LIGHT SPORT CIRCUMNAVIGATION LAUNCHED
Two Swiss airline pilots left their home base of Sion Friday on an around-the-world flight intended to promote "ecological and economical general aviation" and encourage young people to take up flying. Yannick Bovier and Francisco Agullo are also marking the 100th anniversary of the first flights in Switzerland by taking a pair of Flight Design CTLS aircraft on the challenging westward circumnavigation. Within a couple of days of their departure they were scheduled to face their first major test with a 2,000-mile mid-Atlantic crossing from West Africa to Brazil. They'll spend a couple of days in the U.S. likely next week. More...

STATE SUPPORTS SLASHING AIRCRAFT FLEET
The state General Assembly of North Carolina has supported a report that recommends it sell 25 of 72 aircraft, plus five hangars, operated by state aviation programs, to save millions of dollars. The sale of the aircraft, according to the report, would yield up to $8.1 million and save the state $1.5 million in operations, annually. The North Carolina General Assembly initiated the study to determine the number, use, and effectiveness of state aircraft as well as their associated operational efficiencies. It found that "aircraft are risky and expensive to own, operate, and maintain" and that half of the state's aircraft were flown less than 100 hours per year. The study's recommendations, which include cutting more than a third of its fleet, were approved in a meeting of the state's General Assembly, but not without dissent. More...

GROUP "OUTRAGED" COST ANALYSIS APPLIED TO FLIGHT SAFETY
The Buffalo News printed Friday that the group Families of Flight 3407 is "outraged" that regulators may be concerned about the potential cost of rules being developed to address pilot fatigue. The group is eager for change to flight crew duty and rest requirements and the Buffalo News reported that the rulemaking has "hit a snag." The FAA, it says, "is informally consulting with the Office of Management and Budget" and "sources close to the talks said that some at OMB are concerned the FAA will write a proposal that will cost the airlines too much money." One member of the group said that suggests "cost-benefit analysis is getting in the way" of "crucial safety reform." The NTSB did not list crew fatigue as a central factor in the crash, but discovered that neither member of Flight 3407's cockpit crew had slept in a bed the night before the crash. The FAA says its new rules are currently under administration review and the OMB says it hasn't yet been formally involved. More...

VIDEO SHOWS EUROPEAN AIRSPACE REBOOT
A video available on Vimeo.com shows the visual representation of air traffic over Europe as it is affected by and recovers from flight restrictions imposed in the wake Iceland's April volcano eruption. The video covers, in 54 seconds, the six-day span from April 16 to April 21 as the region dealt with a traveling volcanic ash cloud overhead. It does have a few gaps in coverage due to lack of data from France and over the Atlantic. But the imagery creates clear visual contrasts between the virtual shutdown of activity on the 16th and its slow resumption thereafter that, by one analyst's account, helped cause the disruption of 8 percent of global trade. As the region's activity begins to ramp up to its roughly 25,000 flight per day norm it's also easy to see the relative inactivity as days turn to night. Video after the jump. More...

787 SUPPLY CHAIN INTERRUPTS PRODUCTION
Problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's far-flung supply chain are now causing parts shortages that have translated into an early delay in the airliner's production. The company has announced that Dreamliners number 23 and 24 will be held up for about 24 days as it attempts to resolve production or delivery problems at a small number of the program's many, often distant, small parts suppliers. Boeing did not indicate that the interruption would result in any short-term layoffs. There are currently 866 of the jets on order and Boeing was, until this interruption, answering that with two finished Dreamliners per month even as flight testing continues. The manufacturer didn't name names, but last year bought Vought Aircraft Industries in Charleston, S.C., after that supplier failed to meet the 787 program's demands. The Wall Street Journal reported that the former Vought facility and a Dreamliner parts supplier in Italy have been involved in recent supply chain kinks. More...

CANADIAN PILOT LICENSE DEADLINE LOOMING
About 30 percent of Canadian pilots and other licenced aviation professionals haven't applied for a new style of license that becomes mandatory June 30. Transport Canada officials speaking at Canadian Aviation Expo in Hamilton, Ontario, are urging pilots to get their paperwork in as soon as possible to help the agency process the almost 18,000 outstanding renewals as smoothly as possible. Those who meet the June 30th deadline will get a 90-day temporary license while their new passport-style document is being prepared. However, those who miss the deadline will be without a valid licence until their new one is ready as the old-style paper licenses will become invalid on July 1 and no temporary licenses will be issued after June 30. More...

PILOT SOLD DRUG TEST BLOCKER
A regional airline pilot whose side business was selling a drink powder that effectively defeats urine drug tests has pleaded guilty to a federal charge. Stephen Sharp, of Port Orange, Fla., was flying for PSA, which operates as US Airways Express, while he ran a website called yourintheclear.com offering a product that somehow masks the presence of illegal drugs in the urine. "You simply mix the powder with a large glass of cranberry juice 1-5 hours before your test and then just relax!" the Associated Press quoted Sharp's website as saying. While the claims have all the hallmarks of an Internet scam, what alarmed authorities in this case is that Sharp's potion actually worked. More...

DC-3 PEOPLE REUNION AT AIRVENTURE
The DC-3 has touched the lives of millions in its 75-year history and those drawn to the celebration of the venerable airliner and military transport at AirVenture Oshkosh this year have a way to renew old ties. Organizers of The Last Time, a mass arrival of 40 aircraft planned for AirVenture, have set up an online searchable database (click on the red Reunion tab on the web site) where anyone who has had any connection at all to the DC-3 can register and allow themselves to be found by likeminded souls they may have lost contact with over the years. Organizers says the arrival and the subsequent week of festivities at Oshkosh are as much a celebration of the people associated with the DC-3 as the aircraft itself. Registering will be especially useful for those attending AirVenture this year. More...

SEND US YOUR EBACE NEWS
The European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition is on this week at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, and it's always a busy show in terms of announcements and new products. To help us make sure we cover the big news at the show, we're inviting companies to send us their announcements for inclusion in our AVwebBiz this week. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

Have you signed up yet for AVweb's no-cost weekly business aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz?

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.

Add AVwebBiz to your AVweb subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions."

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: OIL SLICKS AND AVGAS
If BP doesn't get it under control, the growing slick in the Gulf of Mexico could become a major disaster that will reset attitudes and policies toward offshore oil production. None of that is necessarily good for the price of avgas, and Paul Bertorelli breaks down some of the potential consequences in the lastest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. Click here to read more (and share your own opinions). 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...

"HOW WE DID IT" — RED BULL GLIDER SKYDIVER TRANSFER
Say, how did those guys pull off that skydiver glider-to-glider transfer that's getting some much attention on YouTube and Red Bull's site? Here's the inside story from Ewald Roithner, the lead pilot. He spoke with AVweb's Paul Bertorelli. More...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A KING SCHOOLS GET-IT-ALL TRAINING KIT

Win a Get-It-All Training Kit from King Schools 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 May 21, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

FBO OF THE WEEK: SPANAFLIGHT (PIERCE COUNTY AIRPORT, PUYALLUP, WA)

Our latest "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to the Pacific Northwest, where AVweb reader Calvin Wilkinson has been relying on the services of SpanaFlight for the last 25 years. Wilkinson spent eight of those managing the maintenance schedules of Civil Air Patrol craft in Washington state, and then (as now) he counted on SpanaFlight — located at Pierce County Airport (PLU) in Puyallup, Washington:

I have had considerable contact with the owners, receptionists, and mechanics (all A&Is) who are all consistantly knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. On a few occasions, when an emergency has arisen, a SpanaFlight mechanic has worked late or come in on a weekend to get a plane into the air. In my book, SpanaFlight deserves to be the "FBO of the Week" every 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!

SHORT FINAL

Years ago, my co-pilot and I were flying a Beech 90 at FL220 and encountered moderate icing. ATC granted our request for FL240, where we found lighter ice, but we decided to try FL200 in an attempt to exit the icing. The icing was again moderate at FL200. FL180 was not available due to the altimeter setting, and we did not have quick-donning oxygen masks to go above FL250, so we decided that the light icing at FL240 was our best option. My co-pilot prepared to radio the tower:

Me:
"The controller is going to be mad at you if you ask him to go back to where we were."

Co-Pilot:
"No, he won't be mad at me."

[Co-pilot calls ATC.]

Co-Pilot:
"Tower, the captain wants to go back to 240."

Name Withheld

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

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Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West
Mariano Rosales

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