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TSA Says They Are Necessary … “TFRs do serve a purpose, and they’re effective,” Robert Albracht, director of GA Operations at the Transportation Security Administration, told AVweb last Thursday in a conference-call interview with several TSA staffers. Essentially, the TFRs function to clear the sky, so security forces are not distracted by a multitude of […]

While Diamond won’t have its single-engine D-Jet ready, it will be showing off its DA42 Twin Star, making its North American debut at Oshkosh with a fresh European certification. EAA says it expects a record number of exhibitors to show up this summer with new technology, both in the cockpit and in aircraft design. Of […]

…And Kit Jets, Too… It seems already like ancient history, but among the first in this crop of light jets to ever bolt into the sky was the Maverick Jet, a twin-engine kitbuilt that was flying at Oshkosh three years ago, back when some of the current contenders weren’t even mock-ups yet. The Florida-based company […]

With A Look At Light Jets… With the onset of summer, the big show at Oshkosh is just six weeks away, and this year promises to be an interesting one in the wide-open spaces of Wisconsin. Though the buzz over new jets has eased off a bit as the trek to certification proves long and […]

George Ebbs Jr., president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), testified on Tuesday that the government’s training program for new hires in Oklahoma City is redundant and unnecessary, and also asked that training rules be relaxed to allow candidates who already have a college degree to advance more quickly. If ERAU could send its graduates directly […]

Ruth Marlin, executive vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told the panel that raising the retirement age will not solve the problem — it’s time now to start hiring at least 1,000 new controllers. The FAA’s plan to collect more data before taking action will only make things worse, she said. “We […]

More Talk Of Possible Controller Shortage… On Tuesday, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told a Congressional panel that the maximum retirement age of 56 for air traffic controllers might need to be raised, to help deal with an unprecedented avalanche of retirements. More than 7,000 controllers, almost half the workforce, are expected to leave in the […]

For those who want speed but would prefer others to sniff the resin fumes, Lancair Certified gained certification for its turbocharged Columbia 400 at Sun ‘n Fun and customer deliveries began a short time later. The first to fly away was Paul Duckett, a Missouri resident who put his deposit down in 1998. “Paul has […]

NXT Speedy Kitplane Unveiled At Oshkosh… Remember when a kitplane was a piece of irrigation pipe and some Dacron? Well, now you can clear out the garage and put together a race-bred airplane from the folks who brought you the Nemesis F-1 racer (47 victories in 50 starts, 16 world speed records). The crew has […]

The positive side of all of this (depending, of course, on your viewpoint) is that Fletcher might end up with a new airplane. His King Air is a 1973 model, military surplus and the oldest of its type still flying, according to state officials who’ve been angling to replace it with something newer. This is […]