Aviation News

A flock of swallows swarming near a runway delayed more than 100 flights at Beijing International Airport last week… Final results for the 2003 US National Aerobatic Championships have been posted online. Kirby Chambliss, flying an Edge 540, took the first in the Unlimited category… More than 50 Challenger ultralights flew into Erie Airpark in […]

Australia’s charter and passenger carriers are urged to provide input on changes proposed on air regulations that apply to them. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has revamped Part 121b, which covers charter and scheduled service in aircraft bigger than 5,700 kg. (12,500 lbs.)… Two men have been arrested in the brazen theft of computers from […]

Aircraft Spruce and Specialty has bought the design rights to the Cozy III and Mark IV. Aircraft Spruce has supplied materials, kits and avionics for the popular experimentals since 1982 and will take over the design rights on Jan. 1, 2004… Raytheon Aircraft Services (RAS) has added two executives. Harold (Skip) Madsen is the new […]

As part of its ongoing travels, the National Air Tour stopped in Wichita last weekend. The group — scheduled to fly until September 24 — left for Kansas City on Saturday and will be in Greenville, S.C. today… A couple in New Zealand found a nasty surprise all over their home. The house, which lies […]

Peter Miranda, of Charlotte, N.C., is the 10,000th AOPA Skyspotter. Like his 9,999 predecessors, Miranda took an online course on how to properly file a PIREP. AOPA runs the program through its Air Safety Foundation… Airlines, the New York Port Authority and Boeing could face lawsuits from Sept. 11 thanks to a federal judge’s ruling. […]

The National Air Tour launched on Monday from Willow Run Airport near Detroit for a 4,000-mile journey to 26 cities across the eastern United States… Virginia State EAA Fly-In ready for takeoff on September 20-21… Eclipse Aviation has developed new performance estimates for its personal jet based on preliminary data on the PW610F engine from […]

The FAA is widening a future AD on a specific brand of seatbelts after comments from the public indicated more than one aircraft manufacturer used them. The original Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) applied only to Socata aircraft equipped with the malfunctioning Anjou Aeronautique belts. The next NPRM will apply to all aircraft so equipped… […]

One man’s noise is another’s music. Local residents and town officials are unhappy about the sounds emanating from an ultralight airfield. The Morningside Flight Park in Charlestown, N.H., operates ultralights for hang glider towing. Recent town council meetings have addressed the issue of this airborne noise, although officials aren’t sure if they can regulate the […]

Families of six people who died in the plane crash that killed Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone last October have settled for $25 million from the operators of the charter flight. Pilot error was blamed in the crash… The Air Force computer system has allowed classified parts to be shipped to countries that are banned from […]

Test Pilot Len Fox parachuted to safety yesterday morning after the failure of a test recovery system rendered the prototype Lancair Columbia 400 he was testing unable to land safely. The aircraft crashed in a field near Millican, Oregon, a rural community east of The Lancair Company’s Bend, Oregon, headquarters. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board […]