New This Week

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Lightspeed said this week its entry-level $600 Sierra ANR headset is now compatible with FlightLink, their free app for the Apple iPad and iPhone. The app allows pilots to capture incoming and outgoing communications for instant playback or archiving. Adding FlightLink to Sierra creates “a great training tool,” Lightspeed said. “It will enhance the learning experience and could improve the odds of a student’s success.” Zenith Aircraft Company announced it has now shipped 10,000 sets of plans to aircraft builders in more than 50 countries over the last 40 years. Most of those plans are accompanied by complete or partial aircraft kits. The company also said it will participate in a “One Week Wonder” project during EAA AirVenture this summer, featuring a Zenith CH 750. “Everyone attending will have the opportunity to learn how easy it is to read plans and help build a real airplane,” the company said.

FlyersRights, an advocacy group for airline travelers, says this winter’s weather led airlines to cancel thousands of flights, but no passengers were stranded on the ramp for hours on end, stuck in idling airplanes without food or access to information. The passengers’ Bill of Rights — spearheaded by FlyersRights — that took effect in December 2009 set a three-hour limit on such delays. Any airline violating that rule today would be faced with fines of up to $27,500 per passenger. A storm in February 2007 was the breaking point that fueled the call for change, says FlyersRights. “An ice storm in New York trapped thousands of passengers for up to 11 hours on grounded jets at JFK. … People were outraged and fed up. A revolution had begun, fueled by weeks of television coverage, newspaper headlines and congressional hearings.” In December 2009, DOT instituted the landmark rule, setting a three-hour limit on such ramp delays. “So, in one of the greatest victories for the consumer against an industry,” says FlyersRights, “this winter has seen no incidents of passengers stranded.”

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