briefs

The FAA announced last week the nationwide deployment of the first all-digital airport radar system. The Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR-11) will replace older-generation analog radars that are nearing the end of their service life, the FAA said. “Digital radar is a critical component of a modernized airspace system,” said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey in a […]

Lancair’s bottleneck in its Columbia 350 line broke last week when the FAA OK’d the new model for delivery to owners. The new, all-electric airplane (no vacuums … it does run on 100LL) has been ready to go since mid-summer, but deliveries were delayed until the FAA certified the S-TEC autopilot and the Avidyne FlightMax […]

Last week, the FAA issued its long-anticipated Final Rule on Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (DRVSM), decreeing that on January 20, 2005, the required vertical separation between aircraft above the U.S. at altitudes from 29,000 to 41,000 feet will be reduced from 2,000 feet to 1,000. That means more available routes, which the FAA says […]

Congratulations and an AVweb hat go out to Ken Cusack, this week’s AVscoop winner. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. Rules and information are at https://avweb.com/contact/newstips.html.

__________AIRMANSHIP Ground EffectWingtip vortices have caused lots of problems for aircraft, but there is another side to them. AVweb’s Linda Pendleton explains how wingtip vortices affect your own plane. _______REVIEWS Some Great, Cheap Electronics for PilotsLong GA flights require special planning and, sometimes, special equipment. During a recent transcontinental trip, Mike Busch had the opportunity […]

The FAA is calling on the country’s best and brightest to cut noise and pollution around airports. Administrator Marion Blakey announced that seven U.S. universities will conduct research into all aspects of the broad-ranging topics with the goal of a cleaner and quieter environment at airports. They’re part of the FAA’s new Air Transportation Center […]

What its supporters say is the oldest continuously operating military air base in the world could become condos and cul-de-sacs soon. Point Cook Airfield, in Melbourne, Australia, was where the Royal Australian Air Force was born in 1913 and it operated as a training base until 1992. An earlier attempt by the Australian government to […]

Carol Ann Garratt is back home in Florida, wiser and poorer, after a 41,000-mile flight around the world in her Mooney M20. Garratt took off from Kissimmee in early February with two goals in mind: to raise money for research into Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS) and to fly her father to […]

An Israeli company has come up with a fully automatic missile detection and decoy system for airliners that fits into three shoe-sized boxes. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) unveiled the Flight Guard system to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Airlines and governments have been investigating anti-missile systems for airliners since an Israeli airliner came under an unsuccessful […]

For the first time, Boeing may launch a new aircraft design with a non-U.S. carrier. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways may be the first to fly the 7E7 Dreamliner. In the past, Boeing has always worked closely with a U.S. airline in development of an airliner […]