|
|||||||||||||
| AVflash! Red Bull Hiatus in 2011 | back to top |  |
||
Red Bull Air Races Cancelled For Next Year
The Red Bull Air Races won't be back next year, the organizers said this week. The one-year hiatus is needed to develop strong host city partnerships and secure a "long-term race calendar," according to Red Bull. Some late-in-the-game venue changes and cancellations disrupted the race schedule for this year, and a couple of near-accidents raised safety concerns. Brazilian pilot Adilson Kindlemann flew into the Swan River in Australia in April, and Australian pilot Matt Hall smacked into the Detroit River in the Windsor race, though he stayed aloft. Neither pilot was hurt. Red Bull said the organization will spend the next year working to "fast track the technological advancements currently in the making which would further improve the already high levels of safety."
Leaders in several of the host cities expressed dismay at the loss of the event, which brings in millions in tourist revenue everywhere it goes. At the Red Bull website, fans worried that the hiatus will stretch on and the races won't be back. Red Bull spokeswoman Barbara Proske told the Windsor Star that it's too soon to say if there will be changes in the race venues. "Following 10 years of rapid growth, the organization had decided that it needed to make the tough decision to take a break for 2011 in order to implement the changes required with regard to the restructuring of the organization and, importantly, to develop the various commercial areas of the business," she said. |
|
|||||||||||||
| AirVenture Sees New Life in Familiar Brands | back to top | |
||
New Epic Owners At Oshkosh
Doug King, the CEO of the new Epic that bought the original company out of bankruptcy in April, told AVweb at EAA AirVenture this week that he's been busy since then getting back up and running. "We've worked through a lot of legal issues, spent a lot of time with the FAA, and the guys are back at work on their airplanes," he said. There are 11 Epic LT kit aircraft in the hangar now in Bend, Ore., in various stages of completion, and several other owners are working on their projects elsewhere. King said the company is ready to sell kits again. Besides the Epic LT turboprop, the line includes the Escape, which is a smaller version of the LT, and the Victory jet.
Although the bankruptcy court approved a complex deal that involved a Chinese aviation company, King said the Chinese have no ownership in the Oregon company. "They are licensed to sell the airplane in China, but they can't sell in the experimental market in North America," he said. Either company could choose to develop a certified model, and could sell that airplane anywhere in the world, he said. The six-seat Epic LT turboprop has a maximum cruise speed of 350 knots and a maximum range of over 1,300 nm. The kit sells for $1.9 million.
Why Wait? Eclipse Jets Ready To Fly Home
"We'll take other airplanes as trade-ins -- and if a customer has a deposit on another jet, we'll take that in trade, too," Eclipse Aerospace President Mason Holland told AVweb at EAA AirVenture on Thursday. Holland flew into the show in his own Eclipse jet, but it was parked off the field at an FBO -- quite a different kind of presence from the original Eclipse company, which occupied a sprawling space right in the center of the show. Holland is selling what he calls the Total Eclipse, refurbished and upgraded lightly used jets from the original fleet of 260 airplanes. "Forty percent of the fleet has been upgraded now," Holland said, in just 10 months of operation. He has hired 145 staffers in Albuquerque and plans to re-start production as soon as the market demand returns.
Holland said he has restored service and support for the fleet, and has four service centers, in Chicago, Boca Raton, Nevada, and Albuquerque. In addition, Eclipse-trained mechanics can be found in just about every state in the U.S., he said. Besides bringing the fleet up to where it was supposed to be when deliveries began several years ago -- with FIKI, autopilot, and fully functioning systems -- Holland said the company is continuing to develop upgrades. New cabin options are in the works, he said, with new entertainment features and communication systems. Holland said the company will have more of a presence at the NBAA show coming up later in the year. |
|
|||||||||||||
| Certification News | back to top | |
||
Turbo GippsAero Airvan FAA-Certified
The turbocharged version of the GippsAero Airvan GA8 is now FAA certified, the company announced this week at EAA AirVenture. The type was certified in Australia last year and recently also won EASA approval; the piston version was FAA certified in 2003. "The Airvan has already proved its airworthiness and is in great demand among international customers," said Arvind Mehra, CEO of Mahindra Aerospace, the parent company of Gipplsand Aeronautics. Mehra said GippsAero also has a new 10-seat and an 18-seat aircraft in the works.
The Airvan GA8 is an eight-seat utility aircraft. The turbo version is powered by a Lycoming TIO-540-Ah1A fuel-injected engine with a Hartzell 80-inch scimitar-design three-blade prop. Worldwide about 150 are flying, for diverse uses including humanitarian aid, passenger and freight hauling, sightseeing, surveillance and bush fire reconnaissance missions. |
|
|||||||||||||
| Lightning Restoration in Need of Help | back to top | |
||
Near-Finished Historic Restoration Stalled
Late in the Oshkosh week we found a group of dedicated volunteers passionately involved in the restoration of a very rare and historic aircraft; the 10-year project is just months from completion, and they've run out of funds. The British Aerospace Lightning was the first Mach 2 British interceptor and the last all-British-made aircraft of its kind (all subsequent fighter/interceptors have been born of coalition efforts involving multiple nations). As such, the Lightning has earned a precious place in the hearts of many British aviation enthusiasts and often evokes the same admiration, respect, and sense of awe earned by the Spitfire. Today, there are three airworthy Lightnings in the world. None are currently flying. The Anglo-American Lightning Organization says it's potentially 12 to 16 weeks from first flight -- here in the U.S. -- but now they'll need help. And if your pockets are deep, that may mean a special opportunity.
The Anglo American Lightning Organization is offering six $100,000 shares in the aircraft, which would provide privileges including "full rights for aircraft flight in the right-hand seat." The dedicated restoration team will retain a 40% share. The all-volunteer group made up of RAF, ex-RAF and ex Royal Saudi Air Force servicemen who all have experience with the type. Their project is based here in the U.S. at Stennis International Airport, Miss. They estimate they're about $600,000 short of the finish line and then they hope to go one essential step further. Returning the aircraft to airworthy condition is just part of the group's overall goal of returning it to the air, which will require cooperation with the FAA. The aircraft are not permitted to fly in Britain, though they may perform high-speed taxi runs with their twin-stacked engines thrown into afterburner. For more information about the program, or to contribute, visit the group's web site or contact nholman@globalnet.co.uk. |
|
|||||||||||||
| Opinion & Commentary | back to top | |
||
AVweb Insider Blog: AirVenture 2010 — 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.
|
|
|||||||||||||
| AVweb Audio — Are You Listening? | back to top | |
||
An LSA Flight School Success StoryFile Size 6.6 MB / Running Time 6:27
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
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.
This podcast is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips
|
and 
|
|||||||||||||
| Video Reports: Jeff Skiles and Goodyear | back to top | |
||
Jeff Skiles' WACO
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos 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.
This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips
AVweb's Goodyear Blimp Adventure
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos 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.
This video is brought to you by Bose
Corporation |
and 
and 
|
||||||||||||
| Photo Galleries | back to top | |
||
Photos from EAA AirVenture 2010: Seen Around the Grounds!
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.
Photos from EAA AirVenture 2010: More Airplanes!
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.
|
|
|||||||||||||
| Bonus Video | back to top | |
||
Gene Soucy at EAA AirVenture's Night Time Air ShowOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Gene Soucy performs at AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, shot by AVweb intern Adam Cutler.
|
|
|||||||||||
| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
||
Meet the AVwebFlash TeamAVwebFlash is a weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.
The AVwebFlash team is:
Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)
Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.
Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.
If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
