Syn Vis For Beech
Hawker Beechcraft announced that Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology will be included as standard equipment on its Beechcraft Baron and Bonanza aircraft. The upgraded offerings will be introduced on production aircraft beginning in August. Additional equipment added to the Baron and Bonanza standard equipment list includes the GTS 820 Traffic Advisory System, the GTX 33ES Mode-S transponder with ADS-B-out functionality and an upgraded GDU 104x Multifunction Display. Visit www.hawkerbeechcraft.com.

Lindbergh Foundation
Air show performer Sean D. Tucker and aircraft collector Kermit Weeks have joined the board of The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation to further its long-standing efforts to better the environment. "It is a special honor to have individuals with this level of creativity and commitment join with the rest of us on the Lindbergh board at this time of unusual opportunity," said Lindbergh Chairman and CEO Larry Williams.

Electric Skyhawk
Cessna is collaborating with Bye Energy, an integrator of clean, alternative energy technologies for business and general aviation aircraft, to develop an electric propulsion system for a Cessna 172 proof-of-concept (POC) aircraft. Cessna Chairman Jack Pelton said, "As we look at the landscape of alternative fuels for general aviation aircraft, the electric power plant offers significant benefits, but there are significant challenges to get there. We believe Bye Energy has gotten off to a good start in understanding those challenges and how to overcome them." The first flight of the electric-powered Cessna 172 Skyhawk POC is expected to take place by year-end. Visit www.cessna.com.

Cobalt In U.S.
Cobalt Aircraft in France has announced that it will create a U.S. corporation in San Francisco for development, certification and production of its Co50 high-performance canard pusher aircraft. U.S. branch activities will entail engineering, production and assembly, marketing and sales, and customer support for the American markets. David Loury, founder and CEO, said, "While a final assembly site is still under negotiation, the American activities of the company will be directed from these U.S. headquarters. We felt that we needed a creative, stimulating environment and to get closer to our customer base." Visit www.cobalt-aircraft.com.

Smart Cub
American Legend Aircraft Company completed the first customer delivery of a Garmin G3X-equipped Legend Smart Cub. It was delivered to Rick Brown, a pilot who’s based at Falmouth Airpark, the only residential airpark in Massachusetts. "The marriage of a great airplane with all the capability of the G3X results in an airplane that's really fun to fly and very capable in lots of situations and flight conditions," said Brown. Visit www.legend.aero.

Power Flow On Husky
Aviat Aircraft has begun producing 180 hp Huskys with the Power Flow Tuned Exhaust System as optional equipment. Aviat President Stu Horn said, "The benefits to Husky owners are undeniable: lower fuel burn, improved rate of climb, shorter takeoff roll and improved cabin heat." Aviat expects to add the tuned exhaust systems to the 200 hp and 160 hp models soon. The new system for the 180 hp model is also available at Aviat as a retrofit to existing Huskys. Visit www.aviataircraft.com and www.powerflowsystems.com.

Icon Selects Liberty
Icon Aircraft has selected Liberty Aerospace, Inc., to build primary structures and components for its A5 LSA. "At Icon, we do our homework to ensure we get to great solutions---and this is just another example," commented Icon CEO Kirk Hawkins. "Partnering with established suppliers will allow Icon to not only reach production sooner, but also accelerate the production ramp to meet the impressive demand we're seeing for the A5." Icon will receive major composite structural assemblies from Liberty and will control all system installation, final assembly, finishing and testing prior to delivery. Aircraft production will be at Icon's facilities in Southern California.

DC-3 Reunion
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the Douglas DC-3, and it was celebrated with a fly-in of 28 DC-3s, C-47s and DC-2s at Whiteside County Airport, in Rock Falls, Ill. On Monday, July 26, a record-setting mass formation flew from Rock Falls to EAA AirVenture. "We had a resounding success," said Dan Gryder, the event organizer. "We want to thank everyone that volunteered their time, energy and airplanes to make this event such a true celebration of the people who created and flew the Douglas DC-3." Visit www.thelasttime.org.

Jepp Plates For iPad
Jeppesen introduced the Jeppesen Mobile TC terminal chart application, designed for searching and viewing terminal charts on the iPad. "We listened and responded to high customer demand for delivery of Jeppesen's terminal charts through Apple's iPad," said Tim Huegel of Jeppesen Aviation. "Our new iPad application is designed for a very specific purpose, namely for searching and viewing terminal charts. However, the cross-market appeal of this technology will lead to further development of Jeppesen services available for the iPad in the near future." Visit www.jeppesen.com.

Win A Citation Lesson
Jeffrey Robert Moss, 2010 National Flight Instructor of the Year, is offering a day of personal flight training in a Cessna Citation Mustang jet as the Grand Prize in the Fly a Mustang with MossY Sweepstakes. "Being selected from my talented CFI peers to win the 2010 Flight Instructor of the Year award is a distinct and humbling honor," said Moss. "I want to ’give back' some of that support to one of America's more than 200,000 GA pilots." The contest runs through November 15, 2010. Submit entries at www.flyinglikethepros.com/register.

Digital Kneeboard
The Thiphone acts as a kneeboard for your iPhone, using suction to hold your device in place, while still allowing it to be rotated 360 degrees as needed. It sits at an angle on your thigh and tilts your iPhone toward your face, making it easy to read. Contact: Thiphone, www.thiphone.com.

Flight Plan on Your iPad
Foreflight Mobile HD, a flight- planning app for the iPad, has new capabilities: Touch Planning and Bring Your Own Procedures (BYOP). With Touch Planning, you can tap out your flight plans by touching different points on sectional or IFR en-route charts. Drag your finger to move waypoints and bend routes around weather, MOAs and restricted airspace. BYOP allows pilots to load their own digital terminal procedures or supplements directly into ForeFlight Mobile HD. Contact: www.foreflight.com.

Perfect Fit
Headset manufacturer Lightspeed Aviation now offers lightweight sunglasses designed to fit comfortably under a headset, while allowing easy switching from regular glasses to sunshades in changing flight (and light) conditions. Lightspeed Aviation Optics are manufactured in Italy by Look Occhiali and are constructed from laser-cut stainless steel. They can be fitted with your eyeglass prescription. Contact: Lightspeed Aviation, (800) 332-2421, www.lightspeedaviation.com.

New Headset
The new HMEC 461 headset from Sennheiser offers powerful connectivity options and is designed for battery operation. Battery life extends up to 30 hours. Additional features include a lightweight control unit that allows pilots to select a stereo or mono signal, or adjust right and left volume controls. Ear cups feature leather pads and Sennheiser's NoiseGard technology reduces high-level continuous noise by about 90%. Cells phones and other audio sources can be connected to the unit; they will be silenced any time a radio signal is received. Contact: (860) 434-9190, www.sennheiserusa.com.