FINANCING AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED LIGHT AIRCRAFT BUYERS
In contrast to the financing market for business jets, there's money available for qualified purchasers of good used older piston aircraft. In a podcast interview with AVweb, Jim Blessing of Air Fleet Capital said that while lenders may be leery of business jets older than 10 years, he's having no trouble finding money for those who want to buy airplanes built in 1970 or later, as long as they have their financial affairs in order. He said that while credit requirements have tightened somewhat, there is money available for those who can demonstrate financial stability in the context of the tough economy. More...

TIME TO DITCH FAA MEDICALS?
Does it make sense that pilots need a third-class medical to fly even the smallest GA aircraft, while drivers can get a license to drive vehicles that weigh much more without a checkup? David Wartofsky doesn't think it makes sense at all, and he has petitioned the FAA to reconsider its rule. Wartofsky, the owner of Potomac Airfield, near Washington, D.C., is used to taking on the government bureaucracy and seems ready for a new challenge. He suggests the FARs should be changed to require all pilots to have a valid driver's license, but no medical requirement for piloting an aircraft less than 6,000 pounds max gross weight. "People are in more danger from passing vehicles on the road, than small aircraft passing overhead," says Wartofsky. He has posted his petition to the FAA online, and encourages supporters to submit comments to the FAA docket.

Related Content:

• What do you think? Answer our "Question of the Week" poll on the future of the Class Three Medical.

NTSB EXAMINES REGIONAL AIRLINE SAFETY
The NTSB this week held a two-day forum to examine safety issues related to code-sharing agreements between major airlines and regional carriers. "We have investigated many accidents in which passengers bought tickets on a major carrier and flew all or part of their trip on a different carrier -- one that may have been operating to different safety standards than the carrier that issued the ticket," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said that crews on regional routes tend to fly "potentially the most fatiguing schedules" and added that "current regulations never envisioned this model." Besides representatives of the NTSB, FAA and the airline industry, presenters at the forum included relatives of crash victims, who provided some of the most dramatic testimony. More...

NATCA LAUDS FAA COLLABORATION
The president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says the union is collaborating with the FAA on the implementation of new technology and the entire industry will benefit. In a speech to the Air Traffic Control Association meeting in Washington, D.C., earlier this week, Paul Rinaldi said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has involved controllers in the planning process for NextGen and it will result in a better system. "We want to be part of something we can be proud of and serve our country in a critical safety function that is so inherently governmental," Rinaldi told the conference. He said the process began with agreement on a new contract for controllers a year ago that all but eliminated the adversarial atmosphere that dominated the recent history of relations between the agency and the controllers. The progress made between the agency and the union was highlighted by the choice for Air Traffic Control Specialist of the Year, Steve Hansen. More...

SPACEPORT RUNWAY OPENS WITH WK2 LANDING
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, carried beneath the WhiteKnightTwo mothership, landed at the New Mexico Spaceport last week to christen the new runway. "We are celebrating the world's first spaceway at the world's first purpose-built, commercial spaceport," said Governor Bill Richardson, who was joined for the event by Virgin CEO Richard Branson. The spaceship flew over the spaceport, where a crowd of media and future space travelers was gathered, then landed on the new runway, which is over 10,000 feet long. The runway is constructed from four inches of asphalt and 14 inches of concrete, laid on top of a two-foot-deep bedding surface, which is strong enough to support just about any aircraft flying today, according to the spaceport's news release. Branson said the event was "truly inspiring," and added, "I for one can't wait for the grand opening." More...

SWIFTFUEL EXPANDS TESTING
Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana have agreed to work with Swift Enterprises to test the company's unleaded aviation fuel, the university said this week. Recent tests at Purdue used six aviation piston engines including a Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD, the highest-octane-demand engine currently manufactured, and a 65-octane Ranger L-440 built in 1933, which is one of the lowest-octane-demand engines in use. "SwiftFuel appears promising as a replacement for 100LL general aviation fuel," said David Stanley, principal investigator for the research project. The fuel is also being tested in a Beechcraft Duchess light twin aircraft used as an airborne laboratory by the Purdue Climate Change Research Center. More...

PT6 POWERS CESSNA TEST TURBOPROP
A few more details have emerged about Cessna's experimental single-engine turboprop. According to airworthiness (PDF) and registration (PDF) records provided by Plane Fax, the presumed N-number of the aircraft, N350CE, is indeed an experimental aircraft intended for research and development and banned from flying over developed areas except for during takeoff and landing. The R&D plane has only two seats and, as is customary with test planes, only those who have business being there are allowed on board. The documents also put to rest speculation on the engine choice for the test article. It's a PT6. 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."

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: IS THE THIRD CLASS MEDICAL NECESSARY?
Now that Sport Pilot certificate holders have been flying around for five years without a noticeable rate of medically-related accidents, is it time to reconsider the medical requirements for all private pilots?

Plus: Back before NBAA, we asked whether the United States is (or should be) the dominant force in setting pilot and aircraft certification standards; click through to see how AVweb readers answered. 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: A WAKE-UP CALL ON AIRPORT SECURITY
In his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli cheers ExpressJet pilot Michael Roberts for bringing some much-needed scrutiny to airline security procedures — but one voice and a few sound arguments aren't likely to send TSA back to the drawing board. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: GLASS PANEL REDUNDANCY
Ever wish you could ride along with Aviation Consumer editor Paul Bertorelli and Kitplanes editor Marc Cook on one of their story-finding expeditions and join in the heated discussion of a hot button aviation topic like — oh, say — whether it's acceptable to fly IFR without iron gyros to back up the data from your trusty G3X? If you insist on getting into the middle of this, don't miss Marc's commentary on why he's comfortable with his glass panel's built-in redundancy. More...

VIDEO: IFR MAGAZINE'S TWO-PART TOUR OF THE FAA'S AERONAV WEB SITE
This is the place to go if you want to see what's new, changed or in the works with FAA approach plates. Jeff Van West shares some of the highlights in this two-part video for our sister magazine, IFR. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: SHORELINE AVIATION (MARSHFIELD MUNICIPAL/GEORGE HARLOW FIELD AIRPORT, MARSHFIELD, MA)

AVweb reader Charley Valera discovered our latest "FBO of the Week" on a chow flight to the Massachusetts coast, where he and his traveling companions visited Marshfield Municipal/George Harlow Field Airport (KGHG) and got the royal treatment from Ann Pollard and the staff at Shoreline Aviation. Charley paints a vivid picture of the good time had by all:

Each of us [there were four airplanes on this trip] has to do a go-around as the winds are shifting. [Ann Pollard's voice] comes over the unicom recommending runway 24 instead of 6. Once down, she's there with an Aviationists Greeting. Happy to have us and accommodating, even at 6:00 PM. She has a van waiting for us with the doors open and ready. Ann takes a few group photos in their new beautiful FBO. ... She tells us to enjoy ourselves and to clear the runway of any deer or coyotes when we return prior to departing. When we get to the restaurant, they are expecting us. Ann made reservations for us with a view! Arriving back to GHG probably over gross from the wonderful fresh seafood, we drive around the airportt, only to scare away a herd of coyotes. The entire experience makes you feel like good family or old friends. A beautiful New England airport with top notch service ... truly an example of how to run an airport.

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 100,000 AIR BP BRAVO REWARDS POINTS

Now's your chance to win 100,000 Air BP Bravo Rewards Points — there are more than 45 million reward options available through the Bravo program — 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 Friday, November 5.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
This particular paradise is the "Main Salmon River in Idaho, Wilson Bar USFS air strip." Tim Riley of Los Gatos, California captures the moment perfectly and beats out a slew of other reader photos to be named our "Picture of the Week."

We had hoped to get in a regular installment of "POTW" last week, but NBAA kept us a little too busy to serve up our usual gallery of reader-submitted eye candy. And man, do we ever regret it! Last week's photos were a stunning bunch, and even with a few extra days to pick a winner, we have to tell you — 'tweren't easy. Not only did the submissions from our missed week raise the bar in terms of quality; they topped our expectations in quantity, too. With that in mind, we're not combining entries from the last couple of weeks to catch up. If next week's entries are unusually thin, we may roll them over — but, more likely, we'll work on sneaking in an extra edition of "POTW" sometime over the next couple of weeks. (Now that's what we'd call a win-win scenario.) 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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