The Buttonville Flying Club COPA Flight 44

Maybe the sun's getting to him, or maybe it's the long hours covering the news out of Oshkosh. Either way, Paul Bertorelli's taking a moment to appreciate the little things in his latest post to our AVweb Insider blog ? including the incredible efforts of those folks in the "volunteer" t-shirts, the wonder of dusk as seen from the Goodyear Blimp, the joys of a great noise-cancelling headset, and even the efforts of FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt to ride herd on a giant bureaucracy. Click here to see what's on Paul's mind and comment.

Once the place finally dried out, it filled up with airplanes ? and here's a look at the campgrounds, AeroShell Square, and all the neat stuff you've been hearing about shot from pattern altitude.This video is brought to you by Bose Corporation and WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather.

When some guys retire, they buy a sports car or maybe an LSA. Art Nalls bought a Harrier, and he flew it at AirVenture this week. AVweb sent a camera along.This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips and Lightspeed Aviation.

There are lots of DC-3s still flying around the world, but only one original DC-2. It showed up at AirVenture in Oshkosh (via Rock Falls, Illinois), and AVweb had a look at it.This video is brought to you by Lightspeed Aviation and Conoco-Phillips.

Oma Sud, an Italian aircraft company that builds parts for the likes of Airbus, has it's own unusual new twin. AVweb's Mary Grady took a closer look at EAA Airventure Oshkosh.This video is brought to you by Bose Corporation and WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather.

In his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli seems dazed and baffled by a world class case of whipsaw. On the one hand, EPA says it has no authority to ban leaded fuels; on the other, FAA Admin Randy Babbitt says oh, yes it does. Who the hell is driving this thing? Click here to read Paul's blog and make your best guesses as to what's going on.

It's at nearly gross weight before the pilot steps in and can only fly for 15 minutes, but that's not the point. Sikorsky Innovations sees the Firefly as a testbed for the technologies that may make for a real electric helicopter ... someday.This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips and Lightspeed Aviation.

At EAA AirVenture 2010, Ford has a number of attractions, not the least of which is a portable vertical wind tunnel. It'll give you a good taste of what skydiving freefall is all about. AVweb staffers from our show intern Adam Cutler to resident skydiver Paul Bertorelli tried it out ? and here's the video report.This video is brought to you by Bose Corporation and WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather.

All 152 souls on board an Airbus A321 were killed on Wednesday when the aircraft crashed into a hill while trying to land at an airport near Islamabad in clouds and rain. Fire and smoke was visible at the scene, the Associated Press reported, and the wreckage was strewn widely across the hillside of broken trees. No distress calls were heard from the pilots, according to the AP. The flight was operated by Airblue, a private service based in Karachi, where the flight had departed from. One witness told the AP the airplane appeared to have "lost balance" in the air, and then went down.

Matthieu de Quillacq flew his lightweight Kompress CH-7 kit helicopter from southern France to Oshkosh, and he hopes to continue right around the world. AVweb's Glenn Pew caught up with him at AirVenture to find out more.This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips and Lightspeed Aviation.

Take a tour of a beautiful corporate-owned DC-3. It's never been restored, but you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer one than Esther Mae.This video is brought to you by Bose Corporation and WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather.

Gotta hand it to Bose, says Paul Bertorell on the AVweb Insider blog. They've been at this noise-cancelling thing for more than 20 years, and the new A20 shows that experience. After you check out the A20, walk right across the street to Lycoming and sniff around at that company's new technology. They're definitely moving forward. Catch up with Paul's quick thoughts on the show in his latest blog post.

Has it been 20 years since Bose pioneered the first aviation noise cancelling headset at Oshkosh? Yes, it has ? and at this year's EAA AirVenture, they've introduced the latest and greatest, the new A20, a follow-on product to the popular Headset X. Here's AVweb's quick look at the new headset.This video is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather.

Long-time EAA President Tom Poberezny is skilled at conveying the passion that drives aviation innovation. Can his successor do the same? AVweb's Mary Grady thinks Rod Hightower may have stumbled a bit when asked to comment on his vision for EAA's future. Click here to read Mary's analysis and share your own thoughts (and visions).

EAA president Tom Poberezeny introduced Rod Hightower of St. Louis as EAA's next president at a news conference at Airventure Oshkosh on July 26, 2010.This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips and Lightspeed Aviation.

Avgas and the lack of a replacement for it will be a hot agenda item at AirVenture 2010 ? and that's A-O.K. with Paul Bertorelli. In his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog, Paul explains why he's hopeful that the year's biggest aviation gathering will energize the quest for 100LL replacement. Click here to read Paul's guideposts for a productive fuel discussion at the show.

PHL Approach:"Air Canada 364, PHL airport. 2 o'clock and four miles. Report the field in sight."Air Canada 364:"Yeah, we have the terminal in sight."PHL Approach:"Don't land on the terminal. Cleared the visual 27R, tower on 118.5."A. Mellovia e-mail

>>> AVWEB FUEL FINDERCURRENT PRICE FOR 100LL: $4.76 (down 1¢ from last week)CURRENT PRICE FOR JET A: $4.42 (down 1¢ from last week)Fuel prices provided weekly by AirNav, based on prices from the past 2 weeks. Changes are relative to last week's prices. /TEXT_ONLY-->http://media.avweb.com/banmanavweb/a.aspx?Task=Click&ZoneID=0&CampaignID=5859&AdvertiserID=167&BannerID=2979&SiteID=19&RandomNumber=782381113&Keywords=/TEXT_ONLY-->AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to the FBO at St. Clair County Airport (KPLR) in Pell City, Alabama.AVweb reader Randy Martin put PLR to the test when he decided to change his go-to airport for trips to Birmingham. Having already spoken with the airport manager (Larry), Randy expected thins to run smoothly when he arrived. What Randy didn't expect was an experience he called "Southern hospitality at its finest."Upon my arrival, a silver van was planeside before the prop stopped spinning, and Heath [a lineman] ask me if I needed a ride to the motel. ... [After finding myself stranded at the motel later on, I reluctantly called Larry and asked for a ride.] Bill arrived at the motel within half hour and happily drove me over, offering several local attractions to visit my next time in, and would not take any money for gas ? or even a tip. ... A very big thank you for all the guys at KPLR. I will definitely be back.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!

More than 30 DC-3s were on the ramp at Whiteside County Airport in Rock Falls, Ill. from July 24-26 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the aircraft that some say changed the way aviation was used and perceived. Organizer Dan Gryder gave AVweb a unique perspective on the event and the people involved.

The Cobalt 50 is a pusher-prop design that the company hopes will carry five people at 220 knots. AVweb's Jeff Van West spoke with Cobalt founder and CEO David Loury to find out more.This video is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather.