Beleaguered Australian aviation adventurer Jon Johanson is finally back in New Zealand, after his record flight over the South Pole found him stranded at the joint US-New Zealand base in the Antarctica. Johanson, who left Invercargill en route to Argentina December 7th, ran into serious headwinds after flying over the South Pole in his homebuilt RV4. Concerned about fuel, he landed at the McMurdo-Scott Base and instantly found himself at the center of an international dispute over his trip.

Aviators from around the world are making their way to North Carolina this week, to celebrate the first 100 years of powered flight. AOPA members will be well represented with one of the largest contributions to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. While AOPA will be joining other exhibitors with temporary aviation displays, as an Official First Flight Centennial Sponsor, AOPA's major contribution will have a lasting impact. "Our contribution is about ensuring the future and inspiring the next generations of aviators," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "AOPA members have given the nation a state-of-the-art pilot facility at First Flight Airfield right next to the Wright Brothers Memorial, which will serve generations of pilots and visitors to come." For those who can't make

For the second time in as many days last week, a major incident was narrowly averted in the skies near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport when two commercial aircraft approaching parallel runways violated the three-mile separation mandated by ATC. The FAA says it happened at approximately 10:30 pm CST Wednesday when an Air France 747 veered out of its lane, toward an American Airlines MD-80. The two aircraft were reportedly 12 miles from the airport. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro says the vertical separation between the aircraft was 500 feet. An FAA official said the Air France plane suddenly veered toward the American MD-80, busting horizontal separation minimums. The Air France pilot corrected and both aircraft continued on to safe landings.

In the United States, almost every man, woman and child can tell you who the Wright brothers were. But ask, "Who was Alberto Santos-Dumant" and you're likely to get a lot of empty looks. Ask that same question of anyone in Brazil, however, and they'll tell you right away: He invented the airplane. It's a common misconception, widely held in Europe just after the turn of the century. Santos-Dumont, an eccentric aviation enthusiast back when there wasn't a whole lot of flying going on, pioneered personal flight. He kept a dirigible tied to a lamppost in front of his Paris apartment. On November 12, 1906, he made the first public powered flight in an aircraft he called the 14-Bis. It traveled in controlled flight about 722 feet. Because the Wright brothers flight was conducted in pri

The fuselage of the prototype Warrior (Aero-Marine) Centaur has been moved to the company's assembly hangar at Sanford Airport (ME) where the power plant assembly (Lycoming IO-540 J2B) and other systems are being prepared.  The company calls it "a long awaited milestone and a welcome action." 

Did UPS mishandle aircraft inspections and repair work? Did later inspections find potentially serious problems with UPS aircraft? The FAA says no. A UPS mechanic in Miami told the FAA a UPS supervisor ordered him not to log repairs to the brakes of a company aircraft. Mechanics in Philadelphia said they were reassigned to other inspections after they refused to clear a plane that showed evidence of landing gear problems.

There Is The Wright Way... and There Is The Klyde Way

Greek reports indicate the US military will move operations currently based at Maron, Spain to the British base on the island nation of Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot weekly newspaper Kipros Simera reports one of the two British bases in Cyprus, Agrotur, would become a US military base.

It's opening day for the National Air and Space Museum's newest facility, the long-awaited Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Intentional Airport (VA). Vice President Dick Cheney, who dedicated the extension, called it "a monument to the many great achievements in flight." Cheney said the museum clearly is worth the 30 mile drive from the Smithsonian's main campus in Washington (DC). "I've been looking forward to coming here for a tour," Cheney told the crowd at Thursday's dedication ceremony. "I'm extremely impressed by what I saw this morning."

The prestigious John Moody Award will be presented to Jack McCornack at USUA's Annual Meeting And Award Ceremony, this year held in conjunction with the Illinois Ultralight Advisory Council meetings on February 28, 2004 in Springfield (IL). He is the twelfth recipient of the award since its inception in 1991. McCornack has earned the Moody Award for his more than 25 years as an educator, designer, writer and pilot. Jack has trained pilots in preparation for national and international competition. In addition, he has participated in the World Air Games and the World Microlight Competition. In 1978, Pterodactyl Ltd. - founded by Jack ­ was the only ultralight manufacturer withy a formal flight training system. The training manual entered the public domain when it was published i

The United States Ultralight Association will hold its 2004 Annual Member Meeting February 28 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield (IL). The mid-winter event will be held in conjunction with the 24th Annual Illinois Ultralight Advisory Council (IUAC) Ultralight/Lightplane Safety Seminar. The Meeting and Seminar will be held in the Illinois Building & Auditorium on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. This building houses a 400-seat theater and a 12,270 sq. ft. auditorium. Aircraft and vendor displays will all be under the same roof. These Manufacturers, dealers, and vendors will exhibit during the weekend. Registration for both events will begin at 8:00 am at the fairgrounds.

When Boeing's board of directors meets in Chicago today, it will decide whether the company's commercial aircraft division will build its first new model since 1991 -- or send the Dreamliner to sleep. Chances are, the 7E7 will get the nod. That could pave the way for the 7E7 program's official launch in the middle of next year. But first, Boeing needs to know, if they build it, will they come?

They were glass negatives of the Wright brothers' famous first flight and for years, they were hidden away in the archives of the Library of Congress. Now, they've been digitized and are available online.

As the worldwide aviation industry continues to suffer the effects of 9/11, India, for one, is trying to do something about it. The government in New Delhi, along with airlines in that country, are revamping, hoping to attract more passengers and boost revenues. "The whole aviation policy is being framed with the consumer in mind. While the policy-making exercise is still underway, steps are being taken to set the pace for the smooth take-off of this industry," says one government official.

As the world gears up to celebrate the first century of powered flight, you might be wondering what the second century will look like. In a word: Challenging. "Aeronautics is not mature. We barely take advantage of it in our daily lives," says Mark Moore, one of NASA's top thinkers on future flight. "We haven't achieved the Wright brothers' dream."

Israel will soon put a $15 million telescope into space and it won't ride atop an American-built rocket or space shuttle. It won't take flight on a Russian vehicle, nor will it be launched by the European Space Agency. Instead, the Electro Optics Industrial telescope will ride into orbit atop a rocket made in and launched from... India.

Pressure from key members of Congress and AOPA's Washington staff has forced the US Forest Service back to the table to discuss the future of backcountry airstrips in central Idaho. The Forest Service had wanted to close four airstrips, Dewy Moore, Mile-Hi, Simonds and Vines, located in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness but is required by law to obtain the approval of Idaho's Division of Aeronautics before any such closure. The state denied approval. So instead, the Forest Service planned to restrict access at the four strips to "emergency use only."

"When I came in here and saw this thing, the symbols, looking the way it looked, I wanted to get right in there and taxi it out." Source: Retired USAF General Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 Enola Gay on its historic mission to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, upn seeing his restored aircraft on display at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Museum at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The museum opens today.

Let's just say the FAA isn't happy with the idea. The Cumberland Times-News reports the Potomac Highlands Airport Authority is thinking about allowing four "autocross" events at the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport next year, an event that could pad the airport's coffers, but might not sit well with the FAA.

The Bay County Commission (BCC) in Panama City (FL) has approved a land-use plan one for the proposed relocated Panama City - Bay County International Airport on 4,000 acres in western Bay County. The measure was adopted by a vote of 3 to 1. But the airport isn't built yet. A number of additional regulatory steps remain before it becomes final, including additional review by the Florida Department of Community Affairs to determine if it's in compliance with state law.