FAA: Stop That, It's Legal!

When feds bow to public opinion over the regs, something's wrong. (www.flyingmag.com) More...

Flying on the Breitling Super Constellation

Straight after appearing at this year’s Farnborough air show, the Breitling Super Constellation operated a special flight on behalf of its original manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, for a 45min low-level sortie around the English south coast. (www.youtube.com) More...

Doomed TBM 900 Pilot Twice Asked for Lower Altitude

The pilot of the TBM 900 that crashed in the sea near Jamaica after straying hundreds of miles off course on Friday twice asked Atlanta Center for clearance to a lower altitude because of an unspecified problem, but the controller handling the flight apparently didn’t comprehend the seriousness of the emergency that was unfolding. Minutes later, without receiving the requested clearance, the pilot stopped responding to ATC queries as the airplane flew on over the Atlantic on its last assigned… (www.flyingmag.com) More...

Video: GE Builds Tiny 3-D Printed Jet Engine

Engineers at General Electric have created a tiny jet engine using 3-D printing techniques that they say could rewrite the rules for how components inside commercial turbine engines are produced. The mini jet engine project was completed at GE Aviation's Additive Development Center outside Cincinnati. The lab focuses on developing additive manufacturing techniques that can produce complex 3-D structures by melting metal powders and laying them in super thin layers until something miraculous… (www.flyingmag.com) More...

First Female Pilot Joins Blue Angels

Female naval aviators have been flying fighter jets for 20 years but none have ever broken into the rarefied territory of the choicest job available to them — Blue Angels demonstration team pilot. (www.flyingmag.com) More...

B-29 Superfortress Nears First Flight

Volunteers in Wichita, Kansas, who are working to restore a B-29 Superfortress named Doc have brought the massive airplane close to completion and are getting ready to return the bomber to the skies before the new year. The non-profit volunteer organization Doc's Friends is now raising money for a permanent museum to provide protection and a place to display the historical beauty to the public. (www.flyingmag.com) More...

Why We Don’t Have an SST

Ask why there was no replacement for the Concorde, which retired in 2003, and people will tell you that supersonic commercial flight is uneconomical. It’s not necessarily true. A supersonic transport (SST) is within the state of the art, but attempts to build one have been misdirected by politics and entrenched business interests, with a dash of class warfare. (www.airspacemag.com) More...

My Weekend with a Kamikaze Pilot

I don't even know this guy, what the heck am I going to do with this old geezer for a weekend?" "He's interesting, just talk to him. I hope to be there by Sunday afternoon…" and with that, my dad hung up. (www.flyingmag.com) More...

'Flying Is...' Video Contest: Watch the Winner

When we launched our "Flying Is..." video contest, sponsored by Garmin, we knew we'd be in for some great flying footage and some amazing aerial views. And you didn't disappoint. Throughout the contest we've received incredible videos showcasing the power of aviation to take individuals to new heights, both literally and figuratively. These videos capture how aviation opens doors to new worlds while giving new vantage points to old ones. Whether they're taking us… (www.flyingmag.com) More...

10 Things I Hate about AirVenture

The week of AirVenture Oshkosh is almost upon us, and there's little we can do about it. No matter how hard we try to convince people not to go, every year there are hundreds of thousands of otherwise good people who simply won't take our advice. Many of them, or so we've been told, make the conscious decision to attend. Go figure. Those of us in the industry have no such luck. We have to go. This will be my 21st consecutive year of misery. Since there's no way to get out of… (www.flyingmag.com) More...