Pia Bergqvist

A beautiful display of hot air balloons of multiple shapes and colors took to the skies in Chambley, France, on Saturday in an attempt to break a world record for the most number of balloons taking off simultaneously. A total of 433 balloons took off from the Lorraine Mondial Air Balloons meet, taking place at […]

The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded its investigation into the fatal accident involving Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. The space ship disintegrated during a test flight on October 31, 2014, resulting in the death of copilot Michael Alsbury. The NTSB concluded that Scaled Composites, the contractor for the program, failed to “consider and protect against the […]

Operators of many of Garmin’s G1000 avionics suites can now upgrade their systems to meet the ADS-B requirements set for implementation in 2020. The company has matched its GDL 88 ADS-B box with the integrated avionics suite as well as several other systems. The GDL 88, which is part of Garmin’s Vantage ADS-B suite of […]

Engineering Propulsion Systems (EPS) continues to make progress on the development of its clean-sheet Graflight V8 diesel engine for the general aviation market. The phase one flight testing program has now been completed and the company has added staff, production capabilities and new tooling to its facility in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Built around eight cylinders, […]

Since 1995, Women in Aviation International (WAI) has been handing out scholarships to women in an effort to encourage them to enter into or advance their careers in aviation fields. WAI’s founder Dr. Peggy Chabrian announced at the organization’s AirVenture breakfast this week that the scholarship program is about to reach a milestone, elevating the […]

There is hope for third-class medical reform and it may become a reality soon. A bipartisan amendment to the Senate highway bill was filed this week by Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and John Boozman (R-Arkansas), adding language to support third-class medical reform. The language introduced in the highway bill mirrors suggested medical rules included […]

South African kit airplane maker The Airplane Factory (TAF) announced a program to help customers get into Sling 4 ownership without having to assemble the kit in its entirety. TAF has partnered with experimental aircraft builder Synergy Air, based in Eugene, Oregon, to assist customers with building the four-seat experimental airplane. The first airplane in […]

Flight Design gave an update on its anticipated C4 certified airplane at EAA AirVenture this week. The proof of concept prototype of the four-seat high-wing model made its first flight this spring, but the first of three conforming prototypes has not yet been completed. Flight Design said its EASA certification target has been pushed to […]

Lancair continues to make improvements to its single-engine Evolution turboprop, modifying the engine inlet and adding a BRS parachute. The modifications will be included as standard equipment in the experimental airplane kit starting with Serial Number 70, the build of which will begin at the Lancair factory in the end of August, Lancair’s sales and […]

BRP announced at EAA AirVenture its intent to produce a more powerful version of its immensely popular Rotax 912/914 series of engines. The turbocharged four-cylinder Rotax 915 iS is designed to produce up to 135 horsepower continuously as high as 15,000 feet and continue to climb to a service ceiling of 23,000 feet. The 915 […]