PILOTS all over the States have been getting rude Christmas presents after being slapped with unexpected tax bills by grasping revenue authorities based in Maine.The north-eastern state applies a 5% 'use' tax on planes bought and stored in other states where no tax was paid on purchase, if the plane is flown into Maine for a total of 20 days a year or more. Bills of tens of thousands of dollars have been sent out, mainly to business self-fl ... more

ONE of the icons of European flying will soon be lost to pilots wanting one of the most historic logbook entries. Courts in Germany have finally ruled Berlin's Templehof airport must close.The famed site is the second oldest airport in the world and regarded by many protestors in Berlin as a symbol of the country's regeneration after it was the focal point of the Berlin Airlift. But with the courts saying all traffic must move by the end of ... more

CHRISTMAS came early for six children and their families as flying charity fly2help called in F1 star Lewis Hamilton for a special trip to Disneyland Paris last month.Six children from Chase Hospice were whisked by Chinook down to Farnborough, and then onward to Paris in a LearJet, with carers and parents in tow. They were all  flabbergasted when the McLaren star turned up as Bombardier's 'brand ambassador'.The group spent the day at E ... more

HELICOPTERS were at the heart of firefighting efforts in Southern California last Autumn. In October, more than a dozen fires across Southern California forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. In one of the worst cases of wildfires Southern California has ever seen, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency.Los Angeles Fire Department's Air Operations Section flew over 160 hours and dropped more than 270,000 gall ... more