FOR THOUSANDS OF PILOTS, INFORMATION AT RISK
A laptop computer that contains personal information about 42,792 Florida pilots was stolen from a government-owned vehicle in the Miami, Fla., area on July 27, the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (OIG) said yesterday. The laptop was password-protected, but it contains a database that includes names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. No financial or medical information is on the laptop, the OIG said. Pilots who obtained their airmen certificates after March 2003 are not affected. Also, although the database was being used by special agents in connection with an investigation into the use of fraudulent information to obtain pilot certificates, the list did not name individuals under investigation but instead was a general list of airman certificate holders in the state of Florida, the OIG said. More...

WHAT TO DO NOW
While special agents and the Miami-Dade Police Department work to recover the laptop, pilots who believe their personal data might be at risk can call OIG's Hotline Complaint Center at 1-800-424-9071 or go to the OIG Web site for more information. The OIG also said it will establish a reward for information leading to the laptop's recovery. The OIG added it has no reason to believe that the laptop was targeted because of its contents. "We are making every effort to recover the stolen laptop and resecure the data it contains," said Acting Inspector General Todd J. Zinser. "We seriously regret this matter and take our responsibilities seriously. We have taken action and will continue to take steps necessary to prevent this from happening again." More...

INTRODUCING HONDA AIRCRAFT COMPANY
Honda Motor Co. made clear last month at AirVenture that aviation is in its future, and this week the giant corporation officially introduced a new subsidiary in the U.S., called the Honda Aircraft Company. The new company will be responsible for the further development, sales promotion and production of the HondaJet. It will be based at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., where the prototype was built more than three years ago. Michimasa Fujino, the chief engineer who led development of HondaJet, was named president and CEO. Honda will begin taking orders for the jet this fall, with the goal of delivering the first customer copy in 2010. More...

HONDA ENTERS A CROWDED MARKET
The HondaJet will be late getting into the VLJ market, with both Eclipse and Cessna expected to start deliveries in the next few months. It's likely that by 2010 it will be clear if the demand will materialize for the thousands of VLJs that some envision, or if the market niche will prove much smaller. Much depends on the success of the air-taxi industry, which accounts for about two-thirds of the VLJs now on the order books. However, Honda's move may be more about image than sales. "They might just want to dabble in it just to show what they can do from a technology standpoint," Richard Aboulafia, an aircraft analyst with the Teal Group, told the Greensboro (N.C.) News-Record. More...

BUT MAYBE THERE'S ROOM?
A couple of small operators already flying may provide some insight into how the market will develop for future VLJs. Eos Airlines began in 2003 to offer one "premium" flight every day between New York and London, and this week the company said it will add a second flight each day, starting next month. Eos flies a Boeing 757 fitted out with only 48 seats to serve the needs "of the international business executive looking for the ultimate in space, comfort, service and convenience," the company says. Some may say that sounds like the kind of customer the VLJ makers may be looking for. Eos staffers greet all passengers at the airport curb to help with luggage, check-in, and security clearance, allowing them to arrive just 45 minutes prior to departure. Another niche operator, Linear Air, based near Boston, Mass., and flying smaller aircraft, also has been growing. More...

SWISS CONTROLLERS CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER
Eight employees of the Swiss Skyguide air navigation service were charged with manslaughter on Monday in connection with the July 2002 midair collision of a Russian Tu-154 airliner and a DHL 757 over Germany that killed 71 people, including 45 Russian schoolchildren. The Russian crew obeyed a controller's advice to descend although the collision avoidance system said to climb. There was only one controller on duty at the time, and he was killed two years ago by a Russian man whose wife and children died in the crash. All the workers charged this week denied any responsibility for the incident. More...

THREE KILLED IN MIDAIR OVER CANADA
Like a recent event near San Diego, the sky was bright and clear on Friday afternoon, when a Cessna 182 and a 172 collided above the Canadian countryside. All three men on board were killed. Instructor Ryan Sumere, 28, and Vinoo Abraham, 26, a private pilot, both of Mississauga, had taken off from Brampton Flying Club in the 172 and collided with 57-year-old David Morton, who launched from Burlington. Everette Ruggles was just sitting down for an afternoon coffee at his kitchen table when the accident happened. "It landed 60 to 70 feet away from my kitchen window . . . it really freaked me out," he told the Canadian Press. More...

LOPRESTI'S FURY, ALIVE IN NEW MEXICO
LoPresti Aviation, based in Vero Beach, Fla., will soon start building a 100,000-square-foot production plant at the Belen airport in central New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal reported last week. The company, which for years has been in the aviation business as LoPresti Speed Merchants, plans to start production on the LoPresti Fury, a sporty two-seat airplane that cruises at about 175 knots. The airplanes are expected to sell for about $295,000. LoPresti's vice president for operations, Arjay Siegel, told the Journal that Belen, which is about 30 miles from Albuquerque, rated highest among 75 communities in a national search. The company needed a site with a long runway that was located near a major transportation hub and with access to a good labor force. More...

UAV CRASHES RAISE SAFETY CONCERNS
Several crashes this year of unmanned aerial vehicles have raised questions about their safety, as the drone aircraft continue to proliferate. According to a USA Today story this week, a Customs and Border Protection Predator B drone, which is 36 feet long with a max weight of 10,000 pounds, crashed within several hundred feet of homes in Arizona on April 25; a prototype of a 2,000-pound tilt-rotor crashed during tests April 5 in Texas; and a 3-pound drone carrying cameras crashed while being demonstrated for the media by a Los Angeles County sheriff on June 16, a flight that took place without FAA permission. Both the Air Line Pilots Association and AOPA have said safety protocols for UAVs are inadequate. More...

YET MORE FISHERS OF FRESH PILOTS
Monday's AVweb story about the lack of new pilot starts drew a response from multiple sources, including the folks at Pilot Journey, who have been busy thinking up multiple ways to help flight schools keep busy. Latest from the Nashville, Tenn., company is an effort to help international students locate and apply to U.S. flight schools. Pilot Journey will facilitate the official paperwork, find English lessons, and match the student to schools that offer whatever kind of training they want. The company, established in 2001, also offers a $99 Discovery Flight at over 800 flight schools, and says it's been signing up about 1,000 people a month. More...

FAA TO EASE RESTRICTIONS ON WARBIRD FLYING
Warbird pilots got some good news from the FAA during EAA AirVenture last month. "The FAA has proposed removing the proficiency area requirements currently in place for warbirds," said EAA Warbirds of America (WOA) Executive Director Bill Fischer. "It will mean that a civilian pilot who flies a military or surplus aircraft can fly it anywhere that a civil aircraft can go." Current FAA regulations restrict most warbird flights to 600 miles or less from their home bases. WOA has been involved in a "continuing dialog" with the FAA to try to ease those restrictions for qualified pilots, Fischer said. More...

AUSTRALIA'S AOPA BLASTS PRIVATIZATION POLICY
The Australian government's policy to hand over airport control to private operators is bad for the nation's aviation system, the Australian Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) said in a news release this week. "AOPA does not believe these operators have the interests of aviation or the local community at heart and see the airport simply as land to be developed," the statement says. "Airports are affected across Australia ... all Australian airports are potentially at risk; property developers see only dollars, not national assets." The federal Transport Department failed to properly investigate the issues involved with privatization, the group says. More...

WE HEAR THE STRANGEST THINGS
You dropped what from 6,500 feet? We were able late last week to speak with an individual who makes this story from AirVenture complete. During an AVweb "Meet the Editor" session at Oshkosh this year, pilot Ray Walker approached with, "Man, have I got a story for you!" ... and so it began. Ray was flying his float-equipped ACA Scout at 6,500 feet (and a blistering 100 mph) out of Texas for Oshkosh when the unusual struck. Ray's wife was "asleep in back" when suddenly a window popped open. In the brief mayhem that followed, Ray successfully convinced his wife (who temporarily lost her headset) they were not crashing, but also lost his cellphone, forever ... or so he thought. More...

ON THE FLY...
TSA says a Cape Air pilot is not a security threat after all...
NASA, USAF form aeronautics research partnership...
Missile-defense systems for airliners 20 years away, report says...
The ILS at LAX failed Monday under overcast skies, causing delays...
Chalk's Ocean Airways will return to the air today. More...

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...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB

BRAINTEASERS

Quiz #110: Turn Sour Notes Into Sweet Approaches
Whether you're a Jepp fan or sing NACO's praises, instrument approach procedures are full of tidbits you need to know before entering the clag. Test your interpretative mettle in this musical IFR trip.

AUDIO NEWS
Online Now: Listen to, or take AVweb's no-iPod-required audio news with you. We post fresh audio news issues each Monday and Friday.

Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, 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.

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: LAKELAND AVIATION INC., ARDMORE, OK

For local prices, enter your U.S. ZIP Code or Airport Identifier: Fuel prices provided weekly by AirNav, based on prices from the past 2 weeks. Changes are relative to last week.

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

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Lakeland Aviation Inc., at KADM, Ardmore, OK.

Offering up Lakeland, Dean Roberts told us, "New facility with excellent food, clean environment, constantly growing airport."

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!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: WHAT'S THE BIGGEST CAUSE OF AVIATION ACCIDENTS?
This week, AVweb wants to hear your opinion on the most common cause of aviation accidents.

PLUS: Will Cessna's LSA offering tempt you to buy a Sport Plane? (Results of last week's Question.) More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK
This week's "POTW" competition was fierce! We're tempted to say it wasn't pretty, but — well, the photos are kinda pretty. Especially the one from Jeffrey Austin Randall of Clyde, Texas, who takes our top spot this week. As our weekly winner, Jeffrey will receive an official AVweb baseball hat and the undying adoration of tens of thousands of AVweb readers. (Don't get too excited, Jeffrey — we'll stand behind the hat, but we can't promise the adoration.)

With just under a hundred photos in this week's competition, we expected it to be a little easier to pick a winner — but a full 30 shots made it into our "final ten" round, and whittling the contenders down to just eight photos took some work. Remember: If you'd like to see your photos here (and maybe even in the top spot), you have to submit your own photos. 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).

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