STORM DAMAGES 22 AIRCRAFT IN OTTAWA

photos courtesy of Rain Aviation Blog

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The front that's hammered the central part of the continent for the past couple of days took a particularly vicious toll on an airport in Ottawa, Canada. On the same night that members of Rockliffe Flying Club were celebrating their annual black-tie Wings Dinner on Saturday night, a destructive weather system ripped through the flight line only yards away on their airport grounds. As they left the dinner, they were greeted by a debris field of aircraft and parts mixed with uprooted trees, a smashed clubhouse, trashed storage boxes, and two inverted aircraft, each of which was left blocking access to the airport's taxiway. According to the Rockcliffe Flying Club Manager Simon Garrett, at least 22 aircraft were damaged by the severe storm, half of which appear to be probable write-offs. More...

Editor's Note:
The 2009 CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium held at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, Calif. on April 24 covered the latest in motors, controllers, batteries, chargers, new designs, prototype performance, and the long-awaited announcement of the $1.63 million Aviation Green Prize. Sponsored by Foundation Capital, nearly 150 guests, speakers, academics and participants from all over the world met to make this the largest event of its kind, so far. Mike Francis attended the event on behalf of AVweb.

CAFE FOUNDATION ELECTRIC AIRPLANE SYMPOSIUM: $1.63 MILLION PRIZE IN GREEN CHALLENGE
Individuals, companies, schools and virtually anyone else are invited to apply to take part in the CAFE Foundation's Aviation Green Prize Challenge. The grand prize is $1.63 million. The so-called "100 mpg race" will take place in northern California in July of 2011, giving participants the time they need to devise a flying machine that will meet the requirements of the race. The essence of the race, announced at the symposium, is to cover a 200-mile closed course at at least 100 mph and 100 mpg at 4,000 feet without running out of fuel before taxiing across the finish line. There must be two people on board and the aircraft will have to meet safety standards. More...

SAILPLANES LEAD THE WAY
There was an undercurrent of consensus at the symposium that successful electric airplanes will be similar to sailplanes, at least in the short term. Indeed, there are successful self-launching sailplanes that use electricity, although small internal combustion engines are much more common in the self launchers. A live motor, propeller, and controller demonstration was provided by Greg Cole, chief designer of Windward Performance LLC, Manufacturers of the SparrowHawk self-launching sailplane. More...

BATTERIES IMPROVE BUT NEED TO IMPROVE MORE
Michael Dudley of the NASA Ames Research Center provided a presentation of electric aircraft power system requirements. He said NASA is actively investigating electric propulsion as a viable option for some aerial applications but it has a long way to go before it can match the energy storage efficiency of fossil fuels. The internal combustion engine has three times the energy density of even the most sophisticated battery-electric system currently available. He said that situation is unlikely to change in the short term because an "improvement factor" of 20 is required to make lithium ion battery systems even come close to conventional engines. Motor technology seems to be advancing more quickly. More...

SUN 'N FUN WRAPS ON AN UP NOTE
"We came into this week not knowing what to expect," said John Burton, president of Sun 'n Fun, in a wrap session with reporters on Sunday. "And we're all relieved -- we made it through this week safely and successfully." The week got off to a bit of a slow start, he said, partly due to weather that delayed some flights, and partly due to cost-saving tactics by vendors. "Less than half of our exhibitors had checked in by last Sunday," he said, which was unusual. For a vendor, cutting their show time short by a day or two can be a substantial savings. Overall, this year's show hosted 500 exhibitors, down a bit from last year's record of 522, but pretty close to the usual number of 505 to 510. Reports about sales activity were mixed, but Burton said each vendor is surveyed as they leave the show and he expects to have those numbers soon. More...

SEAWIND IS BACK IN BUSINESS
The company that has been working for over 10 years to bring the Seawind amphibian to the certified market is back up and running, Seawind President Dick Silva said this week. "The Seawind people don't know how to give up," the company said in a news release. A year and a half after the only prototype was lost and the test pilot was killed in a crash, the company has reorganized and found new funding to re-hire staff and complete certification of the airplane. More...

ARION LSA INTRODUCED AT SUN 'N FUN
Among the new products introduced at this week's show is the Arion Aircraft Lightning LS-1, a sleek little S-LSA airplane derived from an earlier kit model. Pete Krotje and Nick Otterback, co-owners of the Tennessee company, said they first developed the airplane as a kit, and their goal was to build something fast and fun to fly, with great looks and snappy but docile handling qualities. They've delivered about 82 kits since 2006 and 42 are flying, so they decided to go ahead and develop an LSA version that they could sell ready to fly. The LSA model is about 20 knots slower than the kit version, to meet LSA standards, but otherwise is much the same. The base price is $93,900 and goes up to about $120,000 with all the options and a glass panel. The LS-1 climb rates exceed 1200 fpm, and cruise performance is 120 knots at the normal 2850 rpm on the Jabiru 3300 engine, with fuel burn about 5 gph, according to the company. More...

CUBCRAFTERS PREMIERES BEEFY NEW SUPER SPORT CUB LSA
CubCrafters announced a few weeks ago a new design, the Super Sport Cub, and this week the aviation public is getting a first look at the airplane, here at Sun 'n Fun. Front and center at the CubCrafters booth, the airplane is attracting plenty of attention. It is not yet officially LSA compliant -- CEO Jim Richmond said approval for the CC340 engine is still a few weeks away -- but he is confident the airplane will meet all the parameters required to be sold as an S-LSA. The airplane has "very impressive performance," he said, and is able to climb to 8,500 feet in about five minutes. The Cub burns 5 to 6 gallons per hour for a range of about four hours. He said CubCrafters worked closely with ECI to keep weight down in the new engine, and also worked with other experts and consultants to reduce weight in a range of components, to meet the LSA weight limits. The exhaust system, for example, weighs in at about six pounds, a goal that at first he was told wasn't possible. More...

AIRPLANESDIRECT AIMS TO BE AVIATION'S AMAZON
A new vendor at Sun 'n Fun this year is AirplanesDirect, an online company that is working to bring advanced Web tools like those used by Amazon and other online sales sites to the aviation marketplace. The site aims to provide buyers and sellers of aircraft with an interactive site that supports live chat, video uploads, photo galleries, and other features such as an acronym decoder that will help buyers who may not be sure what HSI or SOH means. "We're removing the communication barriers between buyers and sellers, taking advantage of the Internet to enable real-time interaction," said MP of marketing Joey Maxwell. This week, the company's team is not only showing the system to all comers, they are collecting input on a whiteboard from visitors who have suggestions what they would like to see on the site. More...

CESSNA OFFERS NEW OPTIONS FOR FLIGHT TRAINING
The nationwide network of 275 Cessna Pilot Centers will work with a new AOPA program to help student pilots access financing for their flight training, Cessna announced this week. The program can help students access up to $25,000 in loans for training. "The AOPA program is a great opportunity for people who have always wanted to learn to fly, but felt the cost was a barrier," said Tom Aniello, Cessna VP of marketing. The company also is offering a new configuration of the Skyhawk for flight schools, replacing the rear seats with a single, forward-facing seat placed just behind and in the middle of the pilot and co-pilot seats. The new position makes it easier for a second student to ride along in back on training flights and get a better view of the flight deck, allowing the student to be more involved in the flight. The configuration change also adds 27 pounds to the useful load. 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...

PILOTS N PAWS AT SUN 'N FUN
Just over a year ago, John Wehrenberg joined with old friend Debi Boies to form a non-profit organization that helps volunteer pilots connect with animal shelters that need to transport pets to new homes. At Sun 'n Fun 2009, Wehrenberg told AVweb's Mary Grady how the organization got started and how it works. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: MARTIN JETPACK SHOWS IMPROVED CONTROLLABILITY
At last year's AirVenture, the Martin Jetpack was easily the most anticipated and hyped product. But the sort-of jetpack only sort of flew, with spotters keeping a close eye on it. Martin has shown the vehicle will fly without external assistance in this latest video, but as AVweb Video Editor Glenn Pew explains, the latest demonstration may not answer all those questions from Oshkosh. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: MAGNOLIA AVIATION (EAKER FIELD, DUA, DURANT, OK)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Magnolia Aviation at Eaker Field (DUA) in Durant, Oklahoma.

AVweb reader Laura Stephens, of Nolan Avionics, had plenty of great things to say about Magnolia:

The Airport manager is a very caring and sweet individual. He would do anything for you and doesn't mind going above and beyond the call of duty. Although Durant's terminal building is old ... Dwayne keeps it nice. His father and brother are the mechanics on the airport, so if you have any problems, they are always there to help. Also he helps out the local Avionics shop by allowing their overflow to be stored in the community hangar at no charge. If Nolan Avionics ever needs a plane moved, he jumps right on it. The airport is home to a local University flying program, and so the traffic is heavier than normal at a small airport, but he handles it with grace and professionalism.

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!

More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
Yes, it's the edition of "POTW" we promised before Sun 'n Fun — finally here at last! Mario Cardama of Rivadavia, Argentina kicks things off with a sublime image that could only come from one place in the world. We had a bumper crop of submissions right before the show, so we've got five great shots here and more than a dozen more in the slideshow on AVweb's home page. Be sure to check them out when you're done here. More...

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

I heard this blooper on Albuquerque Center frequency:

Airliner:
"Albuquerque, Big Bird One Two Three level at 280 and would like to continue climb."

Center:
"I show 280 as your requested altitude."

Airliner (without hesitation) :
"Me too. I'll have to ask my captain about that."

(The subject was dropped.)

Art Friedman
via e-mail

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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.

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Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
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Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

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Scott Simmons

Contributors
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