URGENT: BENDIX/KING DATABASE PROBLEM
Certain Bendix/King KLN and KLX products have been compromised by their latest database updates and the company says those products should not be used until the problem is corrected. Bendix/King adds that "it is imperative" that the units not be used for arrival, departure or approach operations until corrected. Jeppesen apparently delivered some bad data to Bendix/King that contained incorrect Dynamic Magnetic Variations for all terminal and en route waypoint records. Affected databases include Cycle 1001 databases either downloaded from Wingman Services or delivered on programmed media and received prior to Jan. 12, 2010. Affected units are KLN 35A, 88, 89, 89B, 90, 90A, 90B, 94 and 900 models; plus KLX 100, 135, and 135A models. To fix the problem, Bendix/King customers just need to acquire a new database that's already available. More...

HAITI AIRPORT THE BEACHHEAD AND BOTTLENECK FOR AID
January 14, United States Air Force Special Tactics personnel were on the ground controlling airport operations at Toussaint L'Ouverture International, Haiti, but the ramp area was already saturated with 44 aircraft, forcing a temporary closure. The airport operates a control tower, two fuel trucks and one 9,974-foot runway. The control tower was rendered useless by the January 12 earthquake. Initial aid flights arrived using the UNICOM frequency to organize themselves, then by a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter off the coast. But two days later, the airspace was closed, turning away 11 aircraft that had been waiting for other flights to depart so they could land. Among those turned away was a C-130 from the 15th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla.. With ground damage hindering the expedient dispersion of supplies, and physical space preventing further arrivals, departures were at the same time beginning to be challenged by a dwindling fuel supply. The American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson had by Thursday been dispatched to the region, primarily looking at providing increased helicopter capacity in the afflicted area. More...

AGAPE FLIGHT HELPING HAITI
As the enormity of the earthquake disaster in Haiti becomes more clear, relief agencies are shifting into high gear to try and prevent further suffering and death in the impoverished country. And while government-sponsored relief and the Red Cross will lead the charge, there are ways that individuals can help. Venice, Fla.-based Agape Flight is accepting donations and already has aircraft in the air helping with the crucial first days of the effort. It may also be looking for pilots and planes to take part. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AIRLIFTS, HAITIAN RELIEF, AND THE HOW TO HELP
Paul Bertorelli has a couple of posts on the AVweb Insider blog about aviation lending a helping hand with Haitian earthquake relief. Click here and then click here to see how you may be able to do more good at this stage by dropping a little cash out of your wallet than by dropping supplies over Haiti. More...

ATSB RELEASES PRELIMINARY WESTWIND DITCHING REPORT
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released a preliminary report on a Westwind 1124A jet that successfully made a nighttime poor weather ditching in the ocean three nautical miles west of Norfolk Island, some 900 miles east of Brisbane, Australia. The jet was operating IFR as an aeromedical flight with one patient and five others aboard -- all survived 90 minutes in the water before rescue. The intended route would have taken the jet from Apia, Samoa, to Melbourne, with a fuel stop at Norfolk Island. En route, the flight experienced increasing headwinds and reports of deteriorating conditions at Norfolk. About 20 minutes out, Norfolk UNICOM provided a weather report indicating that conditions had deteriorated "well below the landing minima," according to the ATSB. The crew attempted four VOR/DME instrument approaches, before committing to the ditching. After transmitting their intentions to Norfolk UNICOM, the crew put the airplane in the water and all escaped -- without the life rafts -- as the jet quickly sank. More...

FLIGHT 1549-INSPIRED TOW PLANE CRASH LANDS NEAR HUDSON
Friday, a Piper Super Cub banner tow aircraft reportedly dispatched to buzz a New York City Flight 1549 anniversary celebration while trailing a sign that read "If you died today, would you go to heaven or hell? John 14:6" made a forced landing at Fresh Kills landfill, which holds 9/11 wreckage. The owner of Smoketown Banners, LLC, of New Holland, Pa., which operated the aircraft, told CBS news that an anonymous client paid for the ad meant to be seen by survivors of the "Miracle on the Hudson." The owner said the Piper blew a cylinder, its pilot notified controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport, dropped the banner in a stand of trees and made a safe landing on a road after circling back to the now-closed landfill. More...

EMBRY RIDDLE INITIATES AVIATION PH.D.
Designed for working professionals and available as a mix of online courses and six-day on-campus residencies, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's Ph.D. in Aviation, the "only one in the nation," has begun. There are eleven students pioneering the research-intensive three-year course that began this month and aims "to tackle the major issues facing today's aviation aerospace industry." Getting into the program isn't easy. "We were able to be highly selective in assembling this first cohort of students," Alan Stolzer, director for the Ph. D program, said. The first group is roughly balanced between males and females and each individual will explore topics in management, training, economics, regulation, communications, and NextGen air transportation, with a special focus on aviation operations. The program is designed to allow them to do that while continuing with their careers. A next group will be accepted to the program beginning in July, 2010. Applications will be accepted prior to April. More...

RED BULL AIR RACE HEADED TO NEW YORK CITY
The city that in 2001 saw its greatest aviation disaster and in 2009 a relative aviation triumph will now see aviation's great racing spectacle; New York City has been selected to host a Red Bull Air Race in 2010. The air race itself is a series and New York will host the fifth race of the 2010 season, on June 19 and 20. The season should see racers visit a total of nine cities around the world, including Abu Dhabi, Perth, and Lisbon. Red Bull didn't specify the exact location of the race, but judging from the comments of Bernd Loidl, CEO of the Red Bull Air Race, it sounds like the course will be placed in the lower Hudson visible from lower Manhattan and across the river form New Jersey's Liberty State Park. "Staging a Red Bull Air Race in New York City and Jersey City marks an important milestone in the history of the global motorsports championship," Loidl said. More...

AIRVENTURE TO SALUTE VETERANS
Already set to host what may be the last largest DC-3 gathering, EAA's AirVenture has announced it is working together with Warbirds of America and Disabled American Veterans to bring a "Salute to Veterans" to AirVenture Oshkosh 2010. The complete list of events has yet to be finalized, but EAA announced a sketch of events Friday. The Salute will mean special forums and speakers; a mass gathering of veterans for photo opportunities; a special airshow segment featuring Vietnam-era aircraft; an "upgraded Warbird Aircraft Display area," according to EAA; and a closing-day concert played by the Lt. Dan Band, featuring actor Gary Sinise. All veterans and active military who purchase AirVenture tickets online in advance of the show are eligible for a discounted admission rate of $28. Noting the nation's debt of freedom owed to its service men and women, EAA president Tom Poberezny said, "This is the right thing to do at Oshkosh." More...

PARADISE FOR SALE
As they gut it out in the toughest economy to hit general aviation in history, business owners could be forgiven for dreaming of being stranded on a tropical island. But what if that island came with five airplanes and a profitable charter business that has barely been touched by the recession? After building it from a single-aircraft operation 11 years ago into Fiji's largest charter operator, Pacific Islands Seaplanes owner Dusty Simon says he's looking for a change. "I'm 70 years old. It's time for me to move on to my next adventure," he said. Simon was asking $5.2 million for the operation. More...

AVMAIL: JANUARY 18, 2010

Letter of the Week: Non-Military Navigation Alternative Needed

The battle for common sense to prevail regarding the retention of LORAN-C is apparently drawing to a close, and the result appears to be the near-sighted, uneducated and inexperienced people who are making these decisions are controlling aspects of what we, in the aviation and maritime communities, need as a viable non-military backup to a navigation system.

...

Stoney Truett

Click through to read the rest of Mr. Truett's comments — and other letters to the editor.

HAD AN ENGINE OVERHAUL? AVIATION CONSUMER WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE
Aviation Consumer is conducting a survey to hear your experiences with engine overhaul shops. Whether the experience was propulsion bliss or aggravation of a new order, please take a couple minutes to let others know how it went. Your response will help inform an article on engine shops for Aviation Consumer magazine. Click here to participate. 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...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A BOSE AVIATION HEADSET X

Win a Bose Aviation X headset as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)

And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15 Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)

Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time Friday, January 29, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

A FRESH LOOK AT COCKPIT DESIGN WITH IFR MAGAZINE AND DEL FADDEN
What goes into a cockpit design? IFR magazine's Jeff Van West talks with Del Fadden, who was Chief of Flight Deck Technology during the development of the Boeing 757 and 767. In this extra-long podcast, hear how the engineers made these two planes so similar up front that they share a common type rating and how lessons learned in that cockpit could inform the NextGen-enabled cockpit of the future for big and small aircraft. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: IMPROVING YOUR COCKPIT LIGHTING
Ancient 1970s-style post lights don't cut it for night flying in a modern world. Aviation Consumer's Larry Anglisano explains some of the products available to improve panel lighting. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: RECTRIX AERODROME (KSRQ, SARASOTA, FL)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Rectrix Aviation & Aerodrome at KSRQ in Sarasota, Florida.

AVweb reader Rollin Wiggington took a chance on the FBO on a recent trip to Sarasota and was blown away by the service:

We go into SRQ often and thought we would try the new guy. [We were] treated like a Bizjet! [This is] the newest and nicest FBO I've been to, fuel was priced right, and they even gave us free tie-down for a week because we were first-time customers. We'll go back to Rectrix again and again.

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
Two weeks ago, we whined and moaned about our readers being too busy with the new year and the holidays to heap great piles of photography on us — but this week, the generosity of AVweb readers struck back with a vengeance, burying us in so many photos we couldn't get them sorted in time for Thursday's issue. Still, we eventually managed to pick our favorites (no easy task), and here they are. Donald Thun of Topeka, Kansas caught the Blue Angels at last September's Reno Air Races and couldn't resist submitting this photo with the question, "How many Blue Angels do you see? If you see only three, then look closely at '#31.'" More...

SHORT FINAL

Returning from a $100 hamburger in Lakeland to Orlando one Saturday afternoon:

Orlando Approach:
"N1234X, you have traffic 2 o'clock and 3 miles at 2,500, 7 o'clock and 2 miles at 3,000."

[pause]

Orlando Approach:
"Hey, just be careful. You're surrounded."

John Summerford
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

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