GA SECURITY PLANS TO BE UNVEILED
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is expected to unveil his department's plans to address general aviation security Monday at a meeting in Washington. Chertoff is the guest speaker at the National Air Transportation Association's Aviation Business Roundtable at the Mayflower Hotel. The meeting will be open to the media. In addition to Chertoff, Transportation Security Administration head Kip Hawley and representatives of other government agencies will be there to outline new regulations for GA security. The government has been working on a package of GA security measures for the past year, and GA groups have been in contact with the various agencies to try and ensure the measures make sense in terms of security and the operational needs of the industry. More...

AIRCRAFT CARBURETOR, PARTS SHIPMENTS STOPPED
The company that makes the majority of carburetors and associated replacement parts for the most popular general aviation engines says it's stopped shipping as of Nov. 1 because it can't afford the insurance. Precision Airmotive's MSA carbs are used on most of the Lycoming, Continental and Franklin engines currently in service and are also put on new engines. Precision spokesman Alan Jesmer told AVweb in a podcast interview that the action resulted from the company's being named in numerous lawsuits, regardless of the involvement of its products in the incidents that gave rise to the suits. The cost of dealing with the litigation marginalized the business. "Precision has seen its liability insurance premiums rise dramatically, to the point that the premium now exceeds the total sales dollars for this entire product line," he said. Since the supply of carbs and replacement parts for the majority of piston-powered aircraft can't simply be allowed to dry up, Jesmer said Precision's action was a wake-up call to the rest of the industry to get involved with the issue and he expects some sort of resolution in the next week or so. More...

AVWEB'S MONDAY PODCAST (#1 OF 2): INSURANCE COSTS GRIND PRECISION AIRMOTIVE'S CARB BUSINESS TO A HALT
If you have a Lycoming, Continental or Franklin engine in your aircraft, chances are it has an MSA carburetor supplied by Precision Airmotive, and that means if it needs work in the next little while, you could be out of luck. Precision Airmotive stopped shipping carburetors and replacement parts last Wednesday because insurance costs have become prohibitive. Now, a good portion of the light aircraft industry can't just grind to a halt because of a carburetor shortage, so there will be a solution to this issue, likely within a week or so. Precision Airmotive's Alan Jesmer explained the whole situation to AVweb's Russ Niles. More...

APPEAL COURT RULES ON LYCOMING CRANKSHAFT CASE
Lycoming has lost elements of its appeal against a 2005 jury verdict that blamed design faults for a series of crankshaft failures in its engines. The 14th Court of Appeals in Houston agreed with the earlier verdict that Lycoming's design was to blame for the failures, but it set aside a $96 million judgment awarded in the earlier trial to Navasota, Texas-based Interstate Southwest, which forged the crankshafts. As AVweb reported in 2005, Interstate sued Lycoming after the engine manufacturer blamed the failures on problems with Interstate's forging processes. According to Interstate's lawyer, Marty Rose, the appeals court decision also nullifies Lycoming's $173 million counterclaim against Interstate. However, Lycoming apparently doesn't see it the same way. "Lycoming is very pleased that the Court of Appeals has reversed and rejected all of [Interstate Southwest's] claims for damages in this action and has made clear that Lycoming is free to pursue its claims for damages against [Interstate Southwest] and [Interstate Forging Industries]," the company said in a statement to AVweb Saturday. Whether that means more legal wranglings are on the horizon is unclear. More...

TIGER LANDS IN VALDOSTA, GA.
True Flight Aerospace has confirmed it will build a modern version of the Grumman Tiger in Valdosta, Ga., and hopes to have its first aircraft flying by next summer. CEO Kevin Lancaster said in a podcast interview with AVweb that the company intends to build a 60,000-square-foot plant at the Valdosta Airport. "We're very excited," Lancaster, who purchased the type certificate and most of the assets from the former Tiger Aircraft company earlier this year, said Friday. The Taiwanese government was the majority shareholder of the former owner, and Lancaster said closure of the company, based in Martinsburg, Va., was a political decision. There were firm orders on the books for aircraft but no money to build them. Lancaster said the new incarnation will be run much differently. More...

AVWEB'S MONDAY PODCAST (#2 OF 2): ENTER THE TIGER (AGAIN)
We don't know how many lives a Tiger can have, but Grumman's venerable four-place single is getting another shot at success thanks to a Valdosta, Georgia company. True Flight Aerospace is planning a 60,000 sq. ft. plant at the airport there and hopes to have its first aircraft off the line by next summer. AVweb's Russ Niles talked to CEO Kevin Lancaster about his plans to succeed with Tiger where others have failed. More...

ENOLA GAY PILOT PAUL TIBBETS DIES
Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, died at his home in Columbus, Ohio, early Thursday. He was 92. Tibbets was a 30-year-old Lt. Col. when he was called on to plan and execute the world-changing mission, a mission he told Studs Terkel in a 2002 interview that could have been even more dramatic. More...

CANADIAN PILOT GUILTY IN CRASH
A Canadian court has found an Alberta pilot guilty of criminal negligence and unsafe operation of an aircraft for a 2002 accident that led to the death of a Kansas man. Mark Tayfel admitted he misjudged the amount of fuel required for the round trip from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Gunisao Lake Lodge to pick up six American tourists on a fishing trip. He initially made it to Winnipeg International Airport, but for reasons that aren’t clear had to abort the landing. Both engines on the Piper Chieftain quit on the go-around, and the aircraft crash-landed in a Winnipeg intersection. Kansas resident Chester Jones, 79, died three months later from injuries suffered in the crash, and four others were injured. In his defense, Tayfel said running out of gas was an honest mistake and not a criminal act. More...

JACKSONVILLE RUNWAY EXPANSION OPPOSED
Residents opposed to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority's (JAA) bid to lengthen a runway at Craig Field, a reliever airport close to downtown Jacksonville, say the authority is breaking a six-year-old promise to leave the facility as is. In 2001, the airport authority agreed to scrap any expansion plans in exchange for autonomy from the Jacksonville Port Authority, and that deal is apparently coming back to haunt JAA as it starts jumping the political hoops to extend one of Craig Field's runways from 4,000 to 6,000 feet. According to the Jacksonville Times-Union, JAA and its supporters cite the numerous safety benefits of the extension. The campaign in favor of the extension is called Safer Craig, and proponents say the longer the runway, the safer it is. But some nearby residents and some members of city council aren't buying the safety angle. "The airport authority has framed the issue," City Council President Daniel Davis said at a recent meeting where the issue was discussed. "That's a legitimate discussion, if it's a safety initiative or not." More...

AIRLINE PILOT ON NO-FLY LIST
A recently-retired airline pilot told Colorado television station 9News on Friday that while he has all the clearances he needs to fly an airliner, his appearance on the "no-fly" list makes being a passenger a major ordeal. Robert Campbell says that even though the Transportation Security Administration assured him in 2006 that he was off the list, he still gets the third degree when he checks in for a flight as a passenger. "The fact is, I'm authorized by the TSA to fly the airplane and ride the jump seat on air carriers," he said. "But if I want to ride in the back, I'm on the no-fly list." More...

INDIAN AIRLINES HIRING MEDICALLY-SUSPECT PILOTS, SAYS NEWSPAPER
The Times of India says a budget airline, which it did not identify, has rehired a pilot who lost his medical because he's suspected of being epileptic. The newspaper says the condition was spotted during an electroencephalogram (EEG) and it was reported to the pilot and the airline. The newspaper says its sources claim the pilot went to the U.S. to recertify because an EEG is not required unless there is a history of brain injury or disease. The Times says its sources assume the pilot did not mention the failed EEG during the U.S. examination and was given his medical. On his return to India, the same airline that had to let him go for the failed medical rehired him. India's director-general of civil aviation Kanu Gohain has promised to investigate. "We will look into the matter. How can he fly in India if he failed medicals here?" Gohain said. More...

HIGHEST-TIME 172 RETIRED
A 1982 Cessna 172P flown daily in scheduled airline service in Belize has been retired with more than 30,000 hours on it. John Greif, CEO of Tropic Air, told AVweb in last Friday's podcast interview that little remains of the original aircraft, which he says is still in good flying condition. He said he believes it's the highest-time 172. Greif said he made the decision to retire the aircraft out of an "abundance of caution." He said it's being replaced with a new diesel-powered 172. More...

AVWEB'S FRIDAY PODCAST: A WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT FOR TROPIC AIR'S CESSNA 172
For those of you struggling to put 50 hours a year on your Cessna 172, consider the long and productive life of a 1982 P-model that was retired last week with 30,000 hours on it, likely making it the highest-time 172 in the world. The 172, with tail number V3-HDN, has been making as many as three or four flights a day in scheduled airline service for Tropic Air, which is based on San Pedro, an island off the coast of Belize. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Tropic Air President John Greif about the aircraft's history and his experience with a diesel-powered replacement. More...

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

AVMAIL: NOV. 5, 2007
Reader mail this week about Bobby Sturgell, NASA's secret safety survey, airline security hassles for air crews, and an FSS blind spot in the Northeastern U.S. (among other topics). More...

THE PILOT'S LOUNGE #119: SUNSHINE, ROUND ENGINES, TAILWHEELS ... LIFE IS GOOD
AVweb's Rick Durden spent a glorious weekend among a gathering of radial-engined beauties. More...

YOUR IFR MOMENTS
IFR magazine asked its readers to contribute defining moments of IFR flying. Here are a few where the moment was made by the company as much as the flight. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: PANORAMA FLIGHT SERVICE (WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT, WHITE PLAINS, NY)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Panorama Flight Service at Westchester County Airport (KHPN) in White Plains, N.Y.

"Panorama Flight Service goes out of their way to serve pilots and passengers," according to AVweb reader George Samara, who also raved about the princely treatment he received there:

They are the only FBO I know of that provides free: a flavored coffee service, a large container of Gorp Mix, a large container of Jelly Beans, a large container of small chocolates, and (for all pilots) a selection of seven different kinds of cheesecake (which were awesome). Oh, and they also provide several kinds of free granola bars, and a great Crew Lounge with two computer terminals and two phones. Did I mention that there are three phones in the lobby, too?

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

When I was learning to fly in 1967 in Merced, Calif., we had no control tower. We were taught that after engine start-up, we should pretend to call the tower for taxi clearance.

Another pilot trainee started his engine, then immediately started to taxi. The instructor stopped him and advised that he had forgotten to call for clearance.

The trainee thought for a second, opened the pilot air vent, and, over the roar of the engine, yelled, "Clear!"

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...

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MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a 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

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

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