WHAT YOU'RE SPENDING $1.8 BILLION ON
The FAA has decided who to saddle with hundreds of millions of dollars and the responsibility to install the ground-based portion of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. It has awarded ITT a contract worth up to $1.8 billion to deploy upwards of 700 ground stations that will one day "run more aircraft safely and with more efficiency," according to FAA deputy administrator, Robert A. Sturgell. Losing out in this phase were rivals Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. More...

BILL PIPER JR. DIES AT 96
The last member of the Piper family to head up the legendary planemaker died Aug. 24 in Lock Haven, Pa. Bill Piper Jr. was the son of Piper Aircraft founder William Piper and was president of the company until the late 1970s when the family lost control of the company and management was fired. Piper’s memorial was held on Wednesday and featured a formation of yellow Cubs performing the missing man flyby. Piper’s nephew John told AVweb his uncle had a long and fruitful life. “Sadly, it is another indication of a passing era in general aviation,” he wrote in an email. “On the other hand, Bill, Jr. and several other members of the Piper family sure had a very full life and played a major role in the development of general aviation worldwide.” More...

COLLISION KILLS AIR SHOW PILOTS IN POLAND
Two members of the Zelazny Aerobatic Squad were killed Saturday when their aircraft collided head during a performance at the Radom Air Show in Poland. No one on the ground was reported hurt. Photos showed the aircraft disintegrating on impact. The debris fell in a wooded area far from the audience, initial news reports said. Names of the pilots had not been released. More...

PIPER SEMINOLE AS JET DETERRENT
Last week, a man was arrested and charged with three counts, one each for several times deliberately flying his aircraft into the path of a jet, last May, according to UPI. Thomas Bancroft Shaffer is alleged to have flown a Piper Seminole into the path of a Brazilian Embraer ERJ-170 three separate times, while the jet was attempting to conduct landing tests. Shaffer owns Silver Express, a Part 141 flight school that operates out of Kendall-Tamiami airport in Florida. Investigators have now concluded that his actions were deliberate and imposed on himself, those on the jet and those on the ground imminent danger. More...

LIEU OF LAX
Responding to reports of two near collisions over the past two weeks and eight since October 1, Assemblyman Ted Lieu, (D -- El Segundo) Thursday suggested that flights at Los Angeles International airport be limited and spacing for landing and departing aircraft be increased. "If the FAA does not immediately act to improve safety at LAX and an accident occurs, the FAA will have blood on its hands," Lieu wrote. The state lawmaker offered his thoughts in a letter to FAA administrator Marion Blakey adding that steps should be taken to divert flights away from LAX and into other southern California airports. Lieu buttressed his position with his belief that other changes could take much more time while his ideas offered channels for more immediate action. More...

SPORT PILOT LEAVES TERRIBLE TWO'S
Three years into it, and more than 2,100 Sport Pilot certificates have been issued as of June 1, 2007 with 230 sport pilot instructors now certificated. EAA last week presented the news as part of its annual analysis of the Sport Pilot sector. The new aircraft and pilot categories have seen growth over the past year that has outpaced cumulative totals for the first two years combined. What's more, (literally) there are "nearly 3,700 successful applicants in the sport pilot airman knowledge (written) test." EAA found that more than 50 new aircraft are now available for sport pilots, but more than 4,000 light sport aircraft are on the FAA register, according to EAA. More...

SITE OFFERS ONLINE AIRCRAFT RENTAL LISTINGS
A North Carolina company has launched an online aircraft rental listing service that allows renters to find the types of aircraft they want just about anywhere in the country. Visitors to Rentplanes.com get and inquiry form that lets them look for virtually any kind of aircraft. The site narrows the search to three airports in the general area specified and links to AirNav give airport details and distances. More...

VERO BEACH PUTS STOCK IN PIPER AIRCRAFT
Money talks and a Vero Beach businessman is hoping the community can shout a message to the parent company of Piper Aircraft. According to TCPalm.com Jim Adams is urging all residents in the area who hold shares in American Capital Strategies to sign a letter urging the company to keep building Pipers in Vero Beach. "All they'll have to do is leave their name with my secretary," Adams said. "They'll have to listen to us now. We're stockholders." Adams is among several Vero Beach residents who have recently purchased shares to show tangible support for retaining the planemaker, which is shopping for a location in which to expand its current plant and build a new facility for manufacturing the PiperJet. More...

JETBROKER.ORG OPERATOR GETS 22 YEARS FOR FRAUD
Phillip Casciola has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in part for failing to deliver merchandise sold through his web site Jetbroker.org, a company that specialized in selling corporate jets and aircraft parts. Authorities spent two years investigating 51-year-old Casciola and concluded that he had within the past few years defrauded customers out of more than half a million dollars. More...

MUSEUM PLAQUE ALTERED TO APPEASE VET PILOTS
Former Second World War bomber crew members are applauding the Canadian War Museum’s promise to revise the wording on a plaque that introduces the museum’s exhibit on the Allied bombing campaign. But historians are decrying the politically- charged decision, saying that not only is the current wording appropriate, the decision to amend it was the result of political pressure and not for academic or historical integrity. Canadian veterans’ organizations lobbied extensively and threatened a boycott of the museum over the plaque, which they claim inaccurately portrayed bomber crews as war criminals. More...

AIR TRAVEL SECURITY TOUGH ON THE WAISTLINE
We’ve long suspected that waiting in line to take off your shoes for complete strangers is hard on your blood pressure but now there’s a report that suggests it might also be making people fat. Confectionarynews.com says a study shows sales of candy and snacks at airports went up almost 12 percent in 2006 to a total of $1.9 billion and says stiffer airport security is the reason. More...

ON THE FLY...
Six people died in crash of four-place aircraft at California airport ...
JetBlue opposes airline position on FAA funding ...
A380 scrapes building while taxiing in Bangkok ...
Congressional delegation’s aircraft fired on over Baghdad. 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...

PROBABLE CAUSE #40: TOO MUCH BAGGAGE
In-flight emergencies may require us to divert but we still have to fly the approach. More...

A PILOT'S HISTORY: CHAP. 1 -- FLIGHT TRAINING
This month AVweb presents the first chapter in the career of Carl Moesly, who learned to fly prior to World War II, flew in the Pacific theater of that war and then in the Korean War, moved around to various airlines, and finished in corporate flight positions. More...

AVMAIL: SEP. 3, 2007
Reader mail this week about carbon offsets, airlines vs. GA, user fees and more. More...

AVWEB'S MONDAY PODCAST:
SAYING GOODBYE TO BILL PIPER JR.
Aviation lost an icon last week when Bill Piper Jr. died at the age of 96 in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Piper worked alongside his brothers Tony and Pug, under the guidance of founder Bill Piper Sr. to create not just a company, but help develop the entire general aviation industry. His nephew John was close to Bill Jr. and spoke to AVweb's Russ Niles about his uncle's accomplishments and on what it was like to grow up in the first family of general aviation.

Click here to listen. (10.5 MB, 11:33)

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: ZELAZNY AEROBATIC SQUAD IN ACTION
Given this weekend's terrible news about the Zelazny Aerobatic team, we thought we'd share this slideshow of the team in action, posted on YouTube by user gumisiekkk. (Click through to watch.) More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: HENDERSON EXECUTIVE AIRPORT (HENDERSON, NV)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to the FBO at Henderson Executive Airport (HND) in Henderson, Nev.

AVweb reader Christopher Dean heaps praise on the service team in Henderson:

We spent eight days out there going up and coming back daily. The line crew simply rocks -- they are thorough, efficient, professional and safe. The customer service teams on all of the the shifts are friendly, and know how to take care of the customer. And the icing on the cake -- the fuel prices can't be beat! From the second we arrived to eight days later, everyone there at the FBO who dealt with us left us with a positive and warm impression. We will make this FBO our choice FBO for our trips to Las Vegas. Thank you to everyone who works there!

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!

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

Overheard by a passenger from Chicago to London, England:

Minneapolis Center:
"United Nine Two Eight Heavy, direct Badger — Whoa, we're not going to Badger are we — Nine Two Eight fly heading 340."

United 928:
"Um, we're going to London."

Center:
"Ah, United Nine Two Eight Heavy, fly 010, vectors to London."

Center (15 seconds later):
"Of course that's not really vectors for London, it's vectors for — um, PECOK."

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.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles (bio)

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady (bio)
Glenn Pew (bio)

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings (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.