PILOT PROTESTS CUSTOMS 'CHECK'
Baja Bush Pilots, a group representing pilots who frequently fly to Mexico, is polling members to see if any have had an encounter with Customs and Border Protection agents similar to the experience of Long Beach, Calif. pilot David Perry and his three passengers a couple of weeks ago. In a podcast interview with AVweb, Perry says he was going through his pre-start checklist for a flight to Loreto, Mexico on May 22 when his Cessna 210 was suddenly surrounded by yelling CBP agents and local airport police, weapons drawn (the Customs agents had M-16s) who ordered them out of the airplane. "They were yelling at us to put our hands on our heads," said Perry, a retired military officer who said he makes frequent flights to his second home in Loreto. What followed was almost an hour of interrogation and searches for what was apparently a "random check" according to the senior agent in charge of the operation Perry said. "I couldn't believe I was in the United States," Perry said. AVweb contacted the Los Angeles field office of Customs and Border Protection and a spokeswoman said a statement is being prepared but would not be available before our publication deadline. AVweb will carry a follow-up story on the CBP's take on the incident as soon as the statement is transmitted. More...

AIR FORCE CHAMPIONS LARGE SCALE COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION
The Air Force Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works have, on June 2, flown their Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA), which they say "has the potential to change aircraft manufacturing as we presently know it, for the better." ACCA program manager Barth Shenk's words reinforce that the aircraft itself isn't designed to be a prototype airframe so much as it is a proof-of-concept technology demonstrator for a composite manufacturing process. The aircraft is basically a modified Dornier 328J in this case built from very large composite sections that are cured and bonded in room-sized ovens. The size of the ovens allows massive parts when compared with what can be produced in more traditional smaller autoclaves, thus minimizing parts counts and complexity during assembly. Compared to the Dornier 328J's metal aircraft structure, which utilizes roughly 3,000 parts and 30,000 fasteners, the parts count for the ACCA is about 300 parts and 4,000 fasteners. That means significant time and money saved. More important, Shenk believes the benefits are not lost to but may be magnified by scale and further improved by the characteristics of composites themselves. More...

UNITED'S BID FOR 150 NEW AIRCRAFT
United's bid to replace up to 150 of the larger airliners in its fleet is poised to take advantage of a lagging economy and likely intended to cause a potential bidding war, but some feel it may be a sign the airline is having difficulty raising capital against older aircraft. The airline, which currently flies both major manufacturers' products, has asked Boeing and Airbus to generate bids for the potential order that may earn one of them anywhere from $10 billion to $20 billion in orders depending on final aircraft selected, discounts applied and order size. Each manufacturer is theoretically motivated by recent history that's buffeted the industry, first with a 2008 spike in oil prices followed by an international recession and worldwide financial crisis -- all of which led to order deferrals from customers. Outfitting its fleet with new models from either major manufacturer would promise better efficiency and route flexibility for United, aside from the impact it may have on customer decision-making. But the move itself doesn't necessarily mean the company is flush with cash. Actually, at least some analysts appear to be arguing that it may mean the opposite. More...

PILOT NEGLIGENT, BUT CIRRUS PARTY TO $14 MILLION PENALTY
A Minnesota jury has found that though the pilot was 25 percent negligent in the January 2003 fatal crash of an SR-22 that killed him and a passenger near Hill City, Minn., Cirrus and the University of North Dakota were 75 percent negligent. The result of the case hinges on the jury's belief that that the pilot had purchased and was promised training that he did not receive and that his lack of that training was a direct factor in the crash. The NTSB's factual report states that an individual requested an abbreviated briefing for the flight noting that conditions at the departure airport were 2,800 feet overcast and that he was "hoping to slide underneath it then climb out." One witness who observed the aircraft flying approximately 100 feet above trees noted the engine sound was smooth, the aircraft seemed to be following a road (a notion echoed by at least one other witness) and added "that thing was moving." The witness stated that weather at that location was clear and moon lit. Another witness who saw the post-impact "fireball" stated that weather at his location was clear with a full moon. Cirrus and North Dakota's Aerospace Foundation were sued by the families of the two crash victims claiming they were negligent and had failed to train the pilot to fly the aircraft in bad weather. More...

MORE LAYOFFS AT CESSNA
A few days after Cirrus recalled 50 employees, Cessna has held true to its word and Friday distributed 700 60-day layoff notices to salaried employees as part of 1,300 cuts announced in April along with suspension of the company's Columbus business jet program. The total company-wide carnage at Cessna had been sitting at 6,900 layoffs announced since November; the latest cuts are in addition to that. Those cuts mean the workforce at Cessna has been nearly halved. Next, Cessna is planning a four-week shutdown, according to Kansas.com, and the company will make a fourth revision since late 2008 to its production outlook. Where it originally planned to produce 535 jets in 2009, cancellations had dropped the company's most recently projections to under 300 with mid- to large-size jets taking the biggest hits in the form of order cancellations. While demand for the smaller Cessna Mustang remains good, its lower price point means the company's profit per unit are also lower. Still, while Cessna sheds jobs and orders, its order backlog remains in the billions while it's falling. More...

STANFORD DOCTOR CRASH SHOWS HOLES IN MEDICAL SCREENING
Neurosurgeon Doyle Borchers' night flight from Palo Alto to Reno on Aug. 7, 2008, in a Cessna 172S was not authorized by his student pilot certificate and through investigation of his fatal crash that night the FAA and NTSB have found his body contained traces of a wide variety of drugs. The NTSB has not yet released a final report, but a recent update shows the doctor, 41, was influenced by Prozac, mood stabilizers, opiates, anti-psychotic drugs and cocaine. The drug mix in Borchers' system also included buprenorphine, which Borchers prescribed to his own patients who suffered from heroin addiction, according to the doctor's Web site profile. Review of the pilot's FAA medical records show he indicated "no" in December, 2007, in response to "do you currently use any medication" and similarly to "mental disorders of any sort" and "substance dependence." Borcher was on April 22, 2008, accused by the Executive Director of the Medical Board of California of having a history of substance dependence and abuse for more than 10 years and documented an abuse of substances including alcohol. His spouse said he was being treated for addiction anxiety and depression at the time of the accident. More...

SCHRENKER PLEADS GUILTY TO CRASH CHARGES
Marcus Schrenker's Piper PA46-500TP Malibu Meridian crashed January 11 in the Florida panhandle, without him aboard, and Schrenker Friday pleaded guilty to intentionally crashing an airplane and sending false distress calls related to his use of the aircraft in an alleged attempt to fake his own death. The 38-year-old Indiana fund manager was president of Heritage Wealth Management as the U.S. economy faltered in late 2008. His January flight took him from Indiana to Birmingham, which is roughly where he parachuted out of the aircraft. Schrenker had filed a flight plan to Destin, Fla., where his father lives, but en route sent distress calls via radio saying he had been injured, was bleeding and the aircraft was losing altitude. He followed those with transmissions that he was losing consciousness, then leveled the aircraft at 3,500 feet, put it on autopilot and jumped, landing safely under canopy, according to U.S. attorney Tiffany Eggers. Examination of a laptop later recovered with Schrenker when he was found by U.S. Marshals in a campground near Quincy, Fla., showed he had searched the internet for advice on parachuting from aircraft and "security fraud penalties," according to Bloomberg. More...

AIR FRANCE 447 INVESTIGATION, BODIES FOUND
News came Sunday that 17 bodies from Air France flight 447 were found roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast. Friday French officials concluded that "wreckage" found by Brazilian authorities in the ocean and an observed 12-mile long oil slick were not in fact from the Air France Airbus A330 that was lost last Sunday with all 228 aboard. Amid reports of the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) data, which were reportedly sent from the aircraft in its final four minutes, Airbus Friday urged operators to review procedures for flying while receiving conflicting or "incoherent" air data information on the flight deck. Also Friday, an Air France memo obtained by the Associated Press states that pitot tubes are being replaced on the airline's jets. This has led to increased speculation from mainstream media sources that the A330 had entered turbulent air at an improper speed while operating in a confined stall/overspeed performance regime -- at 35,000 feet, roughly 5,000 feet from its service ceiling. While speculation continues, so too do the effects of debris earlier thought to be wreckage, which significantly impacted the search, stretching limited first response resources and widening the search area by 300 miles. With the debris and oil slick set aside, developing theories that the aircraft impacted the water without suffering a pre-impact explosion or substantial fire are no longer so readily supported and reports from an Air Comet flight out of Lima for Lisbon may attract significant interest. More...

EAA, AOPA TO WORK TOGETHER FOR GA
EAA and AOPA say they've entered into a new spirit of collaboration to promote general aviation. Senior staff from both organizations met recently to figure out how to play on each other's strengths for the common good of GA and members of both organizations, of which there is considerable crossover. "The majority of our nation's pilots belong to one or both of these organizations, so our members expect us to utilize these strengths in a way that addresses the long-term vitality of general aviation," EAA President Tom Poberezny said in a joint news release with AOPA issued Thursday. AOPA President Craig Fuller said it's a natural alliance. "This is a logical collaboration that makes sense for the greater good of general aviation," Fuller said. More...

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

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #144: CROSS-COUNTRY PLANNING
Dig through the closet and dust off Mom's old E6B flight computer, because it's time to go old school with a cross-country planning quiz. (You'll get your GPS back later.)

Take the quiz.

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AIR FRANCE 447 — THIS ONE'S GONNA BE TOUGH
The airplane's automation is a popular and understandable whipping boy. But, asks resident blogger Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider, what if the crew just drove the thing into a level 6 thunderstorm? Sometimes the simplest theories are the hardest ones to accept. More...

AVMAIL: JUNE 8, 2009

Flying's Future

We at Flying were pleased to see AVweb report that our magazine has joined the Bonnier Corp. team. With nearly 50 special interest titles, Bonnier is in a unique position to understand Flying's mission and its audience — readers who, simply stated, are passionate about flying. Indeed, Bonnier, with its long and keen experience in enthusiast titles, and Flying, the world's foremost newsstand aviation magazine, are nothing short of a perfect fit.

While it has not been previously announced, we are happy to report that Bonnier has retained the entire staff at Flying, including our lineup of popular columnists. So the September issue of the magazine, the first that will be published under Bonnier's stewardship, will represent not a fresh start but a continuation of an 82-year legacy of excellence. We expect that tradition to flourish under Bonnier.

Despite tough times for the industry, we at Flying are confident in our shared future. And we are confident that our new place as a part of an impressive media team at Bonnier will allow us opportunities to grow the magazine and its online component while remaining faithful to our mission, to provide pilots with the kind of incisive and insightful content that keeps us all in the know.

Robert Goyer
Senior Editor, Flying

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

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...

CUSTOMS CHECKS CAUSING CONCERNS
While we understand that Customs and Border Protection is tightening security for aircraft coming into the U.S., a pilot in Long Beach, Calif. says he was met by CBP agents with guns drawn when he was leaving on a flight to Mexico. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with David Perry about what he says was an unnecessarily frightening experience for him and his three passengers. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: TV NEWS COPTERS MADE AFFORDABLE
Thanks to seismic shifts in the news business, many local television outlets can no longer afford their own turbine-powered eye-in-the-sky. As a result, Robinson is doing a brisk business selling its R44-based ENG camera ship. AVweb visited Robinson in Torrance, California for a closer look. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: FIRST AVIATION SERVICES (KTEB, TETERBORO, NJ)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to First Aviation Services at Teterboro, New Jersey's KTEB.

AVweb reader Stan Ross tells how he and his Lifeguard transplant flight team "were treated like VIPs from touchdown to take-off":

"Outstanding customer service" is truly an understatement for the quality of service, level of attention, and extremely detailed efforts to meet and/or exceed our every need. ... We arrived near midnight, and the team at First Aviation was absolutely the best I have ever seen in every regard. I eagerly look forward to a return visit for more of their great hospitality and suggestions for local amenities like the Meadowlands Diner. Top shelf in every respect.

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!

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

A pilot tried to fly non-stop from Utica, New York to Columbus, Ohio in a Warrior with 50-knot headwinds. This was from a May 16, 2002 preliminary NTSB report:

N12345:
"I'm, ah, out of fuel."

Tower:
"Roger, sir. Which airport do you want to try for?"

N12345:
"I set up a glide here. Ah — damn."

Tower:
"Three Four Five, just tell me which airport you want to go to, sir, and we'll, ah, start getting everything ready."

N12345:
"Can you vector me in?"

Tower:
"I can't, ah, vector — you want a vector for Rickenbacker?"

N12345:
"No — ah, I don't think I'm going to make either of them."

Tower:
"Yes, sir. Just state your intentions, and we'll go from there."

N12345:
"I should have picked up a little more fuel."

Anonymous
via e-mail

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

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.