AirVenture

One of the most popular attractions at AirVenture will never be available to the public, never be a practical aircraft and really doesn’t fly very well but it always has a crowd around it. The Bally Bomber is a one-third scale B-17, faithfully reproduced over 17 years of meticulous engineering, construction and sheer imagination. The […]

A decade ago, AirVenture was abuzz with news of the PiperJet’s first flight, a new aerodiesel from upstart Austro Engines and space tourism was a thing with Burt Rutan and Sir Richard Branson promoting what eventually became Virgin Galactic. Austro showed off its four-cylinder diesel based on the same Mercedes Benz design Thielert used for […]

Trig Avionics announced plans for a new navcomm product family at AirVenture 2018. There are currently four version of the product—the TX56/TX56A and TX57/TX57A. According to the company, “the TX56 family will represent a practical retrofit for legacy units, being compatible with existing BK, Garmin and Apollo indicators.” The 10-watt TX56 comes with a VOR/LOC […]

L3 Commercial Aviation announced a new software upgrade for its Lynx NGT-9000 ADS-B transponder and display system at AirVenture 2018 on Tuesday. The Release 3.2 upgrade will include improved GPS receiver performance and startup time, better compatibility with the Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) and added support for dual control panel configuration. […]

Wisconsin-based Engineered Propulsion Systems Inc. (EPS) is back at AirVenture to announce progress on its clean-sheet diesel design intended to go up against established versions from Austro Engine and Continental. Next step for EPS includes more testing, advancement toward certification–and, as always, the hunt for more funding. EPS is tackling the daunting diesel challenge from […]

The Switchblade flying sports car is expected to fly by the end of the year and the Oregon company continues to amass a substantial order book. Company President Sam Bousfield said in a podcast interview he had hoped first flight would have occurred before AirVenture 2018 but the tail needed some modifications to improve flight […]

Terrafugia hopes to deliver its first production flying car in July of 2019, company officials told a news conference at AirVenture 2018 Tuesday. The company hasn’t been at the big show for several years but received a major cash injection late last year when it was bought by Chinese automaker Geely, which owns Volvo and […]

Wait. What? No. Who the ^%$# green lighted this? This being allowing Ford to set up a track half inside and half outside its big tent off Boeing square and park a couple of Mustang GTs in there. Except they aren’t parked, the cars are screeching around the track giving AirVenture attendees a real-world demonstration […]