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November 3, 2011
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
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A Brazilian website has posted a video that it says shows Brazilian federal police ramming an aircraft as the plane attempts to take off from a rural road, because the plane was
suspected of operating as part of a smuggling operation. The video, shot from the back seat of the car, shows one man in the car dressed in street clothes holding what appears to be a semi-automatic
weapon. As the car pursues the aircraft, the driver reportedly says "Don't fire! I will hit the wing. Do not fire!" Soon after that the car catches up with the single engine aircraft and appears to
strike the left wing, sending shattered glass into the car's cabin. One man exits and the camera pans to show the low-wing single engine aircraft sitting on a collapsed left main gear. The armed man
exits and shouts at the aircraft's occupants.
According to a report at Folha.com, the event concluded
with five arrests, including the plane's pilot and the capture of approximately $200,000 in laptops and electronic surveillance equipment.
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The Senate has passed a bill that would reinstate the Block Aircraft Registration Request program and allow aircraft operators to prevent their flight information from being displayed on
aircraft-tracking websites. "We thank the Senate for approving this bill," NBAA President Ed Bolen said on Wednesday, "and we hope the House will finalize legislation to reinstate the
program as soon as possible." NBAA and AOPA have also challenged the plan to dismantle BARR in the courts.
A court hearing on the matter is expected in the coming months, NBAA said. EAA has filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the suit. NBAA says the dismantling of BARR represents an
"unwarranted invasion of the privacy of aircraft owners and operators, a threat to the competitiveness of U.S. companies and a potential security risk to persons on board." The BARR program used to
block flight info for anyone who asked, but faced with a Freedom of Information request, the government took the position that only a serious security concern can justify keeping the data out of the
public domain. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt was asked about the issue at EAA AirVenture in July and said the FAA does not support reinstating BARR. "This is one of those cases where we need to
distinguish between a right and a privilege," Babbitt said. Flying in the national airspace system qualifies as a privilege, he said.
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Steven R. Nusbaum, 65, formerly listed as designer and president of American Homebuilts Corp., made a safe off-airport landing after suffering a heart attack while flying in an experimental
aircraft over a Chicago suburb, Tuesday. Nusbaum had been flying near his home at roughly 5:30 p.m., and was monitored by his son, Chance. Chance Nusbaum was monitoring the flight as the airplane
abruptly descended. He arrived on scene to find the aircraft apparently undamaged with his father lying back in the seat. First responders brought an automated external defibrillator which provided
two shocks to the pilot.
Along with the defibrillator shocks, Nusbaum was given CPR and transported to a local hospital where his condition improved from critical to stable. The Nusbaums have been involved in manufacture
of a kit aircraft called the John Doe STOL. The FAA listed the specific type of aircraft involved in the event as a "Vaquero," a two-seat experimental built in 2001. Early reports state the aircraft
was not damaged in the off-airport landing and that the defibrillator was key to Nusbaum's survival. Nusbaum filed to patent a flaperon system in the 1990s.
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One of the pilots in a Yak-42 that crashed during takeoff in September, killing 44 people, apparently was
pushing hard on a brake pedal while pulling up on the yoke, investigators said on Wednesday. The three-engine jet had been chartered by a hockey team heading to Minsk for their season opener. "The
take-off speed decision by the pilot -- 190 km/h -- was 20 km/h less than that required for the actual takeoff weight of 54 tons and nominal power regime of the engines," MAK technical commission
chairman Alexey Morozov told a news conference in Moscow. It could not be determined which of the pilots was pressing on the brake.
At least four causes contributed to the crash, Morozov said: a lack of pilot training, the pilots' failure to follow standard takeoff procedures, poor coordination between the pilots during the
takeoff, and inadequate oversight of the crew's pre-flight preparation. Also, both pilots were impaired, according to investigators. One had traces of a sedative drug in his blood and the other had
been diagnosed with a motor-skill debilitating disease. Investigators also found "serious flaws" in the crew's training, according to The New York Times, with "long pauses" between simulator
sessions. The airplane lifted off briefly before it crashed to the ground about 500 yards from the runway, broke apart, and caught fire. The flight engineer was the sole survivor of the
crash.
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A federal court has found that the FAA misread its own regulations during its review of aviation hazards presented by a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the Boston Herald reported
on Friday. "The FAA catapulted over the real issues and the analytical work required by its handbook," the court said in its 14-page opinion (PDF). The FAA said last year the Cape Wind project's 130
440-foot-tall towers, in a 25-square-mile area of Nantucket Sound, would present no hazard to air navigation. Opponents to the plan went to court to say the FAA hadn't given enough weight to the
impact on VFR flights, and the court agreed. Project proponents said the FAA just didn't do a good enough job of explaining its "no hazard" finding to the court.
In May 2010, the FAA issued a report saying the project would pose no impact on the use of navigable airspace as long as Cape Wind implemented a number of measures to mitigate the turbines' impact
on nearby radar facilities. However, the town of Barnstable, Mass., and a group of opponents to the project challenged that opinion, arguing that the FAA "violated its governing statute, misread its
own regulations, and arbitrarily and capriciously failed to calculate the dangers posed to local aviation." Managers of GA airports at Barnstable, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard told the court that
the "finely balanced airspace over Nantucket Sound is already one of the most congested, foggy, and dangerous airspaces on the eastern seaboard." NATCA said that adding turbines to the area would
create a "disaster waiting to happen." The FAA now must review and re-submit its findings in the case.
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Congressman Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the House General Aviation Caucus, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to shelve LightSquared's request for a waiver until testing ensures that
there will be no interference with all types of GPS devices, Helicopter Association International said on Monday. The conflict over the LightSquared deployment is
intensifying, as the FCC is expected to rule by the end of this month whether to allow the company to launch, according to NBAA. LightSquared, in a statement
on Friday, reiterated its position that it's up to the GPS industry to fix the interference problem by recalling and upgrading their devices.
That may not be so easy, however. In a recent congressional hearing, Tim Taylor,
CEO of FreeFlight Systems, said even if the technology is available to filter the LightSquared signal, that doesn't mean it can be immediately deployed. "The idea that a new entrant into the
marketplace can arbitrarily introduce a product that immediately compromises aviation safety and security, while expecting the aviation industry to design, manufacture, test, certify and install an
aviation compliant filter, is simply not realistic," he said. An analysis (PDF) by the Coalition to Save Our GPS,
released last week, claimed that if LightSquared proceeds as planned, the cost to the FAA and the civil aviation community would be about $72 billion.
The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators has heard back from government and industry stakeholders on progress toward flight training reform and its encouraged by the early results. SAFE, which
held a two-day forum in Atlanta last May to set goals for changing the way pilots learn to fly, sent delegates away with homework to do after establishing six basic benchmarks for improvement. In its
Oct. 31 report (PDF), it heard from nine companies and organizations. "SAFE is encouraged by the comments received
[and] the related training reforms that are currently underway," the interim report says.
There have been some concrete steps taken toward flight training reform, including the FAA's creation of the knowledge test aviation rulemaking committee, the formation of a CFI accreditation
committee by university flight programs and AOPA's student retention program. But SAFE is urging anyone involved in flight training to keep the momentum going. "Engaged stakeholders are encouraged to
press on with their initiatives," the report says. "Stakeholders who have thus far chosen not to participate in the reform process are urged to commit to this effort in a meaningful way.
Garmin announced Tuesday it will discontinue production of the popular GNS530W navigator beginning November 30, 2011.
While the GNS430W series product is still available, Garmin anticipates this product will be discontinued in the first half of 2012. The news from Garmin comes as no suprise to the avionics world
after the company recently introduced the next generation GTN600 and GTN700 series touch screen navigators. Those who are happy with their 530s and 430s can continue to use them for the foreseeable
future.
Garmin has pledged continued support of the GNS line with factory repair service and software updates for years to come. The GNS series panel-mounted GPS systems helped usher in the glass cockpit
era for general aviation aircraft.
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."
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Fly More for Less
Visit the AVbuys page for discounts, rebates, incentives, bargains, special offers, bonus depreciation, or tax benefits to help stretch your budget. We're helping you to locate and view
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Not really. But there's one good reason to cheer, as Paul Bertorelli explains on the AVweb Insider blog: Several news crews got great footage of LOT's gear-up slide down the runway,
perhaps proving once and for all that passengers don't need to get too stressed about gear-up landings.
Read more and join the conversation.
The Diamond DA40 has about the lowest accident rate in general aviation. One reason for this is its benign handling, as demonstrated by what Diamond calls "parachute mode." Paul Bertorelli's
experienced it for himself and describes parachute mode in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog.
Read more and join the conversation.
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The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is
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Traditional Tactics Need a Fresh Approach
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Isn't it time to initiate a digital marketing program with AVweb that will deliver traffic and orders
directly to your web site? Discover several new and highly successful marketing options to use in lieu of static print or banner campaigns.
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Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb
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Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos
Even in an age when composite airplanes rule, the rag-and-tube taildragger still has a place in the market. In Rochester, Wisconsin, American Champion Aircraft still builds the
airplanes the way they always have, but with a number of modern improvements. In this video, ACA owner Jerry Mehlhaff gives us a factory tour and tells us about some of ACA's models.
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb
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Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos
When the Aeronca Champion first appeared, it had 65 horsepower and was just fast enough to get out of its own way. Into what is a very similar airframe, American Champion has stuffed
a 210hp Lycoming IO-390 to produce ACA's latest model, the Denali Scout. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli recently took a test flight in it, and here's his video report.
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Nominate an FBO
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Rules
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Winning FBOs
AVweb readers don't always pick the best time to try a new FBO, and that was certainly the case when Ray C. arrived at St. Hubert General Airport (CYHU) in Montreal, Quebec. Despite
a flurry of construction activity and business demanding attention, the team Pascan Aviation impressed Ray by making time to get him in
and out of the FBO in style — and that's why they're our latest "FBO of the Week"!
Here's what Ray had to say about Pascan:
When I arrived at Pascan aviation they were enlarging their ramp, and there was lots of activity with the construction. I flew in with a C-150, and immediately I was greeted by two rampies who were
helpful. One got my rental car, and the other fueled my plane. Julie the receptionist was so helpful; she got me a great room in a hotel downtown. Overall, [despite] the activity going on that day
— there was also a Challenger on the ramp — I feel like I got the best service possible. The fuel price was great, and the ramp fee was waived with the fuel purchase. I will be going back
there one day soon, that's for sure.
Cheap and friendly — words that are great to a pilot.
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!
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We're running a bit behind with this week's batch of reader-submitted photos, but they'll be up on the site during the day Thursday — and we'll have a double-shot in AVwebFlash next week,
with "POTW" assortments on both the Monday and Thursday issues.
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.
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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
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Scott Simmons
Contributors
Jeff van West
Mariano Rosales
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