As OSH Winds Down

0

As The Industry Winds Up…

The weather threatened through most of the week, but then the economy has threatened throughout the year, and neither seemed to make a dent in the celebration of general aviation and 100 years of innovation in powered flight at AirVenture 2003. Honda, with a new GA engine, told us quite clearly they believe “the long-term GA economy is on the rise” and they plan to be there. Adam aircraft stunned all by Thursday bringing the first flying, smaller small jet to AirVenture, beating Eclipse, Cessna and more. Diamond is proving diesel power with their ultra-efficient, head-turning TwinStar and will soon have a jet, too. OMF added a BRS full-plane parachute and training incentives. Cirrus, which has always had a BRS, is putting out two $189K – $389K planes per day, now fully glass-paneled. The industry is looking good. Freshly refinanced Lancair’s similarly priced aircraft is biting away at an 18-month order backlog. Russian Beriev aircraft company July 31 won FAA certification (and overwhelming attention) for a six-seat, 135-knot, 932-pound-useful-load, 61-knot-Vmc, amphibious twin that will cost prospective buyers closer to $1/2 million. Chelton has brought certified synthetic vision to GA, while PCAvionics and PCFlightSystems will very soon bring non-certified synthetic vision to GA. In short, it’s been a very good show.

…AVweb And AirsideTV Put You On The Flight Line

It’s better than being there, because you wouldn’t have the access, but you would have the crowds. The latest installment of AVweb/AirsideTV’s streaming video coverage of AirVenture 2003, thanks to our AirVenture partner AirsideTV, brings AVweb readers flight displays including the Marine AV-8 Harrier and a flight performance from Patty Wagstaff. You’ll see FAA Administrator Marion Blakey at the certificate-signing ceremony for the Wright Flyer replica, and much more. It’s a small portion of our extended pay-per-view coverage. See also previous installments #1, #2, #3, and #4. It’s a small portion of our extended video coverage, where pay-per-view subscribers see each day’s hour-long feature program with inside access to the best AirVenture offers. Get special access, you’ll like it.

LEAVE A REPLY