briefs

Tomb Raider film star Angelina Jolie has been taking flying lessons in Santa Monica, Calif., it was reported last week. Jolie, who moonlights as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, says she wants to be a pilot because she plans to retire from show business in a few years and work to deliver aid to refugees […]

On Saturday, EAA released its preliminary figures from this year’s AirVenture fly-in. The estimated attendance figures show a 10- to 12-percent decrease from last year’s total of 770,000 for the centennial event (not at all obvious to us), but the number of commercial exhibitors held almost steady — with 802, compared to the 2003 record […]

It seems we have a race for space … the underdog da Vinci Project, from Canada, rolled out their Wild Fire spacecraft last Thursday in Toronto, and while they were at it, they said they plan to launch for the $10 million X Prize on Oct. 2 (the Paul G. Allen / Burt Rutan SpaceShipOne […]

When two people died in the crash of a Piper PA-32 in the Texas Hill Country on Saturday night, they were the 19th and 20th Texans to die in small-aircraft crashes in just a week. That’s likely a coincidence, Jim Burnett, former NTSB chairman, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. But the hot weather could be […]

The FAA last week awarded Boeing Co. the second phase of the Global Communications, Navigation and Surveillance System contract, Government Computer News (GCN) reported on Friday. Boeing will develop networks for surveillance data, weather and aeronautical information, GCN said. The aim of the project is to allow for safe and secure increases in air traffic […]

Last week was the deadline for bids to outsource the FSS system, and Congress told the FAA to ensure that pilots continue to get the best possible flight briefing and en route information services without user fees, AOPA said on Friday. The House Appropriations Committee told the FAA to have specific, comprehensive customer-service standards to […]

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_______COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #8: Overhaul OverdoneWhen an instrument, accessory or other appliance stops working on our airplanes, we generally get it overhauled or exchange it for an overhauled exchange unit, right? Wrong, says AVweb’s Mike Busch, who argues that overhaul is often unnecessary and a big waste of money, and offers several illustrative cases-in-point.

The largest designer of airplane paint schemes in the U.S. is now offering a service for aircraft owners who need a little help instead of a lot. Scheme Designers has launched www.aircraftcolor.com, a Web site with a database of more than 3,000 airplane paint schemes. For $39.95, you can use the site for 30 days, […]