Marc Cook

Cobham's Avionics and Surveillance Division announced today that it was going to merge operations of its two subsidiaries, Chelton Flight Systems and S-TEC, at the latter's Mineral Wells, Texas, facility. According to a press release just received, "The capabilites of CFS and S-TEC are highly complementary, with products from both businesses certified together on more than 500 aircraft types. The move is part of Cobham's drive to develop a fully integrated cockpit and improve its…

Cobham's Avionics and Surveillance Division announced today that it was going to merge operations of its two subsidiaries, Chelton Flight Systems and S-TEC, at...

I mentioned that the FAA had announced at Sun 'n Fun that it would not re-evaluate kits that are currently on the approved list. Here is the official word from the agency.The FAA said that it "recently concluded that a temporary suspension of kit evaluations is necessary because existing policy and guidance used to evaluate these kits has resulted in inconsistent determinations regarding regulatory compliance." This announcement in February set off a torrent of angst…

I mentioned that the FAA had announced at Sun 'n Fun that it would not re-evaluate kits that are currently on the approved list....

We had the opportunity to field a few podcasts from Sun 'n Fun this year, hosted on our sister site, Avweb. Here are links...

We had the opportunity to field a few podcasts from Sun 'n Fun this year, hosted on our sister site, Avweb. Here are links to those interviews.Seeing through clouds is the coming technology, but it comes with a price. Grand Rapids' Todd Stehouwer talks about the technological challenges of implementing synthetic vision in an Experimental-class EFIS.…

Positioning itself as a "new entertainment sports league that combines the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines," the Rocket Racing League...

Positioning itself as a "new entertainment sports league that combines the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines," the Rocket Racing League announced that it will stage its first exhibition race at Oshkosh this year. The vehicles will be liquid-oxygen-fueled rockets in modified Velocity airframes. Three more exhibition races will be held at Reno (September 10-14), at the X-Prize Cup (Las Cruces, NM, date TBA), and at Aviation Nation, Nellis Air Force Base…

Some builders of Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft are builders in name only, deferring primary construction of the aircraft to the pros. So concluded the FAA, which is determined to clamp down on those who would flout the 51% rules. What does it mean to regular homebuilders? Those who are building now will be unaffected, but for future builders, the FAAs guidance revisions could be significant.

Editor in Chief Marc Cook was skeptical early on about using the Primary Category to address the problem of over-reliance on commercial builder assistance. But further consideration made him think it may have a role to play in the FAAs revised guidance.