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 […]
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The Buzzzzzzz
“There’s a lot of rhetoric about what user fees do or don’t do. In the absence of real information, people will believe anything.” — Ruth Marlin, executive vice president, National Air Traffic Controllers Association “We have reached a crossroads in general aviation and our future is unsure.” — Pete Trabucco, pilot and GA activist “We […]
Cessna airlifts athletes to Special Olympics
The first and second weekends in July were busy ones for the pilots of Cessna business jets as the crews transported some 1,800 athletes to and from the Special Olympics U.S. National Games held in Ames, Iowa, July 2-7. The owners of the aircraft volunteered their services. Some 237 Cessna Citation business jets took part […]
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, […]
Again, NY legislators push for background checks.
Alphabet groups are fighting another attempt to require background checks for anyone seeking flight training. The New York State Senate recently passed House Bill A02122, which was first proposed in January 2005. The bill is similar to one proposed in late 2003, which was rejected because federal law supersedes it. “The federal law does not […]
No. 500 — and counting
Late last month, Cessna delivered the 500th Citation XL/XLS model to European Flight Service AB, the largest jet charter operation in Sweden. Since the first Cessna Citation XL was delivered in 1998, more Citation XL and XLS aircraft have been delivered than any other business jet in the world, according to Cessna officials. The XL/XLS […]
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 […]
The Helicopter Assn Intl
The Helicopter Association International (HAI) First Responder Program database is now online at Rotor.com. Helicopter pilots are encouraged to sign up so that when emergency situations arise, flight and ground crews can be mobilized quickly. While Hurricane Katrina proved that helicopters save lives, it also highlighted the shortcomings in emergency response coordination, HAI officials note. […]
On the silver screen
The Adam A500 centerline twin-engine piston airplane makes its Hollywood debut later this month with the release of “Miami Vice.” The movie, based on the popular 1980s television series of the same name, opens July 28 in theaters. The Adam A500, based at Centennial Airport (KAPA) in Colorado, flew to Florida and the Dominican Republic […]