News

“We’re making it personal. The Cessna SkyCatcher — that’s what ‘it’ is and that is what it does.” — Jack Pelton, Cessna president and CEO “We did it again.” — Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation, when introducing the Eclipse Concept jet “We need to make flying easier.” — Alan Klapmeier, co-founder of […]

Although Light Sport Aircraft and Very Light Jets got most of the publicity at EAA’s AirVenture this year, anyone with an interest in engines might have seen it differently. Six engine manufacturers and developers made what they considered to be major announcements at AirVenture, and most others at least held news conferences, if only to […]

GA airplane shipments and billings for the first half of 2007 totaled 1,883, a 1.7% increase over the same period last year, with billings rising 11.7% to $9.8 billion, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Shipments of piston planes were down slightly from the same period last year to 1,226, a 4.2% decrease. Turboprop […]

Adam Aircraft’s board of directors named John D. Wolf as chairman and CEO earlier this month, replacing company founder Rick Adam. Adam had said earlier this year that he was planning a transition as the company moved from development to manufacturing, but the actual decision was made only days before the announcement, said Shelly Simi, […]

New Orleans Lakefront tower reopened July 30 for the first time since Hurricane Katrina shut down its operations in 2005. Even without the tower, the airport was handling 160 operations a day, said airport manager R. W. Taylor. With the tower again operational, traffic is expected to climb rapidly, largely from business operators, he said. […]

A modified version of a Pipistrel Virus owned by Vance Turner of Rescue, Calif., was the big winner in the first Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Challenge held earlier this month at Charles Schultz-Sonoma County Airport (STS) near Santa Rosa, Calif. NASA put up $250,000 in prize money for the inaugural event, which was hosted by […]

This year’s AirVenture was one of the busiest on record, with major product unveilings and announcements coming thick and fast throughout the week. As veterans of the big show, GAN staffers were impressed by the huge crowds from day one. Also impressive was the obvious interest shown by everyone, from industry representatives to the media […]

Attendance: Estimated at 560,000, an increase of about 3.2% from 2006. Aircraft: More than 10,000 aircraft flew in for the big show to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in the area. Total showplanes: 2,647, which includes 985 homebuilts, 1,014 vintage airplanes, 365 warbirds, 136 ultralights, 117 seaplanes and 30 rotorcraft. Exhibitors: 784 […]

Tom Ehresman, an inventor from Loveland, Colo., was awarded a 2007 Lindbergh-Lycoming Grant for his project to eliminate the use of leaded avgas. Ehresman is developing a direct injection igniter fuel nozzle that would allow jet fuel, diesel and other types of fuels to be used in high-performance aircraft piston engines. Ehresman, chosen from 150 […]