ADS-B FULL DEPLOYMENT BY 2013
ADS-B will be fully operational in the U.S. by 2013; the FAA announced Friday that it had approved full deployment of the satellite and ground-based system. In a statement, the agency said it approved full deployment after successful testing of full systems at Philadelphia, Louisville, over the Gulf of Mexico and in Alaska proved it could work in the full range of operating conditions. "This approach ensured that ADS-B was tested in the most extreme environments, allowing the agency to uncover and resolve any anomalies before the commissioning," the statement said. More...

15TH FAA EXTENSION
The seemingly never-ending saga of actually paying for the FAA got another extension last week as, has become eerily routine, the House and Senate simultaneously passed bills to keep funding the agency for another three months based on the authorization that expired in 2007. It's the 15th such extension and it has all the alphabets hoping the coming lame-duck session will create the wiggle room needed to get the thing passed. In case you've forgotten why that's important, this is the reauthorization that ignores user fees and increases fuel taxes. More...

FAA TO MERGE SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAMS
The FAA Wednesday announced that it will merge information collected through voluntary safety programs for both pilots and air traffic controllers to "help guide safety decisions." The FAA is billing the merge as a "data-sharing program" that will collect information from the existing Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) and the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP). It will then use both perspectives to assess and review safety events. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt calls the merger "revolutionary" in its ability to provide "an incredible amount of data," help the agency identify trouble spots within the aviation system, and "make corrections and avoid incidents." The FAA says it will develop policies and processes to make sure information is analyzed and applied in a non-punitive way. More...

PILOT CRITICAL AFTER AIRSHOW CRASH
Alexander Supeli was in critical condition Friday after escaping the burning wreckage of his crashed Super Decathlon at an airshow some 80 miles southeast of Jakarta. The crash at the Bandung Air Show at Husein Sastranegara Airport was witnessed by hundreds of spectators, including "dozens of schoolchildren," according to a report in The Daily Mail. The moment of impact was caught on film by the Associated Press and Reuters. Local news coverage included video of the crash, which also made its way to YouTube. The video shows the aircraft descending into the ground as it performs a low-altitude roll to the left. The roll appears to hesitate as the aircraft passes through inverted and continues to descend. The roll then seems to accelerate slightly, but the right wing strikes the ground before the aircraft reaches wings-level. It cartwheels and quickly bursts into flames. More...

UPS 747 CRASH INVESTIGATION UPDATE
News agencies in the Middle East Thursday said investigators have found evidence that the crew of a UPS Boeing 747-400 that crashed Sept. 3 near Dubai conducted their final moments in a cockpit filled with dense smoke. UPS has responded directly to one report published by The Khaleej Times, adding comments also directed at the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal has already published a report suggesting that lithium batteries may have contributed to the intensity of fire and smoke. UPS told the Khaleej Times that early speculation is "irresponsible" and "everyone must let the GCAA [The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority] investigation run its course." The NTSB's factual report states "the crew declared an emergency due to smoke in the cockpit." GCAA Thursday announced that complete flight data and voice recorder information had been successfully downloaded by NTSB technicians and analysis of the data is ongoing. More...

GAS BALLOON RACERS LAUNCH
Steady and brisk northwest winds were pushing competitors in the annual Gordon Bennett International Gas Balloon Race into southern Europe and toward the Mediterranean when we last checked. The race, billed as the oldest aviation race, was first launched in 1906 and has been held 54 times in those 104 years. The premise is simple. All competitors (20 this year) launch at the same time and the one that travels the farthest wins. This year's launch site was near Bristol in southern England and the winds put everyone over the English Channel within hours. More...

LOCAL CANDIDATE'S BID TO SWAP AIRPORT FOR POT FARM
Jon Louis Mann would like to close Santa Monica airport and grow industrial marijuana there, he's running for a seat on the Santa Monica City Council, and if past performance is any indicator, he won't win. But his position caters to public opposition to the airport, which has centered in recent years on noise and safety concerns. Mann's position would merge those with a desire to fill city budget gaps in conjunction with California's Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana in the state if passed by voters in November. "We should close the airport down in 2015" (when obligations to the Federal government expire) Mann told local news, TheLookOut. "We can use the hangars and have the city go into medicinal marijuana. Instead of making $1 million in taxes, they'll make $10 million," he said. Concerned pilots may be encouraged by Mann's previous record running for office, and his own expectations this time. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: IN THE AGE OF GLASS COCKPITS, A GLASS CEILING?
Fewer than seven percent of pilots are women. Why is that? In this guest post to the AVweb Insider blog, flight instructor (and ATP) Mireille Goyer argues the aviation culture discourages young women from becoming pilots even if it embraces them after their trial by fire. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: RULES TO IGNORE
Noise abatement rules top the list when complying with them whittles your margin down to unacceptable limits or is just — stupid. Better to have the neighbors complain about the noise than to have a Cub come down on the patio. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli offers his usual inciteful, hot-headed and %#*! crazy observations on the topic. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVMAIL: SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Letter of the Week: Flying's Never Been Cheap

Flying has never been cheap and never will be, our great technological capabilities notwithstanding. David Thurston in his classic books Design for Flying and Design for Safety showed clearly why the LSA category could never have met its lofty goals of affordable flying: small market, high development costs (even with LSAs' relaxed regulatory regimen), and the amount of infrastructure necessary for a sustainable business.

We always get caught in the trap of expecting the advances we enjoy in our cars and electronic equipment to be directly applicable to light aircraft without considering the vast differences in market size that make such advances possible. The proponents of the LSA category misapprehended the sources of new aircraft cost as onerous regulation of airframes and aviators. The real drivers of the high cost of light aircraft flight are basic physics, basic business, and its economically non-essential nature.

Shaun Simpkins

Click through to read the rest of this week's letters.

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...

PROWLER COMMAND, WARBIRD FLYING CLUB
Scott Perdue, chief instructor for the Pacific Prowler B-25 based in Fort Worth, Texas, talks with AVweb's Mary Grady about how you can get a second-in-command rating in the big bomber and the benefits of joining the Prowler Command flying club. More...

VIDEO: KANSAS CITY'S AIRLINE HISTORY MUSEUM
AVweb visits the Airline History Museum in Kansas City. More...

VIDEO: "FIRST EVER" HUMAN-POWERED ORNITHOPTER FLIGHT
A group of University of Toronto students has just announced that a flight of their human-powered flapping-wing aircraft, The Snowbird, on August 2 may have set an FAI record with a "first ever" flight for its kind. The group believes that after being towed aloft, the aircraft maintained speed and altitude for 19.3 seconds and covered approximately 145 meters while flying at 25.6 km/h. During that time, it was powered solely by its pilot and designer, U of T engineering Ph.D. candidate Todd Reichert, who estimates he's capable of about 0.3 horsepower. Reichert believes his team's effort represents the first ever sustained flight of a human-powered ornithopter. The FAI ruling committee (the record keepers) is expected to offer its opinion in October. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: SUGAR LAND REGIONAL AIRPORT (KSGR, TEXAS)

AVweb reader Dale Davis discovered our latest "FBO of the Week" at Sugar Land Regional Airport (KSGR) in Sugar Land, Texas. "Beautiful interior design, multiple seating areas in stylish leather, a boutique gift shop, museum, clean restrooms and a full-service, friendly staff" put Sugar Land at the top of Dale's list, and his recommendations puts it at the top of ours.

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 LIGHTSPEED ZULU HEADSET

Win a Lightspeed Zulu aviation headset 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 October 15, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
As we mentioned Thursday, a time crunch kept us from serving up last week's batch of reader-submitted photos. Not to worry, though — we've got them all here, and, as usual, you'll find even more rockin' bonus pics in the slideshow on AVweb's home page. Gary Landgraf of Brentwood, California kicks off the festivities this ruff and tumble passenger, Scooter. More...

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

I heard this on the air between a Bonanza and Kansas City Center:

Center:
"Bonanza One Alpha Bravo, turn right 20 degrees, vector for MOA."

Bonanza:
"Sorry. I didn't know it was hot tonight. How low does it go? Maybe I could just go under it."

Center:
"Well, it's a military bombing range. If they drop one, I guess it will go all the way to theground."

Nathan Burns
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

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