leadnews

Even as GA mourns the loss of Meigs field and frets over lost jobs in Wichita, the Sun ‘n Fun spring fly-in opened under cool and sunny skies, albeit with sparse crowds many attributed to war jitters and the shift from a Sunday to a Wednesday opening. Nonetheless, New Piper is bullish, rolling out two […]

X Marks The Spot… Likely the last 16 aircraft ever to use Chicago’s Meigs Field were to have taken off Wednesday, using a taxiway in place of the runway that was torn up by city workers early Monday. The FAA issued special permission to allow the aircraft owners to use the 3,000-foot, 50-foot-wide taxiway for […]

Aerobatic Pilot Aims For Loophole… One of the air show circuit’s rising stars is hoping the Transportation Security Administration can provide a loophole in its stadium overflight ban big enough for him to fly through. Michael Mancuso (solo performer and former member of the award-winning Northern Lights aerobatic team) was to become the first-ever official […]

Canadian Company Plans To Build New Beavers, Otters… Decades after they were discontinued to make way for more modern designs, the legendary de Havilland Beaver and Otter bush planes could soon resume production. Beaver Aircraft Canada plans to build the historic aircraft — as well as an amphibian called the Tri-Gull. The company is down […]

Chicago Gets A TFR Of Its Own… …Alphabets Are Angry, But Daley Is Delighted EAA Executive Vice President Bob Warner said, “Department of Homeland Security [DHS] officials had stated that they would not introduce more widespread restrictions unless intelligence points to a specific target or credible threat. We call on the FAA and DHS to […]

Congress To Decide On Next Four Years Of FAA Funding… Tuesday, the Bush administration’s four-year funding plan for the FAA, known as the Centennial of Flight Aviation Authorization Act (Flight-100), went off to Congress. “Flight-100 will help increase capacity and efficiency throughout our aviation system,” DOT Secretary Norman Mineta said in a news release. The […]

Apparently Is New Jersey… In New Jersey, James E. McGreevey announced on Friday that any aircraft left for more than 24 hours at any of the state’s 486 licensed general aviation facilities must have a “two-lock” system. “Two-lock” apparently would lock the door and either the wheel or propeller. New Jersey is also going to […]

Fresh Record Attempts In The Works… So, who will be dining out with the awards-granting National Aeronautics Association next year? Included among this year’s record attempts, Steve Fossett is still seeking more than 49,000 feet in a glider. Gerhard Schauble, of Kelowna, B.C., Canada, will attempt to fly his Glasair 22,858 miles at an average […]

EAA Unveils Wright Flyer Replica… The EAA unveiled its 1903 Wright Flyer reproduction in a ceremony at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Tuesday. EAA’s Flyer reproduction will re-enact the Wright brothers’ first flight 100 years later to the minute on Dec. 17, 2003, in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. With Amanda Wright Lane and […]

New York Gets ADIZ, More TFRs Added… Well, we knew something was coming and compared to some of the scenarios speculated in the days before President Bush made his Monday-night speech, the flight restrictions imposed on GA are relatively mild. “There were reports that we were going to impose ADIZs on any airport with Class […]