Daylight VFR Incident Takes Out Deer With #2 Engine

Even among the civilized environs of Baltimore, the likes of an innocent, hard-working, Boeing 737 are not safe from the hazards of trespassing fauna... as a Southwest 737 took on an interloping deer and may lost the battle but most assuredly won the war.

Tough Duty... Interesting Application

Of all the things we can think to do with a Diamond DA42 TwinStar, we're not sure that looking for landmines or explosives is ANYWHERE near the top of our list.

$23 Million Loss On $1,154 Million In Income, Down 13.6% Over 2008

The business and commercial aviation industries continue to show weakness as more 1Q/09 details are revealed. Embraer reports 1Q/09 net sales of $1,154.1 million (US) and a net loss of 23.4 million.

Row, Row, Row... Your Crew Module?

When future astronauts prepare to go to the moon or to a rendezvous with the International Space Station, their craft will look suspiciously familiar. Appearing to be a larger version of the Apollo spacecraft's crew module, the new Orion spacecraft is historical in its conical design.

C-5 Upgrades Making Great Progress

The 50th C-5 Galaxy strategic airlifter upgraded with Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) improvements is airborne. AMP is the first part of the two-phase C-5 modernization program...

A Celebration of Achievement in Space and Air Exploration

On Saturday, May 2, "The Explorers Club" will honor a number of outstanding individuals who have made their mark in space and aeronautical science and exploration.

Mark Wiesenhahn Earn's Boy Scout's Silver Beaver Honor

Mark Wiesenhahn, Vice President of Sporty’s, was presented the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver award on March 25, 2009. The Silver Beaver Award recognizes Mark’s continued service to the community through programs of the Boy Scouts and beyond. Mark received his award at the annual Dan Beard Council Volunteer Recognition Gala in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 The NTSB prelim on an April 19th Extra 300 (illustrated below) fatal accident has shed little light on potential causes for the 45 degree descent and impact into 225 foot deep waters near Santa Barbara, CA. The one person aboard, Stephen Birch, had reportedly been flying for thirty years.

Call For Family Healthcare For Airport Staffers

Over one hundred airport workers and supporters held a march and rally at LAX, Wednesday, as their "anger" over the lack of quality health care has come to a head over concerns about swine flu.

CIT Group is confirming that in the first quarter of 2009, CIT Aerospace, Commercial Airlines, delivered 19 new and used aircraft to its airline customers around the world. In addition, the company signed agreements to place 10 commercial aircraft through 2010.

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow... Or Even Sooner If You're In Duluth

Like most of you, we could not be any sicker of all the bad news that has been hitting aviation, if we tried. We're ready for some good news... and darned if it didn't show up, all wrapped bright and shiny, and looking like INCREASED production for Cirrus Aircraft.

Interim Guidance Assists Airline Flight Deck/Cabin Crew ID Pax Who May Have Swine Influenza

The CDC has started disseminating info for flight crews who may have to deal with the much-discussed and publicized swine flu epidemic. The document provides interim guidance for domestic and international flights originating from areas affected by the swine influenza A (H1N1) and will be updated as needed.

The LSA Movement Survives... and So Do A Number Of Manufacturers

During the 2009 Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, FL, one had a huge assortment of aircraft to pursue... and some pretty fine choices in the fixed wing market, in particular. One of the most notable of these is the Evektor SportStar series, which has been a part of the LSA scene even before it was officially defined and was one of the first to seek and finish the ASTM compliance program to bring it in line with the industry-authored standards.

One of Five FTCs Planned For 2009

OK... how about a little more good news? ATP is getting ready to open a Charlotte (NC) Flight Training Center next week, on May 4th, at the Concord Regional Airport (KJQF). The new training center will offer single- and multi-engine flight training from Private through ATP, including ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program.

A Good Checklist Happens By Design

Over the last few weeks, we've been wangling our way through the intricacies of the Garmin GNS 430, the Avidyne Entegra and our new (and already much beloved) Cirrus G3 Turbo... it's a lot to comprehend and even harder to digest all at once. Incredibly capable devices all, trying to learn and maintain proper knowledge of each, often on short notice, means having good reference material at the ready. One of the truly inspired aids that has come our way are the Qref checklists that we have for each of these amazing products...

ALPA President Capt. John Prater is touting the news that they have ratified the merger between ALPA and the National Pilots Association (NPA), which represents nearly 1,700 AirTran Airways pilots.

ANN Daily Touch-And-Go: 04.30.09 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 04.30.09 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature: Piper CEO Jim Bass, Part I - 04.30.09 (ANN Special Report, with Piper CEO, Jim Bass)

HAI tells ANN that another major presence in the helo world has gone west. Alan Edgar Bristow passed away April 26, 2009.

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRS) K-L Readies For 2012-13 Launches

Boeing has completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system (TDRS) K-L program, an important design milestone as the program moves toward integration of the TDRS K satellite for NASA.

  Samos  A series of American military spacecraft launched in the early 1960s to carry out global television surveillance from polar orbits. Samos (originally known as Sentry) satellites were one component of the first generation of United States Air Force orbital surveillance spacecraft, the other two components being MIDAS and Discoverer.

  The Advocates For Aviation Safety Foundation The website of the The Advocates for Aviation Safety Foundation has a mission that allows them to work with Kevin Clover and the FAASTeam to promote the WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program and to help save lives by improving the nation's aviation accident and incident rate.

  "We continue to see very encouraging trends in sales activities and interest from sales prospects domestically and around the world. The introduction of the new model year lineup in early January - including FIKI; Cirrus Perspective by Garmin across the line; X-Edition and more - have us very well positioned in the market place. Clearly, this is an upward move and is indicative of a stronger bias toward growth in aircraft orders. At the same time, targeted production output will continue to be determined on a month-to-month basis as this flexibility allows us to favorably position the organization to meet market fluctuations." Source: From an internal Cirrus memo circulated last Monday with surprisingly little fanfare, announ