TERRAFUGIA COMPLETES FIRST ROUND OF FLIGHT TESTS
There's never any shortage of "flying-car" projects, but the folks at Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Mass., seem to have captured widespread interest with their folding-wing design. On Wednesday, the company announced that its proof-of-concept vehicle has successfully completed its flight-test program. Test pilot Phil Meteer flew the aircraft 28 times over several weeks, and evaluated handling, performance, takeoff, landing, stability, stalls and safety. Work is now under way to design the second vehicle, which will incorporate modifications based on what was learned in the first round of flight testing. The company is taking refundable deposits for copies of the aircraft, with first delivery expected in 2011. More...

NEW RESEARCH CENTER TO FOCUS ON WILDLIFE HAZARDS TO AIRCRAFT
A new research center that will be based in Prescott, Ariz., will serve as the nation's primary facility for learning about bird strikes and other wildlife conflicts that affect aviation, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced this week. The center will bring together aviation wildlife experts to share their research, develop new management solutions to reduce hazards, and serve as a resource to airports around the world. "The US Airways landing in the Hudson River [in January] was the wake-up call that we needed to accelerate our plan to create this center, which was several years in the making," said Archie Dickey, a professor of aviation environmental science at ERAU, who will serve as the project's director. The center staff will also develop training programs for pilots and airport workers to help them prevent aircraft collisions with birds and wildlife. More...

WHAT BROUGHT DOWN AIR FRANCE AIRBUS?
Now that the crash site has been located in mid-Atlantic Ocean, the long hard effort to find out what happened to Air France Flight 447 is under way. Flight crews are surveying the site for debris, and on Wednesday, the Brazilian Navy arrived on the scene. A French ship is en route with a remotely operated submersible aboard. The submersible will first help in the hunt for the pinging sound emitted by the airplane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders. If the recorders are located, the submersible may be able to retrieve them from as deep as 20,000 feet. Meanwhile, officials have reported that a bomb threat was received by Air France late last month, targeting the Rio de Janeiro-to-Paris route. However, a Brazilian official said the 12-mile-long fuel slick that has been seen on the surface probably would not occur if there had been a fire or explosion. Speculation so far has focused on weather phenomena, including various kinds of icing and turbulence, and possible issues with the Airbus A330's electronic control systems. Late Wednesday, the NTSB said it will accept an invitation from French aviation accident investigation authorities to assist in the investigation. Along with an NTSB representative, technical advisors from the FAA, General Electric and Honeywell will assist. More...

NTSB INVESTIGATING NEAR-COLLISION ON NORTH CAROLINA RUNWAY
The NTSB said on Tuesday it is investigating a runway incursion that occurred last Friday morning at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) involving a Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop and a CRJ-200 regional jet. At about 10:17 a.m. on May 29, a PSA Airlines CRJ-200 operated as US Airways Express Flight 2390 was cleared for takeoff on Runway 18L. After the jet was into its takeoff roll, the PC-12 was cleared to taxi into position and hold farther down the same runway, the NTSB said, in preparation for a departure roll that was to begin at the taxiway A intersection. The ground-based collision warning system (ASDE-X) alerted controllers to the runway incursion, and the takeoff clearance for the CRJ-200 was cancelled. The pilot of the PC-12, seeing the regional jet coming down the runway on a collision course, taxied to the side of the runway. The FAA reported that the regional jet stopped approximately 10 feet from the PC-12. More...

FLYING MAGAZINE SOLD
Flying, the oldest continuously publishing aviation magazine in the U.S., has been sold to the U.S. division of Swedish-based Bonnier Group. Flying was part of a five-title deal made by former owner Hatchette Fillipacchi Media Group, a division of French-based Lagardere. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and there is also no word on which of the existing staff members will continue with the publication, although it would appear there will be a shift in emphasis to online content. "These five titles from Hachette fit very well within our growth strategy of adding brands that serve markets with multimedia opportunities," said CEO Terry Snow. More...

PILOT REPORTS UFO OVER TEXAS
A pilot with Continental Express reported that an object resembling a missile or rocket flew straight at his Embraer 145 regional jet and passed within 100 feet of it, shortly after takeoff from Houston, Texas, around 8 p.m. last Friday. The pilot told controllers that a "strange object" flew past as he was climbing through 11,000 feet, and it wasn't visible on radar. The pilot didn't take evasive action and the flight continued on to its destination. The local sheriff's office told the Houston Chronicle that another Continental pilot had reported a similar incident in the area in May 2008. Officials were checking with local hobbyist clubs to see if any rockets had been fired in the area. The FBI and FAA met to review the report with the pilot on Tuesday but no conclusions about the event were announced. More...

CIRRUS BOOSTS PRODUCTION, WILL REHIRE 50 STAFFERS
Cirrus Aircraft said this week it will boost production to eight aircraft per week and recall about 50 furloughed workers. "We are extremely pleased with continuing stronger sales trends that began in the first quarter," said Pat Waddick, executive vice president of operations at Cirrus. The company had increased production to six airplanes per week in late April, after nearly six months of significantly reduced production rates that averaged about three to four airplanes per week. It will take some time to ramp up to the new rate, Waddick said, since staff must be recalled and vendor lead times must be adjusted. Workers will be called back at Cirrus facilities in Duluth, Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D. Brent Wouters, president and CEO of Cirrus, said the marketplace is responding to the company's new offerings, including flight into known icing certification for the SR22 and Turbo models. More...

GM ASKS COURT TO DUMP JET LEASES
One of the first things General Motors did under bankruptcy protection is ask the court to allow it to shed seven business aircraft leases and the lease on the hangar that holds them at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. "The leases are not necessary or valuable to the debtors' business activities or the sale process," GM is quoted by Bloomberg as saying in filings to the court. Shortly after the widely publicized criticism of GM CEO Rick Wagoner and other car company CEOs for using business jets to travel to Washington, D.C., GM tried to dump the aircraft leases but were legally required to maintain some. More...

HELICOPTER WAAS LPV DEVELOPMENT
With the safety of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) under so much scrutiny it's worth noting that technology and procedures are under development to make these and other helicopter operations safer. Among the systems being successfully deployed is wide area augmentation system localizer performance with vertical guidance (WAAS LPV) for helicopters. Although WAAS LPV is becoming common at airports all over the U.S., Hickok and Associates, of Orange Beach, Ala., is developing it where helicopters need it most, at the hospitals and other off-airport sites they customarily serve. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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FLORIDA TOWN PRESSES ON WITH ANTI-FLIGHT TRAINING EFFORT
The town council of Grant-Valkaria, a small town on Florida's Atlantic coast, voted this week to go ahead with an effort to restrict flight training activities at the Valkaria Airport, even after the town's own zoning board voted against the plan. "Basically it's a travesty, it's an absolute travesty," one unidentified pilot told the local WFTV News. Town attorney Karl Bohne adjusted the ordinance on Monday to clarify that the town is not trying to regulate flying, which the FAA wouldn't allow, but is trying to prevent flight schools from opening facilities at the airport, according to Florida Today. The proposal has brought opposition from AOPA, the National Air Transportation Association, and other aviation advocates. AOPA says the county owns the airport, and it has agreements with the FAA that obligate it to allow aeronautical activity on the field. "Flight training activities cannot be legislated out of existence at Valkaria by the town government," wrote John Collins, AOPA's manager of airport policy, in a letter to the town mayor, Del Yonts. More...

ON THE FLY ...
The FAA will pay $3.75 million to the families of three people who died in a crash...
A new glove designed for pilots features a built-in LED light for night flying...
A 17-year-old pilot made a safe off-airport landing after the engine quit...
A preview is now online of EAA's big changes to the AirVenture grounds in Oshkosh. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: GOOD GOV, BAD GOV
It's fashionable to rail against government intrusion in aviation, and Paul Bertorelli is nothing if not fashionable. But this time, the FAA is coming to the rescue of his local airport by forcing the city council to get off its anti-aviation rump and approve a proposed new hangar for the local FBO. Score one for the good guys. Paul has the full story in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: SMALL AIRPORT HEALTH REPORT
We're always interested in the health and mainstream perception of local airports, and the situation at Valkaria Airport in Florida has put the spotlight back on the threat to small airports. How's yours doing?

Plus: Last week, we asked about "personal aerial vehicles" and whether they will cause trouble for the GA community; click through to see what AVweb readers had to say on the subject. 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: FIDDLING AROUND AMERICA, PART 5 — FINAL THOUGHTS
These days, the bright light of favorable publicity doesn't shine much on aviation. AVweb's "Fiddling Around America" tour with Dan Gryder's Herpa DC-3 changed that, at least for one week. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: FAIRFIELD AIR VENTURES (KLHQ, LANCASTER, OH)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Fairfield Air Ventures at Fairfield County Airport (KLHQ) in Lancaster, Ohio.

AVweb reader Bruce Sturt recommended the FBO after spending a little more time in Lancaster than he'd planned:

The family and I flew into Fairfield County Airport to visit my in-laws for a Sunday afternoon. We were going to fly back to Toledo in the evening, so I left my 182 on the ramp. A few hours (and hamburgers) later, some t-storms started moving in. My brother-in-law drove me to the airport to secure my bird, but when I got there it was not in sight. Then I saw Steve Slater, the airport manager, and he told me he had put the old girl in a hanger for the night. I thanked him and asked him how much I owed him, and he said "not a dime." I will now always look forward to visiting the in-laws and my friends at Fairfield Air Ventures in Lancaster, Ohio.

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
David Sargant of Brampton, Ontario (Canada) managed to top some really amazing photos this week with a shot that combines weather, the setting sun, and a great sense of composition. (And yes, we've got a positive ID — lots of 'em, actually — on that firefighting helicopter from last week.) 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

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West
Mariano Rosales

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