MEMORIAL DAY OSPREY EVENT INJURES 10 (WITH VIDEO)
At least 10 of several hundred people who gathered to watch were injured by flying debris when a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey arrived for a scheduled event at Clove Lakes Park Preserve, Staten Island, on Memorial Day. The aircraft had been dispatched for a landing on a ball field at the park for a 2010 Fleet Week and Memorial Day celebration. But as the aircraft slowed, its rotor wash began to stir up picnic blankets like "two tornadoes." Keith Carlsen told the NYDailynews.com, "Trees were bending and then branches broke." People were injured by those tree limbs that broke free and were thrown off their feet by the rotor wash as others ran, screaming. Air Force veteran John Wilson, by his own account, tumbled some 30 feet and was treated for cuts to the head. The event was approved by Naval Aviation, the FAA, the city's parks, police and fire departments, the last of which were clearly in attendance and quickly attended to the injured. Video after the jump. More...

SUMMER LAUNCHES FOR AVIATORS
With Memorial Day weekend behind us, summer has officially arrived in the U.S., and the aviation world offers plenty of diversion for those ready to get out and enjoy. Local airports around the country are hosting pancake breakfasts and fly-ins; many are listed in AVweb's calendar of events. The Flying Musicians will play at aviation events from the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas to the Splash-In Music Jam in Montana; click here for their full agenda. The International Council of Air Shows posts a calendar at their website, to help locate the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, or any of your favorite airshow performers. The Red Bull Air Races fly into North America June 5 and 6 in Windsor, Ontario, just across the border from Detroit, and they'll race in New York City June 19 and 20 before heading back to Europe. The biggest show of all, EAA AirVenture, is set for July 26 to August 1; if you're going, their website has all the info you need to start planning. There are even plenty of aviation options for rainy days. More...

CIRRUS MOVING FORWARD WITH VISION JET
Times are tough and money is tight, but the folks at Cirrus are committed to the Vision Jet project, and hope to start work on a conforming prototype by the end of this year, CEO Brent Wouters said on Wednesday. "For this year, we are working to secure additional funding so we can move faster," Wouters said in an update for position holders that was broadcast on the Web. The company has spent about $64 million so far on the project, and that's about halfway there. If the funding goals can be met, Wouters said, he hopes to spend 2011 building the conforming prototype, C-Zero. Once it flies, he estimates another 18 months to certification. The current test vehicle has flown about 270 hours, and over the winter completed extensive testing in real-world winter flying. Icing tests led to tweaks in the boot design, using a new urethane material that should shed ice better, according to Dave Rathbun, chief engineer for the project. More...

SOLAR IMPULSE FLIES ON PURE SUNLIGHT
"Finally we can say we are flying a solar plane," pilot Andre Borschberg, CEO of the Solar Impulse project, wrote in his blog last Friday. The 12,000 solar cells on the wings of the one-of-a-kind aircraft for the first time produced more energy than the aircraft was consuming, providing thrust for the engines with enough power left over to start charging the batteries. "At this precise moment," Borschberg wrote, "the fulfillment of a dream -- to fly solely on solar power, day and night -- came one step closer to reality." The flight was the first time the aircraft was powered solely by solar energy. Borschberg flew twice last Friday, on the first circuit using up the energy that had been stored in the batteries overnight; on the second flight he activated the solar cells for the first time and began to recharge the batteries. More...

CLUSTER BALLOONIST CROSSES ENGLISH CHANNEL
Jonathan Trappe, of Raleigh, N.C., last Friday successfully completed the first crossing of the English Channel flying a cluster balloon system. Trappe flew in a chair suspended from 54 small helium balloons, crossing 22 miles from England to France in about two hours, at altitudes up to 7,500 feet and speeds up to 25 mph. To control his descent, he popped or released the balloons one by one. He also carried some water to use as ballast. After landing, Trappe said it had been a "tremendously beautiful experience" to float in silence with the winds. "It's not just about the balloons," he said. "It's about dreams. And inspiration. And accomplishing what you set out to do." Trappe, who holds an FAA balloon pilot certificate, plans to visit AirVenture 2010 later this summer and hopes to fly his system over Oshkosh at least once. More...

TEST SHOWS CONCORDE ENGINE IS SOUND
It's been seven years since the supersonic Concordes were grounded, but a successful engine test over the weekend has raised the hopes of Concorde fans that at least one of the fleet will fly again. One of the four Rolls Royce engines on Concorde Sierra Delta, which has been on display at the Le Bourget Museum of Air and Space near Paris since 2003, underwent a seven-hour engineering exam on Saturday. The boroscopic test, using remote cameras and video to inspect the insides of the engine, showed it to be in perfect condition, Ben Lord, of the UK's Save Concorde Group, told AVweb on Tuesday. Lord said he hopes the positive results will lead to further testing, then re-lighting the engines for ground taxi and eventually a return to flight. The French group Olympus593 arranged for the test, and they have set a goal of seeing Concorde fly for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London. More...

WHAT DOES ADS-B OUT GET YOU? AOPA: GOOD QUESTION
The FAA issued a final rule just prior to Memorial Day weekend mandating ADS-B Out for general aviation aircraft and, given the rule's content and the timing of its release, they may have been hoping you wouldn't notice. If compliance were necessary today, equipping your aircraft with ADS-B Out capability could cost you roughly $8,000 and provide you with no discernible new benefits. You'll still need Mode-C (if you have it now), but you'll also need to carry the weight and cost burden of ADS-B Out, which for the average GA pilot basically provides the exact same benefits. So, it's the ten years between now and the Jan. 1, 2020, compliance date that matter. It's in that timeframe that groups like the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association will seek to wrangle some benefits of compliance to balance the regulation's cost to dues-paying members. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: ADS-B RULE AFTERMATH
The FAA's final rule on ADS-B Out has attracted criticism and disappointment from AOPA and others. We'd like to know your initial reaction.

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers about the state of pilot professionalism; click through to see how they answered. More...

TCM LIFTER AD EXPANDED
The FAA on Monday expanded its recall of faulty hydraulic lifters on Teledyne Continental general aviation engines to include the TCM 346 series and R-RM IO-240-A reciprocating engines. Excessive wear on the lifters can result in loss of engine power, the FAA said, with at least one instance of damage after just one hour in service. The Airworthiness Directive is effective June 16, at which point all affected aircraft must be grounded until the work is done. No special flight permits will be approved, the FAA said. The AD went straight to final rule without any advance notice or comment period because an unsafe condition exists, the FAA said. However, comments will be accepted until Aug. 2. 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: ADS-B RULE — BIG BUCKS, PALTRY BENEFIT
Somewhere out there, someone must be thrilled the with FAA's final rule on the implementation of ADS-B in the NextGen airspace over the U.S. That someone isn't IFR magazine editor-in-chief Jeff Van West, who confesses to more than a little disappointment in the latest installment of the AVweb Insider blog. Click here to read his opinions, then chime in with your own in our comments section. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: GHOSTS OF MERLINS PAST — A V-BLOCK ENGINE
As the season for new engines seems to be in full flight, Paul Bertorelli's latest post to the AVweb Insider blog addresses an intriguing new engine design from Adept Airmotive, a South African startup. The initial numbers sound good but, of course, the company has a long road ahead of it. Click here to read Paul's thoughts and add your own comments — and you'll want to hear this podcast interview with Adept principal Richard Schulz. More...

AVIATION CONSUMER REVIEWS THE IPAD — WARTS AND ALL
Could it really be? Is the iPad the ultimate cockpit EFB (electronic flight bag) that we've all been waiting for? Find in this review by AVweb and Aviation Consumer's Paul Bertorelli. It has potential — so much potential ... . More...

KIM PROUT GIVES KITPLANES A TOUR OF HIS EUROPA MONOWHEEL
Kim Prout's homebuilt Europa Monowheel is one of the highest-time examples in the U.S. and amply shows off the superb combination of agility and utility in this exclusive video from the editors of Kitplanes magazine. More...

GOT A TURBONORMALIZED CIRRUS? AVIATION CONSUMER WANTS YOU
Actually, Aviation Consumer wants a little bit of your engine data for a research product we're doing. If you don't mind sending us a sample data file, contact Paul Bertorelli at avconsumer@comcast.net.

Contact us before sending anything. Thanks. 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 AN AV8OR HANDHELD GPS

Win an AV8OR handheld GPS (from Bendix/King by Honeywell) 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 June 18, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

Congratulations to William R. Smith of Madison, Connecticut, who won a King Schools Get-It-All Pilot Training Kit in our last drawing! (click here to get your own from King Schools)

FBO OF THE WEEK: CRAIG AIR CENTER (KCRG, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA)

Here at AVweb, we love a good "above and beyond" story — and this week's spotlight FBO, Craig Air Center at Craig Municipal Airport (KCRG) in Jacksonville, Florida, has made "above and beyond" their motto.

Dan Karney tells the tale:

I stayed at Craig for a week visiting family in the area. While taxiing to depart, we noticed one of our main tires was flat. The linemen came out and happily towed us back to their FBO. (Where we stopped was literally the farthest point from their FBO.) ... [S]ince it was Sunday, there were no maintenance facilities open that day. They inflated the tire for me ... [but] when it would not hold any air, they called every maintenance facility on the field ... [then started] calling flight schools on the field. Their last option came through: A mechanic was reached that worked at Criag Air Center, and it was fixed at a reasonable price, in a reasonable ammount of time. I was extremely pleased with their service and helpfulness. I will definitely be back if I am in the area.

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
With Memorial Day now behind us in the U.S., it's time to pick up the pace and careen headlong into summer. EAA AirVenture is only weeks away, and the photos are starting to come in from readers' favorite air shows across the globe. (And that includes a few in places that aren't caught up in the race toward summer right now.) Jeffrey Thornton of Woodbridge, Virginia knows how to start off summer with a bang — or a wall of fire, if you want to get technical. That's Dale Snodgrass raising the temperature in the F-86 at the Titusville Air Show in Florida a few weeks back. 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

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

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