briefs

Australian researchers are working on an idea that could eventually lead to conventional aircraft being able to gently lower and pick up cargo, including people, in places where even helicopters can’t make the delivery. And the technology involved requires little more than a sturdy length of cable and a winch. The Royal Melbourne Institute of […]

An experiment that began 25,000 feet underground could help aircraft fly higher, farther and more safely. Sandia National Laboratories is developing ultra-durable electronic components, like computer chips, that can withstand the extreme temperatures and pressures of deep-well oil and gas exploration. Well, it turns out the abuse these gadgets take on a drilling rig is […]

The FAA is underscoring regulatory requirements for pilots who fly passengers in homebuilt aircraft. A new notice would restrict them to flying passengers only in planes in which they are qualified and experienced. Currency and proficiency rules apply to those who take people for rides in their experimental aircraft and EAA says current pilots have […]

On Wednesday Adam Aircraft received FAA type certification on its A500 push/pull piston twin. The certification was the culmination of about seven years and 1.5 million man-hours, said CEO Rick Adam. The company rolled out its first production model in October and five more are under construction. There are a total of 65 orders for […]

Retired United Airlines employees can expect their benefits to be cut by at least a third after the airline won the right to dump its underfunded plans on a government guarantor on Tuesday. In an historic decision, Judge Eugene Wedoff of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court agreed with United that it had no hope of emerging […]

AVmail: May 16, 2005Reader mail this week about ATC privatization and clarified rules about homebuilts, and a lot of controversy about the plane that caused the evacuation of the Capitol.

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COLUMNS Pelican’s Perch #20: Ground All Bonanzas?There have been several crashes of Beech T-34 aircraft caused by wing-spar failures during the last few years. The raging controversy over the T-34 structural issues and the FAA’s heavy-handed approach may well affect all aircraft. AVweb’s John Deakin has updated this eerily prescient six-year-old column. _______COLUMNS CEO of […]

Technically advanced aircraft (TAA) are defined by the FAA as having at least a moving-map display, an IFR-approved GPS navigator and an autopilot. The advent of this technology has raised issues about training, which AOPA’s Air Safety Foundation (ASF) addresses in a new report, released last week. The report suggests how training should change to […]