Then it's just a matter of holding the airplane just barely off the ground, which is something that you learn how to do pretty fast, and waiting until I'm almost to the line and then relaxing back pressure so that the airplane descends those last few inches to the runway. Figuring out when to relax the back pressure is just a matter of some practice and developing a feel for the rate at which you're coming up on the line. It took me a bit to learn not to flinch and pull back on the yoke when the wheels hit so I didn't bounce back into the air. When you bounce, they measure the landing at the spot where you finally touch down and stay down. "This is different from normal landings because you don't try for a real smooth landing -- you want to touch down firmly and stay on the runway. In the serious competitions, they put white paint on opposite quarters of the tires so they look kind-of like a checkerboard and the judges can tell when they start to roll; a smooth landing can actually be a bad thing, as the tires may slide just a little before they start to turn and you get marked that much farther from the line. This isn't like a forced landing or even a normal landing, because you aren't trying to touch down as slowly as possible. I've read that stuff you call a column and I know you harp on being "on speed" on approach and touching down as slowly as possible to so you don't have as much energy to manage during the rollout. You aren't right about much, but you are about that, and I know that extra speed is the reason most landing accidents happen. However, for this particular kind of competition, what matters is where I touch down, and I'm ready and willing to keep using the flight controls to keep the airplane going straight after I'm on the ground. I'm aware of the risk of touching down fast, so I prepare myself to deal with it. "The reality of competition spot landings is that, if I mess up and I'm high enough that I come into ground effect pretty close to the line rather than a few hundred feet before it, I can to touch down at 70 knots if I need to. As long as I don't have more than about 20 degrees of flap out, the nosewheel isn't going to touch the runway. But, since I'm aiming to flare well short of the line, I'm going to be slower than 70 knots when I come up on it. How much slower depends on the wind, how well I regulated my glide angle and where I flared. If I get low on approach, I'm still going to keep going fast until I get into ground effect, because I want to take advantage of the reduced drag and hold the airplane off the ground as long as I can. Even with a pretty good headwind, I can float a ways down the runway. "In ground effect, a 150 isn't going to stall until the airspeed is indicating somewhere around 40 knots, so I've got a pretty big speed margin to play with. Slowing from 70 indicated to something around 40, in ground effect, uses up a fair amount of runway. If you think about all those pilots who come in fast, float a long ways and then run off the end of the runway, you get a feel for what ground effect does and how you can make it work for you by flaring well short of the touchdown spot. What I'm doing in competition is a little bit like intentionally making a bad landing, in that I'm going too fast on final and then floating in ground effect. However, I'm doing it on purpose, with my eyes open. And if I blow it, and somehow float 200 feet past the line, I'm going to go around. There's no sense in landing, as I'm out of the competition, so I'm not at risk of landing long and being unable to stop." I rode with Sandy through several more landings. From where I sat, she seemed to be touching down between two and 10 feet past the line. She was very consistent in her touchdown spot, even if she was a somewhat long or short of the point where she wanted to come into the flare. After she decided that she had gotten the feel of things, she let me try a few. I wasn't as close to the line as she, but I was consistently far, far better than I'd ever been before. It was a revelation. Oh. Since I flew with Sandy, I won a spot-landing competition. OK, OK, so she wasn't competing in it ... See you next month.
Want to read more from Rick Durden? Check out the rest of his columns. // -->
Safety Pilot in IMCWe all agree the real learning happens when you take it into the clouds, but no one says the guy in the right seat has to be a CFI.
Click here for the full story.
Bill's CFII was a 767 captain who wanted him to get as much real experience as possible. They hunted low-pressure systems from the West Coast to the Great Lakes during a wet February, sniffing out whatever light icing they could find. For those thinking, "Can you spell 'NTSB'?" I suggest you think about the typical instrument training under the hood. I recall flipping my visor up and down, but it's the day we launched in sour weather that sticks in my mind. I emerged hooked on training in the real thing. No hood can ever be as honest as a blank windscreen.
Into the Soup, Sans CFI
My CFII beckoned me to the dark clouds, just as Bill's did, so when Bill's instructor left to feed his airline job, I was open to flying with Bill so he could practice -- and practice in actual conditions. Yes, Darwin might argue against getting in an airplane with anyone learning in IMC, but Bill had several hours of actual conditions while instrument training in his Cessna R182. He was also a gifted pilot with an innate finesse. He owned the airplane where the latest 750 of his 2000-plus hours were in this one cockpit. I reasoned that, if his control manipulation was so subliminal, then all of his focused attention would be solely on IFR. The dynamic between us was one of respect and camaraderie -- though colored by him having four times my hours. On the other hand, my actual time outweighed my simulated, both added to a healthy proportion of my total time, and all of it was in our neighboring airspace. So we were each more senior than the other in our own respective ways. If there ever was a time to agree on PIC, this was it. Because students can't legally file, it had to be me. If I said, "My plane," it was hands off, no questions asked -- especially when he disagreed. If not, I was out. It was my responsibility, my license, and my name on the flight plan. Then again, it was his plane, his insurance, his -- well -- life, trusting my decision, should he have to override his own instinct. He agreed to my conditions, but I secretly tested him to be sure. We did his first VOR approach in somewhat marginal weather, just to feel it out. I waited until his radials and altitudes were at their most acceptable when I deceitfully called "my plane" and he let go. I could see him flinch, but to his credit he gave up the controls and did so with hands up as if cops had guns. He fought his instincts and trusted mine, though his scowl stunk up the cockpit with silent profanity. Fair enough. It was settled. We'd be flying partners every dawn before work, when the marine layer was thickest. I was convinced I was right in helping him out, but I had no idea how much I'd learn about what I already knew.
How Long a Leash?On a 400-foot overcast morning while strapping in and checking ATIS, Bill demanded I not guide, remind, or help in any way. He said he'd never learn by only reacting to prodding and wanted the freedom to mess up. I understood his request -- instructors have a way of talking at just the wrong moment -- but watching localizer and radial needles swinging like pendulums, with pantomimed duct tape across my mouth, losing my situational awareness, and staring into nothing but gray was taxing. I started reading our CNN scroll at the bottom of the screen. After snarling at each other on the first flight, we clearly needed parameters. He wanted total freedom and I wanted him on the black lines. Here's how we figured it. The checkride allows maximum deviations of 100 feet and 10 degrees. I was willing to give him plus or minus 300 feet and 30 degrees in cruise (though I told him 200 and 20) with no more than three dots of needle deflection. Any more than that and I took the controls. Speed? In SoCal, land of private jets, the only speed we worry about is max. speed to the marker. It isn't until you have to put into words what you know that you will understand how complicated it can be. Condensing your jumbled thoughts into short, simple, sound bites are what a student needs most, but it's hard to be succinct and surgical in your explanations.
Trusting the NewbieI now understand why all of my three instructors talked too much. They, too, wanted to make it home. It isn't until you have to put into words the jumbled principles that orbit within your instincts that you will realize how valuable it is to be able to trust the novice on your left, and how to dilute your point to the fewest words in the densest way so your student will not just hear -- but listen forever. Flying with Bill also taught me how to shut up and allow other ways of flying (potato, poh-tah-toe, pitch, power). There are many ways to fly that are as valid as how I learned. One study in the early '50s placed cameras on pilots' eyes to see how the best scanned instruments. They all had their personal patterns, but every one had one thing in common: They scanned everything, and very rapidly. We all fly with personal habits. As long as you nail your altitude, speed, and heading -- while having the next intersection already dialed in -- you're golden. We all have our personal limits. And if you don't have the mettle to help someone you trust in IMC, you're probably wiser than I and you're not alone. But something happens when you do. Last month, Bill called me up and asked if I'd be his safety pilot while he refreshed his skills. A storm front was rolling in and I realized I was grinning.
More AVweb articles about flying in the IFR system are available here. And for monthly articles about IFR flying, subscribe to AVweb's sister publication, IFR magazine. // -->
AVweb Insider Blog: Piper Matrix — A Surprise Top Seller
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In the latest installment of our aviation blog, AVweb Insider, Aviation Consumer's Rick Durden explains why the new Piper Matrix is a surprise best seller. (Cirrus has a lot to do with
it.)
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| AVweb Audio — Are You Listening? | back to top | |
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Miwok Airways' Gad Barnea Discusses On-Demand Flight ServicesFile Size 7.8 MB / Running Time 8:28
There's been a lot of buzz about air taxis in recent years and how they're the next big thing in business transportation. California entrepreneur Gad Barnea sees the market a little differently, however, and had taken a slightly different approach with his shorthaul service, called Miwok Airways. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Barnea about why flying passengers around Southern California in Cirrus SR22s makes sense.
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| AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn | back to top | |
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Video of the Week: Highlander Dead-Stick Take-OffRecommend a Video | VOTW Archive "You're gonna love this," wrote AVweb reader Scott Evans by way of introduction to this week's featured viral video. "We've all heard of dead-stick landings — now check out this dead-stick take-off!" We're not sure what the backstory is on this clip — is that actually Bob Hoover narrating? — but it's worth a look:
Don't forget to send us links to any interesting videos you find out there. If you're impressed by it, there's a good chance other AVweb readers will be too. And if we use a video you recommend on AVweb, we'll send out an official AVweb baseball cap as a "thank you."
AVweb's AirVenture 2008 Video Round-UpOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos This year at EAA AirVenture we brought you fourteen video reports over the course of seven days. We realize the news was flying fast and furious during the show, so just in case you missed any of our reports, you can catch them all here. (The main frame contains all of our videos, or you can click over to a particular video if one interests you more than the others.)
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| Your Favorite FBOs | back to top | |
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FBO of the Week: McDonald-Gregory Aviation (DVK, Danville, KY)
Nominate an FBO | Rules | Tips | Questions | Winning FBOs
Traveling AVweb readers have recommended many FBOs to us this week. If you'd like to see your favorite FBO spotlighted here next Monday, recommend them using our online form.
Our latest "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to McDonald-Gregory Aviation at Danville-Boyle County Airport in Danville, Kentucky.
AVweb reader Richard Grindal made an unscheduled visit last week:
Far from home and way out of my comfort zone — and experiencing engine trouble — I precautionary-landed on Monday, September 5 (Labor Day). The owner of the FBO arranged a car and called the mechanic that night. With an overnight and the chief mechanic dropping everthing (including work on a Cessna 414) to work on my lowly experimental Cub, I was quickly on my way again — thankful for the hospitality and expertise on the mechanic work, as well as the reasonable price for everything. Thanks again to Tim and Shane!
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! |
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| The Lighter Side of Flight | back to top | |
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Short Final
Into Tampa, Florida at night, I overheard the controller misspeak to the airliner ahead of me in the line-up for landing:
Tower:
Airliner:
Travis Eddleman |
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| More AVweb for Your Inbox | back to top | |
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AVwebBiz: AVweb's Business Aviation Newsletter
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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 | Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebFlash TeamAVwebFlash 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:
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