A lightsaber, the weapon made famous by Star Wars movies, will be taken into space aboard the next shuttle, slated for launch in October. The weapon, from the original 1977 Star Wars movie, is on loan from Lucas films. Since the beginning of the space program astronauts have taken trinkets into space. This is first […]
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Are three parachutes better than one?Start-up company is betting on it
A family owned company is developing a emergency landing system for GA planes that uses three parachutes. The ASR TriChute Landing System features one parachute for the plane’s fuselage and a parachute for each wing. “The fact is, three parachutes are better than one,” explained Dario Manfredi, a finance executive who is the son of […]
Eclipse 500 auctioned on eBay
The winning bid for an Eclipse 500, auctioned last month on eBay, topped $1.8 million. The winner is Morten Wagner of Denmark, who placed his winning bid of $1,833,945 at 2 a.m. his time on Aug. 11. The 35-year-old Internet entrepreneur took delivery of his jet earlier this month at Eclipse Aviation’s headquarters in Albuquerque. […]
BRS continues work on jet chute
When new airplanes are unveiled these days, Larry Williams and the gang from Ballistic Recovery Systems are invariably at the announcements. That’s because many new planes offer the BRS whole-airplane parachute system as standard equipment, while the rest offer it as options. That held true at this year’s AirVenture, where several new aircraft joined the […]
G1000 issues slow production, force layoffs
Aircraft manufacturers that use Garmin’s G1000 are experiencing production slow downs. About 300 employees from Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. in Bend, Ore., were furloughed Aug. 13 as production ground to a halt because of supplier woes. According to Columbia officials, Garmin notified them the first week of August of an inherent problem in the Attitude, […]
E-LSA registration deadline looms
Do you fly a “fat” ultralight? The deadline for registering your aircraft as an Experimental Light Sport Aircraft is Jan. 31, 2008. Registration involves more than sending in paperwork. The aircraft have to be inspected for airworthiness, then certified to become E-LSAs. The issue is high profile enough that FAA Administrator Marion Blakey commented on […]
Able Flight scholarships give wings to disabled pilots
Going to AirVenture is always a special treat for new pilots, but it was even more special for Brad Jones of Georgia and Sean O’Donnell of Pennsylvania. Both are recipients of scholarships made available through Able Flight and received their Sport Pilot wings at a special ceremony held during AirVenture. Jones and O’Donnell are the […]
Formation fl ight honors Van’s RVs
Every afternoon during last month’s AirVenture, the Showcase featured airplanes of all sorts. On two days, however, the sky was filled with RVs. The flight of 35 RVs flying in formation marked 35 years of participation in AirVenture by Van’s Aircraft. It also was designed to honor Van’s founder, Richard VanGrunsven. According to Stu McCurdy, […]
KidVenture prepares the future
“We have discovered over the years that you have to prepare the future,” says Dan Majka, chairman of EAA KidVenture. And prepare them they do — “they” being a small army of volunteers who run KidVenture, a mini-kid-friendly AirVenture held at Pioneer Airport next to the EAA museum during this summer’s AirVenture. Majka notes that […]