ALAN
KLAPMEIER: KESTREL HAS TO PROVE THE VALUE OF ITS SIZE
As the
newly appointed CEO of Kestrel Aircraft, former Cirrus visionary Alan
Klapmeier says the big turboprop is a complex, expensive airplane
that will need to prove its worth against stiff competition from small
jets. So what's the niche? In this podcast, Klapmeier told AVweb
that the Kestrel — and others of its ilk — do something little
jets can't. They carry a lot of stuff over long distances into and out
of short runways. The airplane also has a large, comfortable pressurized
cabin rather than the tighter confines of entry-level jets it might
compete against. The Kestrel prototype is on display at AirVenture.
Click here to listen. (8.7 MB,
8:25)
A WORLD
VIEW OF THE INDUSTRY
Piaggio America CEO John Bingham
has been racking up the airmiles in the past year trying to find new
markets to replace traditional aircraft buyers who are holding off on
committing to new planes. He told AVweb's Russ Niles the current
recession has likely changed the market forever.
Click here to listen. (5.6 MB,
6:10)
EVOLUTIONS
STRETCH THEIR LEGS
In a cross-country test of turbine and
piston-powered Lancair Evolutions, each aircraft was a winner in its own
way. Lancair's COO Tom Bowen explains to AVweb's Paul
Bertorelli.
Click here to listen. (8.6 MB,
8:20)
LYCOMING
CHIEF KEEPS UP FUEL PRESSURE
The disappearance of 100-octane
fuel is the single biggest threat to general aviation, and it's a drum
Lycoming's Mike Kraft refuses to stop beating. He speaks with
AVweb's Paul Bertorelli about progress in the fight so far.
Click here to listen. (7.6 MB,
7:24)
ED
WARNOCK OF THE PERLAN PROJECT
The Perlan Project holds the
world record for altitude in a glider, set at 50,671 feet by Steve
Fossett and Einar Enevoldson in 2006. The group now is building a new
pressurized glider with plans to reach 90,000 feet above the Andes in
2012, riding uplift from the southern polar vortex. AVweb's Mary
Grady talked with Ed Warnock, CEO of the project, at EAA
AirVenture.
Click here to listen. (5.9 MB,
5:44)
WANT A
NEW PAINT JOB FOR YOUR CIRRUS ON THE CHEAP?
Well, it's not
really a paint job but a new decorative scheme consisting of
precision-cut vinyl appliques available in a dozen different designs and
a range of colors. Scheme Designers' Craig Barnett fills
AVweb in on the details.
Click here to listen. (10.0 MB,
9:44)
100
OCTANE IS THE BOTTOM LINE
They've heard from the alphabets
and the FAA administrator, and that hasn't changed the message from the
100 Octane Coalition. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli spoke with Jon
Sisk, of the Coalition.
Click here to listen. (8.8 MB,
8:35)
AVWEB
INTERVIEWS YUNEEC INTERNATIONAL'S CLIVE COOTE
Electric
airplanes: The U.S. may not have a regulatory structure to guide them,
but Yuneec International is moving forward with its E430 two-seat
electric aircraft. AVweb speaks with managing director Clive
Coote about the company's progress and its coming offerings.
Click here to listen. (6.6 MB,
7:15)
HOW ARE
AUSTROS HOLDING UP?
It's early times for the Austro Engine
— but so far, so good. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with
Diamond's Ken Shaelkin about the engine, the customer experience,
and the incentive to convert.
Click here to listen. (3.9 MB,
4:12)
ADS-B
OPTIONS FROM TRIG AVIONICS
Is ADS-B equipment on your
shopping list for AirVenture this year? If so, you may want to stop by
the Trig Avionics booth. Trig's Andy Davis shows Larry Anglisano
around some of the company's offerings.
Click here to listen. (8.8 MB,
8:30)
GEORGE
BYE OF BYE ENERGY: AN ELECTRIC SKYHAWK?
Cessna said at EAA
AirVenture that it will team up with Bye Energy to design an
electric-powered 172. AVweb's Mary Grady spoke with George
Bye at the Cessna tent at Oshkosh for more details about the
project.
Click here to listen. (5.4 MB,
5:17)
AN LSA
FLIGHT SCHOOL SUCCESS STORY
We met up with AVweb
reader Lukasz Shaded at Oshkosh, where he was shopping for new
aircraft for his Atlanta-based LSA flight school. Paul Bertorelli asked
Shaded how he's made a successful go of it in a tough economy.
Click here to listen. (6.6 MB,
6:27)
OSPREY
PILOT BUCK KOZLOWSKI AT EAA AIRVENTURE
U.S. Air Force pilot
Buck Kozlowski, who flies the CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, explains
what it's like to fly the aircraft, which is "not the best airplane and
not the best helicopter in the world," he says, but has unique qualities
that make it valuable to the armed forces.
Click here to listen. (5.4 MB,
5:54)
This year's AirVenture podcasts were brought to you by these
sponsors:
If you enjoyed our audio coverage, please click on the links and
check out our sponsors' products and services. They'll appreciate it,
and we will too!
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SPLOSHKOSH
ARRIVALS
 Although it looked ugly Saturday night, Wittman Field
is rapidly drying out for the start of EAA AirVenture 2010 at Oshkosh.
AVweb's Paul Bertorelli walked the North 40 on Sunday and found
it more dry than wet. EAA's Dick Knapinksi said Sunday that the field
may be dry enough for normal operations by Monday.
SONEX
ONEX
 Sonex
Aircraft's Jeremy Monnett explains the development of the Onex
single-seat kitbuilt on the day of the aircraft's rollout.
THE
COBALT 50
 The
Cobalt 50 is a pusher-prop design that the company hopes will carry five
people at 220 knots. AVweb's Jeff Van West spoke with Cobalt
founder and CEO David Loury to find out more.
DC-3S
GATHER IN ROCK FALLS FOR "THE LAST TIME"
 More
than 30 DC-3s were on the ramp at Whiteside County Airport in Rock
Falls, Ill. from July 24-26 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the
first flight of the aircraft that some say changed the way aviation was
used and perceived. Organizer Dan Gryder gave AVweb a unique
perspective on the event and the people involved.
THE
NEW PRESIDENT AT EAA
 EAA
president Tom Poberezeny introduced Rod Hightower of St. Louis as EAA's
next president at a news conference at Airventure Oshkosh on July 26,
2010.
NEW
BOSE A20 HEADSET
 Has it
been 20 years since Bose pioneered the first aviation noise cancelling
headset at Oshkosh? Yes, it has — and at this year's EAA
AirVenture, they've introduced the latest and greatest, the new A20, a
follow-on product to the popular Headset X. Here's AVweb's quick
look at the new headset.
A
RARE AND BEAUTIFUL DC-3
 Take a
tour of a beautiful corporate-owned DC-3. It's never been restored, but
you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer one than Esther Mae.
FORD'S
WILD AIRVENTURE WIND TUNNEL
 At EAA
AirVenture 2010, Ford has a number of attractions, not the least of
which is a portable vertical wind tunnel. It'll give you a good taste of
what skydiving freefall is all about. AVweb staffers from our
show intern Adam Cutler to resident skydiver Paul Bertorelli tried it
out — and here's the video report.
SIKORSKY
FIRELY: AN ELECTRIC HELICOPTER
 It's at
nearly gross weight before the pilot steps in and can only fly for 15
minutes, but that's not the point. Sikorsky Innovations sees the Firefly
as a testbed for the technologies that may make for a real electric
helicopter ... someday.
THE
SKYCAR: A FIVE-SEATER WITH A HATCHBACK
 Oma
Sud, an Italian aircraft company that builds parts for the likes of
Airbus, has it's own unusual new twin. AVweb's Mary Grady took a
closer look at EAA Airventure Oshkosh.
DC-2
AT EAA AIRVENTURE
 There
are lots of DC-3s still flying around the world, but only one original
DC-2. It showed up at AirVenture in Oshkosh (via Rock Falls, Illinois),
and AVweb had a look at it.
JEFF
SKILES' WACO
 Jeff
Skiles is co-chair of the Young Eagles program, along with Chesley
Sullenberger. Check out the WACO cabin Skiles is using to introduce
Young Eagles to the magic of flight.
AVWEB'S
GOODYEAR BLIMP ADVENTURE
 At
AirVenture 2010, AVweb took a tour on the Goodyear Blimp. This
video reveals some interesting stuff about an entirely different kind of
flying machine.
GENE
SOUCY AT EAA AIRVENTURE'S NIGHT TIME AIR SHOW
 Gene
Soucy performs at AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, shot by AVweb intern
Adam Cutler.
This year's AirVenture videos were brought to you by these
sponsors:
If you enjoyed our video coverage, please click on the links and
check out our sponsors' products and services. Once again: They'll
appreciate it, and we will too!
|
MORE
OSH MINI-BLOGS
Maybe the sun's getting to him, or maybe it's
the long hours covering the news out of Oshkosh. Either way, Paul
Bertorelli's taking a moment to appreciate the little things in his
latest post to our AVweb Insider blog — including the
incredible efforts of those folks in the "volunteer" t-shirts, the
wonder of dusk as seen from the Goodyear Blimp, the joys of a great
noise-cancelling headset, and even the efforts of FAA Administrator
Randy Babbitt to ride herd on a giant bureaucracy.
Click
here to see what's on Paul's mind and comment.
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THE
JOURNEY TO OSHKOSH
 | | Click to view
gallery |
AVweb's AirVenture intern Adam
Cutler was among the first folks to arrive at the show. Adam made the
journey this year by Cirrus and spent his first day at the show ferrying
our news team around the field and taking photos of exhibitors,
attendees, and media gearing up for the big show amid some very wet
conditions.
AIRPLANES!
 | | Click to view gallery |
Our
intrepid photographer Mariano Rosales is now on-site, and he and intern
Adam Cutler wandered the field to get a look at some of the aircraft on
display at this year's show.
ULTRALIGHTS!
 | | Click to view gallery |
It takes a
couple of days to shake off the jetlag from all the packing and and
checkpoints of getting to Oshkosh by commercial flights. Fortunately,
Mariano Rosales knows just how to shake the dirt off his boots and get
into the spirit of AirVenture — with a trip to check out the
ultralights.
WARBIRDS!
 | | Click to view gallery |
We doubt
you'll ever get three quarters of a million pilots to agree on
anything outside of coming together at Oshkosh during the summer
— but when it comes to finding common ground, the warbirds display
area is a good place to start. Everyone makes their way here at some
point during the show. Some are attracted by history, others by
engineering, and still others by the comic books and TV shows that drew
them to magnificent aircraft as kids.
AIR
SHOWS!
 | | Click to view gallery |
So what
did Mariano and Adam get up to today? They seem to have stayed out of
trouble by taking in the afternoon air show (and, we'd wager, probably a
few bratwursts).
DETAILS!
 | | Click to view gallery |
Once
again, Mariano and Adam hit the field looking for the best AirVenture
has to offer. And now that things have slowed down, they have a little
more time to savor the details.
SEEN
AROUND THE GROUNDS!
 | | Click to view gallery |
The
weekend is here, and that means a quick look back at some of the sights
Mariano and Adam couldn't squeeze into their galleries during the week.
MORE
AIRPLANES!
 | | Click to view gallery |
It's been
a great AirVenture, but our time is almost up. Join contributing
photographer Mariano Rosales and AirVenture intern Adam Cutler as they
make a final sweep of the grounds, snapping a few more shots of their
favorite airplanes.
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