Aviation News

Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association held a press conference at AirVenture on Wednesday. He outlined the state of the industry to date — with more than 108 aircraft models from 72 manufacturers in the fold. He also discussed a new safety website where potential buyers can go to learn about safety […]

General aviation training legends John and Martha King took the stage at a press conference to announce “Parrot,” the newest feature from Redbird Flight Simulations. The new technology, introduced by Redbird founder Jerry Gregoire, simulates air traffic controllers, with directions and procedures appropriate to the weather and location plugged into the sim. For example, if […]

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt met the press yesterday at EAA AirVenture. He cited the primary areas of concern for GA pilots as safety, professionalism and how we will meet the needs of the coming NextGen air traffic control update. Babbitt said the first six months of the year have seen 120 fatal accidents. Though there […]

AirVenture is often the site of lofty projects, and this year’s show was the debut of the Co50. At a Wednesday press conference Cobalt head David Loury introduced his ambitious project, which is still in semi-mockup form. Loury announced that the company would begin taking deposits at the show. The Cobalt Co50 is a four/five-place […]

Aspen Avionics announced at AirVenture it now has geo-referencing for the approach procedures and airport diagrams shown on Aspen multifunction displays (MFDs). Working with software provider Seattle Avionics Software, Aspen now offers geo-referenced versions of the government’s AeroNav (formerly NACO) charts for Aspen’s EFD1000 and EFD500 MFDs. The feature incorporates Seattle Avionics ChartData library, including […]

Driven by a group of MIT alumni, the Terrafugia ‘Transition’ roadable aircraft project has been refined. The canard surface is gone, and the rear ‘fantail’ surface has given way to a twin-boom configuration. Both aerodynamic changes were driven by early test flights in which the Transition was hard pressed to rotate sufficiently. Elevator authority has […]

The NTSB has scarcely begun its investigation of Tuesday evening’s crash at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. According to EAA, NASCAR team leader Jack Roush, 68, was returning to Oshkosh after flying his P-51 Mustang back to Willow Run, Michigan. He had performed in the Mustang at the afternoon air show. At about 6:15 pm CDT, Roush […]

Garmin came to EAA AirVenture with a full slate of news ranging from new apps for the iPhone to full certification for the G1000 in the CitationJet. The latter announcement came on July 19, and breathes new life into the CitationJet series for Cessna. For GPS695/696 users, the newest feature is georeferenced charts, meaning they […]

Cirrus Aircraft was first with an integrated whole aircraft parachute system, and continues the tradition of safety innovation with the introduction on Monday of its Perspective ESP flight stability augmentation system. Available on all SR-series aircraft for delivery this fall, the system ensures the aircraft will remain within a safe operating envelope even when the […]

Opening day of AirVenture 2010 arrived yesterday, and this year’s show has proved to be one of the most challenging in decades. With last week’s torrential rains, EAA has struggled with pumping out and otherwise preparing a soggy Wittman Field in Oshkosh, bracing for the arrival of the usual complement of approximately 5,500 airplanes. As […]