ROYAL AERO CLUB AIR RACE, SHOBDON 11-12 AugustFOR once the weather looked set fine for the fifth Royal Aero Clubs Record Racing and Rally Association's Air Race weekend at Shobdon in Herefordshire.A field of 20 racers arrived and made ready to tackle the 120-mile course over the beautiful Herefordshire countryside. The wind was light and this made the flying of the infamous 'octagon', which is used by the handicapper to establish a flat-out ... more

RUSSIA'S President Vladimir Putin has told his country's aerospace industry to get its act together and develop modern helicopters.On a visit last month to Russia's top aircraft engine maker Klimov, Putin was blunt. "Our engines are behind in terms of resources, fuel efficiency, noise level and environmental standards. They are blocking the development of Russia's aviation industry. Today I have ordered the creation of the United Engin ... more

IS this the most expensive speeding ticket ever? The photo shows a BMW Z4 sports car travelling at 134mph but the driver hasn't been nabbed by Gatso - it was shot from a specially equipped helicopter from a half-mile away.This time the driver was lucky - he was taking part in a government trial and the new helicopter-based system has yet to be approved. Spain's transport ministry, the Direccion General de Trafico (DGT), says the radar syste ... more

Helicopter crews tackle blazes in Greece TWO Erickson S-64 Aircrane Helitankers are among the many helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft fighting the fires ravaging Greece this summer. The photo shows one dropping water on the Hill of Kronos next to the site of ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, in south-west Greece. Erickson command pilot, Michael Skroch flew the mission with Greek pilot Panos Kapitanopolis. "High wi ... more

First commercial flight by Eclipse 500 VLJFirst paying flight for the Eclipse 500 VLJ. Pilot Ken Ross flew Ben Klein, CEO of Upstairs Solutions, on a round-trip from Chicago to Baltimore. THE Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet has made its first commercial flight! But it wasn't with Florida-based DayJet, the all-new air taxi service who is Eclipse's biggest customer. The flight was by the little known North American Jet Centre (NAJC).The flight, fr ... more

A FULL-size mock up of Embraer's Phenom 300 light jet will be centrestage at the forthcoming Business & General Aviation Day (BGAD) to be held at Cambridge Airport on Wednesday, 12 September.Also due to have their UK debuts are the Grob SPN jet and the Farnborough Aircraft Kestrel single-engine turboprop.Other aircraft include a Cessna Citation Mustang and Embraer Legacy 600. Hawker Beechcraft are displaying a Premier 1A jet and KingAir ... more

US certification of the Hawker Beechcraft 900XP came through last month. The aircraft is the latest evolution of the top-selling, mid-size Hawker 800-series. The Hawker 900XP uses Honeywell's new TFE731-50R engine with claimed improved hot and high altitude performance. Long range cruise improves to almost 2800nm with six passengers, and Hawker claims total direct operating costs will be reduced by 5% thanks to the more fuel-efficient engin ... more

BRITISH NATIONAL AEROBATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: STANDARD & INTERMEDIATE 16-18 AugustWORDS Nick BuckenhamPHOTOS Darren BakerPAUL Tomlinson not only won the British National Aerobatic Intermediate Championship at Peterborough Conington, but also walked away with the Air Squadron Trophy left over from a wet day at Compton Abbas earlier in the season.In the Standard class, Charlie Kimbell headed the points after the first day's 'known' sequences ... more

Mangold wins in Budapest after near high-speed ditching AMERICAN Mike Mangold continued his recent run of good form and won the Budapest leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series on 20 August.Mangold beat Kirby Chambliss in the race, held over the Danube River in front of a million spectators and the Hungarian parliament building. The win hands Mangold the lead in the championship - he's now one point clear of British arch-rival Paul Bonhom ... more

WORLD MICROLIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS 18-25 AugustMEDAL HAUL!British team dominate World Microlight Championships THE British team returned triumphant from the World Microlight Championships held in the Czech Republic in late August. After a week of intensive flying and some extremely close competition, the British team of 16 pilots and co-pilots dominated the competition with 4 gold medals, 2 silvers and 1 bronze medal. Held at Usti Nad Orlici, a ... more

DON'T DO THIS AT HOME!Flying Bulls ace stuns crowd in BudapestWHILE the racers at the Budapest round of the Red Bull World Air Race were outstanding to watch (see page 15), it was the display routine of Flying Bulls helicopter pilot Rainer Wilke which produced the most oohs, ahhs and gasps.His show in a special Bolkow Bo-105 over the rooftops of Budapest enthralled spectators and included rolls and loops which, frankly, bordered on the impo ... more

VIDEOS of many of the world's airports can now be viewed on the latest version of Google Earth, released in late August.Version 4.2 of Google Earth, available free from Google's website, is able to 'embed' videos to their site on the world map. A different web company, Plane-Places, has collected links to more than 2800 videos of airports on YouTube. Plane-Places said, "Working with EarthNC.com, we rolled together a bit of code that se ... more

TWO dinghy crew were rescued after Sky Watch chief pilot, Sqn Ldr Tony Cowan, flying an RAF Grob 115E training aircraft overhead Grafham Water, Cambs spotted a sailing dinghy in difficulties.Near gale force wind in excess of 30 knots had knocked the dinghy flat. Each time the crew tried to right their craft it was knocked down and the crew were thrown into the water.Tony, an RYA yachtmaster, decided the crew were in need of assistance and r ... more

CAA issues guidance on non-precision approachesGPS is on the verge of being approved in the UK for non-precision approaches. This follows a trial at six UK airfields last year when Instrument or IMC rated pilots, flying suitably equipped UK registered aircraft where invited to try such approaches.Now the CAA has launched a publication detailing how to fly the approaches as part of the preparation for the introduction of non-precision Global ... more

KEMBLE-based advanced flight training specialist Ultimate High has joined forces with fly2help, also based at the airfield, and expanded its fleet of aircraft to include a Chipmunk and Super Decathlon.The team, who recently moved into a new crew room in the control tower, currently operates a fleet of ex-military Bulldogs and high performance aerobatic Extra 300 aircraft.Now Ultimate High is also be offering Experience Flights and Tailwheel ... more

A WINNING team! The British won the team award at the 2007 World Hang Gliding Championships held in Texas, USA last month. They beat 24 other national teams, including a strong French showing (placed 2nd) and Austria (3rd). From left:Carl Wallbank, Bruce Kavanagh. Standing, Gary Wirdnam, Richard Lovelace, Dave Matthews, Robin Hamilton. The Brits last won the title in 1989.Our top scorer was Gary Wirdnam in 6th overall. The Brits last won th ... more

RUSSIAN ace Svetlana Kapanina won the FAI World Grand Prix held in Moscow last month. The win means she is the first female to be an overall winner of an international FAI aerobatic competition.More than 600,000 people attended the airshow, MAKS 2007, where the competition was staged.Svetlana won the female category in the 2007 world championships (LOOP, July 07), coming 4th overall, and has consistently been the top female competitor in al ... more

ADVANCE orders for Cessna's newly announced SkyCatcher light sport aircraft (LSA) had reached 720 by early-August - just two weeks after the aircraft's launch at the EAA AirVenture in July. That's $75 million-worth of orders and deliveries won't start until mid-2009!"It has been very exciting to see the overwhelmingly positive response from our customers on the SkyCatcher," said Jack Pelton, Cessna boss. "The affirmative reac ... more

CESSNA has told its dealers that new turbodiesel powered 172s will be available from the factory for the 2008 model year.This follows an announcement in June confirming that Cessna was working with Thielert Aircraft Engines to fit the German company's turbodiesels into new aircraft.The dealers were told that the new model will cost $15,000 more than the existing 180hp avgas 172. The price will be $298,500, including Garmin G1000 avionics an ... more

November appeal against enforcement notices for 'wonderful' airfieldTHE future of Kemble Airfield hangs in the balance and will be decided at a planning appeal which starts on 27 November.Flying at Kemble is under threat because Cotswold District Council (CDC) has served enforcement notices for the cessation of general flying. This follows complaints from local residents about "a range of types of flying," according to Mike Napper ... more