AirVenture

It’s been a busy year for everyone here in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. From product roll-outs to the ongoing fight against user fees, AVweb‘s audio news team was onhand (with microphones) to get reactions and exclusive commentary from the industry’s biggest players. In case you missed any of our daily audio coverage, here’s a quick recap of […]

Boeing’s Blended Wing Body (BWB) research aircraft — designated the X-48B — made a 31-minute first flight last Friday at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The 21-foot wingspan, 500-pound unmanned quasi flying wing climbed to 7,500 feet during the inaugural jaunt. “We’ve successfully passed another milestone in our […]

The FAA has opened a toll-free line specifically to gather information on the performance of Lockheed Martin-managed Flight Service Stations. Dialing the number (888-358-7782) will allow the caller to record a message describing the experience he or she had with flight services. AOPA President Phil Boyer said the phone line was his group’s idea after […]

A Canadian company has come up with a nifty way to add motion to your favorite flight simulator. Kelowna, British Columbia-based Dreamflyer is perfecting a virtual cockpit that “moves” in concert with control commands. By mounting up to three LCD screens to a “cockpit” suspended and balanced on a frame, the virtual pilot uses a […]

The FAA says that if contractors can finish Wittman Field’s new air traffic control tower in time, it can be ready to use it for next year’s EAA AirVenture. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said that if they can occupy the building by the end of next February, that will give technicians enough time to install […]

Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but perhaps the most ungainly looking aircraft at AirVenture (or anywhere else for that matter) was the people’s choice. A 1939 Grumman Duck, which looks something like a biplane in an unnatural relationship with a submarine, in the first National Aviation Hall of Fame’s Best of […]

“This year was the best ever EAA AirVenture,” noted EAA President Tom Poberezny on Sunday afternoon, just hours before the airshow came to an official close. “I say this because there was an upbeat attitude this year, plenty of innovation and technology announcements and several new aircraft unveiled during the event.” He added that the […]

Avidyne and S-TEC this week at AirVenture said they are working on an FAA STC to retrofit the Alliant Integrated Flight Deck into Cessna 441 Conquest II twin turboprops. The Conquest II installation will become the third airframe to offer the Avidyne Envision avionics and S-TEC IntelliFlight 2100 digital flight control system package. As with […]

Rick Adam, CEO of Adam Aircraft, provided an update on the A700 very light jet program status for the press corps here at AirVenture this week. “The first two A700 prototypes have accumulated over 800 hours of risk-reduction testing,” he said. The interior has been upgraded to include higher-quality leather seats, new carpet, improved fit […]

copyright Larry Grace Click for a Larger Image The pilot killed in the Friday collision of two P-51s at EAA AirVenture was a key figure in the development of a movie honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. Gerald Beck was the lead hand in a restoration project depicted in the documentary Red Tail Reborn. A Mustang, complete […]