FAA TO CREATE AERONAUTICAL CHART CARTEL?
If your FBO doesn't sell $5,000 worth of charts annually, it might not be selling any charts to anyone after Oct. 5, 2009 -- that's when the FAA and National Aeronautical Navigation Services (formerly NACO) new Chart Agent criteria take effect. Proponents claim the new criteria will help reduce costs and increase efficiency; opponents fear it may for all practical purposes make spontaneous chart purchases at small airports (and spontaneous trips) a thing of the past. At present some smaller FBOs rely on discounted pricing from the FAA and returns for credit for expired charts to make selling charts financially feasible. Under the new program, businesses that don't sell $5,000 worth of charts annually would either be cut out of the distribution network -- and no longer sell charts -- or be forced to rely on the graces of a select group of high-volume private chart distributors that meet the target sales volume. According to the FAA, only 293 of 1790 independent chart distributors currently meet the mark. And, for some, that raises serious questions. More...

AIR FRANCE INVESTIGATION ENTERS NEXT PHASE
Multiple submarines remain in the search for sunken debris, but they will no longer be actively "listening" for emergency signals from the recorders aboard Air France Flight 447. It's been more than 40 days since the Airbus A330-220, with 228 aboard, crashed in the Atlantic ocean while en route out of Rio de Janeiro for Paris -- the aircraft's flight data and cockpit voice recorders are designed to emit signal for 30 days. "All is not lost," Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, director of Air France-KLM, told the Le Figaro last week. Brazil's military last month called off the search for floating debris and bodies, having recovered 51 bodies (including that of one of the flight's pilots), some 640 pieces of aircraft wreckage and not a single inflated life vest. Examination of wreckage has led investigators to believe the aircraft broke up after striking the water in a fairly flat attitude at high speed and on track with its route. More...

NTSB RELEASES PROBABLE CAUSE OF FOSSETT CRASH -- DOWNDRAFT
The NTSB has determined downdrafts were the probable cause of the fatal September 3, 2007, crash near Mammoth Lakes, Calif., of a Bellanca 8KCAB-180 piloted by Steve Fossett. The Board determined the aircraft inadvertently encountered descending air that exceeded the climb capabilities of the Bellanca, which was flying over mountainous terrain at a high density altitude. Fossett's disappearance initiated a month-long search that involved the Civil Air Patrol, state and county authorities, Fossett's friends and an unknown number of private citizens who participated online by scanning the latest satellite imagery of the search area. But it was not until a hiker found some of the pilot's personal affects on October 7, 2008, that an approximation of the wreckage's whereabouts was determined. An aerial search based on the findings discovered the wreckage about half a mile away at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet. Fossett was a pioneering aviator and set records for distance and speed flown in numerous aircraft types. He was also the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon. More...

MARKETING AND ADVENTURE FOR SLING LSA PROMOTERS
Two men plan to fly their Rotax-912S-powered, aluminum-constructed and modified D6 Sling light sport airplane (not as modified) around the world, carrying up to 118 gallons in each wing for the longer legs, including at least one over-ocean stretch of more than 2,000 nautical miles. Mike Blyth and James Pitman hope to begin the journey at Johannesburg, South Africa this week (they're aiming for Thursday) and they expect to make a stop at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The complicated task of preparation entails more than aircraft modifications as evidenced by "delays in documentation and flying permits" that have (at the time of this writing) set the departure date back (but just one day) to Thursday. Their final preparations have involved autopilot and propeller adjustments and inoculations as recommended for the multitude of countries they plan to greet along their way. More...

AIRSHOW PERFORMER CLANTON, RACER MILLER KILLED IN CRASHES
It's been a tough week for performance pilots. Chandy Clanton, three-time member of the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and several time EAA AirVenture Oshkosh performer, was killed Friday in her Edge 540 ahead of the Wingnuts Flying Circus in Tarkio, Mo. She was 36 years old. On Thursday, Reno Air Races pilot Gary Miller died when his SNJ named Mystical Powers crashed and burned near Kiowa, Colo. Clanton was scheduled to fly in the Missouri show and was also scheduled to fly this year at AirVenture. More...

AERIAL FIREFIGHTING AIRCRAFT BURGLARIZED
Three aircraft and two helicopters operated by regional firefighters at the Grand Junction Interagency Air Center in Colorado were grounded Friday morning after it was found that burglars had entered the aircraft and stolen equipment. "Tens of thousands of dollars" worth of pilot gear and equipment is missing from the facility, according to The Grand Junction News. The aircraft were temporarily grounded, inspected for vandalism or sabotage and "almost all" were then cleared for service by Friday night, the paper reported. The criminals had to contend with an access-code-protected front gate and/or a barbed-wire fence that surrounds the facility, which is itself within the grounds of Grand Junction Regional Airport. The center, managed jointly by BLM and U.S. Forest Service in conjuction with the National Park Service and State Forest Service, coordinates air tankers, smoke jumpers and other fire support services for operations in western Colorado and eastern Utah. More...

TRISLANDER THROWS BLADE, LOSES DOOR IN FLIGHT
"It was like an explosion going off inside the plane," a passenger of a Great Barrier Airlines Trislander told the New Zealand Herald, after the aircraft's right engine threw at least one blade into the side of the aircraft as it carried 11, with an empty seat in the cabin ... where the blade hit. When the propeller blade hit, it scattered debris throughout the cabin and took off a right side door, leaving a gaping hole in the aircraft through which the hub-less engine could (in theory) be clearly seen. The event occurred last Sunday and somewhere out there someone may have in-flight pictures -- one passenger had the wherewithal to take out his camera and another claims to have had steady enough hands to take some shots as the aircraft returned to Claris. Passengers told the Herald they'd noticed the engine wobbling during the takeoff roll at Claris Airfield on a flight that would otherwise have ended in Auckland. One passenger told the Herald "there were engineers working on that engine" on the same aircraft when he had flown on it days earlier. More...

787 SMOKES 'EM UP
Although a first flight for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will have to wait until engineering fixes strengthening the wing attachments, that doesn't mean the aircraft has to sit idle. Engineers and test pilots got to run it up and down the runway at Paine Field last Tuesday in its first taxi tests. The aircraft reached speeds of about 100 knots in at least one run and the brakes were tested. They apparently work. More...

EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2009, A DISPLAYS EXTRAVAGANZA
The collection of aircraft set for display at this year's (July 27 to August 2) EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow does not scream recession or depression and could prove to be among the best gatherings the group has put together. Aside from the roughly 2,500 showplanes expected annually, the 2009 collection will include the space-tourist-launching Virgin Galactic VMS Mothership "Eve"; Airbus' A380 -- the world's largest airliner; an Avro Lancaster WWII bomber; a 1909 Wright B Flyer replica; a rare Japanese "Zero" and Messerschmitt ME109 will add to more familiar flock of warbirds; and possible appearances from the dawn of a new age -- electric flight -- are hoped for, if not expected. The show will celebrate anniversaries of the Cessna 150 (50th), the T-28 (60th) and the Pietenpol homebuilt (80th) among others. More...

UNITED BREAKS POLICY, OFFERS MONEY FOR GUITAR
A Canadian country band has struck a chord with anyone who has watched the way some United Air Lines baggage handlers load the airplane in a viral video on YouTube. Sons of Maxwell, of Halifax, was on its way to a gig in Nebraska last year when rough handling — in plain view of the the alarmed passengers — snapped the neck off band leader Dave Carroll's $3,500 Taylor guitar. After a year of appeals for compensation, the video is the result — and it has more than 1,300,000 views. United has apologized, and Taylor Guitars has offered to fix the instrument. 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...

AVWEB AND BENDIX/KING BY HONEYWELL ARE GIVING AWAY AN AV8OR TO CELEBRATE AIRVENTURE!

Bendix/King by Honeywell is helping us give away another AV8OR handheld MFD unit to celebrate EAA AirVenture Oshkosh! All you have to do is click the image at right to enter your name and e-mail address. And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, but Bendix/King by Honeywell may send you information on the AV8OR. You may also forward this newsletter to friends and invite them to sign-up for AVweb's EAA AirVenture 2009 coverage and qualify for the AV8OR prize drawing, too. (We won't spam them, either, but we will send them our e-mail news Flashes.)

Deadline for entries is midnight EST on Sunday, August 2, 2009.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

(There's nothing to buy. All you need to do is be registered with AVweb.)

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

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: UNITED BREAKS POLICY AND FAITH WITH EMPLOYEES
By now, most everyone has seen Dave Carroll's video for "United Breaks Guitars" and empathized with the plight of the passenger who can't get any satisfaction from the major airlines. Now may be a good time to extend some of that empathy to "kind Ms. Irlweg" and the rest of United's policy-enforcing employees, Russ Niles says in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AIRPLANES AND GLOBAL WARMING
You knew we would have to talk about this sooner or later. Like most of us, Paul Bertorelli concedes he hasn't the first clue about rationalizing airplane ownership with climate change — but that didn't stop him from sharing his thought on the AVweb Insider blog. Log in and add your own opinion to the mix. More...

NAFI OFFERS GROUP MEMBERSHIPS
For decades, the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) has represented the interests of thousands of flight instructors, but many of those instructors work for businesses or schools that don't necessarily share that affiliation. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with NAFI's Jason Blair about the organization's group program, which launches today. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: ASPEN EFIS IN THE DIAMOND DA20
The DA20 is a terrific instrument and basic trainer, and now it has the option of a glass panel with the Aspen EFIS system. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli recently checked out the system with test pilot Rob Johnson. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: DUFFY'S AIRCRAFT (MARSHFIELD, WI)

AVweb reader Marcelaine Lewis has this week's top FBO, Duffy's Aircraft at Marshfield (Wis.) Municipal Airport (KMFI). Marcelaine writes:

If you're well enough to fly, yet sick enough to need to go to the Marshfield Clinic, Duffy and Jeff Gaier will greet you on the ramp with a smile, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and "hometown hospitality." If your clinic appointment is short, they will even let you use the courtesy car. (And if you have to spend the night, within a short walking distance is the Clearwaters Hotel, owned by another aviation enthusiast.)

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

My instructor and I were flying around today (July 8, 2009) and had an interesting exchange with ATC. I don't know if you'll include it in the "Short Final," but we got a chuckle out of it.

We were doing maneuvers under the hood in a BE-76 Duchess. My instructor had failed my left engine, and I was just getting ready to restart when Whiteman Approach came on and told a Columbia that they had traffic to their 10 o'clock. (That traffic was us.)

ATC then came on and told us, "Mule Flight 106, traffic is 1 o'clock, a Columbia a couple miles out." (I can't remember how many for sure.)

My instructor replied that we were looking for traffic and then decided that we should make a turn to the west. On the radio, he told Whiteman approach of our impending turn.

Whiteman came back, advising, "Mule Flight 106, keep an eye out for that traffic. They are moving about double your rate of speed." (Vyse is 85 kts on a Duchess.)

My instructor came back and said, "We're a little slow because we're running on one engine right now."

Whiteman came back with, "We thought something was going on. We just saw a car on highway 50 going faster than you are."

Stephan Kollitz
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.

The AVwebFlash team is:

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Paul Bertorelli

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