Also: Teen Steals King Air, Allegiant Air Troubles, Sherpa Avionics Upgrade, Sioux Gateway Penalty

Open Airplane, which was designed to make it easier to rent an airplane, and FlyOtto, which matched passengers with pilots traveling to their destination, shut down as of Monday, December 23.

Founder Rod Rakic writes that the concept of the business was to make it as easy to rent an airplane as it is to rent a car, and to take the hassle and expense out of renting an airplane. Open Airplane began operation in 2013 with some 5,000 pilots signed up to get updates on the program. The network grew to include more than a hundred locations, with hundreds of aircraft available to rent across the US. At last count, 67% of the pilots who joined the service had an OpenAirplane operator based within 25 nautical miles from their home. As the U.S. Army-led Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program wraps up, Bell’s new tiltrotor continues to turn heads. After two-years of flight demonstrations the Bell V-280 Valor continues to show how the aircraft meets the challenges of future fights. The aircraft has flown more than 150 hours through multi-sortie test days and numerous public demonstrations to deliver data and inform requirements for the Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. Most of us have watched Jetman Yves Rossy fly his personal jet suit, dropping out of an airplane or helicopter and soaring through the sky like Superman. But he's never been able to take to the air without assistance ... until now. Rossy has added more powerful engines to his wearable wing. The four new Jetcat P550 engines give him the ability to fly straight upwards at about 97 knots. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Airborne 12.27.19 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Friday, December 27th, 2019... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Host Sophie Hurlock. Sophie is supported by ANN Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, as well as ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell. This episode covers:

• Open Airplane Is Closing 
• Bell: Valor Delivers Results Beyond Expectations
• Jetman Yves Rossy Gains VTOL Capability   
• Teenager Attempts To Steal King Air In Fresno, CA 
• DOT OIG Reports On Maintenance Issues At Allegiant Air 
• Field Aerospace Delivers Sherpa Avionics Upgrade 17 Days Early
• FAA Proposes $145,452 Civil Penalty Against Sioux Gateway Airport

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again tomorrow, for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!

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