AirVenture

Outgoing FAA Administrator Marion Blakey gave one last pitch for the implementation of general aviation user fees at EAA AirVenture on Thursday. And a gracious capacity crowd attending the annual “Meet The Boss” session let her have her say. During her introduction, EAA President Tom Poberezny noted that the FAA reauthorization bill is before Congress […]

Officials from Embraer’s executive jet division were all smiles at AirVenture when they received word that the Phenom 100 very light jet made a one hour 36 minute first flight in Brazil. Aircraft S/N 99801 became airborne on Thursday at 10:55 a.m. local time, piloted by Embraer test pilot Antonio Bragana Silva and Eduardo Alves […]

Adam Aircraft CEO Rick Adam reported on his fleet’s progress at AirVenture on Thursday morning. Seven of the A500 centerline-twins have been delivered so far, but the company is working to ramp up its production rate, with a build rate of three A500s per month expected by next year. The first customers have been trained […]

The New ADIZ AreaClick for a larger view The FAA will reduce the size and simplify the geography of the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone, cutting 1,800 square miles from the zone and removing 33 airports. The new zone gets rid of the so-called “Mickey Mouse ears” that described the complex shape of the old […]

With four new aircraft introduced at the show this week sporting parachutes from Ballistic Recovery Systems, CEO Larry Williams was beaming at his AirVenture press conference on Thursday morning. “We’ve never had this many aircraft announcements all at once before,” he said, and hinted that a fifth might be revealed before the show is over. […]

After a couple years of development, Lancair unveiled its most technologically advanced kitplane at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. The Evolution is a 338-knot, four-place pressurized aircraft that employs virtually all the latest avionics, safety and performance innovations. Despite its blinding speed, the Evolution was designed with the average pilot and builder in mind. “We tried […]

EADS Socata’s new chairman and CEO, Jean-Michel Lonard, came to his first EAA AirVenture show with momentum on his side. The French aircraft manufacturer said sales of its souped-up TBM 850 turboprop single has now passed the 100-airplane mark, and Lonard sees no erosion in interest whatsoever due to the in-service entrance of the very […]

General aviation groups are expecting an expensive and vicious campaign of misinformation from the country’s major airlines as the bills addressing FAA reauthorization move closer to resolution. “Airlines are attacking general aviation,” National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen told a packed house at a forum on the impact of user fees proposed in the […]

Pilots of older aircraft worry about the future availability of 100LL avgas, and environmentalists are not happy with the ecological impact of leaded fuel. To satisfy both concerns, inventor Tom Ehresman of Colorado is working on an engine modification that would allow avgas-burning engines to convert to diesel or Jet-A. That is just the kind […]

“We want to ensure that as our segment of the industry grows, that customers are protected,” said David Lee, president of AirShares Elite, as he announced the formation of a new industry group, called the Professionally Managed Aircraft Association, at AirVenture on Wednesday. “We want to establish optimal, not minimal, standards for safety and customer […]