MOONEY COMES BACK WITH A VENGEANCE
AVweb's special coverage of the Sun 'n Fun air show in Lakeland, Florida, continues. Watch for more, Friday.

Once the undisputed leader in high performance, Mooney was not too long ago sent to the canvas by that vexing mix of product liability, recession and management unable to overcome the challenges of the day. It soon re-emerged as the bastard child of a promoter's nightmare, and seemed destined to fall again and maybe for good. But now it's back ... Bigtime. Mooney CEO Gretchen Jahn made clear that her team believes Mooney is a manufacturer for the ages and is no longer content to rest on the laurels of 130 speed records and 11,000 aircraft sold. We told you Monday there were rumors of a new Mooney. Tuesday we found out what that meant. Mooney has mated its basic planform with a new engine and says the offspring leaves composite upstarts wallowing in its slipstream. Simply put, if Jahn wasn't reading the glass displays wrong on the way to Sun 'n Fun, the new turbonormalized Mooney Acclaim may soon look to claim title as the fastest certified piston single out there. It may also have the longest legs. More...

236 KTAS, 25,000 FEET, 20.6 GPH
Jahn flew the plane from Kerrville, Texas to Lakeland, Florida and told the large crowd of media (and the just plain interested) that those were the numbers she got. She also said that because the plane is a prototype, they expect performance to improve once the 280-hp, Continental TSIO 550G is tweaked to make the most of its new home. The speed is important because it's exactly one knot faster than Columbia Aircraft's posted maximum cruise for its fixed-gear turbo 400 model. AVweb has received several unconfirmable emails from obvious Mooney fans who claim Jahn is actually soft-peddling the performance of the Acclaim and that 250 KTAS is closer to its real enroute speed. But wait for this one to play out. The aerodynamically inclined will tell you that kind of math is very hard to achieve. More solid is the fact that Mooney packs the Acclaim with a built-in plumbing for oxygen and plans to offer the the aircraft with what it says is the only FAA-approved flight into known icing package in its class. More...

PIPER FACTORY REBUILT, PRODUCT LINE GETTING MAKEOVER
There are fewer more compelling hard-luck stories out there than Piper's recent history. But with "concrete bunkers" to replace its hurricane-ravaged buildings, new airplanes on the way (including -- somewhere in the distance -- the long-awaited jet), a seemingly re-energized de-unionized and united front office and factory floor, and a healthy increase in sales, Jim Bass, the company's new CEO, told a news conference Tuesday at Sun 'n Fun that the death watch for Piper is over. "This is a great American story," he said without a hint of corniness to a jaded press corps that had dutifully covered previous pronouncements of this sort with a healthy dose of skepticism. But Bass, in his "first outing" since taking over the company six months ago, gave some rapid-fire reasons for optimism as he touted his Piper as "the grand old lady of the ball." More...

GETTING BACK TO BASICS IN VERO BEACH
Bass, who replaced the popular Chuck Suma as CEO last fall (there was a bomb scare at the plant on the day of the announcement) said his first priority was to "concentrate on the employees and management." Whatever he did seemed to strike a chord with the workers and last week the National Labor Relations Board accepted a vote to decertify from their union. "We are coming together as one Piper team," the energetic Bass told the news conference. In fact, he repeatedly called the sprawling Vero Beach facilities the "Piper campus" The company is back to full production strength with more than 1,000 employees and sales are up between 25 and 30 percent. As if to hammer the stake through the heart of any remaining doubters Bass added with gusto, "and we're hiring!" More...

NEW PIPER PRODUCTS ON THE WAY?
Bass told the news conference that Piper is revamping its product line. For the past couple of years, the sole topic of news conferences has been the announcement that one or two Piper models was being outfitted with Avidyne Entegra glass cockpits. True to form, Tuesday's press conference started with the announcement that the Seminole, the last(?) of the steam gauge Pipers, was getting glass. But Bass also detailed Piper's aggressive winter recruiting campaign (depicting palm trees on the beach) aimed at attracting engineers and designers from Detroit and Wichita. It seems the next generation of Piper aircraft, needs another thirty design engineers, another 10 manufacturing engineers and some fifty production workers. More...

AIRSHOW LEGEND SEAN D. TUCKER OK AFTER BAILOUT
Details were still sketchy at our deadline, but yesterday morning at about 10:30 Sean D. Tucker was practicing a routine in Red River Parish, La., when the airplane had a problem, and he had to bail out. Expected to fly the Columbia 400 at the Sun 'n Fun this weekend, at least one early report said Tucker "flew out of the Red River Parish Airport to practice his routine for a weekend air show." The same report identified the crash aircraft as "the Challenger Aerobatic Bi-Plane." According to early reports, Tucker experienced a loss of elevator control not long after takeoff. He was able to establish a climb with trim and troubleshoot for about 10 or 15 minutes. Once the decision was made that a safe landing wasn't possible, he "flew until it was empty," according to Karl Koeppen who was quoted by local news as a spokesman for Tucker. The performer abandoned the airplane at about 8,500 feet over an uninhabited area. Tucker's exit didn't go smoothly and he momentarily got hung up on the tail of the airplane, but freed himself and landed safely under canopy. At our deadline, there was not yet confirmation or cancellation regarding his plans to fly this weekend. More...

A 'NEW' NAVION ON THE WAY
The first "zero-time" Navion to be built in 30 years is expected to be on the grounds at Sun 'n Fun today. According to an email from Navion Aircraft International's Wes Sanda, the plane was to have arrived in Lakeland last night from the factory (yep, that's the right word) in St. Paul, Minn. Details are a little sketchy about the aircraft and we're not sure what the company's definition of "zero time" is since the FAA registry gives the manufacture date of the aircraft as 1947 but we'll track it down today. More...

EVEKTOR'S COBRA ON SCHEDULE
Somewhat Navion-like but altogether new, the Cobra is a 4/5 place very roomy, very comfortable looking aircraft that may also offer great visibility a 1000nm range and 155kt cruise speeds. Useful load for the 200hp version is 1105 pounds (there's a 315hp version that can carry 1260 lbs at 175kts). Evektor America is billing the all-metal retractable low-wing as a luxurious cruiser with the "widest cabin in its class" (51.1 inches). The Vut 100 Cobra is slated for full FAA Part 23 certification my next summer's (2007) AirVenture, but the company says positions for first U.S. deliveries are available, now. "Deliveries should start early next year, with FAR-23 certification approximately 6 months later," according to the company. If absolute room and comfort are your game, this may be one to watch. More...

BUSY TIMES AT AVIDYNE
Avidyne Corp. made the most of this week's aviation gathering to announce a slew of new products and services. The company's TAS600 series of Traffic Advisory Systems is now approved for retrofit installation in the Garmin G1000 flight deck. The TAS provides verbal alerts on the position of other transponder-equipped aircraft within a range of up to 21 nm. The TAS is also available in new packages with a multifunction display that incorporates a moving map with lightning, terrain, obstacles, and weather info. The company also announced a new warranty option that will give customers a replacement unit when products are returned for service. And there's more. More...

CUB CONVOY CUTE AS CAN BE
One after another, squeaking onto the runway under the hot Florida sun, a seemingly endless stream of bright yellow Cubs arrived at Sun 'n Fun Monday afternoon. They kept coming.... for half an hour... then another half hour.... and finally, after an hour and a half, all 108 Cubs had landed neatly, and taxied off to park wingtip-to-wingtip on the grass next to the warbird ramp. Cubs have always had their fans, but they seem to be growing ever more popular, with several manufacturers bringing out new designs inspired by the original Piper classic. This week at Sun 'n Fun, American Legend Cub is showing off for the first time its Legend Cub Special, a variant of of its two-place sport aircraft. More...

A FULL SPECTRUM OF GPS'S -- IN COLOR
Garmin's 396 offers an uber-impressive handheld color moving-map gps in a unit that is terrain-aware, capable of imitating a full panel of flight instruments, and brimming with more features than most average pilots might safely use while attempting to concurrently control an aircraft. An offering for those who tend to shop in another price point entirely (under $500) Lowrance's Airmap 600c brings color and terrain awareness to the less indulgent masses. Shown off at their booth at Sun 'n Fun, the brightly colorful screens of Lowrances latest offerings drew crowds in the middle of the afternoon, on a Tuesday. For those who believe the best isn't always the most capable, but simply what's best for your needs the range of handheld gps offerings is growing fast. Not good enough? How about synthetic vision for your pda? More...

IMAGE GALLERIES
Today:
AVweb's Sun 'n Fun Image Gallery, Day 1 More...

SUN 'N FUN FEATURE: REAL WORLD "AIR SHOWS" FROM DAYS PAST
From 2004:
Thunderbirds Crash -- Truth In Images -- a collection of still and video images.
DHL Airbus Hit By SAM Over Baghdad -- images of the stricken aircraft as it lands.

From 2005:
Standard Floats, Dry Runway Departure -- video of a water-only equipped Beaver departing a land base with some creative piloting. More...

AUDIOCASTS
Coming up, Friday: Don't miss the first part of our interview series with FAA administrator Marion Blakey.

Online, now: Hear FAA spokesman Greg Martin in his own words as air traffic control contract negotiations reach new levels of dissonance. Listen to an update on the possibility of user fees for general aviation as Jane Garvey talks to Senators, hear Columbia's plan to stir up the air show this week at Sun 'n Fun; NTSB's call for action as CRJ's show a potential for fire; the passing of The Great Escape pilot, and more. AVweb's latest audio newscast is available today. Click here to listen.

If you missed AVweb's Friday interview with Diamond Aircraft's Peter Mauer, find it online, here.

Subscribe to AVweb audiocasts and receive them automatically, or check this spot each Monday and Friday to download them individually for listening on your iPod, while sitting at your computer, or traveling with any MP3 player. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: BANYAN AIR SERVICE, FORT LAUDERDALE
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" contest is sponsored by Aviation Safety magazine, the monthly journal of risk management and accident prevention.

Thanks to all the pilots and AVweb readers who took time to nominate their favorite FBOs in our "FBO of the Week" contest. Today's ribbon finds its target in Florida.

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to BANYAN AIR SERVICE at FXE in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Jim Alkire wrote us to say, "WE FLY OUR CESSNA 180 INTO FXE FOR OUR ANNUAL CRUISE VACATION AND HAVE REPEATEDLY RECIEVED OUTSTANDING SERVICE AND PROFESSIONALISM FROM BANYAN. OUR RENTAL CAR IS PULLED UP TO THE PLANE AS THE PROP STOPS. THEIR LINEMEN SEEM GENUINELY HAPPY THAT WE ARE THERE..."

Keep those nominations coming.

Click here to nominate your favorite FBO and here for complete contest rules

AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVFLASH
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