SUN 'N FUN PROMISES LIVELY START TO SHOW SEASON
For the next week, Lakeland, Fla., will be the center of the aviation universe, as the little airport becomes the busiest field in the world, with more than 40,000 takeoffs and landings expected during Sun 'n Fun. Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will thunder in, and they will fly again Thursday through Sunday. Each afternoon the skies will fill with aerobatic performers and flight demonstrations of new and unusual aircraft, with a night airshow on Friday. More than 450 educational forums, seminars and workshops will take place during the week, and more than 500 exhibitors will display aircraft of all kinds and other products and services of interest to aviators. Among the guests who will be giving talks are Jeff Skiles, first officer in the "Miracle on the Hudson" ditching (click here to view Paul Bertorelli's recent interview with Skiles), and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. AVweb staffers are already on site, ready to bring you daily reports, videos, and podcasts with all the latest news from the field. More...

NTSB: CRASH FIGURES IMPROVE, BUT GA RATES WORSEN
The NTSB's preliminary statistics for 2009 show an overall decrease in aviation accidents and fatalities, and "best in decades" figures for on-demand Part 135 operations, but accident and fatality rates for general aviation are up. General aviation's accident rate increased from 6.86 to 7.2 per 100,000 flight hours from 2008 to 2009, and its fatal accident rate increased from 1.21 to 1.33. The rate increases were "due to the decrease in total flight hours," according to the NTSB. GA dropped from 22.8 million hours in 2008 to about 20.46 million hours in 2009. General aviation is responsible for the lion's share of civil aviation accidents, accounting for 1,566 of 1,658 in 2008 and 1,474 of 1,551 in 2009. Of 566 total civil aviation fatalities in 2008, GA was responsible for 494. For 2009, the NTSB's preliminary figures list 534 fatalities, of which GA accounts for 474. Total fatal general aviation accidents fell slightly from 2008 to 2009, posting 275 and 272, respectively. More...

REPORT REVEALS TRAVELS OF "BLOCKED" AIRCRAFT
ProPublica, the news organization that won a court case in February to force the FAA to release aircraft tracking information previously kept secret, has released the results of its investigation in a story published on its own Web site and on the front page of Friday's USA Today. ProPublica said the aircraft operators who requested secrecy could do so for any reason, and the system could be used by corporations and government agencies to avoid scrutiny and bad publicity. "The owners don't have to meet any test to keep their flights secret," says the article. "They merely submit a request to the National Business Aviation Association, a trade group that lobbied to set up the program on the grounds that secrecy is justified to protect business deals and the security of executives." ProPublica said its investigation showed that a televangelist had flown his "tax-exempt jet" to Maui, and several "owners of newspapers that have fought for access to public records" also had corporate jets in the program. Among those media companies is Gannett, which owns USA Today. More...

DIAMOND'S DA42 NG, FAA/EASA CERTIFIED
Diamond Aircraft's twin-engine DA42 NG, powered by two 170-hp Austro AE-300 turbo-diesel engines, Friday received FAA certification and is approved for both IFR and FIKI (flight into known icing) operations. The aircraft offers single level power, plus improved performance, increased gross weight and better fuel efficiency than its predecessor, the DA42 TDI, according to Diamond. It also offers potential buyers an alternative to the Lycoming-powered version and a diesel power replacement possibility for those flying the aircraft with now-bankrupt TAE's engines. Diamond is presently setting up service and support infrastructure for the NG in North America and "will shortly be announcing the details of an all-inclusive maintenance program" for NG owners. Attendees can expect to see the DA42 NG decked out in its Garmin GFC 700 autopilot and G1000 avionics trimmings at Sun 'n Fun, April 13-18. More...

AN EPIC DEAL BETWEEN BUILDERS GROUP, CHINESE COMPANY
Facing a judge's deadline to either come to terms or see the remains of Epic Aircraft go to a third party, a Chinese aviation company and a group of Epic LT builders have sealed a deal. China Aviation and the LT Builders Group together will pay $4.3 million for Epic's assets. The builders will retain the rights to sell the LT single-engine turboprops in the North American market, while the Chinese have rights to the rest of the world. Douglas King, a member of the LT Builders Group, said they plan to reopen the Epic facility in Bend, Ore., and continue with kit production and builder assistance. "We intend to run it honest and straight, according to the law, be good neighbors here in Bend," King told Kitplanes editor Marc Cook. "We're going to do what we say … and not over-promise. We are going to work really hard at producing high-quality airplanes." More...

CESSNA WORKING TO STREAMLINE SKYCATCHER PRODUCTION
Cessna is working to accelerate deliveries of its 162 Skycatcher and iron out production-line inefficiencies caused by the addition of airframe modifications that resulted from spin testing, the Wichita Eagle reported Friday. Currently, Cessna has its Skycatchers produced by Shenyang Aircraft Corp. in China. Those aircraft are then shipped to Yingling Aviation for reassembly. From there, aircraft go to Cessna for modifications borne from the spin test program, and then they go back to Yingling for flight tests and delivery. Shenyang is expected to build a new facility in 2011, which will eventually produce the Skycatcher light sport aircraft with the modifications incorporated directly into the production line. For now, Cessna says Skycatcher output in 2010 will improve, but they're not saying by how much. 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...

AIRCRAFT ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION VIDEO ROUND-UP

Click for videos

AVweb was on-hand for the 2010 Aircraft Electronics Association show in Orlando, Florida. Click here for an overview of our video coverage (with individual links) or click here for our complete coverage in one place. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: JEFF SKILES — HOW TO HANDLE FAME? IGNORE IT
On a cold Thursday morning 15 months ago, Jeff Skiles was just another anonymous first officer making a routine flight from LaGuardia to Charlotte. By the end of the day, he was a household name. Paul Bertorelli met and spoke with Skiles at AEA and reflects on how fame has(n't) affected him on the AVweb Insider blog. Click here to read more. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: ECLIPSE — SHOULDA WORKED, STILL CAN
From the ashes of the old Eclipse, a new company is emerging. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli is as cautiously optimistic about Eclipse Aerospace as anyone. In the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, he explains why. (Hint: The company's different, but the jet is the same.) Click here to Paul's blog and chime in with your own opinions. More...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN SCHEYDEN FRAMES AND FLIGHT GEAR

Win Scheyden Dual RX frames and Flight Crew Ensemble flight gear 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 April 30, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

FBO OF THE WEEK: CENTRAL JET SERVICE (MARSHALL, TX)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Central Jet Service at Harrison County Airport (KASL) in Marshall, Texas.

AVweb reader James M. Knox described Central Jet as "just your ordinary small town FBO at a small airport — except that these fine folks simply fall all over you to be helpful. With more and more FBOs populated by tired attendants who may or may not acknowledge your existence when you arrive, these people are a breath of fresh air."

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" REMINDER
Remember: We probably won't get a chance to run new "POTW" pictures this week while we're at Sun 'n Fun — but we did load up the slideshow on AVweb's home page with a couple dozen great pics to tide you over! Be sure to check them out — and if you're not lucky enough to be here in Lakeland with us, we encourage you to pass the week by submitting some of your own photos for next week's "POTW." More...

SHORT FINAL

I was on my way to a fly-in at KMPV last Saturday, VFR on flight following with Boston Center. It was quite busy. Over 60 planes from all over New England were converging (some IFR, some VFR) when I heard one pilot check on by asking whether that was the correct frequency and, "Do you control this airspace?"

Without hesitation, the very helpful, friendly, and very busy controller replied, "In your location, I own from the surface up to God."

I wonder how high that goes. Is that Class G airspace?

Jim Quinn
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.