For Dr. Gerard Kenney of Franklin, Pa., flying to Sun ‘n Fun this year in his new Adam A500 wasn’t just fun — it was part of his required training. The gastroenterologist is one of the first customers to take delivery of the A500. A former Saratoga driver, Kenney uses the plane for both business […]
BD-5 Jet crashes near Ocean City, Maryland
A highly experienced 61-year-old pilot was killed June 27 when the BD-5J he was flying for classified military radar tests crashed and burned about 1,000 feet west of Ocean City Municipal Airport (OXB) in Maryland. The little jet has been mimicking cruise missiles for radar calibrations for about five years, often based at Easton, Maryland, […]
Flapper makes aviation history
Dr. James DeLaurier, an aeronautical engineer and professor emeritus at Canada’s University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, fulfilled a lifelong dream July 9. He saw his manned, jet-powered, flapping-wing airplane – a full-scale ornithopter – actually fly. It was the culmination of a quest that he had pursued for more than 30 years. The […]
Oregon man brings DaVinci’s vision to life
Oregon man brings Da Vinci’s vision to life Ken Spence has taken a lifelong passion for aviation and the work of Leonardo da Vinci and built a full-scale, non-flying ornithopter from one of da Vinci’s most complex engineering drawings. The ornithopter is on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Ore. According to Spence, […]
VLJ’s and LSA’s dominate aviation’s second century so far
The latest news in aircraft certification and production hovers mostly around the two ends of the general aviation spectrum – Very Light Jets and Light Sport Aircraft – although many interesting things are happening in between. The pioneer VLJ certification may have been achieved by the time you read this. The Eclipse 500 (below) appeared […]
Adam Aircraft
“The two big activities in the company are ramping up production rate and finishing up certification on the jet,” said Rick Adam when asked “What’s new at Adam Aircraft?” “Our primary focus is finishing up the certification work on the A700, using the Number Two jet. It has major improvements over the Number One jet. […]
A Cirrus Jet
“We are not going to do a VLJ,” Alan Klapmeier stated flatly during an interview at Sun ‘n Fun in April. However, he added quickly, “we are going to explore the concept of a personal jet.” Asked to give us a hint at what a Cirrus personal jet might look like, the Cirrus Design chairman […]
Air taxi boosters take their case to lawmakers
“Most of our travelers will come off the highways,” DayJet Vice President Traver Gruen-Kennedy told a Congressional policy forum last month, strongly suggesting that any lessening of road traffic enhances public safety. “We will be serving secondary markets from point A to point B,” he stated. “We’re not going to be flying in Class B […]
The Story of the Boeing Company
“The Story of the Boeing Company,” by Bill Yenne, is a massive book, nearly a foot square and weighing an impressive four pounds, which tells the story not only of Boeing itself, but of the many other firms that have combined to become the world’s largest aerospace company. Its 35 chapters are supplemented by helpful […]