CONTINENTAL UNVEILS A DIESEL PROJECT (CORRECTED)
Teledyne Continental says it's bullish on piston-engines that burn Jet A and today in the company's Mobile skunk works, it took the wraps off the project for a group of visiting journalists. It's a 230-HP four-cylinder, four-cycle design that's readily scalable to a six-cylinder version with up to 350-HP, a power range that will clearly match TCM's products on the gasoline side. Certification of the four-banger is planned for 2011, according to TCM's Johnny Doo, with the six to follow as early as 2013. More...

CAN 94UL REPLACE 100LL? TCM THINKS SO
Continental is moving forward with its research to pitch 94UL as a replacement for 100LL avgas, which the EPA seems serious about regulating out of existence. At the company's Mobile, Alabama test center, TCM is running detonation tests of 94UL and on Wednesday, it gave visiting journalists a preview of the project. TCM's Bill Brogdon told us on Tuesday that 94UL is essentially 100LL without the tetraethyl lead added as an octane enhancer. He says engines certified to operate of 80/87 octane—and that's a lot of engines—will have no trouble making rated power with 95UL. Similarly, says Continental, even its higher power turbocharged large displacement, low-compression ratio engines can run the lower octane. The problem engines are higher compression variants that use 8.5 to 1 compression ratios. Brogdon told us these engines may tolerate a diet of 94UL by tweaking the timing or developing affordable knock detection and variable timing. Another option, he says, is reduce compression ratio but increase displacement—re-engining with a IO-550 to replace an IO-520, for instance. Whether the owners of aircraft with these engines will nibble on that remains to be seen. More...

TCM'S NEW DIESEL PROJECT
TCM said more than a year ago that it wanted to get an aerodiesel into its product line, and now it has one. The company bought diesel technology already developed from a European source and is forging ahead with its own program. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: TCM BUYS A DIESEL — DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?
So TCM has bought into the diesel game by purchasing the intellectual rights to the SMA design. Can this possibly be made to work? Paul Bertorelli isn't 100% convinced, but in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog — submitted while Paul is on his way home from kicking tires at TCM's Mobile, Alabama press summit — he admits that TCM makes a good business case for it. Click here to read the blog and join the conversation. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: DIESEL AIRCRAFT ENGINES AND YOU
Although diesel aircraft engines have been around for at least a decade, the announcement that TCM is entering the market changes the landscape somewhat. With 100LL on the way out, is diesel the way of the future?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers how they feel about sharing airspace with unmanned aircraft (UAVs); click through to see how they responded. More...

CENTURION SIMPLIFIES MAINTENANCE
Centurion Aircraft Engines says it has extended the life of its 2.0 liter diesel aircraft engines to 1,500 hours and eliminated a requirement to ship the engines to its German headquarters for a 1,200-hour inspection. The engines previously had a TBR (time before replacement) of 1,200 hours and there are still a few things that need replacement at that interval, including a belt, hoses and coolant. Under the life extension plan, the company had previously mandated that the 1,200-hour inspection be done at the factory but it's now allowing service centers to do the work, which takes about an hour. Removal and replacement of the engine takes about 13 hours, not to mention the time, expense and aggravation of shipping the engine to Germany under the old rules. "A particularly important aspect for fleet operators in this regard is the reduction of the aircraft on ground (AOG) period," the company said in a news release. More...

IT'S LEARN TO FLY DAY, SATURDAY
May 15, 2010, is national Learn to Fly Day, which means that participating flight schools, airports, flight instructors and aviation enthusiasts across the country will host Learn to Fly seminars completely free of charge. Hundreds of venues across the country are expected to host Learn To Fly events, Saturday, in what may be the largest push for pilots in recent memory. This year, Learn to Fly Day has been organized and sponsored by EAA volunteers in conjunction with AOPA, Remos Aircraft, and PilotJourney.com, which provided presenters with standardized materials. Those materials include a "press here to play" presentation package to serve as the foundation for Saturday's organized events. While it's too late for you to receive a package and host your own event, you can still visit the Learn To Fly Day website to find a catalog of every participating events listed by state and venue, plus a link to free tickets (which are required to attend). You can also attend online. More...

LEARNING TO FLY KNOWS NO GENDER (BUT IT DOES HAVE ITS OWN DAY)
May 15 is International Learn to Fly Day, and there's a push on to interest girls in aviation, since only about six percent of the pilot population is female. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Lt. Col. Maryse Carmichael, the new commanding officer of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, about pursuing your aviation dreams. More...

GOOD NEWS FOR AIRPORT ACCESS
Two recent developments are good news for expanding access to general aviation airports, AOPA said this week. In Tennessee, the state legislature has approved a bill that will provide liability protection to owners of private airfields who open their facility to the public. "I think this is going to open a lot of doors," said AOPA Southeast Regional Representative Bob Minter. "The fun of flying is no better than at a small grass strip." The new legislation, once signed into law by the governor, will allow "recreational noncommercial aircraft operations" under the same kind of rules that govern public use of private lands for hunting or fishing. Also, the FAA recently said it will allow through-the-fence access at an Oregon airport, a change to the hard line the agency has taken to such requests for the last couple of years, AOPA said. More...

A NEW HAZARD TO WATCH FOR: MET TOWERS
Landowners in search of a wind-power site first install meteorological towers, or met towers, to collect wind data, and these towers may be a hazard to pilots, the FAA said this week. The towers can be up to 260 feet tall, and no lighting is required if they are less than 200 feet high. They can be erected very quickly and may remain on the site for just a few days, but most will stay for a year or longer. "At this time there is no standardized notification system in place to indicate when and where these towers are erected," the FAA said. They are not posted in any Airport Facility Directory or Notams unless they interfere with airport operations. More...

FAA SEEKS INPUT ON AIRCRAFT DESIGN RULES
The FAA is mulling over major changes to the rules for certifying small aircraft, and the public is invited to chime in at a meeting to be held in Scottsdale, Ariz., June 8 and 9. "Specifically, we would like feedback from manufacturers, pilots, owners, mechanics, instructors and anyone else with an interest in the small airplane industry," the FAA said. The Scottsdale meeting is one of several that will be held around the country, and follows a similar event in Wichita, Kan., in February. The FAA wants to reorganize Part 23 so it's based on airplane performance and complexity, instead of the current divisions based on weight and propulsion. "New small turbine engines, composite airframes, and lightweight digital electronics offer part 23 airplanes the operational capability and performance of traditionally larger part 25 airplanes," the FAA said in its certification study. "The slow, simple Part 23 airplanes have suffered as the standards have shifted toward more complex airplanes." More...

AIRBUS CRASHES ON APPROACH IN LIBYA
An Airbus A330-200 crashed on approach to the Tripoli airport in Libya on Wednesday morning, killing 103, with only one survivor, a child from the Netherlands. The volcanic ash from Iceland didn't seem to be a factor in the region, according to news reports. Visibility at the time of the crash was reportedly hazy, with a cloud layer at 300 feet. The airplane was delivered to Afriqiyah Airways last September and had accumulated about 1,600 flight hours. It was on final approach to the airport's main runway, approaching from the east, when it hit the ground near the runway threshold and broke apart. Investigators have retrieved the airplane's voice and data recorders. More...

GAMA FINDS GA SALES "FAR FROM RECOVERY"
Sales of general aviation aircraft didn't drop as dramatically in the first quarter of this year as they did the year before, but nonetheless, sales are down by 15 percent overall compared to the first quarter of 2009, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reported on Monday. Worldwide, a total of 390 GA airplanes were delivered. "These numbers are being released on the heels of Europe's premier business aviation show, the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition [EBACE], where many of our manufacturers noted that the market seems to be stabilizing," said GAMA President Pete Bunce. "Reported flight activity from the FAA and Eurocontrol is on an upward trend and the used aircraft inventory is slowly decreasing. However, these first-quarter figures reveal that our industry is far from a recovery." Some GA manufacturers did report slight upticks in deliveries. 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."

KITPLANES REPORTS FROM CAFE ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT SYMPOSIUM
With electric airplanes continuing to gain favor, the fifth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium was held recently, and here's a video report from Kitplanes magazine editor Marc Cook. In case you haven't been paying attention, there has been broad progress in battery technology and endurance, motor weight, and power and charging systems. This video summarizes the high points. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: DANVILLE/BOYLE COUNTY AIRPORT BOARD (KDVK, DANVILLE, KY)

We saw plenty of great FBO stories this week, but none that wowed us so much as AVweb reader Liza Kummer's story of above-and-beyond service at Danville/Boyle County Airport Board, located at Stuart Powell Field (KDVK) in Danville, Tennessee:

We landed late at night enroute from Penn to Texas and stayed at the fabulous Hampton Inn. The lady with Sharon's Car Service — Danville did not have taxis — waited an hour for us at the airport! It looked like we were going to be unable to fly the next day because of a scary-looking squall line with forecasts of hail. After thoroughly researching the weather, we were able to plan a path to avoid all those nasty orange and red radar echoes and decided to forge on before the squall line hit. It was raining now, and they retrieved my plane from the corporate hangar, filled the tanks at the self-service for me, pulled the plane close to the FBO to avoid getting wet, handed me an umbrella for my pre-flight, and gave us bottles of water for the flight. We felt like royalty.

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!

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.

Congratulations to David Schieman of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who won Scheyden Dual RX frames and a Scheyden flight gear package in our last drawing! (click here to get your own from Scheyden)

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...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
"There are a few of us out here who still fly steam gauges," writes "POTW" semi-regular Ron Horton of Ft. Mill, South Carolina; "the NuLite rings sure help to light them up at night." Ron snapped this shot on clear night when the 496 seen here didn't have much heavy lifting to do ... . 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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