August 13  2007
NASA named OZ pilot Michael Coates as its winner of the grand prize of $100,000 - out of the $250,000 offered - in prize money to build and fly a small-seat aircraft that could one day be a prototype for so-called air cars

Four teams flying small two-seaters competed against each other in six categories including speed - short take-off - efficiency - handling and noise (or lack thereof)

 
Michael used the term "Prius of airplanes" to help explain the benefits ..."not because it's a hybrid but because it can go as fast as 170 mph and get 50 miles to the gallon"

A highly modified Vans RV-4 home-built won $25,000 in the speed challenge and another $50,000 for emitting the least amount of noise - the team flying a Cessna 172 won $25,000 for handling and for the most popular small plane

August 10  2007
The locally designed and built 2-seat Whitney Boomerang (as in Archerfield-Kingaroy) is about to commence production with aircraft number 1 set to roll off the line this month with units 2 and 3 following in quick succession

The prototype Boomerang - now registered as VH-FKT - is expected to be placed on-line with a new flying school operating at Archerfield for assessment purposes - the News Desk expects that school to be AV8

 

News Desk Comment

In the USA Cessna announced they are to start production of a two-seat all-aluminium high-wing 'sport' aircraft - the C162 SkyCatcher - with deliveries commencing in 2009

In the first two weeks after Cessna introduced the SkyCatcher at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh - 720 orders had been taken for this "born-again C150" amounting to about $75 million (US) in sales - Avweb Report

August 10  2007
An as yet unidentified single-engine light aircraft lost a wing when it overshot the runway during the landing sequence at Sydney's Bankstown Airport

 
The aircraft hit a security fence after running off the end of the runway - the pilot - the only person on board was not injured