From Oshkosh 2009 -- A Morning Walk To Soak In AirVenture's Magic

By Robbie Culver The grass in the Red lot is still soaked, sun streaming across the North 40 reflecting on row upon endless row of wings. A beautiful sight as I begin the slow, easy trek across the AirVenture grounds to Aero-News headquarters by the control tower. The gate guard by the road to the warbirds area greets me with a raised mug of coffee, and we banter back and forth as I amble by, in no particular hurry to get to anyplace in particular for any reason at all.

13th FAI Competition Will be Hosted in Ostrow, Poland

Five members of the Lakeland Aero Club will travel to Ostrow, Poland to compete in the Junior World Gliding Championships. The event is sanctioned by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Air Sports Federation and will be held from July 13th through 27th. The team’s glider pilot will be Steven Tellman and his support crew will consist of Qwest Hipps, Dallas Hurd, Kenneth Turbeville, and Matthew Turbeville. Tellman is the youngest glider pilot in the history of American competitors and to qualify, he was required to compete in regional contests and earn badges. 

Congressional Medal of Honor Proposed for Korean Fighter Pilot

On June 17th, the House of Representatives passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Senate Armed Services Committee also passed its version and it will advance to a full Senate vote. Two key provisions in the House bill were authored by California Congressman Darrell Issa. One of them authorizes the Congressional Medal of Honor to be awarded to Korean War fighter pilot Navy Captain (Ret.) E. Royce Williams for his actions during a dogfight with Soviet-piloted MiG-15s in 1952.

All Medical Classes Needed for Cognitive Study at OSH 2024

The FAA is recruiting pilots for a PAID research study which it will carry out at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh 2024 in July. If you are planning to attend, the FAA would like you to sign up at the link below. The study is approved by the FAA Institutional Review Board (IRB) which regulates research involving human subjects. Pilots who are eligible and participate will receive $300-$500 in the form of a prepaid gift card. The amount is dependent on the pilot’s medical privileges current at the time of participation.

IRS Document Requests 'Extremely Thorough'

The Internal Revenue Service has begun working on a series of audits regarding the use of business jets, and so far things are a little more intensive than previously expected. A recent NBAA Regional Forum in White Plains, New York brought everyone together to share notes on the first batch of audits. The agency had announced that it would launch a series of audits on business aircraft use to make sure that large entities, partnerships, and owners were properly distinguishing their personal from business use. The IRS reportedly began their hunt with some well known individuals and big company names out in the California business scene, largely checking jet usage from around 2022.

Talks Resume, But Some Flights Canceled

Maintenance mechanics for the Canadian low-cost airline WestJet have called off their threat of a strike for the time being, as both sides agreed to return to the bargaining table. However, WestJet had already preemptively canceled more than 50 flights affecting several thousand travelers. The 72-hour strike notice filed on June 17 was prompted by WestJet’s earlier request to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to create a collective bargaining agreement via binding arbitration.

New Variant Will Support Special Forces Operations

Airbus Helicopters announced that the NH90 Standard 2 prototype developed for the French Army Light Aviation (ALAT) special forces operations has entered into its flight test program. Flight testing is intended to validate the design of this Special Forces variant (also referred to as the NH90 FS) and is expected to last until the end of the year based on the schedule agreed upon with the French Armament General Directorate.

Klyde Gets Ready For Big Trouble...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Modular On Demand Hydrogen-Electrical Generators will Reduce Infrastructure Needs

Airports and business aviation have the stated goal to minimize or eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050 and this has stimulated numerous avenues of R&D in alternatives to hydrocarbon fuels and technologies for power generation including solar, electric, and hydrogen fuel cells. One company has just revealed its solution for providing on-site, on-demand, grid-independent hydrogen fuel (H2) for fuel cell use or to generate electricity for recharging electric aircraft and vehicles.

Also: SU-57 Destroyed?, Starship FL Mtgs, Hartzell Propeller Core Program, ForeFlight 16.5 

The Air Race Classic will launch from Southern Illinois Airport (KMDH) in Carbondale/Murphysboro on Tuesday July 18 and terminate 2,610 statute miles later on Saturday July 21 at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL) in Loveland, Colorado. The annual competition of planning, strategy, skill, and teamwork goes back 95 years to the 1929 Women’s Air Derby. The effort to recover the remains of Richard Bong's old P-38 Lightning have already fostered some changes between Pacific Wrecks, the team searching for it, and its resting place of Papua

From 2023 (YouTube Version): The Mosquito Evolves

Formerly known as Mosquito, Trenton, Florida-based Composite FX is a designer and manufacturer of personal kit and factory-finished helicopters. The company’s offerings comprise three piston-engined models and a single jet-powered machine. The agile XE and the float-equipped XEL both make use of the 63-horsepower, two-cylinder, two-stroke, fan-air-cooled, carbureted, MZ202-powerplant. The larger XE-290 model is powered by the ninety-horsepower, two-cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, CFX-800 engine. Finally, the flagship XET is motivated by a 95-horsepowe

Airplane Was Flying Close To The North Side Of The Peak And Subsequently Impacted The Ground About 81 Ft Below The Peak

On June 8, 2024, about 0721 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur-built Rans S12XL Airaile, N518D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Picacho Peak, Arizona. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to witnesses, the morning of the accident, the pilot departed La Cholla Airpark, Tucson, Arizona, about 0700 and flew northwest about 22 nm to the area of Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona.

Aero Linx: Aviation Lawyers Association (ALA) Originally founded in 1984 as the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association and formerly the International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association (IATSBA), today's Aviation Lawyer's Association (ALA) has grown to comprise attorneys from across the United States and other parts of the globe. Many routinely practice before the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Handoff An action taken to transfer the radar identification of an aircraft from one controller to another if the aircraft will enter the receiving controller's airspace and radio communications with the aircraft will be transferred. 

"So in the short term, there may be some flights disrupted, but I’m hoping that, I’m hoping that cooler heads will prevail." Source: Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan commenting as maintenance workers for the Canadian low-cost airline WestJet called off their threat of a strike for the time being, as both sides agreed to return to the bargaining table. However, WestJet had already preemptively canceled more than 50 flights affecting several thousand travelers.