PlaneSmart! Aviation announced Friday the appointment of Michael A. Brosler as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Brosler is taking the place of former President and CEO Jeffrey A. Cullen, who is stepping down to pursue other long-term strategic aviation opportunities.

Talk about adding insult to injury. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons intends to bill Steve Fossett's widow for the $687,000 the state spent searching for the missing adventurer last fall.

<strong>Source:</strong> Lt. General Michael M. Dunn USAF (ret) and President of the Air Fo, strip, h2) ] from C:/inetpub/wwwroot/clients/aero-news.net/components/utils.cfc

Indicates that the pilot is using a hood to restrict visibility outside the cockpit while simulating instrument flight. An appropriately rated pilot is required in the other control seat while this operation is being conducted.&nbsp;

Continental Airlines is beginning to look like one of the smarter players in the airline consolidation frenzy. That airline's merger talks with United had many industry analysts scratching their heads, especially after United announced it lost over a half-billion dollars just in the first quarter.

Eclipse Aviation announced Thursday the company has made strides towards expanding its global reach. The Albuquerque, NM-based planemaker told ANN it has received certification to register and operate the Eclipse 500 in India and Australia... and anticipates receipt of EASA&nbsp;certification later this year.

On Thursday, American Airlines announced it has banned tipping of skycaps at Boston's Logan International Airport, after a judge awarded $325,000 to nine skycaps who had sued the carrier, claiming a $2-per-bag curbside check-in fee cut into their income, and violated the state's tipping laws.

The Air Force Association welcomed an announcement this week from Germany&rsquo;s biggest airline, Lufthansa, stating the carrier will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift on May 27 by flying 28 US veterans and their wives to the Berlin International Air Show (ILA 2008) for a special ceremony and celebration.

Missouri lawmakers have reduced incentives to attract Bombardier Aerospace to the Kansas City area. But that doesn't mean they're giving up on luring the Canadian planemaker to open a plant there.

Marine officials state the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft has proven itself in Iraq, and they are applying the lessons learned in the first operational deployment of the tilt-rotor aircraft to current operations.

According to a report issued this week by NASA's Inspector General, the board established to review development and construction of the agency's upcoming Orion manned spacecraft includes six employees of companies tasked with building the capsule... a violation of both federal law, and common-sense ethics.

The Experimental Aircraft Association tells ANN AeroShell Square will once again be rockin' on EAA AirVenture's opening day, when the legendary band Foreigner takes the stage following the afternoon air show, courtesy of Ford Motor Company.

The Osprey is ready for action. That's reportedly the word from one US Air Force general, who said recently the service's CV-22 tiltrotors have performed so well in operational testing, he's ready to send them on a mission sooner that planned.

Pioneering air taxi provider SATSair announced this week the 2007 fiscal year marked strong growth for the company's on-demand services, and that the trend has continued through the first quarter of 2008.

Smart Air S.A. announced Friday the first fractional ownership company to utilize the single-engine Diamond D-Jet. The European company has made an initial purchase of eight aircraft, and has secured options for more thereafter with deliveries to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

Chalk it up to bad timing. Seven months after Cessna announced it would sell a model of its storied 172 Skyhawk with a Thielert turbodiesel engine, the planemaker has put the program on&nbsp;hold due to ongoing strife at the troubled German engine supplier.

They're not flying 'em yet... but Boeing is making progress with building 'em. Final assembly began this week on the third flight-test Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first plane that will sport a finished interior.

When the USAF Thunderbirds performed at the Kennedy Space Center last fall for the World Space Expo (where ANN served as the event's primary news team), it was a coveted chance for some of the best aviators in the world to make a historic landing at the home of the NASA Space Shuttle program.

Don't expect meaningful progress on the Senate's FAA funding bill until early next week. CNN reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a May 6 procedural vote on the matter, effectively setting a deadline for lawmakers to stop quibbling over which amendments should be added to the bill.

<strong>AD NUMBER: 2008-09-08<br /> MANUFACTURER: PZL Bielsko<br /> SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2008-09-08<br /> SUMMARY:</strong> We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above.

<strong>AD NUMBER: 2008-09-22<br /> MANUFACTURER: CASA<br /> SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2008-09-22<br /> SUMMARY:</strong> We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above.