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We’re always ready for surprises (like the arrival of the AdamJet last year) but so far, among the most anticipated first appearances expected at this year’s show may be the North American debut of Diamond’s innovative DA42 TwinStar. The little four-place twin, with a 135-horsepower Thielert diesel on each side, made the 4508-nm trip from […]

AVweb Team Brings You AirVenture… There’s nothing like a Wisconsin summer but the AVweb crew is spending next week there, anyway. We’ll have a full contingent of alternately sweaty, rain-soaked, windblown and sunburned writers, editors and other important folks on the ground — and in the air — at EAA AirVenture starting today. We’ll be […]

As Congress looks at the financial picture, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been investigating whether the warnings, reprimands and fines doled out by the agency for regulatory violations have any effect on flight safety. The conclusion? It doesn’t know and neither does the FAA. The GAO looked at 200,000 enforcement actions undertaken between 1993 […]

Money To Hire Controllers Included… It looks like the FAA will be getting a small budget increase next year, including funds to speed up the hiring of new air traffic controllers. On July 15, the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Treasury and Independent Agencies approved a $14 billion package for the FAA, up $169 million […]

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the aircraft were going to be limited to 115 knots maximum speed and 44 knots stall speed (clean) and 37 knots (with flaps). The final rule boosts the top speed to 120 knots and clean stall to 45 knots. The stall-with-flaps designation has been eliminated. Also, the all-up […]

Key among the provisions in the new rule is the driver’s license as proof of medical fitness. Essentially, almost anyone who has a valid driver’s license can legally fly an LSA. But there are caveats, some of them legal, some of them moral. On the legal side, anyone who has been denied a third-class medical […]

With the announcement only a couple of days old, Heintz has already noticed a surge in interest. Light Sport/Sport Pilot is intended to spark interest in aviation by people who previously thought it too costly or time-consuming to pursue. Initial indications are that it’s worked. “There have been a lot more phone calls in the […]

Manufacturers Getting Ready… First there’s the rule, then there’s the reality. A longtime builder of what will now be called Light Sport aircraft (LSA) says it will take him at least six months to build a finished airplane that he’s confident meets all the criteria set out in the new Light Sport/Sport Pilot classification finally […]

Walker said Commander will try to line up new investors, according to the Oklahoman. Commander filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2002. Walker told AVweb in January 2003 that the company owed about $3.7 million to investors, but operations were “pretty neat and tidy … [the company] is not overburdened by debt, we […]

Commander Aircraft Future “Uncertain”… A deal that was put together earlier this year to save Commander Aircraft Co. from bankruptcy has fallen through, the Oklahoman reported last week. “Our company’s future is uncertain, and new aircraft production will continue to be suspended indefinitely,” Commander CEO Wirt Walker said in a news release. On Thursday, Tiger […]