VIDEO: BRAZIL POLICE RAM SMUGGLING AIRCRAFT?
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. Click through for video. More...

SENATE MOVES TO REVIVE BARR
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. More...

AIRCRAFT DESIGNER LANDS AFTER HEART ATTACK
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. More...

CREW ERROR BLAMED IN RUSSIAN CRASH
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. More...

COURT SAYS FAA MISREAD ITS OWN REGS
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. More...

HOUSE CAUCUS ACTS TO STALL LIGHTSQUARED
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. More...

FLIGHT TRAINING REFORM IS HAPPENING
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. More...

GARMIN DISCONTINUES GNS530
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. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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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."

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: LOT'S GEAR-UP LANDING -- MIRACLE ON THE VISTULA!
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. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FUN WITH PARACHUTE MODE
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. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: LASER TAGGING
The FAA thinks laser pointing is such a serious issue that it's devoted an online information and reporting page to the topic. We're curious: Have you ever been hit with a laser from the ground?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers how reliant they are on high-tech instruments in the cockpit; 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...

VIDEO: AMERICAN CHAMPION FACTORY TOUR
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. More...

VIDEO: DENALI HOTROD
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. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: PASCAN AVIATION (CYHU, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA)

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK WILL RETURN ON MONDAY
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. More...

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

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