briefs

From what we can make of a Turkish news report, warplanes from that country were scrambled to force down a German airliner that passed over on its way from Egypt to Munich — but they apparently failed to intercept it. According to a somewhat sketchy translation of the Zaman Daily News, the A321 (airline unknown) […]

Congress has decided to maintain the status quo in funding the FAA and that means no user fees, at least not yet. The funding bill passed last week by Congress continues to bankroll the agency through the Airway and Airports Trust Fund and from general revenue. “Congress, acting as the board of directors for the […]

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will soon decide whether Hawaii has the legal authority to allow the city of Honolulu to ban aerial advertising. An anti-abortion group is appealing the ban, which has been in place since 2002, so it can pull above the beaches and other populated areas […]

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COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #25: Buying The Right AirplaneYou’re in the market to buy a used airplane. You look in Trade-A-Plane and find a lot from which to choose. AVweb’s Mike Busch has some thoughts about which to consider, and which to pass by.

A French tourist has been given a stern warning by an Australian judge to “behave yourself” on airplanes after she apparently tried to open a door in flight to have a cigarette. Sadrine Helene Sellies, 34, was also ordered to post a $1,000 AUD bond that she’ll get back as long as she doesn’t try […]

The National Aeronautic Association will hold an awards extravaganza, “A Spectrum of Achievement,” on Dec. 5, in Arlington, Va. — and you’re invited. The NAA promises hundreds of aviation luminaries and dozens of award-winners and record-setters for this event, the final celebration of the group’s 100th anniversary. Awards recognize accomplishments such as Steve Fossett’s record-breaking […]

Our story in Monday’s edition of AVweb about the planned flight of XCOR’s rocket-powered Long-EZ reminded one of our readers of an obscure historical event — the first American manned flight of an aircraft propelled by rocket thrust alone — which was flown in California on Aug. 23, 1941, in a humble Ercoupe. The propeller […]

Complex things come in small packages these days and Aspen Avionics has earned an FAA Type Standard Order (TSO) for a moving-map terrain-and-obstacle-awareness display that fits where your steam-driven vertical speed indicator now resides in your panel. Oh, the new instrument has an electronic VSI, too. The AT300 Hazard Awareness Display has many of the […]