SPECIAL AIRVENTURE COVERAGE STARTS MONDAY
When your AVwebFlash arrives as usual on Monday, it will signal the launch of AVweb's expanded coverage of EAA AirVenture 2006:

• Cessna LSA update — visit the AVweb.com homepage Monday for an update on Cessna's LSA concept, unveiled that day at 9:30 a.m.
• AVwebFlash — check your inbox for issues sent Monday, July 24, Wednesday, July 26, and Friday, July 28, with a wrap-up on Monday, July 31.
• AVweb Audio — podcasts: listen to three in-depth interviews from the field: Tuesday, July 25; Thursday, July 27; and Saturday, July 29. Access the files (or subscribe) via AVweb.com.
• Meet the Editors — if you're at the show, stop by and say hello. Also, Michael Maya Charles, author of AVweb's monthly column "As the Beacon Turns," will appear at EAA AirVenture on Wednesday, July 26 at 5:30 p.m. in the Sporty's Pavilion talking about his award-winning new book, "Artful Flying."

CESSNA SETS TIME FOR "LSA CONCEPT" UNVEILING
Cessna will roll out its brand-new, never-before-seen proof-of-concept Light Sport Aircraft at 9:30 Monday morning, right in the center of AeroShell Square. Later that day, company bigwigs will hold a news conference to address Cessna's activity regarding the LSA market, plans to create a new line of propeller aircraft (the rumored "Cirrus-killer" project?), and an update on the FAA certification progress for the six-seat Citation Mustang bizjet. AVweb will be there. Watch our home page for a special news update late Monday with photos of the new LSA, and catch our Tuesday podcast for an in-depth on-the-scene audio report of all the events, plus exclusive interviews. More...

GARMIN’S GPSMAP 496 DEBUTS AT OSH
Try as it might, Garmin couldn’t keep the cat in the bag. The company had hoped to embargo news of its new GPSMAP 496 until EAA AirVenture. But as it always seems to, the news leaked out into cyberspace and Garmin threw in the towel on Wednesday, with a press release on its Web site. The new 496 is a follow-on product to the wildly successful GPSMAP 396, the first portable GPS to feature datalinked weather from WxWorx. Other features include detailed taxi maps for airports, AOPA’s Airport Directory data, a faster processor and higher resolution in depicted terrain data. All this comes at a price, of course: $2,795 suggested retail, making it (possibly) the most expensive portable ever. And AVweb will be giving one away, next week. More...

ATC WARNINGS INADEQUATE, NTSB SAYS
The NTSB said last week its investigation into 11 recent aircraft accidents -- 10 involving apparent controlled flight into terrain and one involving a midair collision -- has raised "serious concern" about the FAA's effectiveness in ensuring that air traffic controllers properly respond to imminently hazardous situations. In several of the accidents, alert systems provided timely warning of impending conflicts with terrain and aircraft, but controllers did not provide safety alerts to pilots. In other accidents, the alert systems themselves were ineffective. Some accidents occurred when, in the absence of automated alerts, controllers did not use available information to identify and warn pilots of hazardous situations, the NTSB said. More...

CHANGES NEEDED IN SYSTEMS AND TRAINING
The NTSB wants the FAA to redesign the minimum safe altitude warning and conflict-alert systems to ensure they reliably capture and direct controller attention to potentially hazardous situations. Software changes should be implemented at all ATC facilities providing those services. Modifications also are needed to minimize false alarms. The FAA should also review the systems that are in place to verify that software configuration and parameters are consistent with local air traffic procedures, and that the warnings are provided to the relevant controllers. More training for controllers is also needed, the NTSB said. More...

FURLOUGH PREFERRED TO AIRLINE UNCERTAINTY
Despite their emotional attachment to their jobs, furloughed airline pilots are turning down requests to return to the cockpit, says a recent report in The Washington Post. About 8,300 pilots have been laid off by the major carriers. Some have been on furlough for four or five years, since the post-9/11 turmoil hit the industry. United Air Lines and union officials told the Post that two to four pilots say "no" for every one who opts to come back. It's about the same at Delta, and other airlines don't even want to talk about it. More rehiring is expected over the next year or so, but pilots seem cautious about recommitting to the uncertainty of airline life. "Pilots watch the news, too," Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, told The Post. "Every single time there is some international incident, oil jumps five bucks a barrel. ... [Pilots] just don't want to get caught in that whipsaw." More...

SO WHERE ARE THE PILOTS?
Some of those who turn down the airlines have found flying jobs elsewhere, The Post says. They're in corporate flight departments, or working for low-cost and regional carriers. Those jobs may pay less but offer more stability, and some pilots prefer the lifestyle or the choices of where to live. Other laid-off pilots have taken high-paying jobs offshore with airlines in Asia, the Middle East and South America. Some joined the military. But others found new careers in another field. "The industry was basically in shambles, so I decided to do something different," Milind Limaye told the Post. "I wouldn't go back." Limaye, laid off from American in 2003, went back to college and just finished his first year of medical school. More...

SJ30 SETS RECORDS CROSSING THE POND
Determined to get to Farnborough, England, for the big European air show this week, Sino Swearingen fueled up its new SJ30 light jet in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, made a quick fuel stop in Goose Bay, Labrador, then zipped on across the North Atlantic. It was the first time a "VLJ" (the jet can seat one pilot, plus six passengers) made the ocean crossing nonstop, the company said (some may argue the VLJ classification). Total flight time from Texas was 10 hours and 24 minutes, covering 4,600 nm. Average ground speed was 442 knots. Altitudes ranged from 41,000 to 47,000 feet, but cabin altitudes never exceeded 1,000 feet, the company said. That low cabin pressure makes a difference, says John Siemens, pilot in command on the flight. More...

SPORT-JET TO FLY AGAIN
Development of the Sport-Jet will continue, despite a recent crash that left the lone prototype with substantial damage, the company said on Tuesday. That aircraft had already flown 25 hours, testing more than 95 percent of the projected performance envelope. "We discovered that the integrity of the aircraft and its systems were proved. We can and will move forward confidently," Excel-Jet President Bob Bornhofen said in a statement. Preliminary investigation by the NTSB revealed no mechanical failures with the jet, he said. The jet cartwheeled down the runway shortly after liftoff. The company statement said wake turbulence was the likely cause. The two pilots on board escaped without serious injury. More...

HONEYWELL OFFERS NEW WEATHER GEAR
Honeywell will introduce a new datalink weather receiver, the KDR 610, at next week's AirVenture show, the company said yesterday. The 610, which is expected to be available later this year, will provide real-time weather information via XM satellite radio. It adds to Honeywell's current line of general aviation weather receivers by providing satellite-radio weather at any altitude, including on the ground, anywhere in the continental United States, the company said. It's designed to interface with the Bendix/King KMD 250, KMD 550 and KMD 850 multi-function displays (MFDs). It will enable the pilot to overlay the active flight plan on all graphical weather images, pan and zoom into specific areas of interest and gather more detailed information. More...

LAMA TO OFFER LSA "SEAL OF APPROVAL"
If the new Light Sport Aircraft rules leave it up to manufacturers to certify that their airplanes comply with the required standards, how much confidence should buyers place in those products? They can go by company reputation and their own personal assessment, but soon they'll have another option as well. The Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) is offering to audit manufacturers and verify that they are in compliance with their stated quality-assurance standards. If the standards are being met, the manufacturer can put a sticker on every aircraft to show that it's been checked by a third party. LAMA will unveil more details about the program next week at AirVenture. More...

EUROPEAN GPS SYSTEM HACKED
When the Europeans who are working to develop their own GPS system stalled on a promise to release the signal code to U.S. researchers, a team at Cornell University decided to figure it out for themselves. "Even Europeans were being frustrated," said Mark Psiaki, leader of the Cornell engineering team. "Then it dawned on me: Maybe we can pull these things off the air, just with an antenna and lots of signal processing." He did just that, and published his results in the June issue of GPS World. But while the U.S. system is taxpayer-funded and its signal is free, the Europeans intend to sell the signals from their Galileo satellites to recoup some of the $4 billion cost. Psiaki says it won't work to try to copyright the data. More...

MANNED AIRPLANE FLIES ON AA BATTERIES
It never got more than 17 feet off the ground, and 59 seconds plus 391 meters later it was back on the pavement. (The time matches Orville and Wilbur's third attempt on Dec. 17, 1903; the distance is better by about 214 meters.) Sunday, a team of engineers and students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology flew the first manned airplane powered by conventional dry-cell batteries. The airplane has one seat, a 102-foot wingspan, and carries 160 AA "Oxyride" batteries, which last longer and are more powerful than regular alkalines. The 116-pound pilot weighed nearly as much as the aircraft. "As it soared five meters, people on the ground looked so small to me," said pilot Tomohiro Kamiya. "I did not expect it to take off so beautifully. I realized again how powerful it could be." The project has been underway since January. More...

CORRECTION
Monday, AVweb's news included a story about mice found aboard an American Airlines aircraft. In that story and headline, the aircraft was misidentified. The actual aircraft involved was a Boeing 767, registered N320AA to American Airlines (... reportedly now among the cleanest in the fleet). AVweb apologizes for the error and its longevity on our Web site -- a function of some errant architecture supporting our newly redesigned homepage. A thank you to all the readers who wrote in to let us know, and for your patience with some of AVweb's popular features as we put our new hardware and software through obedience training. More...

AVIATION JOURNALIST WANTED
Belvoir Media Group is seeking an aviation writer/editor to staff the expansion of its Sarasota-based print magazine division, including Aviation Consumer, Aviation Safety, IFR, IFR Refresher and Light Plane Maintenance. We're looking for someone with a proven track record in writing, reporting and editing. Electronic page make-up, Web skills and higher flight ratings are a plus. Contact aviationeditorial@comcast.net . More...

ON THE FLY...
LA Center lost power Tuesday, LaGuardia, too...
Two-cylinder, four-stroke 60-hp HKS 700E met ASTM standard for LSA...
The pilot of an Ohio police helicopter died just before takeoff...
A Hawker Hunter M-58 crashed Sunday at an Oregon air show, the pilot died...
Baron Tayler is flying a powered parachute across the U.S. this summer...
Cessna Mustang on track for certification later this year...
Two pilots set a flight record in Wisc. and raised $12,120 for children...
A new Thunderbolt Engine now flying in Michael Goulian's Extra 300SHP. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
Say Again? #65: Lost Perspective
A safety person can get a strange perspective on the world -- especially one who has seen as much as AVweb's Don Brown has.More...

PODCASTS
(Note: AVweb's podcast schedule will change for the duration of AirVenture Oshkosh, 2006 -- expect new installments Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.)

Check AVweb.com tomorrow for our latest in-depth audio interview. Or visit our podcast directory to find exclusive interviews featuring TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else. 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...

FBO OF THE WEEK: CHRISTIANSEN JET CENTER, TULSA, OK

Nominate an FBO | Rules | Tips | Questions | Winning FBOs

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Christiansen Jet Center, Tulsa at KRVS, Tulsa, OK.

Offering up Christiansen, Phil Hanson told us, "Tremendous t-storm blew into Tulsa, and they put my Skylane in their hanger among the Citations, Pilatus', etc. Staff is always very friendly and helpful."

Keep those nominations coming.

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

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBO's in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email tonewstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with your tips. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: AIRVENTURE — WHY WOULD YOU GO?
With AirVenture Oshkosh just around the corner, AVweb wants to know what motivates (or would motivate) you to attend G.A.'s biggest event. PLUS: Are professional pilots overpaid? Your answers to last week's Question. More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK
There are only a couple of days before AirVenture as we write this — and the excitement is starting to set in. We're looking forward to big announcements from a number of major players this year, and (as in years past) we'll be scattered all over the show grounds taking pictures, talking to attendees, conducting interviews, and generally being nosy. This means that next week will be another "no 'POTW'" week — unless we miraculously find the time to go through all your submissions and pull out a few to share. (Hey, we're just leaving the possibility open, all right?) But we don't want you slacking off while we're having fun at the show: Please continue to submit photos just like it were any other week; your pics will automatically be entered into consideration for our next regularly-scheduled installment of "POTW" on August 3. In the meantime, why don't you kick back and enjoy this week's winning photos with us? First up is top spot winner (and soon-to-be AVweb hat-wearer) Captain Elio Marcillo of the United States Marine Corps. More...

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

Today's issue was written by news writer Mary Grady (bio).

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

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