Robert Hanson, the last surviving “Memphis Belle” crewman, died Oct. 1 of congestive heart failure at his home near Albuquerque, N.M. He was 85. Hanson was the famous B-17’s radio operator through all 25 its missions over Germany and France.
J. Roy Shoffner, 77
J. Roy Shoffner, who financed restoration of the P-38 “Glacier Girl,” died Sept. 24 just two weeks after his 77th birthday. Shoffner, an entrepreneur with a passion for aviation, became involved in the final stage of “Glacier Girl’s” recovery from beneath the ice of Greenland in 1992. Following that, he took over responsibility for the […]
Marta Bohn-Meyer, 48
Marta Bohn-Meyer, chief engineer for NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center and U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team manager, died Sept. 18 in an airplane crash near Oklahoma City. She was 48. Bohn-Meyer was practicing for an upcoming competition in her Giles 300 when the accident happened. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board, […]
Capt. George C. Watkins, 84
Capt. George C. Watkins, a record-setting Navy test pilot, died of a heart attack Sept. 18 in Lompoc, Calif. He was 84. Watkins, dubbed “Gorgeous George” by fellow pilots, was the first Naval aviator to fly above 60,000 feet, then 70,000 feet. On one day in 1956 he set a speed record of 1,220 mph […]
Lockheed Martin takes of AFSS service
Lockheed Martin assumed operation of 58 Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSS) Oct. 4, following an eight-month phase-in period that began Feb. 1, when the company was awarded a $1.7 billion contract. More than 1,750 former FAA employees now work for Lockheed Martin.
Katrina and Rita damaged airports will receive $16 million
Four airports in Texas and Louisiana that were damaged by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina will receive more than $16 million as the first installment of federal funds to pay for repairs, according to Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. Louisiana’s Lake Charles Regional Airport will receive almost $8 million to fund repairs to the terminal […]
Seawind sells 16 at OSH
Seawind, Inc. had record sales at this year’s EAA Oshkosh. The 16 airplanes sold bring the total of soon-to-be certified production aircraft orders to 46, with first deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of 2006. Seawind has been moving steadily toward certification over the past few years. Initial orientation flights are being conducted in the […]
Diamond delivers 1,000th
Diamond Aircraft has delivered its 1000th North American built airplane, a DA40-180 Diamond Star, to Premier Aircraft Sales of Florida. The company has delivered 261 DA20s and DA40s so far this year. With deliveries of the recently certified DA42 TwinStar ramping up in Europe and coming to North America soon, the company expects a significant […]
Western Michigan selectes Cirrus to replace Cessna
Western Michigan University’s College of Aviation, located in Battle Creek, Mich., will replace its entire fleet of Cessna 172s with SR20s and SR22s from Cirrus Design Corp. As part of a 10-year lease agreement, WMU will eventually take delivery of at least 130 Cirrus aircraft, with the first 30 introduced during a phase-in process beginning […]