BOEING'S NEW 747 FLIES
Boeing flew its newest airplane for the first time on Sunday but casual observers would be excused from noticing the importance of the event. The 747-8 Intercontinental lifted off smoothly from Everett, Washington's Paine Field for a four-hour and 26-minute flight that ended at Boeing Field in Seattle. Test pilot Capt. Paul Stemer summarized the first flight of the familiar airframe by noting that "any 747-400 crew could have gone and flown this airplane." Nevertheless, the airplane does put some additional pressure on Airbus as Boeing's "new" 747 takes direct aim at the "when is this going to end?" segment of the airliner market with a range of 8,000 nm with a full load of 467 passengers. More...

RE-REGISTRATION DEADLINE LOOMS
The first wave of aircraft registrations set to expire under the FAA's new re-registration drive are reaching their deadline -- March 31, 2011 -- and the FAA is encouraging affected owners to re-register online, now. If you own an aircraft, you will have to re-register sometime within the next three years. The first group targeted for the $5 fee and paperwork are those owners holding registration certificates issued in March of any year prior to 2010. Owners have a three month window to file re-registration applications, a timeframe that has shrunk to weeks for the first wave. You should be receiving a reminder from the FAA when your time approaches. The FAA has provided online tools to help you check when your turn will come and to help you through the process. Don't do it too early and don't do it too late. More...

DIAMOND'S FUTURE CONTINGENT ON LOAN?
Diamond Aircraft's president, Peter Mauer, is making it sound like the future of the company may be hanging on a $35 million Canadian loan that, as of Friday, may or may not be coming. The loan would help launch production of Diamond's D-Jet, save 200 jobs and create 500 more in London, Ontario, where the unemployment rate is currently near 8.5 percent. Roughly half of Diamond's workforce is currently dedicated to the jet, which has amassed more than 230 firm orders. According to Mauer, without the jet the company's debts would be "very difficult to satisfy" based on depressed piston sales. And "I'll let you do the extrapolation," he told the Financial Post. More...

JAPAN EXODUS PUTS PREMIUM ON BIZJETS
The nuclear crisis in Japan has some companies pulling staff from the island nation in droves and some private jet companies may not only be cashing in on the business, but increasing prices. COO of Hong Kong Jet, Jackie Wu, told Reuters Wednesday, "Yesterday, a charter plane from Tokyo to Australia, one way, was quoted at $265,000, up 20 percent." Wu said he'd received a request to fly 14 people from Tokyo to Hong Kong and charged a 26-percent premium. Some of the companies working the area have already seen significant business gains from participating in evacuation flights in the Middle East. Charter operator Air Partner says it has moved more than 12,000 people from troubled regions since late January. As demand grows in Japan, some companies are positioning themselves and their equipment to respond and cash in on the work. More...

COMMANDER OWNERS REPORT CRACKS
The Commander Owners Group (COG) has received "several" reports from Commander 114 owners about cracks in and around the elevator hinge assemblies and spars, and is encouraging owners to check their aircraft and report their findings. COG does not know if the issue is widespread and is seeking information from the Commander community and asking that they help spread the word. The group is taking a leadership position and offering help to owners by providing a suggested inspection procedure and a survey form to track results. Those specific resources are available online for Commander owners -- click through if that means you. More...

AMANDA FRANKLIN 'DOING WELL'
Air show pilot Kyle Franklin seems to be in good spirits and is upbeat about his wife Amanda's recovery from serious burns after the couple was involved in a mishap at a Texas airport March 12. In a Facebook posting , which serves as a caption for the accompanying photo, Franklin says his wife is "doing well" as she awaits more surgery. "Me working at my computer, after my auto skin graft," Franklin wrote on his wall. "Amanda's down the hall, doing well. She goes in on Monday for more surgeries." Franklin promised a full update on Amanda's progress shortly. Meanwhile, at least two funds have been established to raise money to help the Franklins recover and rebuild. Click here for the fund organized by the International Council of Air Shows and here for the fund created by the Brownsville Air Fiesta, the show during which the Franklins had their accident. More...

ICAS FOUNDATION'S KYLE & AMANDA FRANKLIN FUND
The aviation community is coming together to help Kyle and Amanda Franklin get back on their feet and eventually back in the air after their mishap at Air Fiesta at the Brownsville/South Padre Island Airport. If you'd like to contribute, click on the banner at right to visit the ICAS Foundation web site. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: IS POTOMAC AIRFIELD OUR TAHRIR SQUARE?
O.K., so it's a reach. Professional nudge (and Potomac Airfield owner and operator) David Wartofksy has asked the DOT to review the onerous security procedures that burden anyone flying into the District of Columbia. In the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli asks the obvious (and, to some, unthinkable) question: Isn't it time we just stop doing this stuff? Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FUEL SURVEY — GIVE US REAL NUMBERS
Paul Bertorelli has finished compiling the results of our recent avgas replacement survey, and he gives you the skinny on what we've learned in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Among our findings: Owners want to know what it's going to cost — whatever "it" turns out to be. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FIRE IN FLIGHT — GIVE IT A THOUGHT
Fire in flight is such a universally horrible thing to think about that most of us probably just don't think about it much. But two recent accidents highlight how important it is to spend some time taking basic precautions. In the latest installment of the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli (again) stresses why you need a Halon extinguisher and why you need to keep it close in the cockpit. Read more and join the conversation. More...

ARE YOU FLYING WITH A CONTINENTAL POWERLINK SYSTEM?
If so, we would like to hear your impressions of the system for a follow-up article on this product, which Continental might be about to take another run at promoting. Drop us a line at pbertorelli@avweb.com, and we'll get back to you. More...

ASSOCIATE EDITOR OPENING
One of our sister aviation publications is looking for an associate editor. If you are a savvy, motivated layout master and wordsmith, they would love to hear from you. (Click through for a job description and application instructions.) More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

VIDEO: LEGEND CUB VS. CUBCRAFTERS LSA
To look at an original Piper J-3 Cub, you'd have to say, "What's the big deal?" Tube and fabric construction and a cork for a gas gauge. Yet the Cub idea endures in the form of several LSA Cub clones. In this video, AVweb's Paul Bertorelli gets a flight demo in the Legend Cub and in CubCrafters' S2. More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
This week's winning photo comes from Jeffrey N. Jeffords of Lenoir City, TN. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: LEAVENWORTH AVIATION SERVICES (KFLV, FT. LEAVENWORTH, KS)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Leavenworth Aviation Services, LLC at Sherman Army Air Field (KFLV) in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

"This is obviously a one-man operation (plus volunteers)," writes AVweb reader Denis Walsh — but sometimes one man can do more for you than a large operation. To wit:

We were met with complete cooperation and helped to get the courtesy car running so my son could drive to the prison to visit a friend. All this despite the absence of the FBO operator. His stand-in went out of his way to accomodate our no-notice needs. The very small terminal facility was the tidiest and best maintained I have seen [and is] worthy of being compared to the fanciest FBO. They had all the latest mission-planning equipment and free refreshments. A very pleasant surprise for me.

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!

SHORT FINAL

While on final, RNAV 9, into Isla Grande airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico recently:

Tower:
"Mooney 5 Triple 8 Quebec, be advised: Iguana crossing the runway, south to north, midfield."

Then, on short final:

Tower:
"Double 8 Quebec, iguana no factor. He's crossed the white line on the north side."

I've heard a lot of funny stuff on the radio, but that was a first!

Wallace Pond
via e-mail

HEARD ANYTHING FUNNY ON THE RADIO?
Heard anything funny, unusual, or downright shocking on the radio lately? If you've been flying any length of time, you're sure to have eavesdropped on a few memorable exchanges. The ones that gave you a chuckle may do the same for your fellow AVweb readers. Share your radio funny with us, and, if we use it in a future "Short Final," we'll send you a sharp-looking AVweb hat to sport around your local airport. No joke. Click here to submit your original, true, and previously unpublished story. 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.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.

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.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.