FATAL CIRRUS CRASH AUDIO, MELBOURNE, FLA.
Three people were killed when a Cirrus crashed near the approach end of Melbourne International Airport's Runway 9R at about 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, and transmissions between the tower and the flight appear to show some confusion. The tower controller was busy with multiple aircraft inbound to the parallel runways at the airport. Traffic included several single-engine fixed-wing planes and at least one helicopter. Two of the flights, including another Cirrus also inbound for nine-right, had called for touch and gos. The crash aircraft, a Cirrus identified on the audio as four-sierra-romeo, was directed to join the pattern and appears to have been cleared to land. As the aircraft turned a tight base, the controller noticed a potential conflict. Someone had made a mistake. The controller told four-sierra-romeo to "cut it in tight, now" and seconds later, multiple pilots and the controller watched the aircraft go in. Rob Kurrus Jr., Justin Gaines, and Chris Franklin died in the crash. Audio after the jump was obtained from LiveATC.net. More...

OBAMA URGED TO ABANDON USER FEES
A bipartisan group of 195 members of the House of Representatives has signed what NBAA says is a "strongly worded" letter (PDF) opposing the $100-per-leg user fee for turbine-powered aircraft contained in President Obama's 2013 budget proposal. The letter points out that Congress has consistently rejected user fee proposals in the past and likely hasn't changed its collective mind this time. The letter was put together by Reps. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., Tom Petri, R-Wis., along with Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo. and John Barrow, D-Ga. Costello and Petri lead the aviation subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure while Graves and Barrow co-chair the General Aviation Caucus. The signatories say user fees are the wrong approach to raising revenue from aviation and appeal to the president to "abandon this idea once and for all." More...

SECOND WAYWARD VEHICLE BREACHES PHL
For the second time in less than 30 days, an errant driver managed to find a way onto either a taxiway or runway at Philadelphia International Airport and the latest episode, Thursday, may have resulted in a close call. A tower controller at PHL is being credited for spotting through fog a Jeep on the runway. The controller directed a US Airways Express flight that was seconds from touching down to go around, according to CNN. Other sources say the Jeep was stopped before reaching the runway. The driver this time allegedly crashed a fence to gain access and may have been operating under the influence of drugs. That wasn't the case in another incident early last month that reportedly launched a TSA investigation. More...

72-YEAR-OLD POT PILOT SENTENCED
A 72-year-old pilot was sentenced Tuesday after he pled guilty to felony drug charges and "maintaining a common nuisance" associated with landing an aircraft with 200 pounds of marijuana on board. Allen Richter had been tracked as he flew a 1962 Piper PA-24-250 Comanche from Arizona to Indiana, where he was apprehended on Nov. 5. Richter is not the registered owner of the aircraft and told police it was stolen. The septuagenarian's adventure earned him a sentence of seven years jail time, thanks in part to other considerations. More...

INDIA'S KINGFISHER ON THE ROPES
Days may be numbered for India's largest budget airline but Kingfisher Airlines is soldiering on even though the Indian government has frozen its bank accounts and its pilots are becoming less interested in going to work since they haven't been paid since November. The accounts freeze came last week after the airline failed to meet a deadline to pay millions in back taxes. Somehow, the airline is still finding crews to volunteer to fly the 28 remaining aircraft still operational (from a total fleet of 68) and it's still finding passengers willing to join them. Kingfisher's flamboyant CEO, Vijay Mallya, who lives part-time in Marin County near San Francisco, says his company will survive. More...

STUDENTS DESIGNING SUPERSONIC DRONE
School projects don't usually have the term supersonic cruise missile in their synopses, but engineering students at the Busemann Advanced Concepts Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) are helping to design, build and commercialize a compact jet engine designed to power supersonic unmanned aerial systems. Cruise missiles are among the potential uses for the L-FX00, which their professor Ryan Starkey calls "a high-efficiency, lubrication-free turbojet engine for unmanned aircraft" on his company website. At first, however, the class is planning to build a 110-pound airframe called the GOJETT as the first mount for the engine and hope to fly it at Mach 1.4 in 2013. The prototype will cost from $50,000 to $100,000. From there, Starkey says, the commercial and military potential is enormous. More...

A STUDENT'S EYE VIEW OF FLIGHT TRAINING
Nobody asked Ted Seastrom what the aviation industry should do about the declining pilot population, but he's telling them anyway. Seastrom, a 220-hour Cessna 172 pilot, has written an ebook (available at Amazon) entitled Learning to Fly an Airplane. But unlike the countless books that have been written on the topic, Seastrom said his aim is to mentally prepare prospective pilots for what they are about to undertake, something he says the industry doesn't do very well. In a podcast interview, Seastrom says it's not surprising that almost three quarters of students don't make it to certification given the strange and challenging world into which they are suddenly immersed. He said the industry needs to stop soft selling being a pilot as something "anyone can do" and instead realistically explain to students what they're in for. More...

PODCAST: NEW PILOT PENS A BOOK FOR NEW PILOTS
Like most of us, Ted Seastrom was challenged, awed and generally beat up by the experience of learning to fly. He thinks those who want to learn should be better prepared for what they're in for. He spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles about an e-book he's published called Learning to Fly an Airplane. More...

NO GIANT FLYING ANTI-MISSILE LASER JET
The airborne laser program developed around a Boeing 747 and what was effectively a giant laser gun has been scrapped after 15 years and $5 billion. The program fitted a modified 747 jumbo jet with a mega-watt class chemical oxygen iodine laser fitted to a rotating nose turret and tracking system that could target and destroy airborne missile threats. The laser beam was fueled by thousands of pounds of fuel stored onboard the jet and was powerful enough to destroy missiles within seconds. Despite a successful test in February 2010, the airborne missile defense system wasn't without serious shortcomings or costs. More...

MORE DRONE TRICKS FROM U OF P
The University of Pennsylvania is having a lot of fun with its robotic quadrotor squadron these days and if you're not one of the almost two million people who have seen this video then by all means have a look. As we showed you in February, the university's SWARMS project is finding new ways to work with unmanned aerial systems (UAS). AVweb Editorial Director Paul Bertorelli shared his thoughts on the subject here. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: YOU MAKE THE CALL -- TOWER DIRECTIVE
On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli discusses a recent incident with a control tower issuing a directive that wasn't quite right. Or was it? You be the judge. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: USER FEES -- AERONAV'S MISSED OPPORTUNITY
In his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli wonders why, instead of trying to milk $5 million more out of digital chart users, AeroNav doesn't just phase out the part of its operation that does charting. Load the data on a digital access server and let the free market sort it out. If people want paper charts, they'll buy. Otherwise, why bother? Read more and join the conversation. More...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #169: BILLIONS AND BILLIONS
Let's not exaggerate the threats to aviation, but knowing what might divert your flight and how to utilize available resources could save you billions and billions of dollars. Or at least help you ace this quiz. (Includes results of the reader survey to determine the most beautiful airplane.)

Take the quiz. More...

AVIATION CONSUMER ENGINE CYLINDER SURVEY
Cylinders are the big-ticket item during an engine overhaul, and the market has changed substantially during the last five years. Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is surveying owner experiences on engine cylinders. If you'd like to participate, click here to take the survey. 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: MOVING MAP APPS FOR ANDROID TABLETS
Why should the iPad have all the fun? Here are some good moving map apps for your Droid tablet that you can download today. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: LOCKWOOD AVIATION REPAIR (KSEF, SEBRING, FLORIDA)

FBOs aren't the only heroes who can save the day when you arrive at an airport far from home. This week, reader John Williams tells us how Lockwood Aviation Repair saved the day when he visited Sebring Flight Center (KSEF) in Florida.

Flew my Weight Shift Control Trike from Williamsburg, Virginia to Florida to accomplish some in-flight testing of cold-weather gear to keep pilots warm while flying in open cockpit aircraft. When I landed in the Sarasota area, I noticed some problems with my exhaust system during my post-flight inspection. I called Lockwood Aviation, a major ROTAX repair station ... . I spoke with Aaron Prentiss, service manager for Lockwood, described my predicament, and was immediately invited to fly my plane to their hangar ... . Within minutes [of pulling up to the hangar], my plane was pulled into their immaculate hanger, Joe diagnosed the problem, and they went to work on the exhaust manifold-to-muffler connections. Thankfully, their weld shop could drop current projects to work me into their afternoon schedule. I walked to the KSEF FBO, found the pilot's lounge and computer, and took time to check e-mail. Within half an hour, Aaron tracked me down, in person, to inform me about the progress of the repair job. It sure is nice to be treated like a valued customer when in transit and have industry representatives recognize that, without immediate assistance, my trip would [have] become a nightmare. Instead, my plane is being taken care of, I am being taken care of, and I am very pleased to recommend Lockwood to fellow pilots.

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

Some Army helicopters are big and loud.

Tower:
"Army helicopter, cleared to land — runway 25."

Army:
"Cleared to land, 25."

[after landing]

Army:
"Tower, be advised that there is a large flock of birds near the departure end of the runway."

Tower:
"Roger. And you didn't scare them away?"

Ted Timmons
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 twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

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Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
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Glenn Pew

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Jeff Van West

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