briefs

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Part of the future of aviation might fit in the palm of your hand or on the head of a pin. Scientists are furiously working on Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), tiny aircraft that can fly autonomously where human pilots can’t (or shouldn’t). Now scientists at Cranfield University in Britain have put the machine they are […]

A Maryland developer has come up with a novel approach to gaining approval for his plans to cover an airport in condos. Polm Companies Ltd. says that if it can’t build 600 homes, it will instead turn the sleepy Suburban Airport into a major business and commuter facility. Suburban is now home to 65 airplanes […]

The FAA should face the people it’s planning to put out of business with a new set of regulations rather than hide in cyberspace, according to AOPA. The FAA has extended the comment period (from Jan. 20 to April 19) for a roundly criticized Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would set national standards for sightseeing […]

There are some startling coincidences in two midair collisions that occurred one day and 2,000 miles apart last week. The collisions occurred in Tehachapi, Calif., on Friday and Clearwater, Fla. on Saturday. In each case, a light twin and a single came together and in each accident the twin pilot was able to maintain control […]

A Kentucky pilot, who federal investigators say lacked a multi-engine rating, was acquitted of wanton endangerment charges indirectly related to the Aug. 1, 1998, crash of the twin-engine Cessna 340 he was flying. One of Kenneth Asher’s passengers, Debra Zukhof, drowned after the plane stalled on takeoff from Meigs Field in Chicago and flipped over […]

Parker Hannifin Corp., maker of vacuum pumps on the Cessna 335 that crashed, killing a Missouri governor, has been ordered to pay a total of $4 million in damages to his family even though the NTSB’s summary of the investigation says, “examination of the wreckage … indicates [the pumps] were most likely functioning at the […]

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___________WHATSNEW What’s New — Products and Services Each month, AVweb will bring you a quick survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners. This month we have an Ag Plane mod, a flight timer, a new book and more. If you know of a new product or service other AVweb […]

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced on Tuesday it will sponsor a 20-city national tour flown by Jamail Larkins, a 19-year-old ERAU student who is also a spokesman for EAA’s Young Eagles program. Larkins will fly a new Cirrus SR20, and his mission is to get youngsters excited about careers in aviation. Larkins will fly to a […]