Sales of piston airplanes rose 16 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported on Monday, with 455 airplanes delivered. Twin turboprops, however, led the field, with a jump from 34 deliveries last year to 58, a growth rate of 71 percent. "We are encouraged to see a strong increase in billings this quarter," said GAMA President Pete Bunce. "But the mixed results in shipments -- and the differences in performance among sectors -- demonstrate that GA airplane manufacturers still face some strong headwinds as the global economy recovers." The GA sector overall saw 9 percent growth, but business jet sales continue to decline. Read More

Tucked in the GAMA numbers for the second quarter of 2013 was the revelation that Gulfstream has overtaken Bombardier as the world leader in business jet sales revenue. The first deliveries of Gulfstream's flagship G650, which sells for about $65 million, vaulted the Savannah planemaker into the lead with sales of $1.83 billion from April through July. Read More

In an update issued Tuesday afternoon, the NTSB said the captain of a Southwest Airlines 737 that landed nosewheel-first at New York's LaGuardia Airport on July 22 had taken over control from the first officer "at a point below 400 feet" as the jet approached for landing. It was the first time the two pilots had flown together. The first officer had flown into LGA before, including six flights in 2013, and it was the second arrival for the captain, who had acted as the monitoring pilot both times. The nose gear collapsed on the runway, causing substantial damage to the airplane. All 150 onboard were evacuated and eight people were treated for injuries. "At this point in the investigation, no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions have been found," the NTSB said. "A preliminary examination of the nose gear indicated that it failed due to stress overload." Read More

At the traditional wrap-up news conference at Oshkosh on Sunday afternoon, EAA Chairman Jack Pelton said this year's show succeeded in meeting its main objectives. The number-one objective, he said, was to have a safe AirVenture, and that was accomplished. The second major success was to have an airshow at all, given the challenges posed when the FAA declined to pay the expenses for air traffic controllers, and sent EAA a bill for almost $450,000. The third challenge was to provide an entertaining airshow, despite the lack of military participation. "Most of you will agree we exceeded that expectation," Pelton said. EAA also said it had a record number of vendors at the show, many of whom reported robust sales. Read More

Anyone who's made the annual EAA pilgrimage to pre-sequestered Oshkosh understands the excitement of scanning for traffic while listening with rapt attention to ATC. You can maintain that razor's edge year-'round by acing this quiz.

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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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