WARBIRDS COLLIDE AT EAA AIRVENTURE, ONE KILLED
Two P-51 Mustangs collided on the south end of the north/south runway at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., on Friday at 3:17 p.m., killing the sole-occupant pilot of one airplane and injuring the sole occupant of the other craft. The two warbirds were participating in the daily Showcase Flights at EAA when they apparently came into contact with each other and crashed. At press time, the FAA and NTSB were on the scene of the accident and had already begun their investigation. More...

GAMA: GA DELIVERIES STRONG THROUGH MID-2007
On Friday, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced airplane shipments and billings for the first half of 2007 at EAA AirVenture. During the six-month period, shipments of general aviation airplanes totaled 1,883 units, a 1.7 percent increase over the same period last year. Industry billings rose 11.7 percent to $9.8 billion. While overall growth was positive, shipments of new piston aircraft through the second quarter slid 4.2 percent year-over-year to 1,226 airplanes. Turboprop shipments rose 15.2 percent from 158 airplanes in the first half of last year to 182 this year. The business jet market segment grew by 14.7 percent, with an increase in shipments from 414 units in first-half 2006 to 475 this year. More...

AND NOW, THE LUXURY SPORT AIRCRAFT
Gobosh (short for Go Big Or Stay Home) Aviation unveiled an aircraft it considers worthy of a variation of the LSA. The G-700S is what it terms a luxury sport aircraft and it promises to change the way people think about the new market sector. The aircraft is based on a Polish design built by Aero, but Gobosh says it is not simply an import. The company notes the aircraft is built to its standards, and that means superior fit and finish with top quality materials. Wing skins are made from a single piece of aluminum, while structural pieces are anodized for corrosion protection. Gobosh President Tim Baldwin said the current offerings in the LSA market are a "hodgepodge" of designs, and his company has a different vision. "So we decided to raise the bar in light sport and tailor the aircraft for the market," added Baldwin. More...

ORIGINAL VIDEO: EXPLORING LIGHTSPEED'S NEW ZULU HEADSET AT EAA AIRVENTURE 2007
The latest active noise reduction headset making news is LightSPEED's Zulu, which specializes in comfort and convenience. We stopped by their booth at EAA AirVenture 2007, where VP of Operations Jim Mueller gave us a quick tour of the headset's features. More...

ORIGINAL VIDEO: OREGON AERO SEAT CUSHIONS AT OSHKOSH
Our request for an impromptu product demonstration (with CEO Mike Dennis) of Oregon Aero seat cushions brought a lot of smiles ... . (Click through to watch.) More...

AVIDYNE STRIKES AGAIN WITH NEW SYSTEM
This week at EAA Airventure, Avidyne introduced the TWX670 Tactical Weather Detection system, which it bills as the "first color, real-time, lightning-based tactical weather avoidance sensor for general aviation aircraft." The unit uses advanced technology to detect lightning more accurately than previous-generation systems and creates a color-coded display of storm-cell intensity for tactical weather decisions. Unlike competitors, the TWX670 is approved by the FAA to display lightning strikes in the zero to 25-nm range, as well as up to 100 nm out. Avidyne said the box has been TSO'd, and it plans on announce pricing and availability later this year. The TWX670 was developed by Avidyne’s Safety Systems Group (formerly Ryan International) in Columbus, Ohio, and can be displayed on the Avidyne EX5000 and EX500 multifunction displays (MFD), as well as the Avidyne 3-ATI Multi-Hazard Display (MHD). More...

BRS CHUTES IN FOUR NEW AIRCRAFT, JET CHUTE COMING SOON
With four new aircraft introduced at the show this week sporting parachutes from Ballistic Recovery Systems, CEO Larry Williams was beaming at his AirVenture press conference on Thursday morning. "We've never had this many aircraft announcements all at once before," he said, and hinted that a fifth might be revealed before the show is over. The new BRS-equipped aircraft are Lancair's turbine-powered Evolution, Epic Aircraft's Victory jet single, the Cirrus LSA and the Diamond DA-50 SuperStar. Williams also reported that flight tests of the company's jet chute are complete, though the overall system is still in development. He expects to be ready to start the certification process by the end of this year. The jet chute's interface with aircraft systems is challenging, he said. "The system will have the capability to slow down the aircraft, and lower the gear. It adds complexity." The T-tail on the DA50 also is a challenge for extraction, he said. More...

SOCATA FLYING HIGH AT EAA AIRVENTURE
EADS Socata's new chairman and CEO, Jean-Michel Léonard, came to his first EAA AirVenture show with momentum on his side. The French aircraft manufacturer said sales of its souped-up TBM 850 turboprop single has now passed the 100-airplane mark, and Léonard sees no erosion in interest whatsoever due to the in-service entrance of the very light jets. While the 320-knot cruise speed of the $2.85 million(2007 $) TBM 850 is comparable to the VLJs, he says the turboprop "is more efficient than a jet, and it also produces fewer emissions than a jet. Jets use 50 percent more fuel than a turboprop, so I'm quite puzzled by the number of very light jet projects." Léonard notes that TBM sales has increased from 31 aircraft in 2005 to 50 this year, and the current backlog is a record 40 aircraft. On Friday, Socata will deliver S/N 411 (the 61st TBM 850) on Friday at EAA AirVenture. Meanwhile, the company is exploring new additions to its product line. More...

ABLE FLIGHT FULFILLS DREAMS
Long before Sean O'Donnell was paralyzed in an accident, his dreams soared far above the wheelchair that is now a part of his life. Last Monday, the first stage of that dream came true when he became the proud holder of a sport pilot certificate. "I've been doing the paralyzed thing for 12 years, and I've been doing the flying thing for a month," he said moments after being honored at EAA AirVenture as one of the first scholarship holders in Able Flight to complete Sport Pilot training. O'Donnell did his training at Wittman Field in Oshkosh and his successful completion was timed for inclusion in the show. O'Donnell, an engineer who runs a distance-education department for a college in Pennsylvania, said flight has been his dream since he was a kid, but financial concerns, his accident and getting on with life kept him from pursuing it until recently. More...

AVIATION MEMORABILIA GOES ON THE VIRTUAL BLOCK
Aviation memorabilia collectors might want to check out the Aurora Auctions Web site for a list of the items that will into an online auction on Saturday. The auction will feature mostly items from the golden age of aviation, from 1920 to 1940 and includes the sculpture used to cast the 1930 Charles E. Thompson Trophy for unlimited racing. The sculpture was found in in the 1990s in a storage room of the foundry that produced the trophy, and the auction house is anxious to get the word out about the sale so the trophy sculpture can find "an appropriate home." More...

AVWEB'S AIRVENTURE 2007 PODCAST #6: DIAMOND'S DA50 SUPERSTAR GOES FADEC
Teledyne Continental invested heavily in FADEC technology nearly a decade ago, but it has few takers for electronically-controlled engines among GA manufacturers. But Diamond says it will use TCM's IOF-550-N in the new Diamond DA50 SuperStar. Diamond's Peter Maurer explains why the company opted for this intriguing new engine.

Click here to listen.

EXTRA! AVEMCO'S JIM LAUERMAN TALKS TO KITPLANES MAGAZINE ABOUT EXPANDED KIT COVERAGE
Avemco Insurance announced relaxed restrictions on certain homebuilt aircraft and the availability of third-party and passenger liability policies for Experimental designs previously not covered by the company. Avemco executive vice president Jim Lauerman spoke with Kitplanes editor-in-chief Marc Cook about the new programs, as well as the company's sponsorship of the Airmanship Education Research Initiative.

Click here to listen. More...

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