TERRAFUGIA PREPS FOR "LOW-VOLUME PRODUCTION"
The developers of the Transition folding-wing roadable aircraft are preparing a 19,000-square-foot facility in Woburn, Mass., for low-volume production to begin as early as late 2011. The company is currently working on construction of two of its newly redesigned vehicles, which will serve as road test and light sport aircraft certification flight test vehicles, respectively. Terrafugia is currently targeting a low- to mid-$200,000 purchase price for the Transition, and says construction of the two test prototypes will help finalize final pricing. If all goes well, the company hopes to provide "fifty skilled manufacturing jobs" at its new facility by 2013 as it ramps up toward high-volume production. But those plans have not yet been finalized and will similarly be affected by the lessons of low-volume production, according to the company. More...

FIRST FLIGHT FOR FOUR-ENGINE ELECTRIC AIRPLANE
The tiny all-electric four-engine aerobatic aircraft known as Cri-Cri, which is "cricket" in French, has flown for the first time, EADS has announced. The company's Innovation Works developed the airplane together with Aero Composites Saintonge and the Green Cri-Cri Association. The first flight launched from Le Bourget airport near Paris last Thursday morning. "Take-off and climb were smooth, no vibrations could be felt and maneuverability was excellent," EADS said in a statement. The project may seem like pure fun, but it has a serious purpose, according to Jean Botti, EADS's chief technical officer. "The Cri-Cri is a low-cost test bed for system integration of electrical technologies in support of projects like our hybrid propulsion concept for helicopters," he said. "We hope to get a lot of useful information out of this project." More...

ALASKANS QUESTION VALUE OF ELTS
Recent crashes in Alaska have illustrated the limits of current search-and-rescue technology that depends on ELT signals, according to a story in Monday's Alaska Dispatch. The Otter that crashed last month, killing former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and four others, carried a new-generation 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter, but the force of the crash separated the unit from its antenna cable. As a result, according to the Dispatch, satellites were unable to detect the signal. The Dispatch also reported that another airplane that has been missing since Aug. 21 in the same region of Alaska where Stevens crashed is equipped with an older 121.5 transponder, and no signal at all has been detected. Some pilots told the Dispatch they depend on non-approved supplemental gear such as personal locator beacons, Spot messenger units, and Spider Tracks tracking systems, which use GPS technology and communications satellites, to supplement their FAA-required ELTs. More...

Related Content:

• Podcast interview with MSgt. Sal Provenzano.
• AVweb editor Russ Niles on replacing outdated ELTs with satellite tracking.
• Tell us how you feel in our "Question of the Week" poll.

NTSB PUSHES (AGAIN) FOR CHILD SEAT RULES
The NTSB last month asked regulators to require children to have their own seats and seat belts, but the FAA squashed that idea back in 2005, citing statistical data, and may do so again. The new call (specific to commercial aircraft, though relevant to small aircraft) is tied to a March 2009 crash of a Pilatus PC-12/45 that had been configured to seat 10 but crashed killing all 14 that were actually loaded aboard. Seven of those aboard were children and several appeared to have been thrown from the aircraft after initial impact. The crash itself was severe enough that it's unlikely anyone would have survived regardless of seating choice. But the FAA agrees that infants and toddlers are safest in their own seat using a child-specific approved restraint like those approved in 2006. But in the larger picture, the agency believes applying the requirement (buying an extra seat on a commercial airline for a small child) would ultimately drive more travelers to other, statistically less safe, modes of transportation. More...

OBAMA PROPOSES MORE MONEY FOR RUNWAYS, NEXTGEN
The federal government plans to invest more in NextGen and fund the rehabilitation or reconstruction of 150 miles of runways and other airport facilities as part of a $50 billion infrastructure effort that would create jobs, President Barack Obama said in a speech in Milwaukee on Monday. The six-year plan would not add to the federal deficit, but would be paid for via a new Infrastructure Bank that Mr. Obama says will leverage federal dollars and focus on the smartest investments. If Congress goes along, the plan would reform "the haphazard and patchwork way we fund and maintain our infrastructure ... to focus less on wasteful earmarks and outdated formulas, and more on competition and innovation that gives us the best bang for the buck," the president said. He proposed a "robust investment" in NextGen, to help move from a radar-based system to one based on satellite technology. AOPA was quick to respond to the president's remarks. More...

RUSSIAN CREW DEADSTICKS TU-154 SAFELY
A Russian airline crew may have pulled off an amazing dead-stick landing on Tuesday. According to Russian media, the Alrosa Airlines Tu-154's "power supply, fuel pumps, radio link and navigation equipment failed" and the only available airport was at Izhma, whose only runway is 4,500 feet long. The reports say the crew deadsticked from 35,000 feet, put down on the short runway and overran it by 600 feet. Although the aircraft suffered some damage, all 72 passengers and nine crew were uninjured. More...

BROWNBACK WANTS BIZJET TRADE REVIEW
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback is calling for an International Trade Commission study on the global competitiveness of the business aviation industry after suggesting Embraer's success in the sector is at least partly the result of help from the Brazilian government. Brownback, who's running for governor of Kansas, issued a statement last week saying the ITC should not only examine Embraer, but should look at the business aircraft industries in Canada, Europe and China to ensure U.S. manufacturers, most of whom are headquartered in his home state, are getting a fair shake on the world market. "For years, Kansas has been leading the way in the general aviation industry, and I know that if everyone plays by the rules, Kansans will easily rise above the competition," he said. It was a report by the ITC in 2004 that triggered the drawn-out battle at the World Trade Organization over alleged subsidies by the European Union to Airbus for the development and manufacture of airliners. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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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."

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #151: SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE AIR(SPACE)
Special Use Airspace (SUA) isn't special because Mr. Rogers said so. Instead, it's special because someone inside that airspace may be taking aim at you. Show your special grasp of SUA by acing this quiz.

Take the quiz.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: TIME TO PHASE OUT ELTS?
In some high-profile recent accidents, emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) have failed to activate or their signals were obscured. The technology has existed for some time to track individual aircraft by satellite. Should we scrap ELTs in favor of satellite tracking?

Plus: Last week, we asked why aviation incidents and accidents are so appealing to the mainstream media — and got some great letters on that topic, by the way. Click here to read a couple. And click through on the headline to see the complete breakdown of answers to last week's poll. 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...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: LET'S DITCH ELTS
There are much better alternatives to emergency locator transmitters. In his post to the AVweb Insider blog, editor-in-chief Russ Niles focuses on one that's affordable, reliable and readily available: GPS. With better technology at hand, Russ wonder why ELTs are still the law. Read more and share your comments. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: CLINGING TO SKILLS — OR TO THE PAST?
Paul Bertorelli recently blogged on the state of sim training, and that (plus your letters) got him thinking about the state of the art — and how so many of us insist on teaching skills that technology may have already rendered obsolete. In his latest post to the AVweb Insider, Paul asks if we're being traditionalists — or just getting a jump on becoming the cranky old farts of tomorrow. Read more and share your comments. More...

AVIATION CONSUMER FLIES A SILVER EAGLE TURBINE-CONVERTED CENTURION
Wanna go fast and climb like hell? That's what the Silver Eagle Conversion of a P210 with a Rolls Royce turbine engine does. Aviation Consumer's Paul Bertorelli recently took a flight demo in the airplane. More...

AIRCRAFT DITCHING TRAINING WITH THE EDITORS OF AVIATION CONSUMER
Aviation Consumer's Jeff Van West got water up his nose as he practiced exiting an aircraft that has sunk and flipped over. It was quite a ride. More...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A PMA6000B AUDIO PANEL FROM PS ENGINEERING

You could win a PMA6000B audio panel from PS Engineering! 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, September 24, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

FBO OF THE WEEK: ORION FLIGHT SERVICES (WITTMAN REGIONAL AIRPORT, KOSH, OSHKOSH, WI)

AVweb reader Doug Latch pointed out that we'd given due praise to two FBOs who stepped up to the plate when traffic was routed away from Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh at the beginning of AirVenture — but no one had given a nod to KOSH's own Orion Flight Services:

These people went well beyond normal. They treated me like I had a Gulfstream or Boeing business jet, and they knew from the start I was flying a 1966 Cessna Skyhawk. During AirVenture this year, parking was extreme and almost gone. [While] the other FBO was only accepting twins and jets, Toby Kamark took me and my Skyhawk and treated us like Royalty ... [then] he took as many people as he could to register for the show and returned. ... I was there after the show, and the level of service did not decline.

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
Scott Peterson of Santa Rosa, California didn't have to visit 1945 to get this photo; he just went to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and "happened by when these guys came in period uniforms and posed for another photographer." Thanks to the internet, Scott's good luck is now yours and ours to enjoy. 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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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.

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