WSJ: FAA Modifies Airspace Restrictions for New Boeing Jets   Photo by Joe Contreras   By Andy Pasztor and Peter Sanders Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL   Article   A week after issuing interim rules to protect aircraft from the wake turbulence generated by Boeing Co.'s (BA: 70.39 ,-0.97 ,-1.36%) latest jetliner models, federal regulators abruptly reversed course and said the restrictions were premature.   The FAA's surprise move on Tuesday left industry officials and safety experts unce

SpaceShipTwo Flies Free     SpaceShip Two Flies Free   SpaceShipTwo, the spacecraft that will take paying passengers to the edge of space, had its first manned free flight Sunday, dropping from the launch aircraft mothership Eve 45,000 feet above the Mojave Desert. Owner Virgin Galactic said the spacecraft, now named VSS Enterprise, glided to successful landing 11 minutes later at the Mojave Air and Space Port in the high desert of California. On board were pilot Pete Siebold and copilot

Elbit Systems U.S. Subsidiary Receives $68 Million ID/IQ Contract to Supply Head-Up Displays for U.S. Department of Defense   Elbit Systems Press Release   HAIFA, Israel, October 13, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --   Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ and TASE: ESLT) announced today that its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Elbit Systems of America, LLC, was awarded a 5-year, $68 million Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract from the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Huntsville, Ala

The Australian -- By Cameron Stewart   The air force is about to reverse a decade of decline with a string of new aircraft.   The balance of power in Asia is changing faster than the new Gillard government would like.   China is flexing its muscles, making its near neighbours nervous with its ambitious naval expansion. The US has taken note and is quietly shoring up its alliances in the region, reassuring all that it will remain the pre-eminent power in the Pacific.   These big-pictu

Yuma Sun -- By James Gilbert -- October 12, 2010   YUMA PROVING GROUND — Employees working at various test sites throughout Yuma Proving Ground will no longer hear the familiar sounds of either of the two O-2 Skymaster the installation has soaring high overhead.   Originally built in 1967, the legendary plane forged a reputation as a hardy and dependable aircraft for forward observation missions during the Vietnam War. Although the model is now more than 40 years old, they are the only

Stars and Stripes -- By Heath Druzin -- October 12, 2010   CONTINGENCY OPERATING STATION SPEICHER, Iraq — On a sweltering summer day here recently, 49 young Iraqi cadets sprinted off a C-130 cargo plane to start a three-year journey that Iraqi officials hope will be an important step toward military self-sufficiency.   The men were the first students at Iraq’s new Air Force College, a collection of drab, boxlike buildings that match the seemingly endless desert that surrounds Speicher.

World Tribune -- Tuesday, October 12, 2010   ANKARA — Iran has joined Turkey in military cooperation with China.   Turkish sources said Teheran enabled Chinese fighter-jets to refuel in Iranian air space in September. They said the four Chinese Air Force Su-27 combat aircraft had been on their way to Turkey to participate in the NATO-aligned Anatolian Eagle air exercise. "Four drill-bound Chinese Su-27 warplanes that took off from bases in China refueled in Iran — the first time the Isl