Mark Phelps

Within the next few weeks, Cirrus Design will file certification paperwork with the FAA on its developmental Vision single-engine jet. Actual certification could come as early as 2010, but no later than 2012, promised Cirrus Chairman and CEO Alan Klapmeier during a December 3 Internet press conference. Of particular interest, Klapmeier told reporters Cirrus has […]

Sapphire Energy is a San Diego company that turns algae into fuel. To date, it claims to have created such a fuel that meets quality standards, is compatible with current gasoline-manufacturing infrastructure, and achieves a 91-octane rating. According to a December 7 report from McClatchy Newspapers syndicate, Sapphire CEO Jason Pyle cited opposition from proponents […]

Brazilian airframer Embraer announced it has received certification from its home country, with U.S. approval expected soon. Certification testing revealed an increase in top speed to 390 knots-10 knots higher than expected. Fuel consumption was also better than projected by some 3.6 percent. Embraer broke ground last Thursday on a new 150,000-square-foot site in Melbourne, […]

This time, you did all your homework. You got a good night’s sleep. And maybe all your biorhythms were synched up just right. For whatever combination of reasons, you just cleaned your plate — completed your entire training syllabus with half an hour left on your simulator punch card. What would you do? This question […]

According to an article in this week’s The Economist, officials at Boeing and Airbus are not deeply concerned about their airline customers’ fate in light of the current crisis in the world credit markets. Manufacturers of general aviation aircraft are likely hoping lenders will take a similar view to customers seeking financing for personal and […]

Using a full-motion simulator and the latest in brain-wave imaging technology, a NASA biomedical engineer is studying the effects of stress and overload on pilots. Fifteen volunteer airline pilots are participating in the study, which is conducted at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. It is designed to measure the pilots’ blood-oxygen concentration and its […]

Just before the Thanksgiving long weekend, Cirrus Design told employees it was significantly reducing aircraft production for the rest of the year, and as a result of the “production pause,” there would be furloughs. A local paper in Duluth, Minnesota, home of Cirrus headquarters, reported that 335 employees would get bad news over the holidays, […]

If proponents of the benefits of business aviation were holding out hope of any defense from Ford or GM, they can officially forget about it. Ford and GM both announced Tuesday they will close their flight departments and divest of their aircraft. The move follows a stinging PR debacle involving CEOs from the Big Three […]

The FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, New Jersey, has transferred control of 55 acres of its property to a state economic development entity for the construction of an Aviation Research and Technology Park. According to a release from the FAA, the park will be built at no cost to the agency, […]

As were many in the aviation industry, officials at Diamond Aircraft were “surprised” by ExxonMobil’s letter to its network of fuel suppliers warning against using jet fuel in piston-driven diesel aviation engines. Unlike most others, however, Diamond’s brain trust has a vital stake in the issue, since their twin-engine DA42 Twin Star is powered by […]