HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARS USER-FEE ARGUMENTS
Members of the House Ways and Means Committee heard from several players in the aviation-taxes/user-fee debate in a hearing on Wednesday. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey made her pitch for user fees, telling the committee that "general aviation drives about 16 percent of the costs of the air traffic control system, while only paying about 3 percent of the taxes." The committee also heard from Gerald Dillingham, director of the Government Accountability Office, who said the current trust fund system is already raising enough money to support the FAA without the imposition of user fees. More...

REPORT: GLASS PANELS ENHANCE SAFETY
It's one of those things that's been intuitively accepted -- glass cockpit technology improves situational awareness, thereby enhancing safety. Now a study published this week by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation (ASF) confirms that technologically advanced aircraft (TAA) are involved in fewer accidents when compared with the overall general aviation fleet. The analysis shows that advanced aircraft account for 2.8 percent of the GA fleet, but were involved in only 1.5 percent of the accidents. Most notable was the difference in accidents related to fuel. TAA have fuel-monitoring and warning systems, and there was not a single fuel-related accident reported in the ASF study. In other GA aircraft, fuel-management accidents occur at a rate of almost three per week. More...

VLJ GROWTH DRIVES SIMULATOR MARKET
As very light jets begin deliveries in the U.S., the demand for training is on the rise, and that's good news for the folks who build flight simulators. An analysis by Frost & Sullivan, released this week, shows that training and simulation for VLJs is already a $73 million market and should grow to $84 million by 2010. "Unlike twin-piston or other aircraft comparable in size, VLJs are highly powerful aircraft with features once exclusive to commercial airliners and other big business jets," said Frost & Sullivan analyst Garrick Ngai. "With the availability of technologies such as single-pilot resource management on VLJs, both new and transitioning pilots require extensive ground-based and in-flight instruction in order to fly these powerful micro-jets safely." More...

NTSB: CROSSFIELD NOT WARNED OF ADVERSE WEATHER
A controller who was communicating with famed test pilot Scott Crossfield shortly before he crashed his Cessna 210 in April 2006 did not provide any severe weather advisories, although he acknowledged that adverse weather was present "all over" his sector, according to the recently released NTSB factual report. The controller told investigators that he believed his radar information to be unreliable and he expected the pilot would have a better idea about the location of the adverse weather than he did. "By not issuing weather reports to the pilot, the controller violated several paragraphs in FAA Order 7110.65, 'Air Traffic Control,'" according to the NTSB. Crossfield, 84, died in the crash. The NTSB investigation is continuing and no probable cause has been determined. More...

REPORT: CONTROL ERROR POSSIBLE IN BRAZIL'S WORST CRASH
A throttle lever on the A320 that crashed after overrunning the runway in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last month may have been in "accelerate" position when it should have been in "reverse" position, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Reuters cited flight-recorder transcripts published in a Brazilian newspaper. The airline, TAM, has already said that one of the aircraft's thrust reversers was inoperative. In that case, both throttle levers should have been in the "idle" position during approach to the airport and in the "full reverse" position on the runway, according to the Brazilian news report. Airbus issued a safety advisory last week stressing the need for pilots to follow proper landing procedures when a thrust reverser is not working, Reuters said. More...

NUMBERS ARE IN FOR EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2007
Attendance at this year's AirVenture show was up about 3 percent over last year, EAA President Tom Poberezny said on Monday, with an estimated total of about 560,000 visitors. Other numbers included more than 10,000 aircraft that flew in to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other nearby fields; 2,647 showplanes (985 homebuilts, 1,014 vintage airplanes, 365 warbirds, 136 ultralights, 117 seaplanes and 30 rotorcraft); 784 commercial exhibitors; and more than 38,000 campers. Reporting on all that news and activity were 887 media representatives from six continents (none, apparently, made the trip from Antarctica). "The number of aviation innovations and introductions we saw at Oshkosh were unprecedented, and there was a very positive feeling among pilots and aviation enthusiasts," Poberezny said. More...

35 RVS CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF VANS' AT OSHKOSH
Any pilot who has tried formation flying knows it is harder than it looks. And if flying close to two or three pals seems daunting, imagine flying in formation with 34 other airplanes. But a group of Van's RV pilots, determined to honor designer Richard VanGrunsven and Van's Aircraft on their 35th anniversary of being at Oshkosh, pulled it off with panache last week. After a couple of practice runs at a nearby airport, the 35-ship formation flew a mass arrival into Wittman Field on Sunday afternoon, the day before the show opened. On Tuesday and Wednesday, all 35 airplanes took off four at a time, then flew several maneuvers over the show. "This formation over OSH was the buzz along the flightline and particularly noteworthy as 35 pilots and planes remained mechanically sound and in precision tight formations five times over a five-day period," flight leader Stu McCurdy told AVweb. "It was a fitting acknowledgement of 35 years of Van's Aircraft producing quality homebuilt kits, with more than 5,000 now flying." More...

YINGLING AVIATION ANNOUNCES EXPANSION
Yingling Aviation, a Cessna-affiliated general aviation services provider located at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, has announced that it will add 9,000 square feet of hangar and office space to make room for McCauley propeller overhaul and service. The $1.5 million addition, which is the first part of a two-phase expansion, is expected to be completed by March 2008. Yingling said that the second phase will accommodate repair services for composite propellers. Exact start dates have yet to be determined. However, land in close proximity to Mid-Continent Airport has recently been purchased. More...

PILOTS PRESS FAA TO WAIVE AGE-60 RULE
The FAA over the last year or so has made clear that the much-vilified age-60 retirement rule for pilots is on its way out. But for many pilots who are turning 60 now or expect to soon, the likelihood that things will change – but haven't yet -- makes their situation just that much more frustrating. "The FAA needs to get out of the age-discrimination business," says Lewis Tetlow, a US Airways captain who was forced into retirement when he turned 60 in April. Now president of the Senior Pilots Coalition, Tetlow on Wednesday asked FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to start granting waivers now to keep the most experienced pilots flying through the busy summer season. "Today, we have an artificial pilot shortage in America and needlessly dangerous, unreliable airline service that could be remedied quickly by putting available pilots back on the job," Tetlow said. More...

YOUTH GROUP TAKES A LEAP TO FIGHT POVERTY
Plenty of young adults would like to try jumping out of an airplane, says Josh Berg, of Ontario, Canada, so why not give them a chance to do it while raising money for a worthy cause? "A lot of organizations have done the walking and biking things -- skydiving is something new," Berg told the Welland Tribune. Berg's church youth group has put together a project called LEAP -- Let's End All Poverty -- and they hope to sign up 150 people to jump during the August 18 to 19 weekend. If each jumper can raise C$150 in pledges, the event will raise C$22,500 for Make Poverty History, Berg said. The jumpers also must pay about C$200 each for the skydive. More...

AVGAS? WHO NEEDS IT? TRIKE RUNS ON BATTERIES
While concerns over price, availability and environmental impact have aviators worried about the future of fuel, one ultralight flyer in New Jersey has already solved that problem. Randall Fishman has been testing lithium-ion polymer battery packs to drive the prop on his ultralight trike, and he says they work great. They are powerful, smooth, sturdy, safe and quiet, Fishman claims. "The closest thing to a magic carpet ride ever," he says on his Web site. The quiet is not only enjoyable for the pilot, it improves relations with neighbors, he notes. The batteries will run for up to two hours and cost about 60 cents to charge via a standard electric outlet. However, the batteries are expensive -- $3,800 to $7,500, depending on size. More...

ON THE FLY
Dubai Aerospace has acquired Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation...
NTSB wants FAA to improve oversight of airline maintenance...
Radar was out at the Cincinnati tower for about three hours Sunday...
ASDE-X is now operational at Louisville International Airport...
A Snowbird pilot's inadequate training cited as cause of fatal crash. 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 aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry. Business AVflash is a must read. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/. More...

Columns | Features | What's New | Calendar | Brainteasers

THE SAVVY AVIATOR #47: RELIABILITY-CENTERED MAINTENANCE (PART 1)
A strategy known as Reliability-Centered Maintenance has drastically reduced the cost of maintaining transport and military aircraft, while simultaneously improving dispatch reliability. Isn't it time we applied this approach to piston GA? More...

OSHKOSH PODCASTING ROUND-UP: OUR COMPLETE AUDIO NEWS FROM EAA AIRVENTURE 2007
It's been a busy year for everyone here in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. From product roll-outs to the ongoing fight against user fees, AVweb's audio news team was onhand (with microphones) to get reactions and exclusive commentary from the industry's biggest players. In case you missed any of our daily audio coverage, here's a quick recap of the stories we covered at this year's EAA AirVenture fly-in. More...

OSHKOSH VIDEO ROUND-UP: COMPLETE VIDEO REPORTING FROM EAA AIRVENTURE 2007
This year, we shot quite a bit of original video at Oshkosh. While we didn't have time to publish everything we captured, we did put together a dozen or so videos to give you the flavor of the show and highlight a couple of interesting products we found in the exhibitor hangars. Here's a complete list, just in case you missed any of them. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST NEWS OUT OF OSHKOSH AT EAA AIRVENTURE 2007?
Now that EAA AirVenture is history, which news announcement from the air show excited you the most? Was it the Eclipse concept jet, the Cessna SkyCatcher, the FAA's big news about the D.C. ADIZ — or something else entirely? Plus: What did readers have to say about last week's Eclipse concept jet debut? More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: TAC AIR (KAPA, DENVER, COLORADO)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to TAC Air at KAPA in Denver, Colorado.

AVweb reader Scott Brooksby raves about the service at TAC Air:

"These guys were great; their self-serve fuel prices were great, and they loaned us a crewcar to go to dinner. When we first arrived, they took us to our hotel. When we left two days later, they had the airplane near their door, ready to go. Awesome."

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."Terrific photos continued to flow into "POTW" headquarters, even while we were away at Oshkosh kicking tires, er, working hard. We'll keep the banter short this week in order to squeeze in a couple of extra pics. If there were but world enough and time, we'd go on and on about the 120 photos we had to wade through this week and what a tough choice it was selecting only a handful to appear in today's issue. But we think you'll get the idea when you see the pics that we just couldn't turn away. Let's hit it!

It's always satisfying when the post-AirVenture "Picture of the Week" comes from the show — and maddening, in a way, since we really did think we saw everything there was to see this year. Foolish us. Leonard Mack of Hilliard, Ohio, hung around for the ultralight air shows every night at dusk (whereas we went back to the hotel to write up stories). Thankfully, Leonard snapped some photos for us, even if it isn't exactly the same as being there More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

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 Editor Mary Grady (bio).

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