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AvMaster Relay Is Proudly Distributed through Aircraft Spruce & Specialty
The AvMaster Relay is the first fail-safe avionics master relay to protect expensive radio gear at an affordable price, in 14V and 24V versions. Not only does the AvMaster Relay protect
the avionics from transient electrical spikes, its four parallel relays allow for individual fusing that separate all radios from each other. The fail-safe design eliminates the need for a backup
avionics master. For more information, please call Aircraft Spruce & Specialty at 1-877-4-SPRUCE or
visit online. 
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 Many aviators got their first introduction into the mysteries of flight via the manuals of William K. Kershner, pilot, flight
instructor and author. Kershner died Monday, at age 77, in Sewanee, Tenn., after a prolonged battle with cancer, AOPA reported today. "Bill will be remembered as an enthusiastic pilot, great educator and friend," said Bruce Landsberg, AOPA Air Safety Foundation executive director. "I called
on him periodically to discuss airmanship or procedural issues. From traffic patterns to aerodynamics of stalls to IFR techniques, I could always count on Bill for good advice." Kershner was also
"admired and liked by everyone he ever met, and that’s a rare man," says Ralph Hood, a columnist for Airport Busines. Kershner wrote five flight manuals, taking pilots from their first flight to instrument
flight and aerobatics.
William Kershner soloed at age 16, in 1945, flying an Aeronca Defender from a grass strip in Clarksville, Tenn. He wrote his first
flight manual in 1959, and his last book, Logging Flight Time, in 2002. The memoir chronicles his 60-plus years of flying both civilian and military airplanes. AVweb Editor In Chief Chad
Trauvetter remembers him as a gifted instructor. "I was in a CFI refresher class at Embry-Riddle where Kershner taught the session on spins," he says. "He was not only a great teacher, but he did it
in a way that made you bust out laughing. Before showing a self-produced video showing him doing a spin with 13 turns in a Cessna 152, Kershner said he told the cameraman on the ground to 'keep
filming no matter how big the airplane gets in the viewfinder.' The entire class erupted in laughter." Kershner worked as a corporate pilot, flight-test pilot and special assistant to William T. Piper
Sr., then president of Piper Aircraft.
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Fly in Ultra-Comfort with LightSPEED Headsets:
Discover the most comfortable headsets in the industry. The in-the-ear Mach 1 weighs less than 1 oz., and the full-size Thirty 3G just under 16 oz. and uses soft conform-foam ear
cushions. Try a LightSPEED headset with a 30-day money back guarantee. To order, contact a LightSPEED dealer or call (800) 332-2421 (PST, business hours). For more information
and to view a video clip,
click here. 
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 When Direct To Avionics (D2A) closed its doors last month, buyers who had paid up front for Chelton Flight Systems avionics they never received were left hanging. This week, Chelton released a statement saying it will help out those customers by offering replacement Chelton and Pinpoint Inertial components at prices significantly below their own manufacturing
cost: $10,300 for a dual Integrated Display Units (IDU) and a single Pinpoint Inertial ADAHRS/GADAHRS system, or $4,000 for a Pinpoint Inertial ADAHRS/GADAHRS. Chelton's statement also says that all
orders it had received from D2A before it closed were fulfilled, although some D2A customers reportedly paid for, but did not receive, all or part of the products ordered. "Chelton Flight Systems will
continue to sell its synthetic vision components into the experimental market through existing Chelton dealers," the statement says, and will also continue to provide customer technical support and
warranty service to all existing dealers and aircraft builders. For more details about Chelton's discount offer, go to their Web site. Chelton Vice President of Sales Bruce Bunevich told
AVweb on Tuesday that the company doesn't yet know for sure just how many customers have been affected. "We are in active contact with our dealers; each of the individuals who have contacted
Chelton Flight Systems has been requested to contact their Chelton Experimental Dealer," he said. To help deal with the situation, the company has named Greg Schmidt, who was Chelton's Western region
sales manager, as sales manager for experimentals. Schmidt has built several experimental aircraft, currently flies his own experimental aircraft, is a licensed A&P mechanic and is an instrument-rated
flight instructor.
 It wasn't just individual homebuilders who were hurt when Direct To Avionics closed. Lancair International also dealt with the
company. "The D2A business failure is one which has touched all of us in one way or another," Lancair CEO Joseph C. Bartels wrote in a memo to customers this week. He says that Lancair Avionics is reviewing its contracts with customers, and notes that "on several occasions I spoke with customers and explained that
I was concerned about paying 100 percent up front for the Chelton package." He proposes that Lancair Avionics will split the cost, 50-50, to acquire from Chelton the items which D2A failed to provide,
at Chelton's discounted price. "Those customers who participate as requested will receive a special discount on any item that they purchase through Lancair which will total at least that amount equal
to their contribution to this effort," Bartels said. [more] This arrangement would avoid expensive litigation and save the company from having to suffer a financial loss all at once -- a loss Bartels
estimates may be as much as $145,000. "We hope that all or at least a majority of you will accept this offer," he said. For more details, go to the Lancair Web site.
 Blue Mountain Avionics, of Copperhill, Tenn.,
has posted an offer on its Web site to give Oshkosh show-special pricing on its EFIS/One units to all Direct To Avionics customers who lost money. "Our condolences to everyone who lost a deposit on a
Chelton EFIS when DirectTo Avionics went bust," it says at their Web site. "Hope this helps a bit." The company joins OP Technologies, which also made an offer last week to help ease the pain. And, of course, both of these altruistic companies just may gain themselves a few new customers while
easing the pain of the innocent.
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PowerLink™ FADEC Certified on Liberty XL-2; Is It Right for Your Aircraft?
Liberty Aerospace is the first certified piston-powered aircraft with PowerLink™ FADEC as standard equipment. PowerLink™ FADEC is now also available for several additional
certified and experimental aircraft, including the A-36 Bonanza and VANS RV series. Find out how you can bring your aircraft into the state-of-the-art
online. 
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 The family of a man who died after crashing at the Arlington (Wash.) Fly-in in 1999 was awarded $10.5 million this week by a jury that
found EAA and the Northwest EAA didn't provide adequate fire and emergency response services, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer reported on Wednesday. Don Corbitt crashed while attempting to take off in his homebuilt RV-6. According to the plaintiffs' lawyers, Corbitt survived the crash but died in a
post-crash fire, and rescuers on the field took more than five minutes to respond. EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski told AVweb on Wednesday that "EAA's position on the accident and related matters
differ from the plaintiff's position. Although a jury verdict has been rendered, there are still post-trial proceedings that further address and could materially affect the jury decision. As the case
is still active in the courts, it would be premature to comment further at this time." The NTSB found the
probable cause of the accident was "the pilot's excessive climb rate, which led to his failure to maintain an airspeed above stalling speed (Vs). Factors include the pilot's lack of total experience
in the aircraft make and model." The pilot had earned his private pilot certificate less than a year before the accident and owned the aircraft for less than two weeks, the NTSB said.
 Whatever you might say about the aviation industry, you can't say it’s not proactive. Over the last week, competitors jumped to the plate to scoop up customers dismayed by the closing of Direct To Avionics. And now,
repair shops are speaking up to welcome owners of older aircraft who have been turned away elsewhere.
Lynn Nichols, president of Yingling Aviation at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, told AVweb on Wednesday that airplanes 18 years old
and up are welcome to darken his hangar door anytime. "We believe we can provide them with what is arguably the best service available," he said. "We have established maintenance procedures, tooling
and expertise working on Cessna single and twin-engine aircraft, and located across from the factory, so if we run into an anomaly, Cessna’s product support is minutes away.” He added that
more than 90 percent of Yingling's business comes from providing support to Cessna legacy aircraft, including 500- and 650-series Citations, Conquests Is and IIs and Cessna single and piston twins.
"We will continue to welcome and provide exceptional maintenance and repair services for aging aircraft," Nichols said. “It just makes good business sense.”
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Receive a New Multimedia Tip Each Week
Take a few minutes each week to improve your pilot skills. It's fun and costs nothing. Top aviation experts share important and practical tips on IFR, emergency handling, risk management, and more.
Listen as they explain valuable tactics and strategies to make flying safer. No charge.
Click here to sign
up. 
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 The NTSB on Tuesday blamed the pilots of a Pinnacle
Airlines Bombardier CL-600-2B19 regional jet for the crash that killed them both in October 2004. "This accident was caused by the pilots' inappropriate and unprofessional behavior," said NTSB
Chairman Mark Rosenker in a news release. "Simply adhering to standard operating procedures and correctly implementing emergency
procedures would have gone a long way to averting this tragic accident." But a contributing factor, the Board said, was that the engine cores locked, which prevented at least one engine from being
restarted, and the airplane flight manuals didn't communicate to pilots the importance of maintaining a minimum airspeed to keep the engine cores rotating. The Safety Board also recommended that the
FAA should require air carriers to provide their pilots with opportunities to practice high-altitude stall-recovery techniques in the simulator. The Pinnacle Airlines jet had departed on a
repositioning flight from Little Rock National Airport about 9:21 p.m. on October 14, 2004, en route to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The captain requested and received clearance to climb to the jet's maximum
operating altitude of 41,000 feet. After the aircraft reached 41,000 feet, the airplane entered several stalls and shortly thereafter had double engine failure. The two pilots were unable to restart
the engines. They attempted to make an emergency landing at the Jefferson City, Missouri airport but crashed in a residential area about three miles south of the airport. Capt. Jesse Rhodes, 31, and
co-pilot Peter Cesarz, 23, were killed. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire.
 The idea is simple enough: What you don't hear could kill you. The Flight Standards Service last week released an InFO to alert operators that "noise-canceling"
headsets might be susceptible to "misdetection" and subsequent electronic attenuation of some things you'd probably rather hear. (Note: The memo might also pertain to what many pilots refer to as
active noise reduction [ANR] headsets, but that specific verbiage was not used.) The alert states that the range of frequencies attenuated by a noise-canceling headset is often proprietary and may not
be publicly available. This makes it "difficult to assess any effects" of attenuation, particularly as they pertain to things like communications, abnormal mechanical noises, audible alarms,
vibrations, wind noises and other sounds that might alert an unattenuated observer to impending doom. For now, rather than regulate, the FAA's solution involves passing the buck to you. The FAA
recommends operators pursue evaluation of headsets -- both in the air and on the ground -- sufficient to ascertain any potentially negative effects of the headsets. Further, if any audible alarms or
environmental sounds cannot be discerned, efforts should be made to find a different headset. The FAA an identifies an InFO as "valuable information for operators that should help
them meet certain administrative, regulatory, or operational requirements with relatively low urgency or impact on safety."
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If Brokers Say They Cover the Whole Market, Why Can't They Get a Quote from Us?
The fact is brokers can't get a quote from Avemco, the only direct provider of aviation insurance. On top of that, only Avemco lets you talk directly to the aviation underwriter for
fast, accurate answers in one simple phone call. Plus, Avemco offers consistent rates and coverage as well as short, easy-to-understand policies. So if a broker tells you he covers the whole
market, he's only telling you half the story. Call Avemco at (888) 241-7891 or
visit online for the
rest of the story. 
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 With GPS available everywhere, cheap and reliable, do we really still need Loran, the venerable long-range navigation system? The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday issued a request for public comment to search for reasons to continue to maintain the
aging system -- or not -- beyond the end of fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30). At question is whether Loran should be decommissioned; maintained as is; or upgraded to be used either as a back-up or as a
complement to GPS. If you have an opinion, DOT wants to hear from you by February 7. AOPA has expressed opposition to ditching Loran until a permanent backup system for GPS is established. "Once gone,
Loran will no longer be a backup option, and any other suitable aviation alternative would likely be more costly, take longer to implement, and would be the responsibility of the FAA exclusively,"
AOPA President Phil Boyer said in a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. "Let's look before we leap on this issue." Loran,
which is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, was designed for maritime navigation, but is also approved as a navaid for aviators. The UK has a similar system and is also pondering whether to keep it or not.
 Build A Plane, a nonprofit group that has donated more than 30
aircraft to schools in the U.S., has teamed up with the Thomas W. Wathen Foundation in Riverside, Calif., an aviation-education operation
based at Flabob Airport. The new partners aim to develop world-class aviation education curricula to motivate students to learn science, technology, engineering and math. "It’s really a dream
come true for us," said Lyn Freeman, founder of Build A Plane. "The goals of the Wathen Foundation are in perfect alignment with Build A Plane’s, and I felt this was a once in a lifetime
opportunity." Freeman will oversee the growth of the new aviation education task force. The Wathen Foundation hosts an aviation charter high school, an air academy, outreach programs to local schools
and intergenerational Elderhostels where grandchildren and grandparents share aviation experiences. Build A Plane, in partnership with the FAA, makes it possible for schools to receive real airplanes
to teach aircraft construction and restoration. Ultimately, these airplanes will be flown. Tom Wathen, of the Wathen Foundation, said, “We’ve been aware of Build A Plane’s work for
some time and once it became clear we were both headed in the same direction, it just made all the sense in the world to team up.”
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Use the Best — ASA's 2007 FAR/AIMs and FAA Exam Prep Now Available
ASA's 2007 FAR/AIMs, Test Preps for pilots, and Fast-Track Test Guides for AMTs are now available. Prepware combines all the information in the Test Prep and Fast-Track Test Guide series in
computer-based training. Contains all FAA Knowledge Exam questions. Virtual Test Prep lets students study from their TVs or computer DVD players. For complete details about these products,
visit ASA's web
site. 
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Evektor America's SportStar Flight Center program has added six more flight schools, expanding its network to 12 sites, with many more in
the works, the company said this week...
Extra airspace restrictions will take effect over Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23 for the State of the Union
address...
Mechanics and ground-support workers at NetJets won a new contract with better benefits, say the Teamsters...
The F-35, Lockheed Martin's next-generation supersonic stealth fighter, on Monday flew for the second time and proved "flawless" in rolls and other maneuvers at altitudes up to 20,000 feet, the company said...
The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) has filed a petition to represent workers at FAA contract towers...
Diamond's mock-up of the D-Jet cabin is back on tour, with stops along the East Coast; check its Web site for the schedule...
Aircraft anti-icers contain additives that are toxic to the environment, according to a study by the
U.S. Geological Survey...
FAA's Nicholas Sabatini gave an update on plans for the next-generation airspace system at a new technologies
workshop on Tuesday.
 Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news
tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part.
Find all of today's stories in AVweb's: NewsWire
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It's Not What You Know, but Who You Know that Can Save You Money!
Avionics. Next to your airframe and engine(s), avionics are the most expensive items you will purchase for your aircraft. Don't spend more than you need to! Before you buy anywhere else, call
Bennett Avionics at (800) 653-7295, or
visit online. 
It's not rocket science, just good business!
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COLUMN INDEX
Probable Cause #23: Unnatural Selection
The NTSB suspects a dry fuel tank in the crash of a Cessna 340, but did the loss of an
engine on an approach have to end in tragedy?
You can now get the latest general aviation news from AVweb -- the world's premier independent aviation news source -- as it happens at AVweb.com. Or sign up for our news feed and have the most recent headlines pushed directly to your RSS-based news reader. Either way, you'll be
able to read the same concise, but comprehensive, news stories that you've come to expect from AVweb. And for major breaking general aviation news, AVweb will send out news alerts via e-mail to keep
subscribers informed. Don’t worry -- you'll also continue to receive AVwebFlash every Monday and Thursday.
 HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly business newsletter, AVwebBiz? 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. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/.
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Pilot Journey Isn't Just for Students & Instructors; There's Something for Everyone
You know Pilot Journey's Discovery Flight program converting leads to students. However, all pilots can find something at Pilot Journey: Pilot e-mail accounts, pilot eCards; a
pilot cruise with seminars; AvCareers, where position wanted and positions available are listed; and much more.
Pilot Journey
is the pilot's choice online. 
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 AVweb posts audio news on Mondays, plus a new in-depth interview each Friday. In last Friday's podcast, you'll find an interview with Professsional Aviation Maintenance Association president Brian Finnegan. aviation
forecaster Richard Aboulafia. And AVweb's podcast index includes interviews with aviation forecaster Richard Aboulafia; NORAD; Bill Lear, Jr.; NATA President
Jim Coyne; Eclipse Aviation's Vern Raburn; Honda Aircraft's Jeffrey Smith; and Cirrus Design cofounder and CEO Alan Klapmeier. In Monday's
news summary, hear about Mooney laying claim to the fastest piston single with the certification of the Acclaim, Thielert AG's successful year, a 15-year-old who's building his own RV-7A, OP
Technologies move to steal Chelton's experimental EFIS customers who ordered equipment from now-defunct distributor Direct To Avionics and more. Remember: In AVweb's podcasts, you'll hear things you
won't find anywhere else.
Brought to you by
Bose
Corporation.
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Featured AVweb Marketplace Ad: Eckalbar's New Book
Ready to upgrade to WAAS? Eckalbar's new book, Instrument Flying Update, picks up where his well-regarded IFR: A Structured Approach ended and explains WAAS, WAAS-enabled
approaches, and the rules applying to WAAS — plus other recent changes in IFR.
For contact
information regarding this ad and to view more ads, click here. 
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This Week's Question
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Previous Week's Answers
PREVIOUS RESULTS ***
Last week, as we headed into the new year, AVweb asked our readers
how much flying they plan to do in 2006 (compared to the hours they
logged in '06).
The most popular answer was a little more, accounting for 33%
of those who responded to our poll. Coming in a close second, 31%
of you told us you plan to fly much more.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, only 5% of respondents said they
plan to fly much less in 2007.
View the complete breakdown of answers
here.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION ***
The FAA has proposed phasing out paper pilot licenses in favor of
newer, counterfeit-resistant plastic licenses without a certificate
holder's photo. Do you agree with the FAA's move from paper to
plastic, and (if so) should the newer licenses also include a photo?
Click here to answer.
Have an idea for a new QOTW? Send your suggestions to
qotw@avweb.com. NOTE:
This address is
only for suggested QOTW questions, and not for QOTW answers or
comments.
Use
this form to send QOTW comments to our AVmail Editor.
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Nominate an FBO
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Rules
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Tips
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Questions
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Winning FBOs
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Million Air at KRIC in Richmond, Va.
AVweb reader Joe Stubblefield said the facility treated him like he was royalty.
"After meeting our 172 and picking us up in a van to drop us at the office only a couple hundred feet away, we asked for a ride to the museum and were give the crew car -- an S-type Jaguar. All
that and saving the $50 landing fee by getting a little fuel from them at a really fair price, too. Great folks and service. Made us feel like royalty among the jets and King Airs."
Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here. AVweb is actively seeking
out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!
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Submit a Photo
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Rules
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Tips
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Questions
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Past Winners
Each week, we go through dozens (and sometimes
hundreds) of reader-submitted photos and pick the very best to share
with you on Thursday mornings. The top photos are featured on
AVweb's home page, and one photo
that stands above the others is awarded an AVweb baseball cap as our
"Picture of the Week."
Want to see your photos featured?
Submit them here!
A quick note for submitters: If you've got several
photos that you feel are "POTW" material, your best bet is to submit
them one-a-week! That gives your photos a greater chance of seeing
print on AVweb, and it makes the selection process a little easier on
us, too. ;)
*** THIS WEEK'S WINNERS ***
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Snow Apache Peter Schultz
takes home top honors this week for a snowy photo that comes not from
his home state of Idaho — but from an area near Bermel, Afghanistan.
The chopper's crew are members of the Idaho Army National Guard serving
in the area.
One of the unabashed perks of working on "Picture of the Week" is
getting to see this kind of photo — those that remind us how much
natural beauty and wonder are to be found in all sorts of places.
Factor in the comments and insights of the AVweb readers who submit
photos to our weekly contest, and it's like having a guided tour of the
world show up in our inbox every week.
Thanks, Peter — and everyone else who submits. Keep
sending us photos and comments
from your part of the globe, and we'll keep running 'em here!
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Tennessee Sunset
Natural landscapes dominated our inbox for the second week in a row.
Will Jannaman of Hendersonville,
Tennessee came within a hair's breadth of taking the top spot this week.
Do yourself a favor and click through to the
large
version of this image. While you're there, you can do the same
thing we did — make it your desktop wallpaper.
(See more amazing landscapes — plus a dozen other goodies — in the
extended "Picture of the Week" slideshow at
AVweb.com.) |
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medium
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large |
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copyright ©
Lee Hogan
Used with permission |
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I Thought That You Stowed the Towbar
Lee Hogan of Addison, Illinois
brightened up our day with this photo from DuPage County Airport in West
Chicago. "The Skyhawk was on final when an instructor called out
his problem on the tower frequency," writes Lee. (If you can't see
the problem in the small image be sure to view the
large
version.) "The student flew the pattern for about 45 minutes
until all of the rescue vehicles were in place. He landed with no
damage, other than to his ego."
In the meantime, don't forget to check
AVweb.com for more than a dozen bonus photos from this week's
submissions! |
Want more? There are over a dozen new reader-submitted photos waiting for you at
AVweb.com
today!
To enter next week's contest,
click here.
A Reminder About Copyrights: Please take a moment to consider the
source of your image before submitting to our "Picture of the Week" contest.
If you did not take the photo yourself, ask yourself if you are indeed
authorized to release publication rights to AVweb. If you're uncertain,
consult the
POTW
Rules or
send us an e-mail.
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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 Contributing Editors Mary Grady (bio) and Glenn Pew (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 your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only
version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.
Aviate, navigate, communicate.
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