EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: VICTOR BOMBER TAKE-OFF — HERO OR HOAX?
At an air show, an old Handley Page Victor bomber was supposed to do a taxiby photo op. Instead, it took off. The explanation? The co-pilot accidentally firewalled the throttles. Really? You be the judge. More...

737 HIJACKED, SUSPECTS ARRESTED, NO ONE HURT
A Boeing 737 operated by AeroMexico was hijacked on Wednesday after departing from Cancun. None of the 112 passengers and crew on board were harmed in the incident and police arrested several men after the flight landed in Mexico City. No shots were fired, according to the Associated Press. It was unclear at our deadline what kind of threats the men made or what their motivation was; it was also unclear if Mexico City was the flight's intended destination. One report said the hijackers used a fake bomb and forced the crew to circle Mexico City seven times before landing, but other reports said the men had explosives strapped to their legs. Another source said the hijacking didn't take place until after the airplane was already on the runway. The hijackers allegedly made demands to talk with Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon. According to Bloomberg, the hijackers held the passengers on board the airplane for about 45 minutes after landing, while negotiating with officials. The passengers were then allowed to leave, but the crew was held for about another half hour before Mexican police stormed the aircraft and freed the crew and arrested the suspects. Bloomberg said at least seven men were arrested, other reports gave numbers from five to nine. More...

TEXTRON SEES SIGNS OF STABILIZATION, IMPROVEMENT
In a business update that was webcast on Wednesday, executives with Textron, the parent company of Cessna and Bell Helicopters, said "recent data indicate early signs of stabilization" in the economy, and the long-term outlook for deliveries is strong. The percentage of used Citations available for sale improved over the last four months, and daily utilization of the fleet flattened out over the summer, after 18 months of decline, the company said. However, Textron CEO Lewis Campbell said he expects another down year overall for Cessna next year, with "modest recovery" in 2011. Global markets present strong growth opportunities, the company said, and aggressive layoffs and furloughs have cut costs. Cessna is on track to deliver about 275 jets this year. More...

LSA MODELS NOW NUMBER 100
In just five years, the Light Sport Aircraft industry has made it to S-LSA model No. 100, with the approval of Van's RV-12. The RV-12 LSA approval was announced in late July, but it wasn't until this week that Dan Johnson, chairman of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, realized that the paperwork for the Krucker amphibious trike, Cygnet, had been completed earlier in July, making that aircraft No. 99, and the RV-12 emerged as No. 100. The LSA sector provides a vital incubator for new ideas in aviation, Johnson said. "Such entrepreneurial activities are vital," he told AVweb on Wednesday. "If only governments (FAA and EASA spring to mind) don't overly burden these sectors, we will continue to see bright lights at the end of the tunnel." Out of those first 100 models, a couple are no longer available, Johnson said, and two European companies are in bankruptcy, though they may yet re-emerge. However, for the most part the segment is robust, and many of the smaller manufacturers can do fine on as few as 30 sales a year, Johnson said. More...

FRENCH, SWISS, USA TEAMS LEAD IN ANNUAL BALLOON RACE
The annual Gordon Bennett balloon race, the premier event in the small world of gas ballooning, launched in Geneva, Switzerland, last Saturday, with 16 teams competing. With online tracking of each team now available, the competition can be watched by a worldwide audience. The race rules are simple -- whoever lands at a point farthest from the takeoff site, wins. The following year's race then is hosted in the winner's country. By Wednesday, all the teams had landed safely. Preliminary results list a French team in first place, followed by the Swiss, and the U.S. coming in third. Most of the balloons drifted south over the Mediterranean before catching winds that brought them west over Spain and Portugal. Three teams landed in Algeria, on the northern coast of Africa. More...

FRANCIS ROGALLO, "FATHER OF HANG GLIDING," DIES AT 97
Francis Rogallo, who patented a flexible wing design in 1948 that has been credited with spurring the development of hang gliders, sport parachutes, and ultralights, died at his home in North Carolina on Sept. 1. In the 1950s, Rogallo and his wife, Gertrude, who was credited as co-inventor of the wing, gave their patent to the government and began a series of experiments with NASA, who renamed the design the Parawing. The wing was tested at altitudes as high as 200,000 feet and as fast as Mach 3 to evaluate it as an alternative recovery system for the Gemini space capsules and spent rocket stages. NASA conducted test flights of a Parawing aircraft called the "flying Jeep" and a weight-shift Parawing glider, both manned and unmanned. In the 1960s, the Rogallo wing design was adopted by the hang-gliding community. "Millions of people around the world have enjoyed flight as a result of Rogallo's invention of the Flexible Wing," according to the obituary published by the Rogallo Foundation. More...

ASIAN AEROSPACE SHOW THIS WEEK HIGHLIGHTS GROWTH IN CORPORATE SECTOR
Asian Aerospace 2009, a leading event for the region that is held every other year, takes place in Hong Kong this week, Tuesday through Thursday, with a new emphasis on corporate aviation. "The event's unique positioning and focus will provide a platform for the business aviation industry to meet the widely forecasted groundswell of demand in Asia, particularly from China," event organizers said in a news release. Speakers will tackle topics such as legal, regulatory, and insurance considerations; airspace requirements; safety regulations; and Air Operator's certificates. China is already the world's second-largest overall aviation market, according to event organizers. In spite of the world economic turndown, 2008 was a record year for the business aviation market in Asia, particularly in mainland China. More...

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO DEBUT AT BIRD-STRIKE CONFERENCE
People who worry about bird strikes in aviation, from airport operators to air traffic controllers to researchers and safety experts, gather every year for a Bird Strike North America Conference -- but this year's event, which takes place Sept. 14-17 in Victoria, British Columbia, is expected to draw more attention than usual. The dramatic Hudson River ditching early this year brought widespread attention to the issue of bird strikes, and some new technologies are expected to debut at the event. Accipiter Radar will introduce a 360-degree 3-D avian radar technology. Other vendors will display various kinds of radars for detecting birds as well as methods for dispersing them, such as colored laser beams, specially trained dogs, radio-controlled cannons, and garlic oil sprayed on grass to make it unpalatable for geese. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.

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AVMAIL: SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

Letter of the Week: VLJ Price Fantasy

Good observations. At the core the problem was, and always will be, moral leadership.

Always set the example by your actions, not just your words; do unto others as you would have others do unto you; be honest; consider all the stakeholders, internal and external; inspire and empower your co-workers; give them the constructive leadership, the tools and the respect they need to strive for excellence. Control your greed. I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the idea.

One last thing: We are all leaders. We always influence others. The choice we have is whether we influence others in positive, constructive ways or in negative, non-productive ways that diminish them personally instead of building trust, teamwork, a solid work-ethic, esprit de corps, etc. These things increase productivity and allow for continual improvement. They allow us to keep our jobs and provide better products at lower costs. They allow us to stay in business.

Larry Gillespie

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...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: WHAT AVWEB READERS DID (OR DIDN'T DO) ON THEIR SUMMER VACATIONS
The International Council of Air Shows says attendance is way up at shows this summer. How many have you attended so far?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers for their opinion on the FAA's proposed revisions to the Hudson River Exclusion Area (EA). Click through to see how they responded. More...

AVIATION CONSUMER'S ROTAX AIRCRAFT ENGINE SURVEY
Do you own or operate an aircraft equipped with a Rotax engine? Our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, wants to hear from you about its reliability, maintenance costs, factory and field support, and about your overall satisfaction with the engine.

Please take a moment to complete this survey and share your operational experience!

(The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here.) More...

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

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: THE VLJ PRICE FANTASY
The industry persists in the notion that small, light jets can be made cheaply. In the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli argues that "cheap" is really around the $2 million mark and not much lower. The idea here is to produce sustainable projects that allow companies to remain in business — profitably. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: AVRO LANCASTER BOMBER TOUR
With only two left flying, the Avro Lancaster is among the rarest of the rare of World War II aircraft. AVweb recently toured one when it appeared at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: CALLAWAY AVIATION (BIG BEAR CITY AIRPORT, L35, BIG BEAR, CA)

"Have you ever had to argue with a mechanic over the price of a repair?" asks AVweb reader Dean Herrington. You probably have, but it almost certainly didn't go like the conversation Dean had with a mechanic at Callaway Aviation at Big Bear City Airport (L35) in California:

I had departed about 3:00 in the afternoon and quickly developed an electrical problem that necessitated a return to the airport. I was guided to the nearest repair facility, Callaway Aviation. The only mechanic available, the owner, Brad Callaway, was very busy across the field supporting the warbirds that were about to depart, so I had about a 1.5-hour wait. When the courteous Mr. Callaway arrived he spent over an hour troubleshooting, doing run-ups, troubleshooting some more, then finally recommending that we experimentally replace my one-year old battery with one of his used ones, just to see if we could fully eliminate my battery as a culprit. His used battery immediately cleared up the problem, and further tests and run-ups confirmed that it was completely solved.

When I asked for the bill, he said "Oh, that's OK."

I said, "No way, I've got to pay you for your time and the battery." After considerable pressue he finally agreed to accept $50.

How can this guy stay in business? Unless, of course, he has a large, loyal following of grateful customers, like me. My flight home to Vegas was an uneventful pleasure.

And that, AVwebbers, is why Callaway is this week's very deserving "FBO of the Week"!

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
Once again, we've got a great batch of reader photos to share! Let's keep it simple this week and dive straight into the submission box, shall we? Joe Scheibinger of Oshkosh, Wisconsin sent us some really amazing photos this week from aviation's favorite Wisconsin town — some snapped during AirVenture and others taken during the "off-season." 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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