Beechcraft has secured what it says is the largest-ever order for prop-driven aircraft with a $1.4 billion deal to sell 105 King Air 350i twins to start-up "membership-based" aircraft service Wheels Up. The new company, being started by Marquis Jet founder Kenny Dichter, will offer access to aircraft without fixed costs and will get going in the Northeast with nine aircraft that will be delivered by the end of the year. Read More

EAA's first-ever job fair, held at the new College Park region of the AirVenture grounds, drew more than 1,000 job-seekers, EAA's Ann Gentz told AVweb on Wednesday afternoon. "We had so many jobs available," she said, as the event wound down. "They were not just flying jobs, there were mechanic jobs, engineer jobs, all sorts of things, and a well-qualified work force coming to see." Companies seeking workers included Alaska Airlines, Rockwell Collins, Cessna, Cirrus, Gulfstream, Garmin, Basler, The Spaceship Company, and more. Read More

We first heard of Amelia Rose Earhart -- whose parents named her after a distant, and famous, relative -- a few years ago, when she flew across the country in a Cirrus, re-tracing a famous flight by the original Amelia. This week at EAA AirVenture, Earhart announced that she plans to circle the globe in a Pilatus PC-12 NG, tracing (to some degree) the famous last flight of her namesake. In the last few years, Earhart, who works as a TV news announcer in Denver, has started the Fly With Amelia Foundation to provide flight scholarships to young women and offer programs to teach people about aviation and inspire them to fly. The round-the-world flight, sponsored by Pilatus and Jeppesen, is planned for June 2014. Read More

Cirrus says it will develop new aircraft after it has brought the Vision Jet to market in a couple of years and President and COO Pat Waddick said the long-range planning is a direct result of the investment attitude of the company's Chinese owners. In an interview with AVweb at AirVenture 2013, Waddick said China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) has given the company the security and financial ability to keep company engineers busy developing new aircraft long into the future. Read More

The financially stability afforded by Cirrus's acquisition by CAIGA has the company doing what it does best, and that's looking to the future. Cirrus COO Pat Waddick spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles at AirVenture 2013. Read More

Kestrel Aircraft has chosen Garmin as its launch vendor for avionics on its new turboprop single. The G3000 suite, the same system used in the Phenom 300, was picked but Kestrel CEO Alan Klapmeier said there will be future options for customers. "Competition is good," he told a news conference at AirVenture 2013. Klapmeier also announced that funding delays have pushed back the development schedule. Read More

Kestrel Aircraft has accomplished a lot on its new turboprop single, but a new round of financing is needed to build the conforming prototype. Kestrel CEO Alan Klapmeier spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles at AirVenture 2013. Read More

Stemme, a motorglider manufacturer based in Germany, returned to EAA AirVenture this week after a break of a couple years, with new management at the helm. Two longtime shareholders -- and Stemme pilots -- have increased their holdings to 70 percent of the company and they named Paul Masschelein, an engineer and experienced executive from Belgium, as the new CEO. "Stemme is here to stay," said Masschelein. "We are creating a future." The company is showing its flagship high-performance motorglider, the S10, as well as the S6, designed for touring. Read More

Alexander Papenberg, CEO of Stemme's subsidiary in San Diego, California, tells AVweb about the S6 motorglider on display this week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Read More

At AirVenture 2013, Live Airshow TV and Onboard Images have teamed up to present what looks like the best air show in recent history at Oshkosh. With two giant LED screens and a network of ground and airborne cameras, air show attendees are getting an unprecedented perspective on air show flying, with dramatic in-cockpit views, post-show interviews, and other entertainment programs. Read More

It has no brakes, no steerable gear, and no forward visibility, but if you don't (and also if you do) ball it up on the grass, your three-quarter-scale kit-built Spirit of Saint Louis from Robert Baslee's Airdrome Aeroplanes will likely attract a lot of attention. Baslee originally got into the replica business out of self interest, building approximately 17 WWI replica aircraft, attention from movie studios and museums and contract work. The Spirit of St. Louis was a replica job but builder interest has prompted Baslee to create a kit version of the aircraft, which he says will be available soon.  Read More

Robert Baslee's Airdrome Aeroplanes was contracted to produce a replica Spirit of St. Louis aircraft for a bank. He says the aircraft has attracted enough attention that he now plans to produce the aircraft as a kit. It won't be his first. His company has been producing WWI replica aircraft (Fokkers, Sopwith designs, Nieuports -- even a pre-War Bleriot) since 1989. Read More

The Commemorative Air Force says it wants to take warbirds mainstream with a new headquarters complex in a major urban area. At a news conference at AirVenture Wednesday, CAF President Steve Brown said the idea is to take the organization uptown while preserving and honoring its rural roots. "We want to add," he said. "We don't want to subtract anything." Read More

The Commemorative Air Force wants to build a new headquarters near an urban center with a big tourism base. President Steve Brown spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles at AirVenture 2013. Read More

There's so much to see and touch at AirVenture that your eyes may tire of looking and your button-pushing finger can get a little stiff. That doesn't deter the AVweb team, however, as they poked, prodded, and otherwise product-tested their way through some of this year's most interesting products in a series of "Product Minute" videos. Read More

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