In Brief

The July 3-20 Inventing Flight celebration in Dayton, Ohio, kicked off this weekend with a hot air balloon launch and a visit by President Bush. Events celebrating 100 years of flight will continue across the country through the year. Fiat is selling its profitable aerospace division to prop up its ailing car business. The Carlyle […]

A New Jersey bill that would have required pilot background checks died without a vote as the legislative session ended this week, AOPA said… Stephen Finger took over on Tuesday as president of Sikorsky Aircraft, succeeding Dean Borgman, who was appointed chairman of the company. Finger was previously president of Pratt & Whitney’s military engines […]

Following the president’s campaign junkets, and avoiding them, has never been easier, thanks to EAA and AeroPlanner.com. Click the presidential seal on the EAA home page and you’ll get a rundown of the chaos the commander in chief is causing as he fights for re-election. EAA cautions the service is no substitute for a thorough […]

The battle over Meigs is not over yet. The Friends of Meigs is asking for financial donations to support the ongoing legal battle for Chicago’s lakeside airport. The organization is raising $75,000 to pay the legal fees that will be needed if the Illinois Supreme Court rules in the group’s favor and orders a full, […]

New whooping crane chicks flew in a private plane to Wisconsin last week, to begin training with ultralights for their fall migration… Boeing said last week at the Paris Air Show that its 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes are meeting, and often exceeding, expectations as they approach their sixth month of flight testing. One of the […]

A Cessna 182 and a 172 collided off Deerfield Beach, Fla., Tuesday night and crashed into the ocean; at least three dead, two missing… EAA Ultralight Council named Carla Larsh of Indiana its new chairwoman at its meeting last week… Four people died when a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Jeannette, Pa., on […]

A current airline pilot with a Ph. D, Russel G. Chew, is the FAA’s new chief operating officer. Chew will leave American Airlines, where he runs the day-to-day operations and grabs the odd flight himself, to start his new job on Aug. 1. He’ll be in charge of ATC, research and acquisition programs… The oldest […]

The CIA says a former Sydney Airport international baggage handler had links to al-Qaeda. It was reported by Australia’s AAP that Bilal Khazal was employed as a baggage handler until a security review was carried out at the airport before the 2000 Olympic Games… On Tuesday, Embraer announced it will build an airplane plant in […]

If you can’t fly to a fly-in, then driving is the next best thing. Despite less-than-ideal weather, AOPA is calling its annual Frederick, Md., fly-in, or drive-in, a success. More than 3,000 people attended — about 2,700 drove. About 120 aircraft fought through the clag to arrive IFR and a few dozen arrived Friday night […]

High winds damaged or destroyed 20 to 25 airplanes and several hangars at San Marcos Municipal Airport as thunderstorms tore through Texas Monday night. Losses total up to $7 million, the Austin American-Statesman reported… A proposal to construct a 2,000-foot tower in Bayonne, N.J., in the midst of the busiest terminal airspace in the world, […]