Volcanic ash cloud detector test flight raises hopes of clear skies for airlines

EasyJet to fit devices in hope of avoiding chaos and losses caused by 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcanoPitted against the troll-haunted, airline-baiting ranks of Iceland's unpredictable and unpronounceable volcanoes, the small orange tube now bobbing beneath a wing in the sulphurous skies over Sicily doesn't look like much. A flotation device, perhaps. Or a distress beacon.But if those who have spent their time - and hundreds of thousands of pounds - on the development of these two feet of plastic are to be believed, the Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector (or Avoid) could be the weapon that tames the volcanoes and prevents a repeat of the disruption that hushed Europe's skies for a week last year.The small aircraft and its much-hyped hardware hugged the coastline for a few moments before banking away from the Ionian sea and climbing above the olive groves, lemon trees, swimming pools, football pitches and churches towards Mount Etna, which has sent a plume of