Love flying? Stay current on aviation news and special features by registering for a free AVweb account.

Registering gives you access to our massive archive of news and features and allows you subscribe to our general aviation, business aviation, and podcast newsletters. Click here to sign up.

HOME
REGISTER/LOGIN
FREE NEWSLETTER
XML|RSS
Advanced Search
PODCAST
VIDEO

Saturday 26th May 2012

Top News
Unconventional aircraft designer John McGinnis' public funding drive Friday surpassed its original goal and may help him prove if his 5-seat double box tail Synergy aircraft is indeed "lighter, simpler, and more economical" than other planes. McGinnis turned to the online fundraising website kickstarter.com to seek $65,000 from private individuals that he says will "maintain present work output until our next milestone is reached in September."
May 25, 1:24am UTC

More News
Donations from more than 2,000 people, plus other sponsorships, have funded Copenhagen Suborbitals (CS) Tycho Brahe program, which aims to see individuals launched to at least 100 miles above the earth in personal capsules.
May 25, 11:57pm UTC
Solar Impulse, the manned solar powered airplane, began a 1,554 trip from Switzerland to Morocco, Thursday.
May 25, 1:59am UTC
After 10 spectators and a pilot died in a crash at last year's National Championship Air Races in Reno, the fate of the event was uncertain, but now organizers say they are definitely holding the races as usual this September, although with a modified course.
May 23, 4:16pm UTC
Some of the NTSB's recommendations to the FAA, which could result in more regulations, are "worrisome," said EAA President Rod Hightower on Tuesday evening, in a video response to the safety board's report released earlier that day.
May 23, 2:03pm UTC
The FAA said on Tuesday it's ready to "reevaluate its policy" regarding the operation of historical aircraft for hire, and announced a series of public meetings on the topic.
May 22, 4:41pm UTC
The Airline Pilots Association is advising members to voluntarily report to the FAA Aviation Safety Action Program even the most minor deviation from ATC instructions, regardless of their origin (i.e., equipment failure or even weather deviations) or risk being written up for a pilot deviation (PD).
May 20, 4:03pm UTC
Justice Department attorneys representing the FAA Thursday said the agency made "errors" in enacting pilot fatigue rules that exempt cargo carriers and the issue would be revisited. 
May 18, 11:55pm UTC
On August 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191 crashed during an attempted takeoff from the wrong runway at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport, killing all 49 aboard save the co-pilot, James Polehinke, who has now become the subject of a documentary.
May 18, 3:45am UTC
There are a number of "catches," but Virgin Atlantic passengers will soon be able to make cellphone calls on the airline's flights from London to New York, the airline announced this week.
May 16, 11:21pm UTC
Kickstarter, a crowd-funding site, has reconsidered its rejection of a proposal from Synergy Aircraft, and this week said it would allow the project to go forward.
May 16, 7:27pm UTC
 
Northrop Grumman's 300-foot long, 70-foot tall, remotely piloted Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) airship is scheduled to fly for the first time in early June at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
May 25, 11:58pm UTC
A 52-year-old Piedmont Airlines pilot has been charged with unlawful possession of a concealed firearm after a security check of his bag Friday found a .357 Magnum revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
May 24, 12:20am UTC
The FAA's action last week to allow more use of unmanned aircraft systems drew a quick and extreme response from the mainstream media.
May 23, 3:03pm UTC
The NTSB on Tuesday released 16 recommendations for improving the safety record of experimental amateur-built aircraft, which have a fatal accident rate 3 to 4 times higher than the rest of the general aviation fleet.
May 22, 7:08pm UTC
Following reports of cracked wing spar caps in several Cessna 210s in Australia and Canada, the FAA on Monday issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring 3,665 of the airplanes in the U.S. to be inspected.
May 21, 1:49pm UTC
Avpro, one of the world's largest business jet brokerages, has teamed with Asian Sky Group, one of the most experienced Asian aviation consultant groups, to allow both companies to better serve the expanding Asian market.
May 21, 5:47am UTC
The EAA does not want its name associated with the event that has in the past been publicized as the EAA AirVenture Cup Race, but organizers Friday announced the race will go on.
May 18, 10:22pm UTC
Troubled by decreasing volume in a flat aviation economy, Mattituck Services, one of the northeast's longest-established engine shops, will close at the end of May, according to Continental Motors.
May 17, 10:05am UTC
Concerns over the system that delivers oxygen to pilots of the F-22 Tuesday led Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to set flight limits for the fighter jet and add safety measures. The jets must now be flown "within proximity of potential landing locations."
May 16, 11:12pm UTC
This Saturday, during the third annual International Learn To Fly Day, airports around the world are hosting events and pilots are offering to take neighbors and friends up for a free introductory flight.
May 16, 8:17pm UTC

COMPLETE NEWS Read the Latest Issue of AVwebFlash
NEWS ARCHIVES Past News Stories on AVweb

 

AVweb Insider Blog
It looks like it. Just don't expect anything to move at the speed of light. (Or cold 50W, for that matter.)
 

AVweb Insider Home

Features & Columns
Returning with his family to Ohio, Richard Taylor gets back into KC-97s in the Ohio Air National Guard ... this time the KC-97L, with two jet engines added to the four piston engines. After losing a major client in his non-aviation job, Richard fortuitously finds an opening as a faculty member in the Department of Aviation at Ohio State University. Click here to read the 13th chapter.
Brainteasers Where would you go on a perfect flying vacation, and how would you get there?

Take the quiz.
 
Our latest winning photo comes from Anson Chappell of Yellowknife, NWT (Canada). Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.
Our latest winning photo comes from Marc Martin of Annville, PA. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.
Our latest winning photo comes from Josh Kneer & Tony Ginn of Rosamond, CA. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.
Our latest winning photo comes from Ben & Scott Hobson of Olathe, KS. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.
Our latest winning photo comes from Leslie Schroeppel of Washington, DC. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.

FULL INDEX OF FEATURES Browse Our Features Archive
FULL INDEX OF COLUMNS Browse Our Columns Archive

Podcasts and Video
podcasts sponsored by Bose Corporation
On Tuesday, the NTSB released its final report from an in-depth study of the safety record of experimental/amateur-built aircraft. AVweb's Mary Grady spoke with Doug Macnair, vice president of government relations for EAA, for his take on what it all means and what happens next.
Seacor Holdings, a large U.S. multi-national company, has several aviation business investments in China, and one of them just made a strategic partnership with Avpro, a large business jet broker, to better serve its customer base. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Seacor's chairman of the board, Charles Fabrikant, about the opportunities in the Chinese aviation business.
Cessna introduced its newest, biggest jet, the Citation Longitude, at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) this week. AVweb's Mary Grady spoke with Brad Thress, Cessna's senior vice president for business jets, from the show floor in Geneva to learn more details about the design and some of the choices that were made.
Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia offers his thoughts on the show, Hawker Beechcraft's many options and how Cessna and Embraer are matching up. He spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles.
AVweb speaks to OpenAirplane's Rod Rakic for more details about his company's plan to make renting aircraft easier and more affordable for pilots — and more profitable for aircraft owners.
For 15 years, John Sheehan has marshaled the combined might of 69 national pilot organizations as the secretary general of the International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. On May 1, he retired and spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles about the successes in those 15 years and the challenges ahead.
 
Red Bull Wednesday shared video of one of its latest sponsored adventures -- five wingsuit skydivers joining up with and maintaining formation with two sailplanes in a dive over Austria. The team flew two aerobatic LET L-13 Blanik sailplanes and just to complicate things, the lead flew inverted and one skydiver formed up in between the inverted and upright glider. The skydivers and gliders came together in formation at roughly 12,000 feet. The sailplanes wore wingtip-mounted smoke canisters and one skydiver wore one on an ankle. The trick of the task was mating airspeed and descent rates and this time all members performed flawlessly. Check the video after the jump.
On the first day of the European Business Aviation Convention and Expo in Geneva, Switzerland, Cessna Aircraft announced its largest jet yet — a new version of the Citation dubbed "Longitude."
Daimler-Benz makes about 1,500 OM640 diesel engines a day, and Austro diverts about 15 minutes worth of production to its factory in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, where it forms the core of the AE300 aerodiesel. In this video, Austro's Peter Lietz takes us through how the company turns a car engine into an airplane engine.
The story of William Rankin's ejection at 47,000 feet and 500 knots is legendary, not only because the fall took him 40 minutes, but also because he lived to talk about it. There are other and more recent cases of people who have been drawn into thunderstorms under canopy and not every one ends in survival.

FULL INDEX OF PODCASTS Find All Podcasts Of Interest

AVwebBiz: AVweb's Business Aviation Newsletter
Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.

Add AVwebBiz to your free subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions."
Jan 1, 10:14pm UTC

JavaScript Menus and DHTML Menus Powered by Milonic


Who's Where
Hariel Corsair
Hariel Corsair is now an airline support manager for Goodrich Aerostructures in Chula Vista, California, managing accounts for multiple airlines and assisting with B787 support and entry into service. He was formerly at Pratt and Whitney.

May 23, 5:05am UTC

FULL INDEX OF WHO'S WHERE STORIES Find Past Who's Where Stories Of Interest

VIDEO


Red Bull's Aerial Ballet: Blaniks & Wingsuits

No video? Direct link here.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

When is a stunt too reckless?

Gary Connery made the record books on Tuesday by jumping out of an airplane and landing unscathed without a parachute. Did that cross some hypothetical line between legitimacy and lunacy?


Share your Opinion »

PILOT RESOURCES

FBO OF THE WEEK

AVweb reader Ralph Hoover had a longer delay than he'd planned at Tifton, Georgia's Henry Tift Myers Airport (KTMA) recently -- but what could have been a major delay served as opportunity to discover the helpful, efficient staff at our latest "FBO of the Week," Walker Aviation. Ralph tells the tale of our latest blue ribbon FBO:

My wife landed at Tifton on our trip from Florida. While taxiing back to the ramp, the nose wheel tire on our RV-7 went flat. While my wife was arranging a rental car and hotel, Robbie Fender improvised a dolly and towed us back to the hangar. He then made tools available so I was able to disassemble and find the hole in the tube. The Western Auto in town was locked when we arrived but reopened to sell us a $2.00 patch kit. The next morning, with the assistance of Josh Hulett, we reassembled the nose wheel and were on our way. Both employees of Mr. Clark Walker were polite, friendly, and very helpful to us. We highly recommend Walker Aviation.

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

Nominate an FBO »

SHORT FINAL...

Overheard flying into Chicago (ORD):

ORD Approach:
"British Airways, can you be down to 4,000 feet by XXXXX?"

[pause]

British Airways 12345:
"I suppose so -- but I don't think I can bring the aircraft with me."

John Finley
via e-mail

Submit your story »

Copyright Aviation Publishing Group. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Advertise | Contact Us | XMLRSS | Site Map | Top