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MORE
TROUBLE AT TIGER
The owners of Tiger
Aircraft LLC are suing the company's former CEO, saying he sold off
the company's assets without their approval. Gene Criss was fired in
early August after he cut a deal with a Florida company called Network
Hosts (which, ironically, owns 39 scrap yards, among other successful
ventures). According to the Martinsburg Journal, there are four
companies that own a stake in Tiger and they've asked a West Virginia
circuit court for a restraining order to prevent any of the company's
assets from changing hands. Then they want a judgment nullifying the
sale. "Whether it (Tiger) is doing well now or not, there are companies
that have invested substantial sums of money," Tiger attorney Michael
Lorensen told the Journal. "It's not a situation where a responsible
company would allow its assets to go out the door." More... SINO
SWEARINGEN DEFENDS LAYOFFS
It's been a tough month for
Martinsburg because Tiger's neighbor, Sino Swearingen, has announced
that 50 employees at its SJ30 fuselage and wing plant in the West
Virginia plant are being laid off, along with 100 at the main assembly
plant in San Antonio. The announcement came about six weeks after the
company said it would build a huge new plant and hire another 850
workers in San Antonio. The company's CFO Kelly Simmons said the layoffs
are "a bump in the road" and Sino Swearingen remains committed to
building the 300 jets it has on order. "It just looks bad more than
anything," Simmons told the San Antonio Express-News. "What this is,
frankly, it's the life of a startup business and the beginning of a mass
production process. These are issues that are typical of setting that
up." More... |
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Get PIC's "Best Class" Rates With
Only 250 Total Hours!
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USAF
LOOKS AT "SYNTHETIC" FUEL -- MADE FROM FUEL
Where there are
hydrocarbons, there can be jet fuel, and the Air Force is looking at an
85-year-old technology to solve a modern problem. Jet fuel is made from
oil, some of which must be purchased from other countries (and
occasionally expended in the defense of and acquisition of same,
according to some). The Air Force wants a guaranteed supply of fuel to
meet its objectives and is looking at the work two German scientists did
in the 1920s for answers. Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch figured out how
to make a diesel-like (or JP-8-like) liquid fuel from natural gas, coal
and even oil-refinery byproducts. More... FLIGHT
TESTS IN SEPTEMBER
The Air Force has created a special unit
to test the concept. A B-52 from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota
has been assigned to the group and it will be modified so that two of
its eight engines run on a blend of synthetic and JP-8. Maj. Gen. Curtis
Bedke told the Shreveport Times that ground testing will begin in early
September and they'll fly toward the end of the month. Operational
testing will be done at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Cost-wise,
the numbers may add up, given the spike in fuel prices. "The recent rise
in cost of fuel has brought us to where many think we are now at the
break-even point," Maj. Timothy Schulteis, the Air Force's propulsion
program element monitor, said in May when the program was announced.
More... |
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Use Trade-A-Plane & See Why 96% of
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HEIGHTENED
STATE OF AWARENESS FOR BIZJETS
Draconian security measures on
airliners and the corresponding upswing in the use of (and interest in)
private air transportation has led to perhaps inevitable scrutiny of the
security and safety of business aircraft. The first cautionary remarks
(that we've heard, anyway) come from Martin Rudner, the director of the
Canadian Center of Intelligence and Security Studies at Carleton
University in Ottawa. "One wants to make sure, for example, that
terrorists groups, who usually aren't short of money, don't travel
internationally avoiding aviation security and border controls by
chartering aircraft," he told the Ottawa Citizen, acknowledging that
millions of people avoid that particular brand of scrutiny every day by
traveling by car, bus, ship, train and foot. More... BUSINESS
WAY UP FOR CHARTERS
The security concerns were prompted by
The Citizen's chat with Canadian charter operators who are reporting a
25-percent upswing in business since the terror scare in Britain two
weeks ago prompted increased security at the 89 Canadian airports that
get scheduled service. "We've seen a trend where people are a lot more
open to the concept of doing a private jet charter," said Eddie
Kiriliuk, of Toronto-based Limo Network, which provides car and jet
services. "We don't have any heightened security measures as far as not
being able to bring electronics or liquids or anything like that."
More... |
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Find JA Air Center — Find the New Garmin
GPSMap 496
JA Air Center, Your Garmin Source, has the new Garmin GPSMap 496
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Call JA Air Center toll-free at (800) 323-5966, or order online.
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NASA
PICKS ATC SOFTWARE AS ITS BEST
Software originally designed
for computer simulations has become an important tool for air traffic
control centers to predict and manage the flow of aircraft traffic.
Therefore NASA has declared its Future Air traffic management Concepts Evaluation Tool
(FACET) the Software of the Year. The software crunches air traffic
and weather data across the country and can predict the trajectories of
aircraft, including climb, cruise and descent phases. It enables a
single computer to track 15,000 flights and tell controllers when and
how each is going to get to its destination. Its core technology is now
use by 100 ATC centers and has been commercially licensed to Flight
Explorer. More... ADS-B
COVERS MORE GROUND
Most of the Eastern Seaboard as far north
as New Jersey now has virtually seamless automatic dependent
surveillance-broadcast service (ADS-B -- a
system that automatically and precisely reports an equipped aircraft's
position, identity and velocity twice each second) thanks to a nudge
from AOPA. The last gap was filled when the Pennsylvania Department of
Aviation agreed to partner with the FAA to set up ground stations at
four airports in the state. Now, ADS-B equipped aircraft can pick up
continuous traffic and weather information en route from Florida to New
Jersey. AOPA says it gave Pennsylvania officials a demonstration of the
technology in 2004 and that helped them decide to implement it.
More... |
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Cessna Offers to Cover $15,000 in Fuel
Costs
From now until October 31st, Cessna is stepping in to cover the cost of
your fuel! With the purchase of a new Skylane or Turbo Skylane from a
participating dealer, Cessna will provide a $15,000 Multi-Service
fuel card. To find out more about the program, contact your
Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative or call
1-800-622-7495. Offer expires on October
31, 2006. Complete program details online.
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AOPA
ON TOP OF "THREAT" TO SATELLITE WX
AOPA says it's monitoring
a couple of bills that some worry will mean the end of satellite weather
beamed to aircraft cockpits. Internet rumors are circulating that the
loss of Sirius and XM aviation weather services will be one result of
the Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act, which has been lying
dormant in House and Senate committees for more than a year. The bill is
intended to protect local radio stations from competition by the
satellite broadcasters by prohibiting the satellite stations from
offering content tailored to specific markets. Some have interpreted
that to cover local weather data and forecasts prepared for aviation
customers. It's an unlikely result, says AOPA's government affairs
specialist Andy Cebula, but it's also something AOPA is keeping an eye
on. More... HELIPLANE
RESEARCH CONTINUES
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) has given Groen Brothers Aviation the green light (and $6.4
million) to continue its efforts to develop a militarily-capable
aircraft that lands and takes off like a helicopter but flies as fast
and as far as a conventional airplane. In a news release, Salt Lake City-based Groen Brothers
said DARPA had passed its submission of the third milestone of its
contract to develop the aircraft, whatever that means. Groen Brothers
are big believers in the "gyrodyne" concept for such an aircraft.
Essentially, it's a gyrocopter with jet engines on the tips of the
rotors that run only when the plane is in helicopter mode.
More... |
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A Pilot Wearing a Headset Walks into a Bar
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TWIN
OTTER PRODUCTION MAY RESUME
A Canadian company is testing the
waters to see if it makes sense to resume building Twin Otters. The last
of 844 of the high-wing, twin turboprops rolled off deHavilland's
assembly line in Toronto in 1989 and Viking Air Ltd., of Victoria, B.C., says the
notoriously rugged and reliable STOL aircraft are in serious demand. "A
decent 20-year-old 300 Series fetches well over $2 million USD on
amphibious floats, making it a viable candidate for new manufacture,"
said Viking Air President David Curtis in a news release. Viking
recently acquired type certificates for the Twin Otter, Single Otter and
Beaver designs from Bombardier, which bought out deHavilland in the
1980s. Viking will hold an operator's forum in Victoria Sept. 13 and
Sept. 14 to gauge demand. An undisclosed number of order commitments
will be needed to get the project going. More... FLUGTAG
RECORD SET
This is one record you'll never see in any
official chronicles of aviation achievements but the team behind
Vancouver's Big Shooter couldn't be happier. The "aircraft" managed to
stagger about 86 feet before falling into False Creek, an ocean inlet in
Vancouver's downtown core. That was good for a North American record for
Flugtag (means flying day in German), which is
sponsored by Red Bull (yes, the same Red Bull that sponsors those nifty
aerobatic races), and is held in about 40 cities worldwide each year.
"When I left the flight deck I thought I'm really flying. And while I'm
excited about setting a new record, I know we can fly at least 40 feet
further," pilot Mike Perreten is quoted as saying in a news release.
More... |
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Columbia Simplifies Buying & Selling All
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Selling an aircraft can be a challenging odyssey. Aircraft owners need
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select and utilize the most effective advertising; access no-cost,
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and obtain insurance quotes with higher liability limits. Columbia
Aircraft has created a tool to assist pilots and aircraft owners of
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ON
THE FLY...
2005 DC-3 crash pilot released from
customs-related charges...
Ohio Lt. Gov.'s F-16 joyride raised
concerns...
Flight explorer Professional Version 6.2 is
out...
Cessna 172, 182 and 206 aircraft face a new AD.
More... |
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ASO Is Giving Away a Week of
Advertising!
Selling your aircraft? Advertise it on Aircraft Shopper Online
for four weeks and get one week at no cost to you! Your ad includes six
photos, full specs, and a selling paragraph highlighting your bird's
best features. Take advantage of this limited-time offer today! Call
(888) 992-9276 and tell them you saw this AVwebFlash
mention or visit online.
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AUDIO
NEWS
For AVweb subscribers who prefer their news
straight from the horse's mouth, AVweb posts fresh audio news
issues each Monday, plus interviews, Friday. We call them podcasts, but
no iPod is required. Check our audio news index and hear what you've been
missing. 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. More... |
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DA40 Diamond Star a Fleet
Favorite
Airline Transport Professionals, Beijing PanAm, Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University CAPT, Empire Aviation, Middle Tennessee State
University, and Utah Valley State College — all have selected the
G1000-equipped DA40 Diamond Star. For value, efficiency, and
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FBO
OF THE WEEK: SKYLINE AERONAUTICS, CHESTERFIELD, MO
 AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon
goes to Skyline Aeronautics at KSUS, Chesterfield,
MO. Offering up Skyline, Robert Greenfield told us, "Truly the
best of the best. Great plane rentals, instructional staff, and
services! I've flown thru many FBO's in the past, but these guys bend
over backwards to help you out! Currently working on my instrument
ticket with them, and couldn't be happier!." 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! More... |
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Pilot Journey, Your Learn to Fly
Headquarters, Offers New Toolbar
Pilot Journey has added a new way to help internet browsers stay
in touch with key aviation websites, including AVweb and Pilot
Journey's podcast! The new Pilot Journey toolbar is at no-cost
and offers quick links to aviation sites plus the ability to check
e-mail, listen to podcasts, weather, and more. Go online for more details.
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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... |
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Perform Maintenance Legally & More Easily
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SHORT
FINAL
"I was sitting on the ramp just about to fly out of
Lubbock, TX, yesterday when hopping along came the biggest jackrabbit I
ever saw. I thought I would advise ground control about it so they could
spare some aircraft from making contact with it on the
runway..." Me: Lubbock ground, um, there's a big
jackrabbit headed for the runway on TWY
Romeo. [pause] Me: Uh... I thought I would
tell you so the people who take care of those things could do something
about it. Ground: Copy that. The coyote over there
on Mike looks like he'll take care of it. More... |
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IFR's September Issue Is Jam-Packed
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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 Russ Niles (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.
Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on
marketing? Send it to AVweb's
sales team.
If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in
its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for
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here.
Freedom, independence, responsibility.
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