USAIR'S SULLENBERGER: 'I WAS SURE I COULD DO IT'
In his first major interview with the mainstream press Sunday night, USAir's Chesley B. Sullenberger described the moment after his Airbus 320 ingested birds as "the worst, sickening pit of your stomach, falling through the floor feeling I've ever felt in my life. I knew immediately it was very bad." In a 20-minute interview with CBS's Katie Couric on 60 Minutes, Sullenberger said he and F/O Jeff Skiles went through a brief moment of denial before getting to work of ditching the stricken USAir Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15. "My initial reaction was one of disbelief this is happening. This doesn't happen to me," he told Couric, adding that he expected to finish his entire flying career without ever having lost an airplane. Sullenberger described the birdstrike impacts as "like a hailstorm…like the worst thunderstorm I'd ever experienced growing up in Texas." When he noticed the smell of burned birds passing through the air packs, Sullenberger realized the engines weren't going to restart, although he and Skiles selected continuous ignition and started the APU, which apparently provided power all the way to the ditching. "No luck. I mean, I got the AP running, I turned the ignition on, but still, no usable thrust. We were descending rapidly toward the water. The water was coming up at us fast," he told Couric. More...

INSTRUCTORS FORM NEW ASSOCIATION
A breakaway group of former members of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) have formed a new organization. The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) grew from a group formed in October when NAFI's board of directors announced its intention to dismiss long-time members Joanne and Sandy Hill from their contract position administering the Master Instructor program. In podcast interviews with NAFI spokesman Jason Blair and TBO (now SAFE) spokesman Doug Stewart, which appeared in AVweb on Friday, both sides gave their version of the events that ultimately led to the formation of a separate group.

Related Content:

• AVweb's interview with Jason Blair, of NAFI
• AVweb's interview with Doug Stewart, of SAFE

SILVER DART REPLICA FLIES IN CANADA
A replica of the Silver Dart, the first powered, heavier-than-air vehicle to fly in Canada, flew much of the length of a runway at Hamilton, Ontario's airport on Friday in its first test flight. With Canadian astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason (1997 Discovery payload specialist) at the controls, the aircraft, true to the original design by Alexander Graham Bell, appeared stable and controllable during the minute-long flight, which never got more than about six feet above the runway. The flight was a precursor to a re-enactment of the first flight of the original aircraft, which flew from the ice of a lake near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, near Bell's home, on Feb. 23, 1909. The replica, with Tryggyason at the controls, is scheduled to repeat that flight in Baddeck on the exact date of the centenary.

Related Content:
More video of the Silver Dart's flight More...

BOEING, NTSB, AAIB FOCUS ON ICE ACCRETION IN TRENT ENGINES
Boeing Thursday notified all operators of 777 aircraft flying with Rolls-Royce Trent engines that the aircraft's fuel system is subject to compromise by ice. The notice is in agreement with both the NTSB and AAIB respectively that ice accretion in the fuel system was the cause when a Delta Airlines Boeing 777-200ER on Nov. 26 lost power while cruising over Montana at 39,000 feet and when a British Airways 777 famously crash-landed short of the runway at Heathrow on Jan. 17, 2008. Boeing's outreach included precautionary measures for flight crews piloting the aircraft through cold weather, that supersede those it issued in September (which, as evidenced by the Delta flight, did not resolve the problem). It is likely that a redesign will eventually grace the fuel system in the form of an airworthiness directive from the FAA. For now, triple-seven pilots flying with Trent engines are being asked to advance the throttles to maximum thrust before descent on flights that have maintained the same altitude for two hours. Boeing has outlined other precautionary procedures and it is likely that the FAA will make them mandatory as they did with those Boeing issued in September. Investigators of both the Delta and the Heathrow incident have a new target. More...

FAA RELAXES LIGHTNING PROTECTION FOR 787
The FAA admits it's relaxing lightning protection standards for commercial aircraft because manufacturers, notably Boeing with the 787, can't meet the rules that have been in place since 2001. "To this day, we have not had one manufacturer that has been able to demonstrate compliance with that rule," Ali Bahrami, head of the FAA's Seattle office dealing with commercial-airplane certification, told the Seattle Times. "We decided it's time to re-evaluate our approach." In the 787's case, that re-evaluation involves allowing a single level of spark protection for some parts in the fuel tanks and wings rather than the triple redundancy that the 2001 rule requires. The FAA and Boeing argue that a new system that will pump inert nitrogen into the void of emptying fuel tanks more than makes up for the lessened spark protection but FAA inspectors, many of them former Boeing employees, have formally challenged that view. More...

GA SECURITY STING AN ERROR
The National Business Aviation Association says the Transportation Security Administration is rewriting a manual for field personnel after a surprise general aviation security operation delayed passengers and crew members in Nashville in late December and early January. Doug Carr, NBAA's VP of Safety, Security and Regulation, said TSA officials conducted bag searches and wanded passengers and crew headed for private aircraft and also checked FBO personnel in what appears to have been a misinterpretation by local TSA personnel of instructions in a classified security manual called the Playbook. Carr said NBAA has since discussed the operation with TSA headquarters and confirmed that this kind of activity "is not the direction they wanted to go regarding general aviation." He said he's been told a new Playbook is in the works that will address the issue but since the manual is secret, he can't know exactly what's in it. More...

PILOT CHARGED WITH MAKING FAKE CRASH CALL
A pilot from Burlington, Vt., apparently has some explaining to do after he allegedly made a radio call saying that his plane had crashed on a runway at Plattsburg International Airport in upstate New York. The Plattsburg Press Republican is reporting Nicholas Santo has been charged with a felony count of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor. The charges allege that Santo was taking off in an unspecified model of Cessna when the runway lights were turned up for an inbound Cape Air flight. Authorities say Santo then made a radio call claiming the lights had blinded him, he'd hit a snowbank and flipped his aircraft. Then he took off normally, local deputies allege. More...

AEROFLOT "DRUNK" PILOT OR STROKE VICTIM
The passengers of Aeroflot Flight 315, a packed Boeing 767 out of Moscow for New York's JFK Dec. 28, staged a coup, demanding that a pilot be removed from the flight after hearing his severely slurred preflight announcement. Reports state that the 55-year-old captain's words, spoken in Russian, were barely intelligible and became worse when he switched to English. Some passengers claimed they couldn't tell what language he was speaking. Passengers who relayed their concerns to cabin crew were at first rebuffed and told to sit quietly or deplane. But passenger concern spread and ultimately Aeroflot representatives came aboard the aircraft to try to restore calm. It was a full half-hour before the captain emerged from the cockpit "red-faced with bloodshot eyes and unsteady on his feet," according to the Moscow Times. Then things got more interesting. More...

AOPA, GAMA, NBAA URGE TSA TO SEEK COMMENTS
Three major general aviation groups Thursday jointly requested that the TSA form a rulemaking committee and work with them toward creation of less burdensome security measures for crew and passengers operating aircraft exceeding 12,500 pounds. AOPA, GAMA and NBAA are fighting to reduce the reach of the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) program that would require criminal background checks of all flight crew, and crosscheck of passengers and family members against terrorist watch lists. Beyond that, LASP would require biennial audits of every operator's security program to be submitted to a third party for audit. Each of the three agencies signed the same letter that they then submitted to the TSA, stating that such proposals would "have disastrous consequences on the industry." Pressing for creation of a cooperative workgroup, the groups' aim is to form a rulemaking committee that would involve industry stakeholders in a secure information-sharing forum. The TSA is accepting comments on what is already the LASP notice of proposed rulemaking until Feb. 27, and some business aircraft manufacturers have already chimed in. More...

ON THE FLY ...
Cessna to shorten work weeks...
Cirrus to further adjust production...
"Sully Light" says he's no hero. More...

AVMAIL: FEBRUARY 9, 2009

Letter of the Week: "Most Efficient"?

Regarding the article about Liberty claiming to be the most efficient IFR aircraft:

My 1977 Mooney 201 flew from LAX to Spearfish, SD (SPF) non-stop. That is 1100 miles, and I burned 49 gallons. The flight took six hours and 20 minutes. That is 22.45 miles per gallon. I wasn't moping along at 106 knots, either. With my two 430s and a Sandel Flight Director, I don't know how you could have a more efficient IFR airplane.

Thank you,

Guy A. Edwards

Click through to read the rest of this week's letters.

AVIATION CONSUMER SURVEY: CROSS-COUNTRY LSA FLYING
Do you fly a light sport aircraft (LSA) for real, cross-country travel? Are you exploring the possibility? Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, has been researching this topic and wants to hear your thoughts with a quick survey. It will take no more than five minutes of your time to complete.

If you own or rent an aircraft that qualifies as an LSA, click here to complete our owner survey.

If you are just thinking about using an LSA for travel, click here to share your opinion in our non-owner survey. 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...

THE ETERNAL MERLIN: WHAT IT TAKES TO KEEP A P-51 ENGINE TURNING
The Collings Foundation continues its annual tour of the U.S., this year with a P-51 Mustang equipped with a Packard-built Merlin. The airplane flies daily, so it's fair to ask: What does it take to keep a 70-year-old engine running reliably? In this extended podcast, the Collings Foundation's Mark Henley explains the details. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: JETLEV-FLYER WATER-POWERED JET PACK
Fly on water thrust — this new jet pack idea may not be the best way to get to work, but it sure does look like a good time. The German company MS Watersports GmbH is marketing the JetLev-Flyer and selling it (lessons included) for about $128,000 — or just about what a brand-new two-seat 120-mph light sport aircraft costs. (Click through to watch.) More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: ARE LED LIGHTS BRIGHT ENOUGH?
Judge for yourself by viewing AVweb's latest product report video. Editorial director Paul Bertorelli demonstrates traditional incandescent bulbs, HIDs, and new-age LEDs. The results are revealing. (Click through to watch.) More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: MILLION AIR (KALB, ALBANY, NEW YORK)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Million Air's facility at KALB in Albany, New York. AVweb reader Victoria LeBlanc brought this location to our attention, noting how the staff treats everyone as if they were a VIP guest.

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!

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

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: SULLENBERGER AND HAYNES — CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH
When Chesley Sullenberger was interviewed by Katie Couric Sunday night, AVweb Editorial Director Paul Bertorelli could've sworn they'd met. But no — Paul was thinking of Al Haynes. Discover why he has a hard time separating the two in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FLIGHT 1549 — YOU WERE EXPECTING MAYBE SHRIEKS OF PANIC?
Of course, none of us were, says AVweb Editorial Director Paul Bertorelli in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog — but when you listen to the U.S. Air Flight 1549 tapes, forget how calm everyone sounded and marvel at how quickly the TRACON controller coordinated between three facilities. Then again, they do that every day. More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: SPECIAL 'SNOW DAY' EDITION
Thanks for bearing with us during our technical difficulties on Thursday. While we were able to see a few of your submissions, we couldn't determine which ones matched the current submission period until we got a bit of automated sorting back in place, and now we're ready to roll with a special "snow day" edition of "Picture of the Week"! We kick things off with a stunning photo of the Army's Sky Soldiers arriving for the Great Georgia Air Show, courtesy of Donald Neuberg of LaGrange, Georgia. (But remember: If we don't get enough photos during this contest cycle, we'll skip Thursday's edition and roll thhis week's photos into next week — so now would be a good time to submit those photos!) More...

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

We were flying from Chatham, Massachusetts to Nantucket with flight following from Cape approach. The weather was marginal VFR with heavy haze and reasonably poor visibility when, out of the mist, we heard this on the air:

Cape Approach:
"Cessna Four Five Six, are you aware that you are heading toward a restricted area?"

Cessna:
"No, I wasn't aware of a restricted area. What's in there?"

Cape Approach:
"It's some type of microwave installation."

Cessna:
"Yup, I see a tower ahead."

Cape Approach:
"That's the tower I want you to miss. If you fly near that tower, it could ruin all your equipment, and you'll never have any children."

Cessna:
"Roger that. Turning now ... ."

Although he never mentioned whether he was turning toward or away ... .

William H. Cummings
Chatham, Cape Cod

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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