DIAMOND, THIELERT DISAGREE ON CAUSE OF DA42 CRASH
Both engines of a DA42 Twinstar quit shortly after takeoff in Germany last month, and now Diamond is saying it was caused by an engine problem while Thielert says it was an airframe issue, Flight International reported this week. The accident airplane's battery had drained overnight and the pilots had apparently started both engines using an external power unit, which is contrary to the published operating procedure that requires one engine to be started by the onboard battery alone. Both Thielert Centurion 1.7 engines stopped when the pilot retracted the gear, which took all available electrical power to accomplish. This caused a very brief interruption in electrical voltage to the two engine control units, and in turn the diesel engines simultaneously quit on climbout. The crew made a belly landing in a field adjacent to the airport. The European Aviation Safety Agency has ordered the companies to work it out and come up with a solution to prevent the problem from occurring again. More...

AERO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN WRAPS LARGEST SHOW YET
Germany's AERO show, held every other April in Friedrichshafen, has grown into Europe's premiere general-aviation event, and this year's show from April 19 to 22 set a new record with 533 exhibitors from 30 countries. The U.S. was represented by 44 companies, twice as many as at the last show. Four days of perfect weather helped boost attendance, with 45,000 visitors from 40 countries on six continents. "Exhibitors reported making top-notch contacts, meeting international customers, and concluding a large number of business deals," according to a press release from AERO. The Eclipse 500 very light jet and Cessna's Mustang made their European debuts at the event. AVweb's European correspondent, Liz Moscrop, was there. Watch for her complete report, coming soon. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: OUR RIDE-ALONG WITH AEROBATIC PILOTS MICHAEL MANCUSO AND MATT CHAPMAN AT SUN 'N FUN 2007
AVweb (and you) ride along with Michael Mancuso as he flies his precision formation routine with Matt Chapman. The video includes narration by Mancuso, who briefed us after the show. (Click through to watch.) More...

CAN THAT AIRPLANE BURN AUTOFUEL? BUYER BEWARE!
Recently, some aircraft sellers have told buyers that certain aircraft can use auto fuel when they're not certified to do this, EAA said last week. A records check failed to confirm that one such aircraft had an autofuel supplementary type certificate (STC), and there were no placards on the aircraft. Only EAA and Peterson Aviation are authorized to issue the autofuel placards. If you are buying an aircraft that you were told has an autofuel STC, EAA recommends that you check to make sure the aircraft does indeed have it. The best way to do that is to look for autofuel placards on the wings next to the fuel inlets, and also contact both STC holders. More...

CESSNA DELIVERS FIRST MUSTANG TO RETAIL BUYER
Cessna on Monday delivered a Citation Mustang very light jet to Goode Ski Technologies, the first delivery to a retail customer. It's the third production Mustang to leave the factory, but the first two are being used by Cessna as demo aircraft. "We plan to fly our Mustang to extreme ski locations to test our newest line of snow skis," David Goode said. "Having short-field capability will allow us to land at smaller, remote airports near some of the best ski resorts in the world." Goode completed his single-pilot Mustang type rating on March 1, becoming the first customer to be rated in the aircraft. Before the small jet, he flew a Cessna 310. [more] Cessna said it plans to deliver 40 Mustangs by the end of the year. More...

NBAA TAKES USER-FEE FIGHT ONLINE
The Internet can be a powerful force for organizing, and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) this week unveiled the NBAA Online Advocacy Center, an effort to harness that force in opposition to the FAA's user-fee funding proposal. "When people in the general aviation community hear about the user fees and a tripling of taxes included in the airlines' FAA scheme, their first question is 'What can be done to oppose it?'" said Ed Bolen, president of NBAA. "NBAA's new Online Advocacy Center will literally put information and ways to take action against the FAA bill at people's fingertips." Among the resources available at the site are a link to contact Congress, sample e-mail messages and talking points, pointers for writing a letter to your local newspaper, a "Contact Congress" banner for use on Web sites throughout the industry, and other news and information. More...

FAA ASKS WORKERS WHY THEY'RE UNHAPPY
The FAA surveyed its employees last year to find out how they felt about their jobs. It might not be a surprise that most workers -- especially those in air traffic control -- revealed a bit of discontent. Only 9 percent of workers in ATC said they trust FAA managers, and the overall workforce didn't have much more faith -- the best score the agency could get was 17 percent. Now the FAA is conducting focus groups across the country to ask workers why they feel the way they do, The Washington Post reported on Monday. "We do have some more work to do," said Ventris Gibson, the FAA assistant administrator in charge of personnel management. "It takes a lot to change and turn an organization and improve it significantly." More...

THE LATEST FROM JIM BEDE: AN LSA
Exosphere Aircraft of Seattle on Tuesday threw its hat into the light sport aircraft market, offering the BD-22 created by storied aircraft designer Jim Bede. The company's initial offering will be the BD-22 signature edition, which will be limited to 22 aircraft, each serialized with a special numbered placard signed by Mr. Bede and sold with a suite of limited-edition accessories. "The signature edition BD-22's will incorporate state of the art equipment and are intended to redefine the top end of light sport aircraft," according to Exosphere. Regular versions of the LSA will be available starting with S/N 23. Bede, Exosphere's director of aeronautical design, told AVweb that the BD-22 is an all-metal, low-wing airplane with a wide cabin and a roomy baggage compartment that can accommodate up to two sets of golf clubs. The fuselage will be of metal honeycomb construction, while the wings are to be mostly metal bonded, "with rivets used as necessary," notes Bede. More...

FAA FIXES LSA RULE FOR AMPHIBIANS, LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AIRCRAFT
The FAA has issued a direct-to-final rule that fixes two unforeseen glitches from its complex light sport aircraft rule. The original rule prohibited retractable landing gear, which caused a problem for amphibious aircraft. Under the rule, pilots who took off from the water weren't allowed to lower their landing gear in flight for a runway landing. Two models were given exemptions -- the Czech Aircraft Works Mermaid and LSA-Aero's S100 Freedom -- but the consensus was that the rule should be changed. Under the revised rule, no exemptions will be needed. "We're very pleased this has been done," said Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president of industry and regulatory affairs. The other change affects lighter-than-air balloons and airships, which were restricted to 660 pounds under the original rule. More...

ABLE FLIGHT FLYING SCHOLARSHIPS GO TO IRAQ VETERANS
Able Flight, a nonprofit group that offers flight training to people with disabilities, on Tuesday announced its latest round of scholarships, including its first awards to veterans who were wounded during their service in Iraq. Staff Sgt. John Borders and Tank Armor Crewman Rob Laurent both were injured by improvised explosive devices while serving in Iraq. Borders has already begun ground school. Both veterans expect to start flying later this year. Laurent said he hopes to "show others in similar situations that through hard work and opportunity we can do things that we, or others, thought we could never do." The other new students are Jorge Urrea, who was paralyzed in a motor vehicle accident in 1992, and Sean O'Donnell, who was a high school senior when a motor vehicle collision left him paralyzed. More...

BUILD A PLANE NEEDS AIRPLANE DONATIONS
Build A Plane, a nonprofit group that helps kids learn science, engineering and math by building real airplanes, sent out a call this week for more aircraft donations to support its programs. The aircraft don't have to be airworthy -- an unfinished kit project, a neglected inheritance or even aircraft parts can be put to good use by some program somewhere, the group said. More than 50 projects are underway in the U.S., India, the U.K. and Nigeria, but the number of schools requesting aircraft exceeds the number of aircraft donated by about 3 to 1. "We desperately need airplanes," the group said on Monday. More...

BOEING JOINS VIRGIN IN BIOFUEL EFFORT
Boeing and Virgin Atlantic announced on Tuesday that they will work together to develop biofuels for jet aircraft and will demonstrate the results using a 747-400 by next year. The demonstration will be the first by any commercial airline. The two companies also said they would work together to reduce fuel burn and cut aircraft emissions on the ground by exploring alternatives to traditional operations at airports. For example, by towing airplanes to "starting grids" close to the runway before running the engines, fuel consumption and carbon emissions could be reduced by up to 50 percent. Trials in London and San Francisco have produced positive results, and work continues to develop effective procedures. Virgin also announced that it has ordered 15 of Boeing's fuel-efficient 787-9 Dreamliners. More...

ON THE FLY
FAA's "Fact Sheet" on GA user fees now posted online...
NOAA's Hurricane Hunter will tour the East Coast next week...
British Airways edits out rival Richard Branson in in-flight film...
Barrington Irving has made it to Dubai on his solo RTW flight...
Aviation Technology Group hired Citigroup to raise $200 million to fund development of its Javelin jet
Some safety patches on DA42 wings should be removed, FAA says.
More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
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. What have you heard? More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST weekly 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/. More...

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RENTER'S AIRCRAFT INSURANCE COVERAGE: THE QUIET PROBLEM
Hundreds of thousands of pilots are flying without any insurance protection -- when they rent or borrow someone else's airplane. More...

SUN 'N FUN PODCASTING ROUND-UP
Now that the AVweb staff has returned home from the 33rd Annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida, let's take a moment to recap the six exclusive audio interviews we turned into webcasts during the show. Here's the checklist, in case there are any you've missed. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: IS AFSS CONSOLIDATION AFFECTING THE QUALITY OF YOUR WEATHER BRIEFINGS?
Now that automated flight service station (AFSS) consolidation has started in earnest under contractor Lockheed Martin, have you noticed any changes in aviation weather briefing quality? Plus: If Toyota were to make a, um, "ToyotaCraft" — what type of G.A. aircraft should it be? More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: AUGUSTA AVIATION

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Augusta Aviation at KDNL in Augusta, Ga.

AVweb readers Jim and Karen Lindemulder says the FBO owners went out of their way to help them.

"Good Friday evening our Skylane experienced multiple instrument failures while flying over Georgia. Control vectored us to Daniel Airport for assistance, where we were met on the ground by the smiling faces of Sherrell and Steven Gay of Augusta Aviation. The Masters Golf tournament was in progress and every hotel and rental car was taken. There were no mechanics available at the late hour and we considered a ferry flight to another facility, but Sherrell could tell by my wife's face that we really needed a night on the ground. She made many personal phone calls and located the last room available 35 miles away and gave us their own truck to get there. When we returned in the morning, their mechanic had already checked out our plane and determined the pitot heater was not working well and allowed ice to form in the lines. We were gratefully humbled when we were told that there was no charge for any of the services, even though we did not buy fuel. We will definitely stop to see them whenever passing through!"

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
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." It's our usual practice to take a mini-vacation from "Picture of the Week" when we're on the road at major air shows — and that means reader submissions tend to drop off while we're gone. This year's trek to Sun 'n Fun was no exception, with only 135 photo submissions arriving in our box over the last two weeks (a number that's more typical of a single week during the summer season). The incredible thing, however, is that every single one of the photos in our box this week was a true "POTW" contender. After copying over some 60-odd photos into our "final consideration" folder, it became apparent that we had a truly amazing week on our hands. In fact, we've squirreled away 40 photos (unseen!) to augment next week's selections. So, with no time to waste, let's dive in to this week's selections, starting with this week's winning photo, from Manchester, Washington's Ray Riepe. More...

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