• 2003
• 2004
• 2005
• 2006
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013
• 2014
• 2015
• 2016
• 2017
• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• 14
• 15
• 16
• 17
• 18
• 19
• 20
• 21
• 22
• 23
• 24
• 25
• 26
• 27
• 28
• 29
• 30

All News

April 01, 2022

Here It Is! Our April 1 Edition Is Back In Action For 2022… With A Twist

In Honor Of ANN's Next Quarter-Century, Here Are A Few Of Our Best Classic April First Stories

A few weeks back, when we should have normally been starting the oft-hysterical brainstorming sessions that ultimately resulted in 40 or 50 story prospects that would then have been boiled down to two dozen actual topics, we came up with something of a harebrained but nonetheless novel idea… Which is appropriate when we are talking about our annual April 1st efforts. As you all well know, with very few exceptions, we have celebrated April 1st with a bit of whimsy, more than a slight amount of insanity, while conjuring up an assortment of tongue-in-cheek crazy notions about the world of aviation.

Read More

04.01.09 Special: PETA Sues On Behalf Of Geese Lost In 'Flight 1549 Tragedy'

From April 1st, 2009: PETA Asks For $250K, Apologies To Flock -- "But We Can Do Without Apologies"

Saying the recent downing of a US Airways Airbus A320 following an inflight encounter with geese was "an avian tragedy unprecedented in the course of modern human events," on Wednesday the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed suit in the US District Court of New York against the airline for the "unwarranted slaughter, fricasseeing, slicing, dicing, julienning and barbequing of at least four Canadian Geese." As ANN reported, the A320 with

Read More

04.01.10 Special: NASM Announces National Tour For Enola Gay

From April 1st, 2010: Famous Airplane Will Fly Again, Thanks To Extensive, Secret Renovation

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic The National Air and Spa

Read More

04.01.11 Special: Stranger Than Parody? FAA Demands We 'Stop Writing' About Them

From April 1st, 2011: OK... This Story Is NOT Parody--This Really Happened -- FAA Spokesperson Can't Quite Grasp The Concept of Parody

Under the heading of "we can't make stuff up that's this crazy," ANN finds itself in the midst of a genuine 'WTF' moment (to use colloquial Internet parlance). Shortly after noon this day (Monday), ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell got a phone call from a person claiming to be calling on behalf of the Administrator of the FAA. The initial tone was serious and somewhat stern... and the caller claimed to be Sasha Johnson, currently the FAA Assistant Administrator for Communications. Ms. Johnson seemed to be upset over a parody piece...

Read More

04.01.14 Special: Evergreen Applies For Part 135 Certification For Spruce Goose

From April 1st, 2014: EASM Hopes The Hangar Queen Can Begin To Pay Her Own Way

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic The Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum hopes to return the iconic Spruce Goose to flying status and has applied for Part 135 certification for the airplane so that it can begin carrying passengers for hire, according to sources familiar with the plan. "Management says that, with a few tweaks and a fairly modest investment, we can get this old girl flying again," the source said. "They really want to keep this airplane, but it has to pay its own way."

Read More

04.01.07 Special: AOPA Raffles 'Ultimate Plane Giveaway'

From April 1st 2007: Has AOPA Finally Over-Done It?

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic   After years worth of exciting airplane giveaway sweepstakes, AOPA has hit upon what they call the "ultimate" Grand Prize...  the gargantuan Airbus A380 Uber-Jumbo. "It gets harder and harder to top each year's contest, but we think we hit upon a winning combination this time," notes AOPA's Chris Dancy. "As the world's largest aviation organization, we thought it only fitting that we give away the world's largest airplane to a lucky AOPA member... and it might even finally earn us some respect f

Read More

04.01.05 Special: TSA Detonates Dog In Dallas

From April 1st, 2005: Beloved Family Pet Dynamited In Case Of Mistaken Identity

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic TSA Director Admiral David C. Stone (pictured below) apologized today for a tragic incident at Dallas-Fort Worth where a new screener mistakenly declared a family's beloved Schnauzer suspicious. Following standard operating procedures, the TSA Elite First Rank Bomb Squad blew up the dog carrier in place near the American Airlines baggage check area. "This is an exceptional case, and I realize it looks pretty bad. And so does the grandmother in Milwaukee whose wheelchair was pushed off a vacant airbridge, and so does the seven-year-old that was put to th

Read More

04.01.09 Special: Congressional Flying Club Causes Grief w/Airspace Violations

From April 1, 2009: FAA -- Somebody Needs To Teach These Guys How To Follow Rules...

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic The FAA has had enough. A little-known addition to the 'bennies' afforded our elected representatives, established after 9/11, 'so that Congress might have a better understanding of aviation' is creating "immense workload issues for the FAA," according to the OMB. As it turns out, there is a Congressional flying club and it's become a popular diversion for Congress critters looking to escape yet another roll-call. Unfortunately; there's not a lot of flight instruction going on. CFC CFI Roscoe Corrigan admits that the club has be

Read More

04.01.14 Special: Garmin Needs Money-Intro's 'Affordable' G100 Pay-As-You-Go GPS

From April 1st, 2014: 'Big Bad G' Says Portable Device 'Perfect For The Weekend Pilot'

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic Garmin has introduced a game-changed portable GPS the company says is perfect for the weekend pilot who does not spend hours every week in the cockpit. The G100 will have a unique power switch that requires a credit or debit card swipe to activate the instrument. Carl Wolf, Vice President, Aviation Sales and Marketing, says the device will make precision navigation affordable for GA.

Read More

04.01.14 Special: Boeing Unveils 7777 Concept

From 2014: All-Plastic Recyclable 'Cruise Ship Of The Skies'

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic Boeing on April 1 unveiled their revolutionary new Boeing 7777 aircraft design. This aircraft designation demonstrates the replacement of the single-digit of Boeing's famous 7X7 branding with double digits because this new design is considered to be a quantum leap in design, comfort, line maintenance, and airline profitability, and hence, the Boeing 7777 moniker. The technology demonstration is stunning, and Boeing Corporate was quick to acknowledge the contributions made by Boeing Government Operations; Boeing Engineering, Operations and Technology; Boeing Defense, Space and Secur

Read More

04.01.15 Special: Inhofe -- Media Reporting On Aviation Should Be Knowledgeable

From April 1, 2015: Proposes Legislation To Have Journalists Pass A Basic Written Exam

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) has proposed legislation that would require any media organization presenting stories about aviation to have the reporters covering those stories pass a basic knowledge test. Under the “Accuracy in Aviation Reporting Act of 2015”, reporters would be required to take a basic ground school course and pass a 10-question written exam to attain an “Aviation Approved” designation. An official seal would be added to any story reported by that journalist indicating that he or she has a basic understanding of aeronauti

Read More

04.01.07 Special: ANN To Sponsor Larry Walters Memorial Celebrity Chair Lift

From April 1st, 2007: Celebrity Event To Raise Scholarship Funds On 25th Anniversary of Historic Flight

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic ANN is proud to announce its participation in the inaugural Larry Walters Memorial Extreme Celebrity Chair Lift. The celebrity event is scheduled for July 2, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the historic flight of Lawrence Richard Walters, aka "Lawnchair Larry", or the Lawn Chair Pilot. Larry took his legendary flight on July 2, 1982 in a homemade aircraft, dubbed Inspiration I, that he had fashioned out of a patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons. He rose to an altitude of 16,000 feet (3 miles) and floated from his point o

Read More

04.01.06 Special: Mini 500 Accident Injures Two

From April 1st 2006: Latest Victims Not Even Flying The Damned Thing

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic The trouble-prone Mini 500 homebuilt helicopter has claimed its latest in a long line of victims: newlywed married couple Vince and Edna Larkin, who were walking out of Wendell's Restaurant and Lounge in Mokelumne Hill, CA Thursday evening. "We had just sung some karaoke, had a few brews, that sort of thing," said Vince Larkin. "I was holding the door open for Edna -- hey, it's our honeymoon, it's the least I could do -- when suddenly, I hear this creaking noise. I look up... and that's when the helicopter fell on me."

Read More

04.01.11 Special: Babbitt Mulls Fees For Low-Time Pilots

From April 1st, 2011: Money Collected Would Offset Fuel Taxes Not Paid By Pilots Who Don't Fly Regularly

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is reportedly considering tacking a surcharge onto renewal fees paid by pilots. The surcharges would be based on the number of hours a pilot flies in any given year. Due to decreasing revenues to the federal government, and because the President and Congress has asked all government agencies to come up with ways to not only save money, but to also increase revenues, the FAA has developed this fee scale for nearly ALL pilots, most of them holding GA-related certificates and ratings, with different

Read More

04.01.19 Special: Military Demonstration Teams Go Retro

From April 1, 2019: A-4 Skyhawks, F-100s Return To The Air Show Circuit In 2022

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are going retro, bringing back some of their classic airplanes for the 2022 air show season. The two teams jointly announced April 1 that the Blue Angels will fly the season in A-4 Skyhawks, while the Thunderbirds will take to the skies in F-100 Super Sabres. The Blue Angels flew the A-4 Skyhawks from 1974 to 1986. The Navy determined that they had the best chance of findin

Read More

04.01.19 Special: Plot To Hack EAA Night Drone Show Uncovered

From April 1st 2019: Rogue AOPA Employee Would Have Caused Aircraft To Display The Rival Organizations' Logo, Messages

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic A plot has been uncovered to hack the drones scheduled to fly as part of the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019 night airshows by an AOPA employee. The plot came to light when an employee of Great Lakes Drone Company, which puts on the AirVenture show, noticed some unusual activity on one of its servers while they were working on a practice display. A Great Lakes employee traced the activity to an IP address in Fredericksburg, MD.

Read More

04.01.05 Special: Daley's Digs Demolished Under Cover Of Darkness

From April 1st, 2005: Two Years After Airport Destroyed, Mayoral Residence Leveled

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's official residence was destroyed early Friday morning by bulldozers and heavy equipment operating under cover of darkness. It was remarkably similar to the destruction of Meigs Field, which Daley ordered accomplished in the deep of night two years ago. A demolition order posted on a nearby telephone pole said the mansion was being razed to make way for a new city park. Park District officials, however, said they were unaware of any such plans.

Read More

04.01.17 Special: Grumman To Re-Open F-14 Production Line

From April 1, 2017: Plans To Capitalize On Budget-Conscious Administration

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic With the cost of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter continuing to be a bone of contention for the Trump administration, Grumman says it will re-start production of the venerable F-14 Tomcat for the U.S. Navy. When it ended production in 1991, the Tomcat cost about $13 million per copy. “That translates to about $22 million in 2016 dollars, and that’s a significant cost savings to the taxpayer,” said a Pentagon official who spoke to ANN on the condition of anonymity.

Read More

04.01.17 Special: Beech Revives The Staggerwing

From April 1st, 2017: Classic Airplane With Modern Upgrades

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic Beechcraft announced April 1 that it has plans to bring back the Staggerwing … “because it’s just the coolest-looking airplane ever.” The classic biplane was last produced in 1949, “but it is still a head-turner wherever it goes,” said a Beechcraft executive not authorized to speak to the media. “When we presented this to the Textron board, they all wanted to place an order right now. “So we dug the plans out of the archives and started setting up the jigs in Wichita … and we expect to be in production by the 4th quar

Read More

04.01.05 Special: A Little Late... USAF Takes Delivery Of Last F-104

From April 1st, 2005: Lockheed Had Actually Been Paid For, But Never Delivered, The Final F-104D

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic The United States Air Force took delivery of the last Lockheed F-104D Starfighter in ceremonies that were conducted late Friday, April 1st, 2005. Rumored for weeks, an OMB and DoD investigation finally revealed that Lockheed had actually been paid for, but never delivered, the final F-104D (a two-seat version of the F-104C) in the final delivery cycle that was concluded in August of 1959. The F-104D (Lockheed Model 383-04-06) was the two-seat combat trainer version of the F-104C, bearing the same relationship to the F-104C as the F-104B

Read More

04.01.11 Special: ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.01.11): Wing

From April 1st, 2011: Aero-Terms!

ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic Aero-Terms are designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world. Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game.

Read More