RC-EYE VIEW OF NEW YORK
Chances are you've never seen New York from these angles (unless you're Sean Tucker in an invisible plane). A group of technophiles that calls itself Team Black Sheep launched a video-camera-equipped RC aircraft from Brooklyn Bridge Park and buzzed many of the New York's most famous landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty. The image was transmitted to an operator's console and a second video camera recorded the image off that screen. Still, it's pretty good quality and the perspectives gathered would be impossible to get from a full-sized aircraft, notwithstanding what the official response to such a flight would be. While the Ritewing Zephyr casts a much smaller shadow than a manned aircraft, its flight did not go unnoticed by New York's understandably twitchy law enforcement and security organizations. More...

PASSENGER SIT-IN DELAYS FLIGHT
Passengers aboard a Moroccan airliner staged a sit-in Saturday that turned what might have been a four-hour inconvenience into a 24-hour ordeal. The 137 passengers on the Jet4You flight from Toulouse to Casablanca bought tickets for a direct flight (about 90 minutes). As they were settling in, the captain announced a couple of detours, first north to Lyon and then back south to Bordeaux, reportedly to pick up pax who were stranded for some reason. The impromptu tour of France would have added at least four hours to the trip and the passengers were having none of that. More...

SPAIN'S ATC MESS BOILS OVER (AGAIN)
Friday, air traffic controllers in Spain staged a massive "sickout" just three months since they last voted to strike, nearly one year since reports of their sometimes $1 million-plus salaries, and amidst economists' musings that the country may require a financial bailout. Roughly 90 percent of controllers abandoned their posts Friday, resulting in a massive shutdown of airports and airspace, affecting thousands of flights. Three controllers did arrive to Madrid's Barajas airport to aid arrivals there. The controllers have been involved in contract negotiations over work conditions, wages and privileges. The talks intensified early in 2010 when the government proposed restricted overtime. That alone effectively reduced the average salary of Spanish controllers from about $463,000 to $264,000 annually, according to the WashingtonExaminer. The controllers union now says the country's 2,300 controllers are overworked and have already put in their maximum number of hours for 2010. They also timed their strike for increased impact. More...

CAMELINA BIO-JET FUEL BY 2012?
Fuel produced from the camelina plant could be used as a renewable biojet fuel that would reduce jet-fuel greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent, according to researchers -- and ATSM standards for the fuel are expected before 2012. Camelina-based jet fuel has been tested by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Japan Airlines on different types of aircraft and in different engines. The Navy has tested the fuel in an F/A-18 Super Hornet and last month flew an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on a 50/50 mix of camelina-based and petroleum-based fuels. The U.S. Navy and Air Force have contracted with Sustainable Oils, a camelina biojet fuel provider, for a total of 500,000 gallons to be delivered by early 2011. According to Sustainable Oils, camelina can be planted, harvested and refined with existing equipment and technology that is available today. More...

BIOFUEL TO POWER LUFTHANSA COMMUTER FLIGHTS
Lufthansa will become the first airline to use biofuel on revenue flights, with a six-month trial that begins in April of 2011. The airline will use a 50-50 blend of Jet A and biodiesel on domestic routes during the trial period. The trial is being partly funded by the German government in a study of the long-term effects of biofuel use in commercial service. The same A321 will use the fuel blend as it plies the well-traveled Frankfurt-Hamburg route. More...

SONEX FLIES ELECTRIC AIRPLANE
More than three years after its 2007 unveiling (video), Sonex Aircraft's electric-powered Waiex took its first flight (video) Friday, lifting out of ground effect before settling back down on the runway at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis. Sonex says the intentionally short hop was intended to analyze "one of the most advanced electric flight packages ever conceived." If true, that may help Sonex catch Chinese manufacturer Yuneec, which achieved first flight (video) of its two-seat electric high-wing in June 2009, and Randall Fishman, who's single-seat Electraflyer-C flew at length (video) for the crowd at AirVenture Oshkosh in 2008. Back in 2007, Sonex's John Monnet said the aircraft would fly for one hour at low-speed cruise or for about 15 minutes in all-out high-performance aerobatic operation. Evolution may ultimately deliver different endurance figures. More...

QANTAS KEEPS LEGAL OPTIONS OPEN AGAINST ROLLS-ROYCE
Qantas Thursday secured its option to pursue legal action against Rolls-Royce if the two companies fail to reach a settlement over losses suffered when a Trent 900 engine experienced uncontained failure on a Qantas A380. The two companies are engaged in discussions covering a range of issues related to the incident and Qantas' "statement of claim" opens the possibility to sue. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has found that a specific manufacturing defect was to blame. According to the ATSB, a misaligned boring on an oil pipe can lead to fatigue cracking, oil leakage, oil fires, and explosive engine failure. Rolls-Royce has instituted an inspection, maintenance and removal plan to assure the safe operations of the Trent 900s still in service. The failure of the engine on Nov. 4, aboard the Qantas airliner, caused substantial damage to the aircraft and led to a disruption of Qantas' operations. One report suggests Rolls-Royce knew enough that the event could have been avoided. More...

FLIGHT EVENT TARGETS GIRLS
Renton Airport in Washington State is claiming the title of Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide after 170 girls and women got introductory flights on Sunday. A total of 10 pilots flying seven aircraft, including one helicopter, flew the back-to-back hops at the airport, which is just south of Seattle. Records are kept for such events and the day in Renton beat Kpong Field Airport in Ghana for the title. The Ghanians managed 97 discovery flights at an earlier event. More...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #154: WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW ...
... is more pilots. And some pilots need to become professional flyers, even if the airlines keep merging into one. So, if you're ready to fly for hire — or for food — ace this commercial pilot quiz.

Take the quiz.

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AIRPLANES AS SACRED COWS
That's what the F-35 has been, but it may not stay that way. The Pentagon will certainly take some cuts, and the F-35 is a $382 billion target of opportunity. But it's also something else: Very likely the last major manned fighter we'll see for a while — and maybe forever. Paul Bertorelli has more in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. More...

ROD HIGHTOWER'S EAA (PART 3 OF 3)
In our third installment of an interview with EAA President Rod Hightower, we wanted to know what EAA is doing to ensure a steady stream of new pilots. As Hightower told AVweb's Russ Niles, new pilots come from the grass roots of aviation, including his own family. More...

VIDEO: AVWEB FLIES THE KITFOX LSA
Everyone complains that light sport aircraft are too expensive, but Kitfox is doing something about it. AVweb recently went to Homedale, Idaho to try out Kitfox's new moderately priced LSA. Here's a full video report. More...

ARE YOU USING MOGAS IN YOUR AIRPLANE?

If so, AVweb and Aviation Consumer would like to talk to you about your experiences using unleaded mogas. Also, if you're an FBO and you're already selling mogas or you're thinking about it, we would like to hear from you.

Contact us at avconsumer@comcast.net.

(The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here.)

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...

FBO OF THE WEEK: EAGLES OF AMERICA, INC. (KMGR, MOULTRIE, GEORGIA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Eagles of America at Moultrie Municipal Airport (KMGR) in Moultrie, Georgia.

AVweb reader Larry King thought "Alan Mathis and his people deserve this recognition," and after reading Larry's account of his trip, we agree:

Upon my arrival at Moultrie on November 27, I was greeted by name by the lineman with an offer to refuel and place my plane in their hangar for my overnight stay. They had my rental car waiting on the tarmac, and when they felt they had delayed my departure the next morning, they insisted on giving me three quarts of Aeroshell Oil for any inconvenience. Even though I was flying a Cessna 170, I received Citation service.

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!

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.

Congratulations to Robert Yocum of Blain, Pennsylvania, who won an iFly 700 GPS from Adventure Pilot in our previous giveaway! (click here to get your own iFly 700)

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
As we continue to catch up with recent submissions, we come to the period referred to as "The Virginian Week." No, that wasn't the week we watched James Drury on Starz all week — though we did that, too: It's the week every pilot in Virginia seems to have uploaded a photo to our submission box. Maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but — well, see for yourself as we queue up this week's top photos. To kick things off, Garrett Nievin of Ashburn, Virginia is "taking the Vaelie Monocoupe out to fly at the Golden Age Air Musuem in Bethel, Pennsylvania." More...

SHORT FINAL

I got a chuckle out of this one Monday. Maybe the humor was from voice inflection.

Unknown Pilot #1 (On Guard):
"Hey, Greg — are you up?"

Unknown Pilot #2 (On Guard) [presumably "Greg"]:
"You're on guard!"

Pilot #1:
"Really?"

Pilot #2:
"Really."

Pilot #1:
"Well, so are you!"

George Boras
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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