On the Fly …

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Key Takeaways:

  • Aviation safety was a key theme, with a lawsuit filed against a proposed trucking terminal near an airport, a helicopter pilot charged with flying while intoxicated after a crash, and an ultralight pilot safely deploying a ballistic chute after engine failure.
  • New regulations and security measures include stringent flight restrictions for Boston's Democratic National Convention and the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for border patrol.
  • Awards were given to U.S. Navy pilot Marcel LeBlanc for his service in Iraq and to Dick "Van" Van Grunsven, founder of RV kitplanes, for the EAA Freedom of Flight award.
  • The EAA is reactivating a B-17 from a museum to continue its national tour after their own "Aluminum Overcast" sustained landing gear damage.
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The California Pilots Association filed suit last week to block a trucking terminal and fuel tanks slated to be built 1,300 feet from a runway at Tulare Airport…

A helicopter pilot in Indiana is charged with flying while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, after he and a passenger were hurt in a crash last year. Prosecutors say the pilot’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit…

Flight restrictions for Boston’s Democratic National Convention next month are expected to be widespread and stringent, with slot reservations required for many flights…

U.S. Navy pilot Marcel LeBlanc of New Orleans accepted the Navy’s Lt. Cmdr. Michael J. Hoff Attack Aviator of the Year Award on June 11, for his work in Iraq in 2003…

With its own B-17, Aluminum Overcast, out of commission with damaged landing gear, EAA is reviving a B-17 from a New York museum to fly passengers at Oshkosh and complete the aircraft’s national tour…

Dick “Van” Van Grunsven, founder of the RV line of kitplanes, is the 2004 recipient of the EAA Freedom of Flight award…

Unmanned aerial vehicles will be deployed June 30 to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate are helping border-patrol officials with research and development of UAVs, including developing operational requirements and related technologies, such as aerostats, lighter-than-air ships and towers…

An ultralight pilot in Oklahoma landed safely last Sunday after deploying his ballistic chute. The pilot later said his engine failed at 800 feet…

Aviation names converge: When Florida pilot Douglas Bergner made an emergency landing last week in his Beech Bonanza, he put it down in an open pasture off Piper Road.

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