SUKHOI'S STEALTHY T-50 (PAK FA) GOES PUBLIC
Russia chose the MAKS 2011 airshow near Moscow to this week publicly unveil what's generally billed as its answer to the U.S. F-22 Raptor, the Sukhoi T-50. The stealthy air superiority fighter flew a six-minute demonstration after secret tests in January of last year. Russian news agencies claim the aircraft has similar speed, range, altitude, and load-carrying specifications as the Raptor, with an emphasis on maneuverability that may surpass that of the U.S. jet. Russian sources also claim it will be produced at a fraction of the price. Whatever the case, the jet could pose a very strong challenge ... especially so long as the U.S.'s Raptor remains grounded for its ability to poison its own pilots. More...

ADMINISTRATION PLEDGES HALF-BILLION FOR BIOFUELS
The federal government will spend up to $510 million over the next three years to develop "drop-in" biofuels for aircraft, ships, and ground transportation, for both military and civilian use, the Obama administration announced on Tuesday. The plan aims to jump-start biofuels efforts, while creating jobs in rural states. It requires private investors to put up matching funds, and will support the construction of several plants and refineries to help speed the development of next-generation fuels. "These pioneer plants will demonstrate advanced technologies to produce infrastructure-compatible, drop-in renewable fuels from America's abundant biomass resources," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "It will support development of a new, rural-focused industry that will replace imported crude oil with secure, renewable fuels made here in the U.S." More...

MIT HELPS UPDATE AIRCRAFT CARRIER TECHNOLOGY
Crew members aboard U.S. aircraft carriers still use a scale model with miniature airplanes to keep track of all the activity on the deck, but the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is developing a computerized system to simplify that process. Prof. Mary Cummings and her students in the Humans and Automation Lab have designed a "deck operations course of action planner" that can track flight data and create new deck operation schedules. The team created a display that shows a map of the carrier deck. Crew, vehicles, and aircraft would be outfitted with sensor tags that transmit their position to the display. Side panels show the type and number of aircraft in line to land and launch, and flight schedules. The team recently successfully demonstrated the system for the Office of Naval Research, which is funding the five-year project. More...

HAWKER 800XPR GETS FAA OK
The FAA has granted supplemental type certification for the Hawker 800XPR, which replaces the XP's original engines with more powerful new Honeywell TFE731-50R powerplants and adds winglets for another performance boost. The upgrade, available only at factory-owned service facilities, offers "significant performance and capability improvements," the company said. The new engines improve fuel efficiency about 7 percent, according to Hawker, and longer maintenance intervals translate to a 32-percent reduction in maintenance costs. The new engines also are quieter and produce fewer carbon emissions than the ones they replace. More...

STOLEN PLANE CRASHES, PILOT MISSING
A Piper PA32 crashed in a wooded area about 20 miles from Horace Williams Airport, in North Carolina, Tuesday at about 7 a.m. -- the aircraft was stolen, the pilot was missing, and someone left a blood trail. According to local police, the pilot is believed to have escaped out the front window of the aircraft after the crash. He or she then crawled onto the wing before leaving the scene into the surrounding woods. Authorities say there was no significant fuel spilled at the sight of the crash. According to local news, as of Wednesday evening the pilot had been identified, but not found. More...

CATHAY PACIFIC FIRES PILOT, F/A OVER ONLINE SEX PHOTOS
Cathay Pacific has suspended an upcoming ad campaign that promised its crews would "go the extra mile to make you feel special" after photos were posted online showing a pilot and flight attendant engaged in a sex act in a cockpit. The male pilot and female f/a, whose names were not released by the airline, were apparently in uniform, though the pilot had a sweater on. The airline said it does not believe the airplane was flying at the time. Both employees are no longer employed by the company, according to airline officials. It was not clear how the photos made it into the public domain; various news reports say they were "stolen" from the pilot's laptop computer. The airline said the ad campaign, due to start Sept. 1, will be delayed for a month. More...

G650 DELIVERIES BY YEAR'S END
Gulfstream says it is maintaining its test schedule for the flagship G650 despite the crash of a test airplane that killed four people in April and the resulting two-month suspension of flight testing. The company says it is on track for certification "later this year" and will deliver 10 to 12 of the $65 million planes by the end of the year. "We're on track and moving steadily toward certification later this year," Pres Henne, Gulfstream senior vice president for programs, engineering and test, told the Savannah Morning News. "We've accomplished a great deal in the past two months. The aircraft continue to perform extremely well." More...

BIZAV WEATHERING LATEST FINANCIAL STORM
The current economic turmoil likely won't be felt much by the general aviation industry but that's because things couldn't really get much worse for GA manufacturers. Most analysts believe the roller coaster stock market will stabilize without affecting the bottom lines of most companies. Still, it's another reason for those thinking of buying an airplane to pause in the process and that could have some impact on the manufacturers. Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia was interviewed by several publications over the past few days and he's sticking to his basic prediction that meaningful recovery won't be felt by GA companies until next year and even then it's not clear what it will look like. Meanwhile, bizjet specialist Brian Foley says the recovery, once it does take hold, will be the very best kind of uptick. 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 U.S. LOSING AIR SUPERIORITY?
Russia unveiled its answer to the F-22 this week (while the F-22 is grounded for safety issues), and the Chinese are busily testing a similar platform. Are they flashes in the pan, or is the U.S. falling off the cutting edge of military design?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers if they agreed with a study predicting that pilots make better business executives; click through to see how they answered. 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...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: EAA'S NOT SO YOUNG EAGLES
The EAA's Young Eagles program has introduced thousands of kids to the wonder of flight. Now EAA plans to expand this program to include adults. Can this possibly work? "Well, why not?" asks Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog. As the association retools itself, it's perfectly positioned to take on the grassroots role of student pilot recruitment. The key to success will be execution. Read more and join the conversation. More...

VIDEO: AVIATION CONSUMER'S REMOS NXT FLIGHT TRIAL
Remos has a successful line of light sport aircraft, and now they've introduced a new and improved model, the NXT. Aviation Consumer's Paul Bertorelli flew the airplane recently, and here's his video report. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: TAILWHEELS ETC. (KGIF, WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon does not go to an FBO — but to a flight school! Australian AVweb reader Steve Vette explains how Tailwheels Etc. at Gilbert Airport (KGIF) in Winter Haven, Florida make his recent trip to the States memorable:

While visiting Winter Haven, Florida, the wife and self were exploring from Dundee the area for local air fields. As we both are avid aviators, our interest is airfields and/or landing fields. We encountered a lady by the name of Kate. She informed us that her great great grandfather was one of the [founders] of this airfield. Suitably impressed with the credentials provided by the various people and staff, we decided to hire a Cessna 172 for an hour. When the aircraft was allocated and we strapped ourselves in, we went flying. The panoramic scenery (for us Australians) defies description! I have no hesitation in commending the staff and ground personnel for their services, their briefings, and [their] attention to detail. ... Our flight was a special memory for my wife and myself. I hereby would like to commend Tailwheels, Etc. flying facility for their sincere and courteous attention in all aspects towards both of us.

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
This week's winning photo comes from Jason Robinson of Vancouver, WA. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. 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.