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The Globe And Mail published Friday that Dornier will on Monday announce that its 10-seat twin-inline-turboprop SeaStar will be built in Quebec. Dornier's official announcement is not expected until 1:00 p.m. Monday at the company's new factory in Saint Jean sur Richilieu, about 20 miles south of Montreal. The company has reportedly been considering either Quebec or North Bay, Ont. The $6 million amphibious aircraft has already earned 25 orders and building it is expected to create about 175 jobs for Dornier, plus 70 more at Pratt Whitney Canada (which produces the aircraft's powerplants). The SeaStar was FAA certified in the early 1990s but shelved due to financial trouble. Thanks to a $150 million investment from the Dornier family, the SeaStar program has been relaunched.

Five years after the A380's first test flight, Airbus is 2 1/2 years behind on deliveries of the double-decker superjumbo, and an estimated 200 orders short of turning a profit on the design. Until the break-even point, supporting the program will be a drag on Airbus as a whole. Airbus delivered just 10 of the aircraft in 2009 and is hoping deliveries exceed 20, this year. The A380 has earned just one new airline customer since the aircraft's commercial life began in 2007 and the aircraft is costing Airbus about 50 percent more to produce than it had originally projected. In the words of analyst Gerard Buhrer, the A380 "is a program in trouble" due to low sales, high purchase price, few available destinations and few customers positioned to make use of the aircraft's design capability. According to Buhrer, the A380's development costs can not be recovered, but government loans must be repaid and stopping the program may cost more than continuing it (click "more" to see why). So, says Buhrer, Airbus may find itself having to accept that the program will never generate profits and that the A380's costs must be absorbed by other Airbus programs, "driving down overall profits."

The lawyer acting for National Association of Flight Instructors Executive Director Jason Blair says all criminal charges have been dropped against his client. As AVweb reported, Blair was arrested April 2 on embezzlement charges relating to his time as manager of Harris City/Barry County Airport in Michigan. Blair declined comment on the charges at the time and EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski said his understanding was that it resulted from a contractual dispute between Blair's company and the county. NAFI is affiliated with EAA but has its own board of directors. In a statement released Thursday, Blair's lawyer James Mikel McEwen said the matter has been resolved.

That's what controller Jason Wilson says in a guest blog on the AVweb Insider. But whether it was or wasn't, the two useful takeaways for all of us are to be better prepared by listening to the ATIS and to be unmistakably assertive sooner rather than later. Click here to read Jason's comments and chime in with your own thoughts.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has announced the newly formed Future of Aviation Advisory Committee that may help form changes in the country's aviation policies. The committee, which was put together in March, will have its first public meeting on May 25, in Washington. It is made up of representatives from the airlines, airports, general aviation, manufacturers and labor, but also includes environmental, academic and financial experts. And it seeks to provide recommendations to the Secretary that will ensure the competitiveness of the U.S. aviation industry. The group's members will focus on America's competitiveness in aviation with a focus on safety, viability, environmental challenges and solutions, funding for aviation systems and the aviation workforce. The May 25 meeting is open to the public -- providing you've registered in advance. Click through for details.

The Navy has its eyes on next-generation replacement fighter aircraft that may be needed as early as 2025 to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and Boeing has publicly unveiled its latest design proposals. Boeing's two twin-engine concepts are both tailless vehicles that may also be mission-capable as pilot-optional aircraft. Boeing displayed one at the Navy League Sea Air And Space Expo on May 3, as a 1/16th scale model and the latest manifestation of its F/A-XX. The design's planform reflects that of the single-engine Phantom Ray, a stealthy unmanned tailless 50-foot-wingspan Phantom Works prototype unveiled on May 10, in St. Louis. Boeing is seeking to fill the Navy's desire for "next generation air dominance," after losing out on the massive Joint Strike Fighter contract won by Lockheed Martin. Decisions that would lead to the creation of technology demonstrators for the next round of aircraft may begin in late 2011 and lead to competition between prototype designs by 2013.

"There are a few of us out here who still fly steam gauges," writes "POTW" semi-regular Ron Horton of Ft. Mill, South Carolina; "the NuLite rings sure help to light them up at night." Ron snapped this shot on clear night when the 496 seen here didn't have much heavy lifting to do ... .

Win a Get-It-All Training Kit from King Schools as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15 Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time May 21, 2010.Click here to read the contest rules and enter.Congratulations to David Schieman of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who won Scheyden Dual RX frames and a Scheyden flight gear package in our last drawing! (click here to get your own from Scheyden)