ANN Daily Touch-And-Go: 06.03.09 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 06.03.09 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature: Ric Peri, AEA, Part II - 06.03.09 (ANN Special Report, with AEA's Ric Peri)

A-12 Stealth Attack Aircraft Contract Killed in 1988 

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a judgment upholding the Navy's termination for default of a contract with McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics for the A-12 stealth attack aircraft, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Boeing has submitted a proposal offering its A160T Hummingbird for the US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory's Immediate Cargo Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Demonstration Program.

Center Will Expand Research, Accuracy, and Availability of Data

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is launching the International Center for Aviation and Wildlife Risk Mitigation to help manage this growing hazard. The new Center, based at Embry-Riddle's Prescott, Ariz., campus, will bring together top aviation wildlife experts to share and develop new research and management solutions to reduce the dangers and serve as a resource to airports around the world.

Continuing Concerns Voiced Over North Korean Nuke/Missile Capabilities

The world-wide pseudo-panic over recent developments in North Korea, as troublesome as these developments may seem, may not be all that threatening -- as far as the US is concerned.

Border Patrol Says Use On The Rise

Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agents say the latest twist in bringing illegal drugs from Mexico to the U.S. is ultralight aircraft, after one didn't make it last Saturday. As smugglers find it increasingly difficult to drive across the border, they're becoming increasingly desparate, says one Border Patrol agent, and they're looking for creative ways to make the trip.

New Firm Will Market Kits, Fully Assembled Versions

Wichita, Kansas-based aviation enthusiast and entrepreneur James Wiebe and his wife, Kathy, have acquired the production rights to the Kitfox Lite, and have formed Belite Aircraft to bring it to market. The couple says the airplane will incorporate stronger, lighter carbon fiber components that will allow it to easily meet Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 103 weight requirements.

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) departed San Diego May 28 on a deployment to the 7th and 5th Fleet Areas of Responsibility. The carrier joins the other ships of its strike group which departed the day prior...

AD NUMBER: 2009-11-11

MANUFACTURER: McDonnell Douglas Model MD-90-30 Airplanes SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2009-11-11

AD NUMBER: 2009-11-13

MANUFACTURER: Learjet Model 45 Airplanes SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2009-11-13

PC-12 v CRJ-200 Altercation Was Almost A Disaster

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a runway incursion that occurred on Friday morning at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) involving a general aviation aircraft and a regional jet airliner bound for New Bern, NC (EWN).

Despite The Hype, There's No Denying That They Keep Offering New Airframes

Epic Aircraft is one of those companies that is, at times, awfully hard to figure. Despite a lot of hype, more than a few disappointments and some claims that got them in hot water, Epic remains a player (albeit controversial) on the high-performance aircraft scene and (now) in the LSA scene.

Improves Performance of Cessna T210L

For those of you who get around in one of Cessna's T210L Centurions, you now have a new pop alternative that offers a significant upgrade to what you've had before. Hartzell Propeller's newest three-blade Scimitar Top Props are equipped with a propeller de-ice system.

Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a modified 747 jet known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, on Tuesday.

Situation Becomes Even More Bizzare

 The Grant-Valkaria, Florida Planning and Zoning Board rejected the ordinance 5-1, but the full council passed it, unanimously, on first reading anyway. These are the lastest twists and turns in this increasingly strange story about an apparent attempt to ban flight instruction at Valkaria Airport.

Flight The Culmination Of A 28 Year Restoration

A North American B-25J "Mitchell" World War II bomber returned to the skies today after a 28 year restoration performed by volunteers of the Commemorative Air Force aviation museum in Mesa, AZ. Named "Maid in the Shade" in reference to its long stay inside the museum's hangar, the aircraft lifted off the Falcon Field runway at 0915 last Friday in front of a small crowd of pilots, mechanics and enthusiasts.    

Logitech Says It Makes Sims More Real

This might have come in really handy duing the spate of bad Florida weather that kept ANN's ... and lots of other airplanes ... on the ground last month. Logitech today unveiled the its Flight System G940, which the company says will provide flight simulation enthusiasts with a realistic experience.

Nearly 500 Technicians Also Honored With Individual Awards

Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) has announced that its factory-owned service centers received the FAA's coveted Diamond Award. HBS maintenance centers in Little Rock, Tampa, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Wichita, Houston, and San Antonio, met the requirements for the FAA's highest distinction for excellence in aircraft maintenance training

Speed Brakes Also known as air brakes, they are surfaces that are normally flush with the wing or fuselage in which they are mounted, but which can be extended into the airflow to create more drag and slow the aircraft.

Aero-Linx: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft NASA uses two modified Boeing 747 jetliners, originally manufactured for commercial use, as Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). One is a 747-100 model, while the other is designated a 747-100SR (short range). The two aircraft are identical in appearance and in their performance as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

"Folks, this is a watershed event... it can not be allowed to continue unchallenged... it is simply a case of one narrow-minded, selfish, group trying to exert their will over another... about as anti-American a concept as I know. The Grant-Valkaria insanity needs to be fought aggressively, publicly and with an eye towards not only defeating the madness but making the idiocy of Grant-Valkaria's rule-making an example for all others to avoid. The aviation community needs to band together and show these narrow-minded, elitist, fools the error of their ways..."  Source: Jim Campbell, ANN Editor-In-Chief, reacting to the continual attempts by the City Government of Grant-Valkaria, FL, to control a county-operated airpor