The Navajo Nation has partnered with Utilicraft Aerospace Industries Inc., to produce a newly-designed, specialized feeder freight aircraft called the FF-1080-300. The arrangement calls for establishing three aircraft sub-assembly plants on the Navajo Nation that will create hundreds of jobs and provide millions of dollars to the Navajo economy, according to Joe Shirley Jr., Navajo […]
Ring one up for the ‘Liberty Belle’
The restored B-17G Flying Fortress “Liberty Belle” made her first flight in more than 14 years Dec. 8. Owner Don Brooks and the restoration crew at Tom Reilly’s Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum in Kissimmee, Fla., had hoped to make the flight Dec. 7 — Pearl Harbor Day — but electrical problems prevented that. The […]
Chicago claims Meigs was ‘abandoned’
Chicago had no choice but to use funds from O’Hare International and Midway International airports to clean up the “abandoned” Meigs Field. So say city attorneys in a 40-page response to an FAA investigation that Chicago improperly used $1.5 million in airport development funds earmarked for O’Hare and Midway to destroy Meigs Field. If the […]
Eclipse readies for first certification flight
The first Eclipse 500 intended as a certification flight test aircraft rolled out of the factory Dec. 11. Its engines are the Pratt & Whitney Canada 610F turbofans that will power the Albuquerque, N.M.-based company’s production airplanes. As this issue was going to press, Eclipse employees would say only that the plane’s first flight would […]
GAO report praises GA airport security
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report notes that “the small size, lack of fuel capacity, and minimal destructive power of most general aviation aircraft make them unattractive to terrorists.” Called “General Aviation Security: Increased Federal Oversight is Needed but Continued Partnership with the Private Sector is Critical to Long-Term Success,” the report concludes that […]
Travolta buys Zeppelin
Another actor, John Travolta, is also making headlines after buying a $10 million Zeppelin from the Neiman Marcus catalog. Travolta, who owns a Boeing 707 and a Gulfstream bizjet, was quoted as saying he “had to have one” of the Zeppelins.
Bruce Willis offers property for airport
Actor Bruce Willis is offering to donate a part of some property he owns in Camas County, Idaho, for construction of a new airport. Willis made the offer at a meeting of the Friedman Airport Authority last week, saying he’s concerned about safety at the current airport. It’s estimated a new airport will take about […]
Twin Star earns tech honor
Popular Science magazine has named Diamond Aircraft’s new DA42 Twin Star one of the top 100 tech innovations for 2004. Other selections include the 2005 Lotus Elise, the twin Mars Exploration rovers and the AGM-158 joint air-to-surface standoff missile.
BRS names Williams president and CEO
Ballistic Recovery Systems has named Larry E. Williams president and CEO. For the past four years, Williams was vice president of business development for AmSafe Aviation, which manufactures restraints, including air bags for airplanes.