briefs

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Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is examining the topic of back-up gyro strategies for light aircraft, specifically using PDAs or Garmin 296-type flight instrument displays as gyro back-ups. The editors would like to hear pros and cons from readers who have used such devices to back up vacuum or electric gyros. Did they work for […]

Right here in the U.S. Last Wednesday, an instructor and student were flying in a gyrocopter at about 800 feet over Springville, Utah, when they felt a “pop” and couldn’t tell what was wrong. During the 10-minute flight back to the airport, they heard a strange whistling sound, and on landing they found a bullet […]

Have an idea for making the flying car of the future work? NASA wants to hear about it, and the space agency is offering $250,000 in prizes as encouragement. The Personal Air Vehicle Challenge, announced at AirVenture last month, will pay $25,000 each for advances in noise control and handling qualities. The biggest reward, $150,000, […]

High insurance premiums are forcing Alaska’s small charter operators out of business, a half-dozen pilots said during a recent forum in Wasilla. The pilots met with the state insurance director, Linda Hall, and state Sen. Charlie Huggins, the Anchorage Daily News reported last week. “Air taxis provide an essential air service and you’re losing them,” […]

Boeing won an advantage this week in its perennial battle with Airbus, with an announcement that four Chinese airlines have ordered 42 of its new 787 Dreamliner jets, with a list price of about $5 billion. Airbus is trying to capture the airliner market with its superjumbo A380, which is already plagued with development delays, […]

Pilots who operate at high altitudes have triple the risk of developing cataracts compared to other men their age, researchers at the University of Iceland reported in the August issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. The researchers said that of 445 men aged 50 or older in the study, 79 were airline pilots and 71 of […]

Two men died in North Carolina on Sunday when the light-sport aircraft they were flying crashed in a 25-acre cow pasture. Robert G. Swanson, 62, an active pilot with 40 years of experience, had bought the Allegro 2000 in June and had flown it for about 90 hours, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. […]

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVwebs NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE […]