Deliveries in Increased 350 Percent

Mooney Airplane Co. announced on Monday that in 2003 the company delivered 35 airplanes, a whopping 350 percent increase from the number of aircraft delivered in 2002. Deliveries included 29 Mooney Ovation2 models and 6 Bravo DX aircraft. Mooney President J. Nelson Happy remarked: "We are very pleased with the company's sales and deliveries in 2003. It exceeds our expectations, and reflects the hard work that all of our employees put into restarting the company." Sam Rothman, chairman of Mooney's board, stated: "We accomplished a great deal in 2003. We went from a production rate of one airplane per month to about five per month. We are now well positioned to increase production in 2004. We have proven that the company is bac

Study Spotlights Two Areas Of Concern

A just-published Air Safety Foundation study on flight training safety has confirmed that instructional flight is actually safer than most other types of GA flying, especially personal aviation. But the study also pinpointed two areas of flight training with higher fatality rates than others: low-level maneuvering flight and failure to see and avoid, leading to midair collisions. The special ASF analysis showed that the rate of instructional accidents continues to decline along with the overall accident rate, and also that fatal accidents are a very small percentage of the overall number of GA accidents. But low-level maneuvering during training carries additional risk, the study confirmed. One of every three fatal accidents during

American Autogyro Inc. Signs SparrowHawk Dealer in Russia

Groen Brothers Aviation Inc. announced Tuesday that its wholly owned subsidiary, American Autogyro Inc. (AAI), is further expanding its sales network by opening a dealership in Moscow, Russia. The dealership is owned and operated by Mr. Alex Lameko, President of the TwistAir Club in Moscow. This is AAI's fifth international dealership location. In addition to selling the AAI SparrowHawk, Mr. Lameko's dealership will provide service, pilot training and builder assist programs for SparrowHawk customers in the region. "We are very happy that we could form this relationship with Mr. Lameko and the TwistAir Club," says Mr. James Mayfield, President of AAI. "Alex is very well known in the region and is very familiar w

Eliminates "New Technology" Label

The FAA has eliminated the “New Technology” label from GPS and now allows repair stations to install GPS’s using standard alteration criteria that would be used for any navigation system. The agency describes the new criteria via AC 20-138A. The AC also clarifies Flight Manual supplement issues for GPS installations.  A GPS installation which is a minor alteration may still need a FMS The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) says it is extremely pleased with the publication of this Advisory Circular.  After working with the FAA for years to revise this “outdated” label, AEA commends the agency for modernizing their installation criteria for one of the most common system installat

ANN Note: We are pleased to be very good friends with a wonderful little regional publication by the name of Fly-Low. Published by Ralph McCormick, we're pleased to note that every now and then he sends us a neat story from Fly-Low to share with ANN readers all over the world. Here's a good one... "Hallelujah!" hollered Bill Ghan as pilot Don Nevels (below, center) throttled up the Missouri homebuilt Wright Flyer replica and lifted off the runway. "I knew it would fly!" Bill Ghan stated proudly as his Wright Flyer replica made its first sustained flight on Saturday, January 10, 2004. It maintained twenty miles per hour for 290 feet, and reaching an altitude of about ten feet above the runway. The hand made aircraft stayed aloft for 9.67 seconds

Consortium To Visit Far East

Uniworld LLC (Uniworld), based in the San Francisco Bay Area and with offices in Beijing, China, announced on Tuesday it is forming a consortium of General Aviation (GA) related companies and individuals to take advantage of Uniworld's extensive experience and position in China's civil aviation market. Members of the consortium, after being educated about the potential offered through the historic recent opening of China's airspace to General Aviation activities, will go to Beijing, China to meet with their Chinese GA- related counterparts at GA Forum 2004, May 24-27. The Forum is organized and presented by Uniworld and is co-hosted by the China Civil Aircraft Development Co., China Aviation Oil Holding Co., Beijing Capital Airport

LOC Is NOT Required As Part Of The Part 145 Rewrite

The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) informs us the FAA has recommended that Part 145 certificate holders review their Letter of Compliance (LOC) or update it as a means to verify their compliance posture with respect to the new Part 145 rule. This FAA recommendation is a request and has been left up to the discretion of the certificate holder to determine if it is, in fact, necessary.  If they choose not to update or submit an LOC, it will not affect the accomplishment of the FAA's review of manuals or other documents submitted to comply with the rule requirements. The Association recommends that repair station’s review their original LOC for applicability, however, the additional admini

Improper Planning Leads to Highway Landing

Just before noon on Sunday, an out-of-gas Cessna 210 with four aboard made a firm landing...on the top of a GMC Jimmy SUV. The aircraft then bounced on to Memphis' I-40, where the automobile was travelling on. There were no injuries. The airplane didn't have any apparent damage. The airplane came to rest close to the Austin Peay exit, about two miles west of touchdown. The pilot was on his way from Albany (GA) to Fayetteville (AR) and planned to refuel in Memphis. Unfortunately, he fell victim to  bad case of improper fuel management. Hopefully, this pilot, and everyone one else out there, will remember to never totally rely on POH fuel figures and certainly not the fumbling gauges found on most older Cessnas