While at EAA AirVenture 2016, our ANN news crew visited with the Director of Flight Operations and Maintenance for Stemme USA. Wes Chumley gave us an inside view of their new motorglider, known as the Stemme S12. The aircraft’s appearance at AirVenture is the first time it has been shown in the USA. Motorgliders come in various sizes and shapes, but the Stemme is quite different from most of them. It’s unique in that the engine is mounted in the front of the aircraft and the propeller is retractable into a smoot, strip, h2) ] from C:/inetpub/wwwroot/clients/aero-news.net/components/utils.cfc

On November 9, 2022, about 0934 central standard time, a Piper PA46-500TP, N234PM, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Bignell, Nebraska. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight. According to preliminary air traffic control information, the pilot established contact with Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDV), reported inbound to the North Platte Regional Airport (LBF), North Platte, Nebraska, and the controller issued the current altimeter.

A 'Must' Attend event for warbird operators and associates is barely a month away... firmly routed in educational outreach, networking and skill enhancement, NWOC has become a pivotal warbird event. Founded in 1993, the annual NWOC event brings together warbird owners, operators, and museum directors to address particular events facing warbird owners and to discuss common goals related to the ever-changing economics, operations and regulations pertaining to flying ex-military aircraft.

A medical flight crew from the Tennessee National Guard conducted an emergency air evacuation mission after two hikers became stranded on the Appalachian Trail Dec. 31. Shortly after 5:15 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, the Tennessee Military Department and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were notified of two hikers needing assistance in the Sampson Mountain Wilderness Area south of Johnson City. The hikers were stranded in the dark and surrounded by cliffs and drop-offs. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office received the first call but could not access the hikers, prompting the request for air support.

In early January NASA’s retired Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere after almost four decades in space. For 21 of those years, the ERBS actively investigated how the Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the Sun, and made measurements of stratospheric ozone, water vapor, nitrogen dioxide, and aerosols. 

Inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians are conducting inspections of the heat shield on the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission. Orion returned to Kennedy on Dec. 30, 2022, after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, following a 1.4-million-mile mission beyond the Moon and back. 

<u><strong>E-I-C Note:</strong></u> <em>The eSPRG and ANN staff have been working furiously, behind the scenes on a new All-Digital, Next-Generation, SportPlane Resource Guide.</em> In addition to nearly 100 'How-To' chapters, dozens of appendices, THOUSANDS of videos and images, and other fonts of SportPlane knowledge, we estimate that some 1000 or so SportPlanes and Sport Aircraft will eventually be profiled. Herewith; a sample profile of one of the many, many, MANY aircraft coming up for the next eSPRG... while also noting that the published eSPRG profiles will also include even more info, pictures, data and (where possible) detailed and carefully critical Repo, strip, h2) ] from C:/inetpub/wwwroot/clients/aero-news.net/components/utils.cfc

Throughout 2022, the N.C. Department of Transportation&rsquo;s Division of Aviation tells us that they made significant progress in their mission to promote the economic well-being of North Carolina by developing a safe and robust air transportation system. The Division of Aviation provided vital development support for the state&rsquo;s 72 public airports with $174 million in grant funding and planning and project oversight throughout the year to ensure airports met their community&rsquo;s needs for commercial and leisure travel and operated safely.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall selected Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma, as the sole candidate location to replace its MC-12 Liberty with the AT-802U Sky Warden and to convert the MC-12 Formal Training Unit to the AT-802U Total Force Integration FTU. Will Rogers ANGB will receive 28 AT-802Us and about 80 personnel to support the mission of the 310th Special Operations Squadron. The squadron will relocate from Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, to Will Rogers ANGB, creating an active association with the 185th SOS.

The lowest altitude which may be used under emergency conditions which will provide a minimum clearance of 300 m (1,000 feet) above all obstacles located in an area contained within a sector of a circle of 46 km (25 NM) radius centered on a radio aid to navigation.

The Lancair Owners and Builders Organization (LOBO) promotes the safe use of Lancair Aircraft through education, training and fostering communication between members. LOBO safeguards and furthers its members' interests with regulatory agencies, the general aviation community and the public at large. LOBO is an invaluable resource and advocate for Lancair builders, owners and pilots. LOBO has the expertise and contacts to help you learn to build, fly and maintain your Lancair aircraft more safely and professionally.

<strong>"The Division of Aviation provided vital development support for the state&rsquo;s 72 public airports with $174 million in grant funding and planning and project oversight throughout the year to ensure airports met their community&rsquo;s needs for commercial and leisure travel and operated safely."</strong>

<strong>Source:</strong> From a summary of the works undertaken by the NC DoT, Division of Aviation,&nbsp;in 2022...

<strong>&ldquo;The F-model aircraft will enhance Egypt&rsquo;s Chinook capabilities and help effectively accomplish its heavy-lift objectives. Boeing&rsquo;s partnership with the Egyptian Air Force remains strong as we continue to work together to modernize their fleet.&rdquo;</strong>

<strong>Source:</strong> Ken Eland, vice president and H-47 program manager, making remarks as the&nbsp;U.S. Army awarded Boeing a contract to produce 12 new CH-47F Chinooks for the Egyptian Air Force. With this $426 million foreign military sale, Egypt will replace its fleet of CH-47D aircraft with the modern F model.