Volume 11, Number 8b -- February 24, 2005

Email this AVflash to a friend

This issue of AVweb's AVflash is brought to you by ... Piedmont Hawthorne Aircraft Sales LOOK TO THE PIEDMONT HAWTHORNE AIRCRAFT SALES TEAM WHEN YOU'RE BUYING or SELLING YOUR NEXT AIRCRAFT Whether you're looking for that "envy of many pilots" single (such as a Bonanza) or a workhorse turboprop or multi-mission jet, Piedmont Hawthorne Aircraft Sales does it all — and has done so for over 65 years — boasting a professional sales/marketing team engaged in new and pre-owned aircraft with more than 100 years of sales, support, and consulting expertise — Turnkey assistance from acquisition, financing, or sales consulting to award-winning service and avionics centers, and a VIP program for every customer at their extensive network of 36 FBOs — Always looking to purchase quality turboprop, mid-size, and large turbine aircraft. One call to (800) 259-1940, or one click to http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/phas/avflash.

The Top Headlines From AVweb's Expanded, Illustrated News Coverage At AVweb's NewsWire.

THE AGING FLEET AND FAA ACTION -- CESSNA TWINS...
The FAA on Sunday issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that requires more frequent inspections for wing-spar cracks on twin Cessna 402C and 414A models that have not already been modified with spar straps. Undetected cracks could result in the loss of a wing in flight, the FAA said. The Emergency AD was prompted by two recent incidents of cracked spars in 402C aircraft -- each with more than 20,000 hours time in service. Cracks were found in the wing spar of a 402C flown by a commuter airline on Feb. 11, after the pilot reported that a 45-degree yoke deflection was required to keep the airplane level. "Maintenance personnel who inspected the failed spar said it was a miracle that the wing did not fail in flight," technical analyst Mike Busch wrote in a report to members of the Cessna Pilots Association. More...

...AND MORE DEBATE
The FAA's handling of the Cessna twins spar issue has been a bumpy road, with a string of ADs already out, and concern from some owners' groups over cost and practicality. Bob Vila, president of the Cessna Twins Spar Corporation (CTSC), says the AD could extend to all Cessna twins, and raises issues important to all owners of aging aircraft. "CTSC believes that the FAA, in the interest of better knowledge of aging aircraft/fatigue issues with the Cessna 400 aircraft, should fund a neutral third party such as the National Institute for Aging Aircraft (NIAR) to conduct a Cessna 400-series study," Vila said in written comments he sent to AVweb yesterday. More...

SPACESHIPONE: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL AT OSH…
Make space for EAA AirVenture on your calendar if you want to touch a real spaceship. EAA and Scaled Composites are promising unprecedented access to SpaceShipOne and its mother ship White Knight as the Ansari X-Prize winning combination settles in for the full week of the annual convention in Oshkosh starting July 25. "We want the public to be able to come up and touch it," said Mike Melvill, who became the world's first private astronaut in SpaceShipOne last year. Melvill said it will not only be the first such opportunity, it will be the last. "It will be the first, only and last appearance," he said in a teleconference held with reporters Wednesday. More...

...GENEROSITY, INNOVATION ... AND REALLY GOOD MARKETING
The aircraft will overnight at Madison July 24 and make a scheduled arrival (most likely early afternoon) at AirVenture on opening day. Melvill said they'll do several passes and possibly an afterburner climb before touching down. It's not known if any flights will be held during the show but Melvill promised to make a similarly splashy exit the following Sunday. The space plane may share center stage with another Scaled creation that (hopefully) will have set another impressive record by then. Poberezny said there have been talks with Steve Fossett to have GlobalFlyer at this year's AirVenture. More...

YOUR AGE, HEALTH, ABILITY, AND CERTIFICATE...
While the Age-60 rule presumes that pilots become less safe with advancing age, recent research suggests that youth comes with dangers of its own. The part of the brain that inhibits risky behavior does not mature until age 25, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health. "We'd thought the highest levels of physical and brain maturity were reached by age 18, maybe earlier -- so this threw us," researcher Jay Giedd told The Washington Post. The research has been cited by lawmakers in efforts to restrict the driving privileges of young people. Driving accidents are the greatest cause of accidental death in ages 16 to 24. More...

...A HIGHER STANDARD FOR PILOTS?
Pilots who have suffered head injuries and are being evaluated for a return to flight duties should be held to a standard above what is considered average in the general population, a new study from the University of Missouri-Columbia suggests. "Military aviators score significantly higher on standardized intelligence tests than the average person," said researcher Daniel Orme, who tested more than 5,600 U.S. Air Force personnel over a five-year period. To be safe, aviators should be held to a performance standard based on what is average for the pilot population. Orme's database could be used to establish "norms" for pilots, and could also be used by the FAA when evaluating commercial pilots, he said. More...

FUTURE VLJS DRIVE ENGINE MARKET
With the production of thousands of Very Light Jets looming in the next few years, manufacturers of parts for the fleet are gearing up to supply the demand. Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC), in Quebec, is building production lines capable of cranking out its PW600F turbofans at the rate of 1,000 per year, The Hartford Courant reported Monday. The Eclipse 500 and the Cessna Mustang both are using variants of the engine, and together will need about 4,800 of them. "The market for this engine is very strong, and we need to gear up to be able to provide it," Mario Modafferi, director of the Pratt Engine Center, told The Courant. "This engine's going to take over the world the way the PT6 did." More...

PILOT SURVIVES OVERNIGHT IN SNOW CAVE
Scott Thurner, 57, of Milwaukee, was flying his Cessna 172 from Laughlin, Nev., to Paonia, Colo., last Wednesday when he crashed in rough terrain about 30 miles from Montrose, Colo. He had reportedly descended to stay below clouds and found himself in a canyon with no way out. Thurner was unhurt, other than minor cuts and bruises, and survived a 30-hour wait in the cold by putting on all the ski clothes from his suitcase and digging into the snow. "He called the first little snow cave Motel 6. Then he dug a bigger one and called it the Holiday Inn," Civil Air Patrol pilot Mark Young told The Montrose Daily Press. More...

STORM-RAVAGED FLORIDA AIRPORTS RECOVERING
Airports near Vero Beach, Fla., are recovering from last year's hurricanes, TCPalm.com reported last week. St. Lucie International sustained $30 million in damages and curtailed operations for about six weeks, but still showed an increase overall in operations for 2004 from the year before. "Our business and corporate traffic continues to increase," said Airport Director Paul Philips. Damages at Witham Field came to $10 million and about $21 million at Vero Beach Municipal, and both airports showed a drop in overall operations for the year. Some flight schools are still working out of trailers, and twisted wreckage from destroyed hangars remains. More...

BOEING SELLS OFF AIRCRAFT PLANTS
Boeing has sold its commercial aircraft-manufacturing plants in Wichita and Oklahoma to Onex, a Canadian-based investment group, for about $900 million, Boeing announced on Tuesday. The plants will continue to produce structures and parts for Boeing, including the 787 Dreamliner. Onex will invest over $1 billion in Kansas and Oklahoma in the next few years, said Seth Mersky, an Onex managing director. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Alan Mulally said in a news release, "Boeing will benefit from lower procurement costs and the Wichita/Tulsa operations now can grow by winning new business with other customers." Boeing also announced that it has sold its Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power business to Pratt & Whitney for $700 million in cash. More...

YOUTH WITH WINGS
"We want to show the youth of America that they can dream big dreams, and they can start right now," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said as the FAA signed a partnership agreement with 20-year-old Jamail Larkins to promote career opportunities in aviation and aerospace. "Jamail didn't wait for his career in aviation to take off," Blakey said. "He took off with it." Larkins, a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, took his first flight with the Young Eagles at age 12, and soloed two years later in Canada. He will work with the FAA's educational outreach initiatives throughout the country to attract children and young adults to aviation careers. (Underdeveloped cerebral risk-taking inhibitors notwithstanding ...) Meanwhile, Utah pilot Jared Aicher, 33, is planning a flight around the world that will include at least 400 Young Eagles introductory flights for children in 64 countries along the way. More...

ON THE FLY...
GlobalFlyer launch postponed again, next window is March 1-3...
Cirrus now offers Flight Director in its PFD-equipped aircraft...
Diamond Aircraft named Paul Woessner director of N.A. fleet sales...
New England Aviation Expo set for April 9 in N.H....
China's first manned space launch was longest voyage of its kind...
New AlabamaAviator.com Web site features local news and info for pilots. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Drop us a line. Heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about? If it caught your eye, it will probably interest someone else, too. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
BRAINTEASERS
Quiz #91 -- Lots To See and Avoid
On a recent episode of the hit reality show, "This Old Control Tower," the host dodged weather, scanned for traffic, and wrestled a live TRSA. See how you'd handle reality on this flight. More...

AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVFLASH
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ More...

AVWEB'S QUESTION OF THE WEEK ...
Cue the "X-Files" theme music: This week, AVweb wants to know if you've ever seen a UFO — and if so, what did you think it was? PLUS: AVweb readers' verdict on the Lycoming verdict. More...

AVWEB'S PICTURE OF THE WEEK ...
A couple of weeks ago, when we at AVweb were grousing about low turnout for our "Picture of the Week" contest, you were all on vacation! Right? At least, that's how it seems looking through this week's batch of pictures. For the first time in recent memory, there were more pictures taken from planes than pictures of planes submitted to this week's contest. Beautiful landscapes dominated the submissions this week, so we're showing you the top three airplane pictures first, then offering you three bonus pictures with our favorite locales. (Even so, we had to leave out some great photos of Liberty Island and the River Thames that just wouldn't fit.) Congratulations to Jud Phillips of Nashville, who will receive an official AVweb baseball cap for being our Number One "Picture of the Week." More...

AVflash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest aviation news, articles, products, features and events featured on AVweb, the Internet's Aviation Magazine and News Service. http://www.avweb.com

Letters to the editor intended for publication in AVmail should be sent to mailto:editor@avweb.com.com. Have a comment or question? Send it to mailto:newsteam@avweb.com.

Today's issue written by News Writer Mary Grady:
http://www.avweb.com/contact/authors.html#mgrady
AVweb's editorial team: http://avweb.com/contact/authors.html.

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

Fly it til every part stops.

AVflash is now available in optional easier-to-read graphic format, which includes some photos and illustrations. If you prefer, you can continue to receive AVflash in text-only format. Simply follow these instructions and AVflash will continue to arrive as it always has, in text format.