Lee Owens Thinks Global 

Lee Owens is $200,000 short and 25,000 miles from his goal of becoming the first Black man to fly around the world in a single-engine airplane. however, that isn't stopping him. The 54-year-old chief pilot at Glendale Aviation is determined to make the trip, his homage to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, the all-Black flying group. So far, through donations, Owens has raised $125,000 of the $325,000 he has estimated it will cost to make the trip. Owen intends to mimic Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo trans-Atlantic flight on May 27. Upon his return, he plans to speak to youths across the country to help educate them about the Tuskegee Airmen's contributions to aviation history. But first, he needs to get off the ground.

Agency Claims Skydive City Busted Regs

Australia is known for its variety of outdoor activities, including flying and skydiving. However, one particular jump operation faces a considerable clamp down of its activities. Skydive City owner Luke McWilliam has been banned from dropping parachutists within two miles of the Barwon Heads airport. Concerns about the safety of parachutists, aircraft and people in the vicinity of the aerodrome prompted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to impose the potentially devastating ban. McWilliam, who co-owns the aerodrome with Barbara Begg, said the ban, effective from last Friday, was costing the company up to $10,000 a day. He said the company was continuing to operate through the goodwill of a nearby private landholder who allowed them to

Nevermind The Aircraft Barely Leaves Ground

Americans certainly don't own a monopoly on bureaucratic battles with their aviation agency. Just ask a Vietnamese farmer that hopes to fly his own invention but find himself fighting the system instead. With directions from the Internet and an old Russian truck motor, the farmer fulfilled his dream of making his own helicopter. The job took two friends, seven years and $30,000. Now, military officials say he can't fly it, because he didn't get approval to build it. The result: They confiscated the makeshift copter.