EAA AirVenture Oshkosh didn’t happen. EAA canceled its signature event, which was originally scheduled to kick off on Monday, July 20, 2020, over the coronavirus pandemic.
EAA did, however, announce a wide range of virtual events as part of its Spirit of Aviation Week, that included more than 170 forums, tech talks, educational events, proficiency activities and more.
On social media, Oshkosh lovers poured their hearts out, posting pics of Oshkosh past and expressing their love of the greatest airshow on earth. Plane & Pilot editor-in-Chief Isabel Goyer wrote a popular story that outlines a 30-year history of attending this great event.
Texas Aircraft, which manufacturers the Colt LSA, announced an electric version of its plane, to be called the eColt. The new model would be powered by lithium-sulfur batteries instead of lithium-ion ones, cutting battery weight by 40 percent and giving the plane a hoped for 2 hour endurance and 200 mile range.
The FAA announced its plans for recertification and un-grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. The process will start with the FAA publishing an airworthiness directive, which the public will have 45 days to comment upon, followed by the agency’s responses to comments, the publishing of a final rule, evaluation of the final fixes and ultimately the un-grounding of the plane, which was shut down after a pair of accidents overseas related to the plane’s MCAS stability augmentation system. The agency declined to give a overall timetable for the process.
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777-200 cargo liner caught fire at Shanghai Airport and caused extensive damage to the plane. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the conflagration. No one was injured in the blaze.
Flight training provider ATP took delivery of six new Piper PA-28 Archer TX single-engine trainers this week, part of a 100-airplane order from the Vero Beach, Florida, plane maker.
What pandemic? ATP also announced that it had opened a half dozen new training facilities around the country in 2020. The company said that trains its students for almost 9,000 pilot certificates every year.
Van’s Aircraft is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its top-selling Van’s RV-8 kitplane. There are more than 1,600 completed RV-8s flying, Kitplanes reported, out of nearly 4,000 kits sold.
