NEW DIESEL AIRCRAFT ENGINE IN WORKS
A Wisconsin company hopes to have a running prototype of a diesel aircraft engine by next summer after funding for the project came through last week. Engineered Propulsion Systems, of New Richmond, celebrated the formal launch of the project after it raised more than $800,000 in investor and state financing. Engineers Michael Fuchs and Steven Weinzierl have been working on the project for several years but funding has been a problem in the recession. Technical details of the engine aren't readily available, but the project has attracted interest from Cirrus Aircraft and drawn Dick Rutan as a technical adviser. "I'm really proud of all of you," Rutan told the product launch. "It's going to save aviation." More...

FATAL CONDITION MISSED BY PRO-PILOT MEDICAL
Tony Corr, a British Boeing 737 pilot for Ryanair, died along with his friend, Richard Leonard, when the Piper Navajo they were flying on Jan. 15 crashed in the U.K., but the precise timing and reason for Corr's death may have other implications. A post-mortem examination showed Corr had 90-percent thickening in two of his three major arteries. Corr had passed his most recent medical in September of 2009 and was working for Ryanair instructing pilots in the 737-800 just days before the fatal accident. The pathologist who examined Corr's body said his condition could have caused arrhythmia, a heart attack or sudden death at any time, according to Witneygazette.co.uk. Karen Leonard, widow of Richard Leonard, framed the issue in a British court saying, "Surely, someone should have picked up on the serious nature of his heart condition." Said Leonard, "If they had, Richard and Tony would be alive today." More...

787 FIRE SPARKS "MINOR" REDESIGN
Boeing says it's redesigning the electrical panels and attendant power distribution software on the 787 after a program-halting fire on one of its test planes in Laredo, Texas, a few weeks ago. It's also partly confirming reports last week that something that wasn't supposed to be in an electrical box caused the fire. Those reports said it was a tool left by a worker. Boeing says it doesn't think so. "It was small, it wasn't as big as a tool," Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said. "A tool would leave evidence." The company characterized the work as minor. More...

"LEAKED IMAGES" OF QANTAS A380 DAMAGE HIT NET
A "leaked" and unconfirmed PDF document first published by Crikey.com purports to show pictures of the damage done to a Qantas A380 on Nov. 4 when it suffered an uncontained engine failure and shed parts over Indonesia. Photos in the document show a failure that sent debris toward the fuselage, gashes in a wing, serious damage to a flight control drive motor, severed wiring, damage to a forward spar and a large fuel pipe that's torn open. (Click here for images.) The document says the forward spar was "penetrated and is damaged extensively." The photos have not been officially confirmed by Airbus or Qantas. Separately, Richard Woodward, vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, said of the damage, "The amount of failures is unprecedented." Qantas grounded its six aircraft fleet of Airbus A380s following the accident but announced Tuesday that it is ready to resume some A380 operations after "extensive checks with Airbus and Rolls-Royce." The airline is not ready to restart its longest A380 flights and Rolls-Royce is still busy dealing with complications the events have imposed on its supply chain. More...

TUPOLEV CRASH LANDING FINDS HERO
The pilots and flight crew of a Tu-154M have been honored by the Russian president, and the story of their emergency landing will be made into a movie, but the involvement of another man, Sergey Sotnikov, has made him a hero of the people. On Sept. 7, 2010, Izhma airfield became the runway of choice for the pilots of the Alrosa Airlines jet after the Tupolev suffered electric system failures that killed its radios and navigation equipment, fuel pumps, and certain controls. The pilots picked the airport out of the surrounding forest, put the aircraft down and overran the short runway by 600 feet. All 80 aboard survived. The airfield had been closed to fixed-wing aircraft since the early 2000s -- and that's where Sotnikov comes in. Sergey Sotnikov had worked at Izhma airfield since 1978, and had risen through the ranks to earn the field's highest position. After the field was partially closed, he maintained Izhma's abandoned runway -- without compensation or approval -- out of his sense of responsibility. In light of the events of Sept. 7, Sotnikov's efforts have earned him the respect and admiration of his countrymen and, recently, even more. More...

SURVEY: WHY AREN'T MORE WOMEN IN AVIATION?
A two-year study has identified barriers that stop women from learning to fly and produced suggestions to increase the number of female pilots. The study was performed by Penny Hamilton, Ph.D., and included 296 surveys or personal interviews of women pilots and student pilots, females who did not complete their flight training, and instructors of both genders. Dr. Hamilton used her research to produce a list of the top 10 barriers that stop women from flying and the top 10 ways to increase female success in general aviation. Topping the list of deterrents was one that anecdotally appears universal -- a lack of money for flight training. Dr. Hamilton addressed gender-specific recommendations to counter "instructor-student communication incompatibility (Mars vs. Venus)," a lack of readily available female mentors, certain perceived gaps in experience and skill sets and more. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FRIENDS OF THE EARTH — THE UPSIDE
This environmental group is seen as the main heavy in the struggle to find a replacement for 100LL, but it is in fact just one of many players. On the plus side, the Friends' petition — and maybe a lawsuit — against the EPA may finally push the lead issue in one direction or another, ending the uncertainty over future fuels. That, says Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog, is not a bad thing. More...

AVMAIL: NOVEMBER 29, 2010

Letter of the Week: Helping GA by Doing

Regarding giving back in support of GA: I sit on the local airport board, not as a member (yet), but as AOPA's Airport Support Representative. In addition to the work on the board, I also participate in Angel Flights and a couple weeks ago participated in the "Wings of Appreciation" flight where 23 planes gathered to fly wounded vets from Walter Reed to Tangier Island for an appreciation lunch. I think that these sorts of activities help promote the usefulness of GA and highlight the advantages we can offer.

Mark Shilling

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...

THE FINAL GRAND GIVEAWAY CELEBRATING AVWEB'S 15-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: WIN A GARMIN AERA 510 HANDHELD GPS

Where has the time gone? Our 15th anniversary year is almost over, and that means we've come to our 15th (and final) "Grand Giveaway." If you haven't already, register for one final chance to win — as we give away a Garmin aera 510 handheld GPS. All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You must be a registered AVweb user; if you've entered any of our previous 15 Grand Giveaways drawings, you'll automatically be considered for the aera — no need to enter again.)

Remember: We won't rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can enter this final 15 Grand Giveaways drawing. (We won't spam them, either — but do we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)

Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time Sunday, December 19.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

FBO OF THE WEEK: PROJET AVIATION (KJYO, LEESBURG, VIRGINIA)

AVweb reader Howard Schur discovered the value of a good FBO when he paid a visit to ProJet Aviation at Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field (KJYO) in Leesburg, Virginia recently:

I was arriving after hours (10pm), and they told me to take my time. I needed a rental car, [and] when I landed, Mike was there with flashlights to show me where to park, and the rental car was waiting on the tarmac. By the way, I have a Cessna 340, not a Gulfstream — but was treated like I had a jet.

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!

ROD HIGHTOWER'S EAA (PART 1 OF 3)
AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with new EAA President Rod Hightower recently about his first impressions of the organization and his short- and long-term goals. We begin our three-part series with a discussion about EAA's place in general aviation. More...

VIDEO: LEARNING TO FLY WITH FLYVIE & JEPPESEN
Jeppesen and Flyvie may revolutionize the way student pilots learn to fly (and the way flight instructors approach flight training) by making actual flight lessons recordable, portable, and reviewable on the ground at the flight school, at home, and almost anywhere. More...

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

I was flying my shift as a traffic watch pilot in a Cessna 172 here in Southern California and had just contacted March Air Force Base approach to transit their Class C airspace.

Me:
"March approach, good afternoon. Traffic Watch One Two Three, 35,000 feet."

March Approach:
"Traffic Watch One Two Three, roger. Do you mean 3,500?"

Me:
"Yes, sir — 3,500. Did I say '35,000'?"

March Approach:
"Uh, yeah. I was wondering what kind of traffic you're looking at from that altitude."

Shane
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.

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Paul Bertorelli

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