Mark Phelps

Some might suspect sour grapes, but at an economic summit earlier this week, Senator John McCain questioned whether his rival in last November’s presidential election really needs $11.2 billion worth of new helicopters. In 2005, then-President Bush pressed for upgraded rotorcraft for the presidential mission. In light of the September 11 attacks, John Young, assistant […]

Facing the ravages of NTSB scrutiny for a rash of fatal crashes, the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) industry could be seeing some good news. Observers are pointing to the focus on health care in the current economic stimulus package as boding well for HEMS flights. According to reports, roughly half of all EMS flights […]

In the years following the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed an accelerated depreciation tax incentive plan to boost sales of aircraft. It’s back; and the newly passed program joins some $1.1 billion in airport funding as part of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package. The general aviation industry has lost a reported total of approximately 11,000 […]

At a time when it’s even tough to find financing to remodel your kitchen, helicopter kit maker RotorWay has secured funding to pursue a certified, turbine-powered model. The as yet unnamed two-place rotorcraft would be powered by a Rolls-Royce 300 turboshaft engine. Also from RotorWay, customers may now install enhanced vision systems in their kit […]

Late Tuesday, the final blow fell for Eclipse. In an e-mail to about 850 remaining employees, company executives Mark Borseth and Michael McConnell (CEO Roel Pieper’s name was conspicuously absent) wrote that the board of directors would support creditors who have been urging a move from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7. Under Chapter 11, […]

Safety was a huge issue at the Heli Expo this year. With the NTSB set to issue recommendations based largely on a terrible 2008 accident record in the rotary-wing world (helicopter emergency medical services [HEMS] in particular), the industry is struggling to find ways to make its operations a lot safer. There were many suppliers […]

Gordon Baxter — ‘Bax’ to just about everyone — remains one of Flying‘s most loved and revered columnists. His Bax Seat essays graced the last page of the magazine for decades, with tales of monster-size 450 hp Stearman cropdusters, open-door Piper J-3 Cubs and everything in between. Bax, a Texan who made his ‘final flight’ […]

In the face of declining orders and factory layoffs, selected garages around the world have become one of the most prolific aircraft production sources in the industry today. Last December, the 6,000th Van’s Aircraft homebuilt kit took flight, and new aircraft are being completed at a rate of two per day. The 6,000th Van’s product […]

Operators of Teledyne Continental engines in the 470, 520 and 550 series who have installed new cylinders since November 2007 are facing a manufacturer’s voluntary recall of those cylinders. TCM expects to replace some 9,600 of the cylinders, after 36 of them developed cracks in the head castings. The compromised cylinders all had more than […]

Delivered to its owners last December 24, the first customer Embraer Phenom 100 light jet recently visited Embraer’s Florida facility to show off its new paint scheme. Owners James and Betsy Frost of Houston accepted the airplane on Christmas Eve at Embraer’s Sao Jose dos Campos factory in Brazil, but the paint job wasn’t completed […]