ADS-B COMMENT PERIOD REOPENED
The FAA's proposed performance requirements and mandates for ADS-B (the likely future of air navigation) equipment aboard aircraft first closed March 2, 2008, but has now been reopened for 30 days to allow the public to comment on certain recommendations. The Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) has made 36 recommendations and divided them into two main categories -- those to be resolved before the rule is adopted and those that may be set aside for future action. Your comments are welcome before Nov. 3. The vast majority of comments regarding required equipment were critical that proposed rules would not replace requirements for transponders. AOPA has stated that the FAA underestimated the financial impact of requiring operators to retain both their transponders and add ADS-B equipment. The ARC now suggests that the FAA pursue an implementation strategy that ultimately removes the requirement for transponders from low-altitude domestic operators. View the complete ARC report here. And go here to learn how to add your comments. More...

FOSSETT CRASH SITE UPDATE
Officials in California working to recover the wreckage of Steve Fossett's aircraft, discovered Wednesday last week on a mountainside near Mammoth Lakes , Calif. (altitude, roughly 9,700 feet above sea level), succeeded this weekend in completing most of the task, but may have to postpone their most thorough efforts due to weather. Thursday, a bone fragment was found and removed from the site. Officials had said the search Friday would include 50 people and five dogs. That search recovered three more bone fragments. All remains have been handed over to the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensics to determine if they belong to the body of Fossett. Fossett disappeared Sept. 3, 2007, after departing from a private strip in Nevada, in a blue and white Super Decathalon. Initial reports suggest the aircraft crashed and the wreckage slid up the mountainside for about 100 feet with the engine continuing an additional 300 feet. The first evidence of the crash was discovered by a hiker, last Monday, Sept. 29, roughly one-quarter mile from the crash site. More...

AVIDYNE OFFERS TEXT MESSAGING AND DATALINK WEATHER
Avidyne's MLX770 two-way datalink transceiver will by year-end allow general aviation pilots to send and receive SMS text messages directly to mobile phones directly through their cockpits' Avidyne Entegra EX500/EX5000-series multifunction displays. The service will come at a cost of somewhere between $1 and $2 per message as a result of their use of Iridium Satellite bandwidth, and outgoing messages will be limited to 32 characters entered via the control knob. While recent reports of a fatal train collision in California note that one of the conductors involved in the accident sent a text message less than half a minute before impact, Avidyne hopes that pilots "will use discretion and good judgment" when sending or acknowledging messages. The messages are always displayed as low-priority cyan and so are programmed to be outshined by yellow traffic or red terrain alerts. The system also provides the two-way datalink to Iridium satellites and so can provide weather data beyond the range of XM or Sirius networks. More...

WSI OFFERS CELLPHONE WEATHER
WSI announced Sunday the release of Pilotbrief Mobile, which offers users the company's aviation weather and hazard products via mobile devices like the Blackberry, Treo, and iPhone. They system does not require installation of a software application on your device and is compatible with common "smartphone" internet browsers, but it does cost about $10 per month on top of whatever you're already paying your provider to let you browse the internet on your phone. The company says the service offers subscribers "a rich graphical" user interface and access to "the majority of graphical and textual products" offered by WSI's Pilotbrief Online. It also offers a "snapshot" homepage to display decoded METAR and local NOWrad(R) for a user-defined area. "Wherever you are, you can get the aviation-quality weather you rely on," says WSI director of product management, Paul Hathaway. More...

BOEING DELIVERIES FALL AMID MACHINIST STRIKE
The world's number-two commercial aircraft manufacturer delivered 84 planes in the third quarter, 23 percent fewer aircraft than the same period in 2007 ... when the company was not enduring a machinists strike and its country was not experiencing serious financial concern. Boeing has not produced aircraft since Sept. 6, when 27,000 machinists walked off the job seeking a stronger health, pension and compensation plan. The company has seen record demand as airlines seek modern and more fuel-efficient aircraft and its deliveries equate to profits. At this time, Boeing has an order backlog for nearly 3,700 aircraft, which would keep the machinists busy for another seven years if they slightly improved on their recent 40 aircraft per month output. Running with substantial cash reserves and not overburdened by debt, Boeing's current condition is not yet compounded by any credit crisis, real or perceived, but its customers (and perhaps its employees) may not feel they enjoy the same luxuries. More...

DIAMOND D-JET WINS SWIFTJET ORDER
SwiftJet, a new Canadian on-demand airline offering service "anywhere and anytime to destinations around the world," has purchased five Diamond D-JET aircraft with options for 10 more. The complete order (options included) would make SwiftJet Canada's largest D-JET operator and its first charter customer. SwiftJet hopes to "re-define chartered travel and turn it into a hassle-free low cost, private class option." Diamond expects to achieve certification of its D-JET in 2009 with aircraft deliveries to begin in 2010. SwiftJet hopes to offer Canadian businesspeople the option of air travel and time savings where previously ground travel was the only realistic option. In the U.S., emerging air taxi service DayJet had hoped to accomplish much the same, hoping to use the Eclipse 500 to offer a compelling alternative to the hub-and-spoke system offered by larger carriers. DayJet began with 12 aircraft operating from five cities in Florida and ended late last month with a cessation of service blamed in part on the inability to arrange financing during the current credit crunch. Other operators, including SATSair and ImagineAir, hope to step up to fill DayJet's void and may be leaving lessons for neighbors and peers to the north. More...

THE PILOT SHORTAGE ... IN AUSTRALIA
Reports of a pilot shortage in Australia suggest similarity to concerns about the U.S. economy in that it may get worse before it gets better. Down under, aviation experts point to a lack of experienced instructors available to teach new pilots interested in entering the profession. The head of the aviation academy at the University of South Australia, Stephen Phillips, says CASA's own figures (which are not yet publicly available) show that the pool of advanced instructors shrank by roughly 10 percent during the last fiscal year. Going forward, Phillips expects a stagnation in the number of instructors while he sees a need for 7300 new pilots by 2026. Phillips hopes to see scholarships subsidies and increased salaries rise to match the need. While big airlines face the test of high fuel prices and have slowed their recruitment, that lull is not expected to last and some say the current situation has only brought about a shift in demand toward smaller operators. More...

AVWEBBIZ: DAILY NBAA COVERAGE DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Interested in the National Business Aviation Association's Annual Convention & Trade Show, going on right now in Orlando, Florida? We are — our newsteam is there covering every major development at the show, and if you receive our sister newsletter, AVwebBiz, you're getting the lowdown on every development, from Honeywell's market predictions to Harrison Ford's latest partnership with Cessna to a grab bag of exciting new product roll-outs.

If you're not subscribed to AVwebBiz, you fix that with a quick visit to the AVweb Profile Center (http://www.avweb.com/profile/). Just click on "Update E-Mail Subscriptions" and tick the box beside AVwebBiz, and you'll get our daily coverage of NBAA for the rest of the week and our weekly round-up of business aviation news every Wednesday morning thereafter. More...

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

CEO OF THE COCKPIT #87: FLY THE BIGGIES BY STARTING WITH THE SMALLIES
AVweb's "CEO of the Cockpit" loves his RC Cub, but it's a different beast entirely from what he usually is in charge of. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: THERE ARE AFFORDABLE AIRPLANES — THE KATANA IS ONE
In the latest installment of the AVweb Insider blog, Editorial Director Paul Bertorelli explains why Diamond's little Katana is one of the unsung bright spots of general aviation and wonders why it doesn't get more attention. With a spotlight in the "Used Aircraft Guide" in this month's Aviation Consumer, maybe Paul can raise the profile just a little. More...

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: KING AIR EMERGENCY LANDING
We were honestly surprised that we haven't shared this one as our "Video of the Week" before! Thanks to AVweb reader Mark for reminding us of this inspiring video, wherein CNN's Miles O'Brien provides the play-by-play on a simply amazing King Air emergency landing. (Click through to watch.) More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: NORTHERN SKY AVIATION (KCOE, COEUR D'ALENE, ID)

Not all great "FBO of the Week" recommendations start with a mechanical problem, but sometimes it's just such a problem that makes an AVweb reader realize how important good support can be when something goes awry during a trip. Case in point: Jim Dunn recently found himself repeating a maintenance misadventure that had befallen one of his buddies and decided to handle it the same way, by seeking help from the staff of Northern Sky Air Center at KCOE in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

I was hundreds of miles away when a Bonanza owner told me how Jay lent him a mag to get his sick Bonanza home. My experience has been the same. Jay Burdeaux and all the staff at Northern Sky Air Center always treat me like I'm a long-lost friend. They have great prices, experienced staff, and will greet you with a smile that extends from Idaho to Louisiana.

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Jay and the staff of Northern Sky.

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!

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...

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

A few years ago I flew a T-34 into Orlando Executive. Our flight leader called tower 15 miles out:

Flight Leader:
"... flight of 19 warbirds for the initial, overhead for landing."

Tower:
"All civilian aircraft stay out of the area 'til further instructed."

Confusion reigned.

Peter Horvat
New Milford, New Jersey

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

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West

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